I said I 'nearly' do all video now sans camcorder. I stand by my perspective that the best camera is the one that you'll use the most often and that 10 "good" shots out-value 1 "great" shot (unless you're shooting for some magazine or are a hobbyist/pro).
Yes, I use a subcompact because I'm not willing to haul my Minolta 35MM around with all it's lenses and such just to get shots at Disney World, and I think I'm clearly in the majority today. If you hadn't noticed the absence of bulky 35MM cameras being carried around Disneyworld, then you've missed this trend. It's no different in video shooting, fewer and fewer people are carrying Hi8 or VHS-C than ever before and increasingly you're seeing and will see digital cameras with full frame video replacing tape camcorders as the device of choice.
Also, if you are as video knowledgeable as you claim, you would know that HD is not just 1080i but also 720P; to quote CNET:
"Currently, HDTV comes in two flavors: 1080i, used by CBS, NBC, HBO, and many others; and 720p, used only by ABC, ESPN, and Fox."
Also, on many TVs, 720P looks better than 1080i, so don't mistake higher resolution for higher picture quality. You really should *see* the picture quality and not just be stucks on specs like so many are. Those that have seen the picture quality of the new camera are clearly recognizing the improvement. And, half the point of my post is that this Sanyo is just another step in the never ending progression...
Finally, yes my bad, I meant to say 82 minutes on a 4 Gig card, readily available I currently see for $207. However, even if you only go the 1 or 2 Gig route, you should be aware that studies have been done that show the average length of video shot of some event like a birthday, averages under 15 minutes in length, well within the 21 minutes of even a <$50 1 Gig SD card in this device!
And the future looks extremely bright for flash capacities as prices will free-fall as capacities ever increase. Those 8 Gig cards under development now will be at bargain bin prices in just a few years!