Hard Disk camcorders are equipped with a safety feature that when a sudden displacement occurs, the camcorder locks the hard drive (takes the heads off the platters) so no scratches or damage is done to the platters themselves. I've seen some who have dropped it from 5 feet and it still works perfectly.
If you drop it above 5 feet, chances are that the camcorder itself will not survive. Most damage would be done to the body, sensor, or mechanisms. And that goes for ALL camcorders, including MiniDV, DVD, and HDD. Always remember to use a good quality case with padding for any camcorder.
There is a rumor that camcoders with hard disc can have more problems than others.
I have heard, never confirmed though, that hard discs can crash and damage the surface of the disc and therefore make the camera useless or very expensive to repair.
I was wondering if there is someone who could inform us about this issue.
Any help would be great.
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