Well, we can argue the merits and demerits forever, but my experience with far too many camcorders (wish I still had the money ;-() is that NO lcd screen can compete with the framing and visibility of a good viewfinder, especially in bright sun. And yes, my latest is only 2 months old and the lcd washes out in sun just like the others. There is a difference in degree, but still. I record many airshows, and I would never, ever, ever have a camera with no viewfinder. If, however, you are satisfied with the functionality of the lcd alone, more power to you.
Same goes for compression. Sorry, folks... I can see the difference. And I don't even have to strain. Again, if it doesn't bother you, go for it. I only point out these things to hopefully help somebody before their money is used... something I wish somebody had done for me. Actually, I read the reviews and chose to ignore them, so... ebay, here comes a few more items. Let me reiterate... if these things aren't that important to you, that is fine. Personally, I want the maximum quality that I can afford. I only hope that someday there will be a HD recorder with a decent viewfinder and a compression algorythm I can live with for a price I can handle. Until then, the best quality, as judged by experts in the field, will be had using mini-dv.