Glad I could alert you to the Euro/Aussie versions. One thing that sticks in the back of my mind, though, and that you should be concerned with too, is the advantages of Mini-DV over DVD. The use of touchscreen thumbnail instant scene access/review, and no tape wind/rewind searching for shots, are the two biggest things going for DVD camcorders.
But Mini-DV units are ahead in a lot of other categories. They produce better video (because at this point in tech development, tape still takes video data better than disk), the tape goes a little easier in and out of the camera than a disk does, and they are ''a piece of cake'' to computer edit; most even can hook with one small wire directly to a DVD player that has a DV inlet. Sony's DVD units include lousy editing software, one of the company's biggest neglects, so you have to use aftermarket programs like Roxio or Nero or whatever they're called if you really want to capture data off the miniDVD disk onto your computer and then edit and dubb music, fancy fades, or whatever. That would all be nice, but time-consuming. I have no doubt that I could create a phenomenal full sized DVD movie of my home video(s) if I had the time; but I'd realistically think that my family is satisfied to see unedited memories as originally shot - no glorification is needed for them. So the Mini-DV editing advantage is no big selling point to me. Heck, it took me a decade to get around to copying stuff from my Hi8 tapes to VHS tapes. Hopefully I wouldn't do that with mini-DVD disks (-RW), esp. if I get a DVD player that records as well, and can just hook the camcorder to it to copy to full sized DVDs.
They tell me the Mini-DV camcorders can fully rewind in 60 seconds, which is a darn site faster than my old Sony Hi8. It's just that having used briefly the Sony DCR DVD92, I was sold on being able to immediately access a specific scene by just selecting a thumbnail of it off the touchscreen. The Sony 505 is about $1100 US direct from Sony, and others, including Sears Roebuck in the store, which is the only place so far I have actually been able to put my hands on one. But I really love that machine after the brief look at it first hand. The larger screen than the 405, the better switch configuration, and the tilting viewfinder are appreciated upgrades. So I'm hoping to find it between $800-900 locally one of these days.
As previously discussed, not all reviewers are totally enthralled with these Sonys, but they suit me fine; just be sure to set the camera down or hold it still during tape finalizing. As time passes, more consumers will chime in with reviews of this year's models, like the 405 and 505, and I look forward to their critiques; they often differ from the editor's reviews, and some are quite revealing of the real-world pluses and minuses. The new Canon 100 and the Sony 105 I think retail about $500 US, and have more powerful zooms than the 405 or 505, but not all the video quality - for the money, though, they are viable options to consider.
I might need to research a solution to the wind noise problem with the Dolby 5.1 microphone, cuz I shoot plenty outdoors on RV and flyfishing jaunts around the U.S., Canada, Alaska, and perhaps Mexico one of these days. 15 years experience has taught me that background wind across a built-in mike can be annoying and distracting during playback, even tho it was unnoticable during shooting. Some editors didn't like the built-in faux Dolby microphone system's sound reproduction, but, except for wind problems outdoors, most consumer reviewers were quite impressed with the surround sound effect on their home theater set ups. I've read that Sony's "hotshoe" auxilliary (and more wind-resistant) mike setup is proprietory - will only take a Sony mike, which, no doubt, goes for an inflated, no-discount price. That doesn't preclude me from trying to configure a foam windscreen of some sort for the built-in mike. We'll see.
Let me know how you're progressing toward procuring a new camera.