http://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/sales_o/broch_pdf/ag-ac7.pdf
$1175 at B&H.

I love the flexibility of DSLRs, but often, when you just need to throw up a quick interview, DSLRs can be a major pain in the butt. Which can cause a risk in the real goal, which is capturing the creative spirit in the room. Especially in today's world, where I'm often the camera/lighting/sound operator and doing the interview too! I wish I had a "camcorder simple", low cost, 2nd cam that had a decent lens, O.I.S, and with reasonably higher quality compression than 17 mbps.

If there was a hack to get 35mbps or 45 mbps from this, I'd consider buying it as a second camera. No DOF, no lots of things. But I can twist and turn stuff quickly and easily in post now, when I have plenty of flexible time, after the unpredictable, easily distracted "talent" is gone. If I'm shooting interviews, or animals, or kids, or crowds, or long establishing shots, often if I can just getting shooting in five seconds, I can get a better performance from non-pro talent than any "perfect DOF" gets me.

I'm not giving up my GHs as my primary creative tool soon. But I often wish for the simplicity of my old SD GL2 "work horse," but at today's HD quality levels.

Does anyone else have another option that provides you a real usable result, at a consumer price like this? Or are we all just "toughing it out" with our DSLR complexity for every shoot? Please do tell...