So, while I know a bit about video editing and quite a bit about video capture and codecs and formats and all that goodness, I've never really been into shooting moving pictures nor the creation of completed works using moving pictures.

I've made a few short videos here and there and have even used iMovie and Final Cut Pro back in the day, but it's not something I've ever really been that interested in. One can only get into so many things and I'm usually already overwhelmed trying to keep up with what I already want to do.

But... Now with some interesting products available at seemingly super low prices, I think I want to consider capturing some moving pictures and likely making some edited movies/montages/projects later this year.

Two neat products on my radar are the Kodak Zi6 and the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 (out sometime this month in NA supposedly). Both are under US$200 and capture video to SDHC cards. The first has a fixed lens and the second a larger 5x optical zoom lens. Both capture 720p at up to 60fps. The first uses AA batteries and the second a proprietary lithium pack. The Sanyo also has some image stabilization features (like within its firmware, I don't think it's optical at this price). The Sanyo also has 10MP still capture.

I'm not looking for a professional camera by any means, nor am I looking for something as bulky as a regular hand-held camcorder. Something under $200 will allow me to get my feet wet while capturing video that will hopefully still be quite usable for display on an HDTV as well as post-processing for the web. The small size will also allow me to take the camera everywhere (which is going to be an important factor). In fact I can probably just toss either one in a pocket on my person or of my SLR camera bag (when that's with me).

I'd probably end up using iMovie 09 and Final Cut Express for final output (to maintain highest resolution and possibly some additional advanced features). To start however I'd play only with iMovie.

I'm drawn to the optical zoom of the Sanyo, but I'm also really drawn to the AA batteries of the Kodak (not to mention its lower price

I'd probably like to pick something up early in April as we'll be attending a friend's wedding in Vegas mid-month with a side-trip to the Grand Canyon. This would give me an opportunity to play/test with scenery and subject matter that's a bit more interesting than the neighborhood at home.

Does anyone have any experience with the Kodak or previous Sanyo products like the CG09? Any interesting notes about taking 720p H.264 video into iMovie?