Sony Handycam HDR-CX550V

Pros: Excellent automatic white balance - colour is actually better than real life when shooting under incandescent lights. The zoom microphone works well - no need for a shotgun mic to pickup speakers over 50' away.

Cons: PBM software isn't great. It takes a long time to download the images to the computer - would have been better to have USB 3.0 connections. When shooting spinning objects, you have to remember to switch to manual focus mode.

Summary: I have used camcorder for capturing demonstrations at woodturning symposiums, and with the extra capacity battery (that actually fits better than the supplied one) I was able to record over 8+ hours without changing battery or having to find a plug.
The video and audio quality was so good, that we were able to produce commercial DVDs. The remote works great when you can't get up on a crane to shoot down on a subject.