My understanding of these cameras is that they are nearly identical, save for the P2 recording functionality of the 2000. Is this an accurate statement? I read a review of the 900 that also stated that the camera uses the same imagers as the Varicam, which I thought was interesting. Anyway, any other thoughts on these two cams would be very helpful.

Peter

Forget about image quality between cameras, it's near-identical. The real question is: Which workflow do you want - tape or tape-less?

The 2000 will cost far less in initial system and recurring costs because you don't need an expensive DVCPRO deck, nor are you constantly buying media. BUT the caveat is what type of work you do and, what do your clients want?

Currently many non-broadcast commercial clients still want the original (or exact, non-setup dub) camera master tapes for both archival and content delivery purposes.

I'd say right now, of my current non-broadcast client list 50% still want Varicam/DVCPRO tapes, the other 50% have "crossed-over" completely to tapeless and accept both original media and finished product on HDD's. 85% of the broadcast clients are already P2-based.

Decide on your workflow, then you'll know which camera of those two fits your needs best.