I am considering the purchase of an EX-1, but some issues are not settled for me as of yet.

Regarding capture media, the PHU-60K seems to be the most attractive way to go for me. But how reliable has this device been? I have seen Matt Sturns thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/130742-phu-60k-problems-update.html), but is this saga typical. Basically, I need something reliable-- we all do. I can't ask for another take when I'm shooting a wedding, and losing this kind of footage is a great way to have an unrecoverable reputation.

Next question: My other camera is a Canon XHA1. If I'm shooting an event with the EX-1 and the XHA1, will I be able to edit between the two without obvious differences? (I'll be going to SD DVD). Will I be able to use multiclips between the two cameras in FCP? - my understanding is that I only need to have the same framerate - but the Canon will be HDV material and the EX-1 would be HD.

Thanks for your help.

You can shoot HDV with the EX1 as well. It's the 1080 SQ mode. I've done it to synch with other HDV cams and it works great. You get all the benefits of a better camera (Bigger chips, better low light, better DOF, incredibly sharp image, quick clip import etc.) but it'll still edit perfectly in an HDV timeline. This is with SxS cards, I have not used the drive.

The Canon and Sony cameras have slightly different colour responses. If they are shooting similar shots at the same time they may look a little different. You should be able to match them in the edit if you need to.

I have not heard of anyone else with PHU-60 issues.

True, but with only one not so positive report after trying a couple of these with the same problem, it would be nice to hear from someone who can say they do not have issues.

That is exactly it - I really wonder how many are using this without any issues. The best camera in the world is useless if I lose the footage.