I'm planning on purchasing this camcorder after NAB. Any comments on it's specs?

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/sony-ces-hc20-hc30-hc40-hc65-hc85-pc109-01_07_04.htm


I'm buying it as a cheaper alternative to the PDX-10, since it is supposed to support native 16:9 format.

Any reason NOT to buy it (insofar as image quality and the 16:9 format)?

I don't see any improvements over the TRV70 and its performance was less than stellar. Both the TRV70 and HC85 have a high quality 16:9 mode but the TRV70 is currently on clearance and supports the older Memory Stick media.

Review of the TRV70 at dvspot.
http://www.dvspot.com/reviews/sony/trv70-review/index.shtml

Of course neither the TRV70 or HD85 will have the video quality and advanced features of the 3CCD PDX10 but I expect you're already aware of that.

You can read my comments in the link below on the differences between the TRV70 and HC85. The TRV70 gets my vote for both price and features (compared to the HC85).

http://www.sonycams.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=1472