apparently, this movie was shot on a handheld HD video camera. One article I saw said it was a "Sony SX1", but I couldn't find such a camera. Does anyone know what camera they used to shoot "Paranormal Activity"?

Probably an EX1.

I read that this movie is so creepy that people actually walked out of it during special screenings! Now I gotta see this one.

I saw it in Hollywood two weeks ago at the Arc Light.
It was shot mid 2007... The EX1 wasn't even out unit Novemeber 2007 with most not getting theirs until Jan '08.

It's not the EX1.

One scene in the mirror, you can clearly seen the camera.
Looked like the HVX-200 to me.

On Content:
Wait for the DVD.
Anyone hailing from this forum will pull their hair out trying to watch this mess.
Lot of hype with a clever grass roots marketing strategy ... and the screaming teens telling everyone about it.
A thrilling concept pulled into the dirt because of non-existent production design and shotty camera work (makes Cloverfield look better).
I'll say this though- every penny of the 11k budget found its way to the screen. It's also impressive principle was done in two weeks.
The story was written around practicals... Impressive for a first film but not worth the pop culture movement...
(Although when someone like this (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089658/) produces your indie, you're already on the map)

-C

It looks like it was filmed on an FX1, on the mirror scene you can clearly see that its a FX1 or a Z1 because of the way the LCD is placed by the on-board mic. Couldn't be an EX1 because I believe this movie was produced in 2007, not sure..

Sony FX1 and it looked to me in the mirror scene he had a Rode VideoMic attached

I saw this movie tonight and it powerful and scary. It's not clever marketing or hype, it's genuinely terrifying. The market (and critics btw) has spoken on this one. End of discussion.

It looked surprising good too on the big screen. Was it an FX1? How do we know the camera he carries around is the one he shot it with? There's a picture of the cam in this blog.
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the Next 'Blair Witch Project'? - Inside Movies (http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/09/25/paranormal-activity-movie-next-blair-witch/)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Biggest scam since Blair Witch.

One thing that is odd about this is I read the filmmaker signed with a large Hollywood agency even before it was shown anywhere. May have had a familiar contact within it from the get go.
Hard to know what is honest in the making of it when you have headlines like Spielberg claiming the dvd he watched was haunted.

These things are the equivalent of tv reality shows--saving money in production costs and effort. I didnt care for Blair Witch at all. The concept is intriguing--a hoax type docudrama, just not crazy about the execution. Alien autopsy etc....

Thought it was great. Kept me up at night for a week now! The tension in the movie is more terrifying than any monster could ever be. And I thought it was an FX1.