I am having a hard time deciding what gear I want and what to keep or sell......

At the moment I have a Canon XF300. It is excellent but I am wondering if it's really a bit overkill for my needs. I bought it with the idea of starting to produce some aviation DVDs. I have since been all but offered a great job in the merchant navy! and I think I would be silly to turn it down. With that in mind I was wondering if selling the XF300 and getting a Sony NX5E/U would be a good idea? I think they are very similar in quality? I think for a hobby the NX5 might be a more justifiable price.

I could then put the money saved towards a Canon XF100 that I could take with me on my travels. Or would a palm size cam be better? Like a Panasonic TM900 or similar.

I am just so confused with all this!

Hi Andy. Not to complicate things, but how about a DSLR that also shoots HD video? I have my work camera (sony EX1R) but I would prefer to have something more compact for personal use, day trips, family events, etc. I don't have a DSLR yet but my old Canon ZR series DV consumer camcorder and Canon G3 digital camera are really showing their age. I'll be replacing them with a DSLR. I can see the advantages of going with one of the consumer camcorders though, they really are incredibly compact these days and make a very nice picture given enough light.

Sounds to me like you'd have the opportunity to film a lot of stock footage, so if I was going that route I'd be inclined to take the camera that would produce the most marketable material.

Keith - I have used DSLRs for video a bit but just don't get on with them and they are not that good for what I want. I would/will shoot a fair bit of moving things like aeroplanes etc so DSLRs just don't cut it for that sort of thing imo.
Also with my DSLR I always had to lug a two or three big lenses as well as the camera in order to have the zoom range covered. Even then having to change lenses all the time was a bit of a pain.
I can totally understand your point but for me I think it would just not be right.