If you already have a DV camcorder, why not stick with it?
DV is dead. Period. Canon and Sony each make two very low-end models.
For the cost of the V1 (which is very much a prosumer level camcorder), you can own two Canon or Sony AVCHD camcorders that records to SDHC or MSPD card, which is similar to the Panasonic you already own in terms of quality and low-light gathering.
You'll possibly need to upgrade your NLE software for AVCHD, particularly if you're an Apple user.
AVCHD is very low-end HD, and it does have fairly low compression rates, but they certainly compare and beat DV. Not just by a little bit.
"Limited storage space" is a silly misconception, IMO. You can store an hour (actually more than an hour) of media on a card. When the card is full, you dump the content to a computer or other storage bank system. It'll cost you about 100.00 to have up to around four hours of storage; if you don't need four hours of storage, it'll cost you a lot less. Camcorders usually come with 4GB cards/sticks, that's plenty for most consumers, and at the level you're talking about working, it seems that you're mostly in the consumer-dabbling-in-semi-professional-work.
In our line of work, we use XDCAM HD and EX pretty well every day. We do some work with HDV. On the weekends, I shoot event video that often times ends up on EXPN, ESPN, CNN, whatever other "n" you can think of. Most of what I shoot is acquired with a Sony CX12. I always carry two 8GB cards, which allows me 40 mins per card in the highest quality AVCHD high-definition stream. If I choose to shoot MPEG2 for SD, I can store over four hours on the same set of cards. Or, I can upgrade my very cheap 8GB cards to 16GB cards, and store over four hours on that one stick. The most any tape will hold is one hour.
So yes...you're limited in storage in that once the container (tape or card) is full, you either have to buy a new tape, or dump a card to a computer. For my work both professional and personal, I have no problems finding a computer (usually have a laptop everywhere I go, including vacations) and it's quite easy to dump the AVCHD content to a hard drive. It takes around 11 mins to dump an hour's worth of content to a hard drive.
I'm a huge fan, raving rabid fan of tapeless, and haven't used tape in years. Even in the sky.
If you'd like to know more about the various formats, I wrote a book called
"The Full HD" that is available at most major book sellers. It's also available at VASST.com, or other online stores such as B&H.
Douglas Spotted Eagle
VASST
Certified Sony Vegas Trainer
Aerial Camera/Instructor
