The 953 is a really good camera. To me its limitation is in low light, but what really sold me was I rigged up some inexpensive lights to use while I shoot scenes. These things worked so well and due to the 953 having so many more pro features than the 120, I returned my 120 to Sears. I went over to my friend's house a couple nights ago with camera and lights in hand. We wrote and shot a short movie and had a blast. It was really, really, fun. To get high-quality images, I had to figure out how to light scenes well. I'm still learning, but it is an interesting experience. I've learned a lot just from watching tv and looking at how the light is being used.

The OIS on the 953 is way better than the 120. This is most noticable when zoomed, but even noticable at 1x. The EIS seemed jerky as opposed to the smooth OIS on the 953. Also, the autofocus on the 120 didn't work as well.

Another really great feature of the 953 is the zebra stripes. Due to the limitations of DV cams being able to take images with a large amount of difference between light and dark, it is nice to have the zebra stripes to tell when you are overexposing parts of the image.

Also, since I often record live music, it is really nice to have the ability to adjust the audio levels on the cam and turn off the AGC.

Then there is frame mode, wide mode, a much larger LCD, and other good things that the 953 has over the 120. For being on a tight budget, the 953 is a pretty good way to go if you find one at a reasonable price.

I bought some cheapo cgr320 batteries for the cam that work reasonably well and allow for long shoot times.

http://www.power101.com/camcorder_b...m?cat=panasonic

You can also purchase a 1-year parts and labor warranty for your cam from ebay for about 10% of the price you paid. You have up to 30 days from the time you purchased the item.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/warranty...SerOvrvwWarrByr

I bought two of these light stands and mounted 8 dollar home depot shop lights with 3000k fluorescent tubes for indoor shoots. These are good for brightening up an entire room. Often just one does a pretty good job.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...ase_pid/452019/

Sears has halogen dual-500-watt work lights on sale for 19.95. I rigged up some mounts to put them on the musicians friend's stands in place of the fluorescents when I need this kind of light. I also bought some cheap translucent umbrellas to diffuse the light. These are great for getting the 3-point lighting effect you see in most movies.

Best wishes