Hi all,

I have had my Optura 20 for about 4 years, used it off and on. Last week I was watching a recording in the LCD just fine, turned it off for a minute, turned it back on and got a REMOVE THE CASSETTE error flashing in the LCD. I emailed Canon support and they suggested trying to remove the backup battery but that didn't change it.

I have sent it in for an estimate but if it works out to $300 then I was thinking it would be more prudent to just buy a new camera. To that end I was researching and almost bought a ZR950.

That was until I did more research and read that I would be disappointed. I didn't realize the Optura 20 had a 1/4" CCD and therefore better picture quality. I would have thought that since the camera was 4 years old it would be vastly inferior to today's cameras in the $300 pricerange.

I don't need advanced options, I am a point-and-shooter but care highly about the quality of the video captured. I use firewire to rip to PC and save the AVI files without compression.

1. That being said, would I be disappointed by the ZR950?
2. If I would be disappointed, what would be the best alternative?

I am drooling over the HV20 but can't sell it to the wife. I would love HD but $800 right now would not be wise.

Thanks for your replies!