Thanx Jaegersing...but do you reaaly mean s$ 16500 or its S$ 6500...am looking for a good 3ccd mini dv around the price of S$ 3500...if it is 3ccd,good image quality , wiz firewire in/out,durable am ok.Your comments would be most welcome
Ha ha, yes it's unbelievable, isn't it? Unfortunately the figure is accurate for the XL H1. This is an HDV camera with a high definition lens and SDI output. It's targeted at small studios I think, not really for event videographers. $6,500 would get you a Canon XH A1 which is also HDV but doesn't have removable lens or SDI output.
If you really want a miniDV camera, I would recommend the Sony DCR-VX2100 which is the best for low light situations and great for event work. Pay a little bit more and you can make movies with a Panasonic AG-DVX102B. You could probably get a second hand XL2 for $3,500, but would need to look around for a while.
But really, you need to consider whether to go for HDV instead, because it might be better in the longer term (this is not guaranteed, because formats are changing all the time). The HDV cameras all use miniDV tape, and give you a choice of recording in HDV or DV format. However your budget is a bit on the low side for the higher end consumer cams like the Sony HDR-FX7, so you might need to settle for a one chip (CMOS) camera like the Sony HVR-A1P. By the way, what will you be using the camera for?
If you go to the VideoLifestyle forums, you could ask VideoCobra for advice on HDV and DV cameras. He is very experienced and willing to share his knowledge.