I got this model from a friend who had got it from Dubai. I was slightly skeptical about the slightly higher price as compared to other models and brands. However one look at the thing and one minute of shooting with it had me hooked. The model has a 2.5 inch LCD screen with great resolution. It also has a black and white viewfinder if you prefer that for recording. Its got a zoom of 360X with no blurring - the zoom power is too good.
The best part is the recording quality. After all its a SONY. A genuine piece (bought from an authorized dealer) carries a warranty of 5 years on the recording head and that is the real thing. The other great pluses include - absolute ease of use, great results even for amateurs, editing features for recording etc.
The set carries a battery pack with 2 hour life along with the thing. Additional battery has to be purchased and is decently expensive. The accessories that come along are the charger, the battery and the connector for playing back on the TV. This is a Hi-8 camera and the cassette would not play on the traditional VHS VCR.
Other points to be cautious about at the time of purchase -
If you are planning to buy from the grey market (as most people in India would) please make sure that you take along a knowledgable guy preferably with prior contacts. The set that you get might turn out to be used. Even worse it might have a replaced video head (replaced with a lower quality chinese/korean one) and the head is the heart of the entire piece.
The price varies in the grey market by the day.
Its preferable to go for a box packed thing even
though it might cost a 1000-1500 bucks more than a loose one.