I would go for a mini DV as well. Apart from being much more flexible, they are a fair bit cheaper too.
I went into Jessops for a 50 p cleaning cloth and glimpsed a hand written sign offering a JVC DR70 for £199. Needless to say, it was a pricey trip into Jessops that day.
The studio softwware that is bundled for your PC is ok, but there are some cheap and very capable studio editing packages for PC especially. All in all, a very easy device to live with.
Conan