Not sure about Panasonic, but I have a Canon MV20i (or Elura which is the NTSC version) and have no complaints whatsoever. In Europe it's the MV20, so the only difference is the "i" which means IEEE1394 in/out port is present/enabled.
It has all the "necessary" plugs for video out, IEEE1394 etc as well as a remote control, battery charger and such like - a very small compact body too.
The low light function is good, but the playback is a tad jerky where the camera has worked hard with what light was available.
Normal light conditions gives smashing video, and there are 6 presets covering sport, snow, bright light, overcast etc. These are fine too, but you can control it manually (exposure, white balance etc. if need be.)
It will take still pictures, but they are more like video frame-grabs. They're stored on the DV tape instead of a memory card which seems to be a better solution. However, I don't care for stills with a video camera.
The supplied battery only last for about 30min of filming with LCD, so a high capacity is a must! Probably the same regardless of camera.
The optical zoom is very good, likewise the digital image stabilising. the digital zoom is also good, but the "shake" is more noticeable, and the autofocus tends to have trouble at real extremes. (There is a manual focus option, but equally hard to master.)
There is a newer version now, the MV30i, but I'd suggest a look if you haven't already decided.
Oh, 2 family members have a JVC (don't know model) which is amongst the smallest around. It looks good, has a a built in stills flash (missing from the MV20i) and uses a compact flash card for stills.
I found this enthusiast's site useful:
http://members.tripod.com/vincent_ysc/index.html
Cheers!
Sq
(Ooops! JVC, not Fuji)
[This message has been edited by Squiddley (edited 20 November 2000).]