I am about to purchase a Sony SR-11/12 and before I put down what is a sizable amount of money to me, I want to make sure that what i buy will not be the "last year's model" within weeks.
What I am hoping for someone to explain to ALL the new buyers is when usually the Electronic Giants come out with their "next year models", when do those models hit the street.
I think that, more than anything else, will help people who may have narrowed their search to a specific brand and model, to "pull the trigger" on the item without wondering if their camera is going to be outdated soon after purchase.
I fully understand that new electronics come out all the time and there are no guarantees, but just like most car makers "unveil" their new models 10-12 months before the next year and that new model its the streets about 4-6 months before the start of the year, it would be nice to have the same timeline for electronics like the camcorders.

Thank you

what you are asking is a lost cause... canon released the hf11 shortly after the hf10, putting out an "upgraded" version of the camcorder so quickly was a very unusual move for them.

with this economy, i think that many standard habits are going down the drain... what i would do if i was you was delay the purchase as long as possible, i have to wonder what will happen with pricing in january.

The CES/Consumer Electronics Show is in January, where they exhibit the new camcorders and other consumer electronics from various manufacturers...

http://www.cesweb.org/


The new models will be released around February/March '09.

So, you only have to wait until January to see the features on the new camcorders, (the info will posted on the web).
But they're going to be expensive for awhile; you're probably looking at a half year from now before the prices start to get lower on the newer ones.

Like xfws said, CES. However CES is in th U.S. There are other shows in other countries, sometimes things are announced earlier. Sometimes manufgacturers release throught the year. Look at Canon, last years, and I guess Panasonic the prior year.

I am about to purchase a Sony SR-11/12 and before I put down what is a sizable amount of money to me, I want to make sure that what i buy will not be the "last year's model" within weeks. Guess what, what makes you think next years is better? Look at the Panasonic GS400, Sony HC3...

Sometimes features like microphone inputs, electronic viewfinders, analog inputs, manual focus are removed on newer models....


The Sony SR11/12 turned out to be good camcorders. I would get the SR11.



Rich

The CES/Consumer Electronics Show is in January, where they exhibit the new camcorders and other consumer electronics from various manufacturers...

http://www.cesweb.org/


The new models will be released around February/March '09.

So, you only have to wait until January to see the features on the new camcorders, (the info will posted on the web).
But they're going to be expensive for awhile; you're probably looking at a half year from now before the prices start to get lower on the newer ones.

Thank you all for the response.
My number 1 reason to get a new camcorder, other than the luxury of maling great High Def home video, is 1) to save up on money I have been spending buying MiniDV tapes (have 43 tapes to date). Due to time restrictions I have not been able to convert any of the tapes to DVD, and I hope to just buy a TB or two of hard drive psace and store the movies for now. But buying miniDV can be expensive.
Also, my kids are 5 and 6 and I do not want to miss out on having very good quality video of them growing up just because I was waiting for the next great camera.
Since CES is just coupl eof months away, even if a real breakthrough function or option comes along, the really good cameras will be very expensive for a while.
I think for anyone who is on my boat, the best bet is to get the best camera we can afford with the research and information availabel today. There will always be better and better cameras out there.
I DID want to wait and see if a better video format was coming, but from what i can find, the current one is here to stay for a while.

I am going by the rule I have had for computers, spend on the camera what I can afford to loose over the span of 18-24 months. Anything over that is just bonus.