Ok, moving up from a native widescreen 480p miniDV cam to the HV10 is going to require me to re-train myself in quite a few areas, and I'm hoping some other users here could shed some light or offer some advice.

My first hours spent with the camera (about 1.5 hours so far) have consisted entirely of non-tripod shooting during Xmas. The only playback I have seen is a full screen preview on my 1080p 37" monitor.

Tripod? Yes Please. At this level of resolution its harder to tame shakeycam footage I've seen.........I had some shots with the camera being held low in both my hands while zooming in on my kids as they went up and down my driveway on their new little bike thingies......I guess optical stabilization can't work total miracles :) Need to learn how to hold this camera the best way...but I'm definately going to be using the tripod more often.

(Dont mind pistol-grip holding for normal eye-level footage).

Quality: Much, much better than 480p SD camera and similar footage, being previewed on 1080p monitor.

PANNING: oh boy, much much worse than SD camera. YOu REALLY notice the blurring if you do a quick pan with the camera. Must make a mental note to onesself to really keep any panning to a minimum or do it slow and controlled. You really notice the blurring if you move too fast.

Overall, however, great camera....really...just needs a wide angle lens, and I've got my eyes on a few in the $100 range.

A monopod or a folded tripod would go a long way in eliminating the shake. The way I do it is to extend it to a length so that I can brace one end of the monopod/tripod at my right hip and hold the cam in one hand and the monopod in the other. That way the HV10 will be rock solid in your hand as long as you don't wiggle your hip. I haven't used this technique much since I switched from HC3 to HV10. If you haven't seen HC3's shake then I don't realize how much a difference OIS has made.

Like I said....first day with the camera, unpacked it..charnged up the Brand X batteries and went off, have ONLy viewed a few minutes of my outdoor shakey footage because it was cold, I wasn't dressed really well, and should have just knelt and braced the camera.

Instead I was bent over, holding the camera low with the LCD pointed up, and operating the zoom almost dislocated my fingers :D So it was totally the fault of the operator. The indoor footage I took should be much better.

But I have a collapsable tripod and have used it extensively...I just wanted to point out that at HD resoultions its even MORE important to have a steady camera or platform.....every little bit of movement can be picked up and can ruin a shot the way it wouldn't in a SD shot.

Thanks for the tips on using your hip......