It looks like I will be getting the HV20 for by Birthday (June)... gift from the wife. I was at CompUSA (store closing) yesterday and they have Sony Vegas Movie Studio, reguarlly 149.00 half off. Seemed like a good deal to me since this is the application I was going to buy once I got the Camera. But since it looks like I can save 30-40 bucks (comapred to lowest internet price) I may as well buy it now and monkey around with it.

How good is Sony Vegas for someone who is a novice on video, but loves to Monkey around with gadgets?

Stephen

Vegas movie studio is a good starter for sure. You may have to read the manual a bit at first but once you get a routine worked out then the workflow moves like fire. There is also a big brother to VMS and it's called Sony Vegas 7, which I have and use.... a GREAT program.

For $75, it sounds like a great deal to get started, and may be all you need for your uses. If you later find that you want the extra features of Vegas 7, you won't feel like you have to abandon a program you spent $150 on already. You will also have a great leg-up in working with Vegas 7.