I'm looking to replace a Canon XL-1 seriously in need of retirement, and I'm wondering if I should just grab an XL-2 or if it's time to move to HD. I have no plans whatsoever to output to HD media at this time; almost everything I shoot will end up going to SD DVD. With that in mind, will I see any kind of worthwhile PQ benefit from using an HD camera then downrezzing to SD?

The XL-1 does an OK job though it seems like most of the PQ damage is being done at the conversion to DV stage. I'm not exactly impressed with what I've seen sample-wise from the prosumer HD cameras either in terms of PQ (mostly because of the stock lenses I am guessing), so I'm stuck unless I just rent both and shoot and process the same video as an expensive test.

Another thing to keep in mind is that I'm totally done with miniDV tape and dropouts, so I will be moving to an outboard storage system (memory card or HDD or both), if the HD stuff interfaces better with those.

(I can't figure out at all what to search for to find out more about this topic, either.)

You might take a look at the Panasonic HVX200 - it's quite versatile, supports both HD and SD at a variety of frame rates and up to 100 Mbps, and you have your choice of MiniDV tape or P2 flash memory recording. I think you could also use an external Firewire drive like one of the Focus units until the P2 cards come down in price.

Amen to being done with MiniDV tape and dropouts!