well i went ahead and bought it and i picked up a dvd+r DL which gives me 45 minutes of recording time on the highest quality and about 60 minutes on standard and around 80 minutes on long play mode..so im sticking with high quality and standard..my main problem was recording time and i just couldnt live with only 20 minutes per disk..so thankfully i learned about DL disks..far has the camcorder goes i belive i made a great purchase..its so small and so lite weight and packed with so many features i still cant believe i got all this for such a small price..the instruction booklet has tons of information that us regular folks can understand..you dont need a degree from mit or oxford to understand..lol i would say within 20 minutes of reading the book i know how to turn on, turn off,set the date and time, how to finilize the disk..how to zoom..and even use the night scope feature for recording in dark areas..so when it comes down to it, if your looking for a cam for the family..special occasions..kids little league..i seriously doubt you will find a better deal on a cam this wonderful..also it takes memory cards which is great if your going to use for weddings and you dont want to stop for a minute to change disks..depending on the size of your memory card you can easily get a minimum of 4+ hours non stop..also you need to buy a seperate battery charge the cam has a built in charger..and also i have to admit i was surprised how clear the pictures are..this thing can take some really great pictures..hope this helps..