November 2nd, 2009 
pkinvest I am trying to get a videography business started and wanted to know from people with experiance or who know a bit about cameras which one of these cameras would be best to use, or if you have a better one that would work for a small business. I am looking for something with great quality, easy to manuver around with, high proficiency, and nice looking. Any other advice would be great! Thank youhttp://www.frys.com/product/5049425?site…http://www.frys.com/product/4186853?site…http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/25…http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/58…
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Hi No Regrets
I do weddings for a living (among other things)
The Canon XHA1 (Your first link) has been replaced by the XHA1s. It is very similar to the Canon XHG1s (Your 4th link). As it is very light, you will need a mono-pod to keep it steady.
The main difference between the XHA1s and the XHG1s is that the XHG1s has additional connections (BNC type connectors for streaming out pure HD (not HDV) if you are planning to use this camera for TV, multi-camera shooting, etc.) For wedding work, you most likely don’t need these features and you will save about $3000.00 if you go for the XHA1s. They both shoot in SD and HDV format so that you can grow with the camera.
With the money you save, you can get a wireless microphone to capture those wedding vows clearly.
The Canon XL2 (your second link) is also a good camera but shoots only in SD. It is a larger camera than the XHA1s/XHG1s cameras. You may find it a “front-heavy” camera, meaning that the weight of the camera is towards the front due to the heavy 20X zoom lens. The XL2 is meant to be held on your shoulder. The XL2 has a removable lens so that you can add other lens to the XL2. The XHA1s/XHG1s lens cannot be removed.
If you like shoulder mounted camera and want to go the HDV route, try the Canon XLH1a/XLH1s camera. It is the top-of-the-line camcorder out there right now. It is similar to the XL2 but does both SD and HDV and comes in beautiful black. This is the camera I currently own and use for my wedding business.
Forget about the Canon GL2 (your third link). Go with the XHA1s/XHG1s camera.
One thing to keep in mind is that all the Canon cameras are not good in low-light situation such as in the case of wedding where most church and receptions are lit with very little light, so you may need to add in a small light to the camera. I use the Canon VL10i (which is about 20 watts) and just enough light to fill in the faces. Don’t go over board with 100 Watt (blaring lights) as they will be too bright and distracting and ruins the atmosphere.
It seems that you want to go the Canon route. For low light situation, the Sony camcorders are the best for that.
For Sony, take a look at the HVR-V1U, HDR-FX7
In summary, if you are not a strong person, go with the XHA1s/XHG1s. Your shoulders will thank me later. But if you need the capability to change lens (which I never had to) and want more of a “pro” look go with any shoulder mounted camera.
Believe it or not, people still view small cameras as “amateur” and large camera as “professional”.
Good luck in your wedding business