HD4Indies’ Mike points out the Canon HV20 “Compact HDV Camcorder”. It’s has an HD (1920x1080p) CMOS sensor, records HDV to DV tapes, and sports an HDMI out for uncompressed capture.
Mike likes the look of it for a “learner camera”, to me this looks like an ideal unit for tethered shooting of visuals, studio shoots and time lapse requiring frame rates faster than an SLR can deliver. I’m starting to spec out a tour rig at the moment, this looks ideal for throwing in a backpack – I’ll let the film crews lug around the big heavy cameras.