I bought a Sony HC90 (now HC96) last year which is the next step up from hc42/46. At the time it was a choice between that and the gs150/180. I think the main difference between the two was the 3 ccd's vs 1. The image quality on the Panasonic is supposed to be better, but the Sony would handle low light stuff better. I figured it would get most use in the grit season and our winter days are usually fairly dull. In the end I got a good deal on the Sony which clinched the deal. I managed to get a decent 0.6x wide angle lens from hong kong on ebay for £30 + £5p+p which retailed at £60 on sony style. Theres also the raynox options which go a wide as 0.3x (albeit with lots of vignetting at the edges) and clip on to a range of sizes. camcorderinfo is fairly good for any more info and pixmania it probably the best site for prices.