Panasonic’s new HD camera, due for release in April of next year, will reportedly go for around $2,000. Definitely within reach of most people. From Panasonic:

PANASONIC EXPANDS PROFESSIONAL AVCHD PRODUCT LINE WITH THE NEW AG-HMC70 SHOULDER-MOUNT CAMCORDER
* Affordable, Point-and-Shoot HD Camcorder Offers Benefits of SD Card
* Solid-state Recording with Professional Audio Flexibility
Panasonic announced the expansion of its professional AVCHD product line with the introduction of the AG-HMC70 AVCHD camcorder. As the industry’s first shoulder-mount AVCHD camcorder, the HMC70 records high-quality 1080i images onto readily available SD/SDHC memory cards. Like Panasonic’s full production quality solid-state P2 HD recording system, this AVCHD camcorder eliminates the need for and cost of a special deck, as well as the time required to transfer content from a tape or optical disc to a PC for editing or content distribution. Since it uses a standard SD or SDHC card, the HMC70’s recording capacity will increase and media cost decrease as the industry announces new higher capacity cards. The HMC70 features three native16:9 progressive ¼” CCDs to record, or provide a live feed of, widescreen 1440 x 1080 HD resolution images of weddings, sports, concerts, or other events. It can be used by law enforcement agencies for training or surveillance, by schools for use in video production, live staging and documentation, or by broadcasters and newspapers for web journalism. The camcorder is equipped with a 12X 38.5mm to 462mm* Leica wide-angle zoom lens, one-push auto focus, and integrated Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) that ensures stable images, which are most critical when displaying high definition video. The camera also provides excellent color reproduction and inherits the exceptional color rendition of Panasonic’s other professional HD cameras. -more