New camera help!

Honestly, get the t2i.

My friend had an HV30 for at least a year, and it was a really sick, good quality camera, but I just CAN'T deal with tapes. He ended up upgrading to a t2i Now I'm not sure how you feel about tapes, but I would never be able to use another camera with tapes after we took a trip to Nicaragua and had to make the video for it. It turned out really well, but it was the biggest hassle ever.

Additionally, as you already stated, a t2i can take stills. That just brings a whole new game into the question. Taking some stills myself (but not owning a half decent camera) and seeing my friend be able to take both HD video and professional quality frames, it's like a skier's dream camera. Plus, I feel like once you have a "camera camera" as opposed to just a video camera at your disposal, you'll start getting more into stills.

Have you found good deals for both? Or are you just peeking around thus far? I bet you can find a t2i refurbished for within your price range (if that's the very maximum you can spend). I highly recommend getting a t2i, but they are expensive. My friend has spend hundreds on lenses, bought a glidecam, tripod, and other accessories. Total I'm sure it's been more than $1000. That's a huge investment, but it's really paid off (granted I didn't buy it), but I think he would agree that it's paid off.

Overall, I'm just really biased against tape cameras, not the HV40 specifically. If you can deal with it, it's going to be cheaper and good quality, but you can really step into an upper echelon with a t2i.

Good luck man!

Yeah i was thinking about the tapes problem. And spending 400-500 bucks on a hv40 and then spending thousands on a t2i would just be a waste.

what about like the panasonic tm700? records to sd cards and it's right in your price range, 700 is not enough for a legit t2i setup

I recommend the tm700 as well. it puts out great vids and shoots 1080 60p

TM700.
a t2i will cost wayyy more than 700

the t2i is worth the money