Mini DV - Canon or Sony?

[h3o]

I'm shopping around for a new mini dv camcorder. I really like the Canons, particularly the Optura and Elura lines, but I currently own a Canon mini dv (ZR25) and have been having problems with it lately. I can no longer fast rewind it (pressing stop, then rewind), I have to play it first then hold down rewind or else the tape will get eaten up. I've also had a few problems in the past year with the "remove cassette" alert popping up out of nowhere once in awhile.

The Sony's are looking tempting too, the new pc105 or one of the trv's. So the question here really is reliability... Has anyone had similar problems with their Canon mini dv? Any problems with Sony mini dv's? Maybe I just have a lemon... I bought it a little more than 2 years ago... now I'm wishing I bought that extended warranty. heh. My budget is under $1,000, preferably around $750, so I can some extra fundage to go towards an Ikelite housing for it.

Any suggestions?

 

[notabob]

My brother in law has a Canon ZR40 that he's had pretty good luck with. He's had it for a year.

As far as housings go, I was under the impression that an overwhelming majority of them are being made for the Sony camcorders. You might have better luck finding an affordable housing for a Sony camera vs. a Canon, though I have not thoroughly researched the matter.

-Roman.