3 CCD cameras are currently the film industry standard, by using 3 sensors instead of just one(like most consumer camcorders), the incoming light and images are brighter, sharper, less grainy, and more vivid. The problem was, until recently, a "cheap" 3 CCD "prosumer" videocam was 15 g's and almost a foot long. Not anymore. Panasonic has a whole range of these cams, the cheapest of which is pictured to your right. $500.00. Yep. Pretty much disposable.
Here's the site with details.