Canon T3i vs. Panasonic TM700

[neonnightsky]

Hey there,
I'm considering either buying a T3i or a Panasonic TM700. I was hoping you fine folks can help me reach a decision. Here are my reasons:

Canon: love my T2i. Selling it to a friend to be able to afford another camera. The T3i is interesting because of its price point and swivel LCD, plus no overheating. The T2i did everything I needed.

Panasonic: I worked with a DP once who shot a webisode with the TM700k. The color and functionality were amazing. I liked the image stabilization, zebra and other features, plus the focus ring.
Cons: the price is a little steep for me, but the onboard HDD might offset that a little. I have seen some great footage from the camera, but it's hard to visualize films being made with it for some reason.
I guess the two main things are the price ($1100-1500, depending where you look) and the weight of the camera. It seems to be really light, which is a blessing and a curse, in my opinion. I mean, the camera can go anywhere, which is awesome for guerilla filmmaking, but if it's so light it might cause problems overall (which is probably why they included the OIS). And so far nobody has given definitive answers to the low light question with the TM700.

So, there's my debate. I would love to try them both, but I haven't found a retailer who carries the TM700 in store, or places that will let you try cameras. Any suggestions?

[Erikk3]

Well a good T3i set up will cost you around $2500 and a good TM700 set up will cost maybe $1500