Gday Smokey
I purchased a Canon 700i Mini DV about a year ago.
Superb camera..I highly recommend it for ease of use.
Ive not yet managed to use it for astro pix as yet but its just a matter of finding an adapter.
It is a breeze to edit and capture the video too...athough Id recommend a reasonable pc to capture..& firewire. It also has a nice feature where you can plug older analogue cams in and convert them to digital...
Anyway some specs are here..Im sure you can find some reviews with google.
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Canon_MV_700i__5637127/TabId/4
Cheers
Dave