Best, Worst, & meh' of 2008 (worst)

Best, Worst, & meh' of 2008
Losers:

1. HVR-Z1U
Term limit up.
Unless you NEED CCDs, there is no more use for the Z1 now that the Z7 and Z5 are on the market. Great camera, held up well, but time for it to step down from Sony's king of HDV. If you have one of these, no reason to stop using it, but if it needs repairs, it is almost better to spend the cash on another camera.

2. HVR-V1U
Book end.
This was Sony's goto 24p HDV camera. The one advantage it had over the Z1 and like the Z1, the V1 can't grow in the shadow of the Z7 and Z5. This camera did very well for having 1/4" chips, but the only thing it can claim today is the smaller profile over Sony's other pro HDV cameras.

3. XL-H1s / XH-G1
Wheres the beef?
These two cameras are the exact same as the XL-H1a and XH-A1 with thousands of dollars added to the price tag. It is nice that Canon has the options to gen-lock and what-not, but the price is too steep a climb to justify. There are the people that need those options, but most would rather spend the same money on three cameras instead of two.

(2012 Edit: I guess I can eat my words on this...  These cameras have the potential of a little more life beyond HDV with the uncompressed HD-SDI output.   1440x1080 CCD chips paired with a Sound Devices Pix 240; AJA Ki Pro Mini; Convergent Designs Nano Flash, etc. can produce nice images.   Harder to do if you don't have the digital video output, like the XL-H1a & XH-A1.  Though, I don't see many people pairing the XL-H1s / XH-G1 cameras up with off board recorders, so maybe I wasn't too far off.)

4. HVX-200a
HVX200, now with a cup holder!
The HVX200a is the re-release of the HVX200. The upgrades Panasonic put into this camera, while needed, pretty much amount to the previous model with an alarm clock and extra large cup holder attached.
Panasonic argues that this is a good transition camera because it records on P2 flash media and miniDV tape. The only thing they often don't mention is how nearly completely useless the tape drive is. Unlike the Sony Z7, which has unrestricted recording options for flash & tape, the HVX only does DV onto tape. Thus, all the versatility the HVX has in recording formats isn't able to be implemented onto tape. If you need to shoot DV, there are a ton of great old models that are selling for cheap as everyone is moving HD.
Sitting next to the HPX170 & EX1, there is no good reason as to why anyone should be purchase this camera.