Borrowing a bit from a school of Architecture thought, "Form follows function." Essentially meaning that the aesthetics offered are of less importance than the functionality offered. Brian said it well with, "It's really a matter of the right tool for the job." If you want a good image, choose another camera, frankly. It was once considered good quality, but standards have changed. The highlights blow far too easily in both the EX3 and PMW300, the EX3 has a horrible on-board monitor, and you can forget dialing-in a custom White Balance with any ease. However, on networks like ANIMLPLNT, HGTV, TLC, etc., these particular models are still popular for a few reasons due to, not their image quality, but their functionality: 1. They're simple and they have a Full Auto feature - the camera is often used by Shooter/Producers. These are folks who sometimes do, but often do not know how to operate a camera. They often only know how to point and use the servo zoom. They're primary purpose as a shooter is often to get just enough content to tell the story. This position is becoming more and more popular as some shows have completely eliminated actual Camera Operators. 2. Zoom Lens - As David mentioned, the zoom covers quite a range. It's also very small considering that it covers such a range. If covering spaces smaller than the interior of a car, I recommend the Wide Angle adapter. 3. Price - Low-budget shows means low-budget gear. The folks who invested in these cameras years ago, likely did very well on these cameras - having paid them off long ago. They've been inexpensive to rent or buy for a long time, now. Although, it's my understanding that the value of replacement parts has actually gone up because they're often damaged in the field, and the parts are no longer being made. 4. Camera Size - As David mentioned above, the size of the camera becomes very important when fitting into small spaces and running and gunning. I've used them while jumping in and out of police cars, climbing trees, repelling, caving, running, crawling through snow, etc. Camera size is also tremendously important because Production Companies frequently ship these cameras and check them as baggage. So, in a relatively small Pelican, you can fit two cameras with substantial zoom lenses, on-board mics, media, etc. To do the same with a C300 requires at least one more case (lenses), maybe two (Shoulder Rigs/AKS). For many reasons, I imagine that these cameras only have another two years on even the worst low-budget shows. ...But, someone probably said that same thing two years ago. :)