from what I've seen a 702 bottoms out around $1850 new and the 722 at $2375. if you subtract out the cost of a 4GB CF card, it's still about a $450 difference.
So really there's a $525.00 dollar difference between the 722 and the 702.Thats alot for a 40 gig hard drive imo.I'm sure it's nice to have that HD at festivals though.
but keep in mind you're not just paying $525 for a 40g drive - its $525 that covers the drive, the hardware and software that integrates it, firmware to create files, folders, etc...
i actually really dig the fact that it has a drive -it allows me to tape a few shows without having to worry about space. and yes, for festivals its great.
Sometimes when i do a few nights of shows in a row, i don't have time nor energy to spend time and offload files from a card when i get home, in order to prepare for the next nights show. Usually i've got the munchies and then i crash. work the next day and then do it all over again. its nice being able to get home, plug the 722 in to charge, and its ready for the next show.
in order to get 40 gigs of space in CF media, you'd spend well over $525.
So factor in all of it - its more work in a way, to have the CF. Another cool thing is with the 722, you can record to both CF and HD at the same time. In a stealth situation this would prove an ideal way to do a "switcheroo" - erase the card (or give it up) and you have yourself a copy on the hard drive.