Bagless vs Bags

We have owned the Dirt Devil bagless vacuum cleaner for about 3 years and I am in a quandary.

I love the see-through cup and the ease of "oops" retrievals (especially when the kids' toys get sucked up!)

But the filters are much more expensive than the bags and appear to be filthy all of the time (although the manufacturer says they are good for a year).

I also dread dumping out the contents - the dust and grime get airborne and the filter takes a lot of effort to clean (so I get dirty as well).

So the cost has not been less, and the maintenance has been more, but the kids still have their toys. Is this a fair trade-off?

Perhaps someday they'll make see-through bags instead?