The easy-to-use Vado HD marries impressive video quality with a strong feature set, making it a serious rival to the leader in the mini-camcorder market, the Flip Video Mino HD. The Vado HD also boasts one feature that its main rivals do not -- a mini ...

Solid 720p video ; ultra-slim design ; removable, rechargeable battery ; easy to use ; one-touch video uploading to YouTube and Photobucket ; includes mini HDMI connector and bundled cable for outputting 1080i video to an HDTV

No flash-memory slot ; Mac users have to manually copy video files to their computers ; white balance is slightly off and colours are a bit amped

The Creative Vado HD may fall slightly short of the Flip Video Mino HD in terms of video quality, but it's stronger feature set may tempt you

The Sanyo Xacti DMX-CA8 is a waterproof camcorder that's up to the challenge of holidays, adventures and wet weekends. Video quality isn't a top priority here, but it offers 'proper camcorder' features such as optical zoom and stills capture, and it's ...

Weatherproof construction

Fiddly joystick ; average image quality

You have to ask yourself whether you'd rather take an average camcorder like the Sanyo Xacti DMX-CA8 on your adventures, or a high-quality model with a clunky protective case. It laughs in the face of snow, sand and sea -- as long as you can live with ...

Our main issue with the HG21, Canon's high-class, high-definition camcorder, is that it may be too good for its own good. Now that should tell you something. The HG21 comes with a whopping 120GB hard drive, a vast array of high-end features and ...

Enormous 120GB hard drive ; ravishing video ; optical image stabilisation

Sound could be better ; frustrating joystick menus

The Canon HG21 is an excellent camcorder that does so many things right and hardly anything wrong. Our only concern is that it might be a victim of it's own success. Its flexibility means more more potential outlay on accessories, its huge hard drive ...

JVC bucks the trend for standard-def camcorders to have low-res sensors with the Everio GZ-MG730, its top-of-the-line hybrid camcorder. Small enough to fit in your pocket, it manages to cram in a 30GB hard drive plus microSD card expansion and a 7 ...

Solid standard-definition video quality ; above-average photo quality ; manual controls ; small, comfortable design ; dock and remote included

Tricky menu navigation and polarising interface ; no external mic, headphone jacks ; overpriced ; unnecessarily uses fiddly microSD media

The JVC Everio GZ-MG730 produces acceptable standard-def video and good photos in bright light, but considering its price tag, it's ultimately disappointing

The big YouTube sticker on back of this camcorder's LCD and the YouTube branding on the box are kind of a giveaway: JVC's Everio GZ-MS100 is a compact, budget SD-card-based camcorder capitalising on the trend of one-touch video upload to the Internet

Manual controls ; small, comfortable design

Tricky menu navigation ; polarising interface ; meagre user guide ; and questionable YouTube-friendliness

The JVC Everio GZ-MS100 is an average budget SD-card-based camcorder that's more attractive for its small design and relatively average video quality than its unique interface and one-touch uploads to YouTube

Samsung is coming into its own on the camcorder front, with the Samsung HMX20. It's a sleeker, more confident beast, and impressed us with the quality of its video even in low light, making this more than just a good-looking model. It's lacking a few ...

Crisp detail ; strong low-light performance ; slick styling

No optical image stabilisation ; overzealous zoom control

The Samsung VP-HMX20 impressed us with the quality of its video even in low light, making this more than just a good-looking stylish model. We'd like more manual control -- and more subtle control over the zoom -- but it's so easy to use that we can ...

If you're after the camcorder experience but don't need high definition, the Samsung VP-MX20 is an affordable standard definition shooter with 34x zoom. Good battery life and long recording times combined with the convenience of SD cards make this a ...

Large screen ; expandable memory ; swivel grip

Only standard definition

If you're after the camcorder experience but don't need high definition, the Samsung VP-MX20 is an affordable standard definition shooter. Decent battery life and long recording times combined with the convenience of SD cards make this a worthwhile ...

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR85's 60GB of storage means you can take it on holiday without worrying about running out of space. Plus, you can save video and stills to Memory Stick Pro Duo cards up to 8GB, making it a 'hybrid' camcorder. It's easy to ...

Lightweight, compact design ; 60GB of storage and recording ability to Memory Stick cards ; responsive touch screen ; simple operation

Overpriced for what it delivers ; no optical image stabilisation

If you don't want to, need to, or simply can't shell out a couple hundred pounds more for an HD camcorder, the Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 delivers decent SD video and copious recording time

Solid 720p video ; comparatively large LCD ; memory-card expansion slot

Insufficient onboard memory ; no included memory card ; can't recharge batteries via USB connector ; included software isn't Mac compatible

While bigger than most of its competitors and high priced for a mini camcorder, the Kodak Zi6's attractive design and decent video quality adequately compensate for some usability drawbacks. Most notably, we wanted an optional memory card to make up ...

We're loving the Canon HG20 HD camcorder, if not just for its bigger 60GB hard drive compared to Canon's comparable HF11's 32GB of internal flash memory. But that's just where it starts -- the HG20 is cheaper at around £720 and has excellent lens ...

Excellent video quality ; 60GB hard drive ; attractive, understated design

Wind filter not as dependable as previous Canon models ; manual focus pretty useless

Like its cousin, the flash-based HF11, Canon's Vixia HG20 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance albeit in a slightly larger, heavier package. But you do get more storage space at a lower price, which we think makes it entirely worth it