Photo gallery:Canon Vixia HF10Canon may not have been first out of the gate with a flash-based camcorder--or second, or third--but its debut model, the high-definition Vixia HF10, gets it right the first time. A sleek black compact model with a well ...

Don't look for any great advances here: the Canon Vixia HV30 is a very minor upgrade from the admittedly top-notch HV20. It has a sleeker-looking black body, introduces 30p progressive mode, and supports the high-capacity BP-2L24H lithium ion battery, ...

Tape housing feels a bit flimsy ; fixed eye-level viewfinder needs a better eye cup ; manual focus dial a bit loose

Panasonic bills its AG-HSC1U, a souped-up version of its AVCHD-based consumer and now discontinued HDC-SD1, as the smallest available professional three-chip HD camcorder. Weighing about a pound and fitting easily in the palm, the camera certainly is ...

Typically, when shooting still photos, camcorders offer few exposure options and turn out low-quality images. Conversely, most dedicated still cameras tend to offer disappointing video, and are best left to only take pictures. The Canon DC50 manages ...

Were you to set the Canon DC230 right next to its little brother, the DC220, you would be hard-pressed to tell them apart. Besides slightly darker accents, the DC230 looks identical to its little brother. Both DVD camcorders sport the same size, shape ...

Canon HR10The DVD-recordable child in Canon's nursery of consumer HD camcorders, the HR10 has the distinction of being my least favorite of the lot. Because it records to DVDs in the AVCHD format, it lacks the speed and compatibility of the less ...

When Lori Grunin reviewed JVC's Everio GZ-HD7 a few months ago, it did all right, but she concluded that its features, performance, and image quality didn't live up to its high price tag. JVC followed up the HD7 with the Everio GZ-HD3, a scaled-down ...

Good-looking design ; high-quality audio ; low noise, low-light video

It's easy to assume that all budget camcorders look alike. They're all small, inexpensive miniDV devices with 25x to 35x zoom lenses, sub-megapixel sensors, and very few bells and whistles. Because of this, you might be tempted to assume that they're ...

Every company wants to get a taste of YouTube's popularity, and Sony's no exception. In a jarring change from the company's Cyber-shot and Handycam lines of digital cameras and camcorders, Sony released the Net-sharing Cam NSC-GC1, a pocket camera ...

Stylish black design ; 2.4-inch pivoting LCD screen

Awkward controls ; flash gets blocked easily ; disappointing video quality ; no included or onboard memory

With a dearth of features and middling video quality, the otherwise stylish Sony NSC-GC1 pocket camcorder fails to justify its premium price.

Budget camcorders might not seem flashy, but they play an important part in every camcorder line. They're designed to be an affordable, no-frills product that anyone can pick up for just a few hundred dollars. Since price is their main selling point, ...

Decent video quality ; 32X optical zoom lens ; optical image stabilization ; native 16:9 wide-screen video

Useless night mode ; submegapixel sensor won't wow you with resolution

The Panasonic PV-GS85 is a serviceable budget camcorder, but better choices are out there.