As the top model in Canon's Mini DV line this year, you shouldn't expect earth-shattering improvements from the ZR850 over last year's models. After all, manufacturers seem to be putting more resources into DVD and hard drive-based models. The overall ...

New, easier-to-use menu system with joystick control ; impressive color in good lighting ; wide-screen LCD ; built-in lens cover ; low price

No accessory shoe or microphone input ; bottom-loading tape compartment ; doesn't support analog-to-digital conversions ; not enough stabilization at full zoom ; poor low-light performance

Canon's new MiniDV top model, the ZR850, continues the ZR tradition of offering affordable, easy-to-use wide-screen movie-making, though low-light performance is still subpar.

Panasonic SDR-S150It sounds like the perfect vacation camcorder: weighs 10.2 ounces, three CCDs, a 10X zoom lens, 3-megapixel still photos, optical image stabilization, and SD-card recording, all for significantly less than $1,000. And that includes ...

Very compact for a 3CCD model ; optical image stabilizer

Mediocre video and barely usable stills ; poor battery life ; slow focus

While compact and convenient, Panasonic's SD-based SDR-S150 camcorder doesn't make the quality cut.

Though budget isn't a term that readily applies to a $3,500 camcorder, you might think of Sony's Handycam HDR-FX7 as a budget version of its older sibling, the $3,700 HDR-FX1. Like the HDR-FX1, the HDR-FX7 is a three-chip, prosumer HDV model, and they ...

Excellent overall video quality ; responsive focus and zoom

Menu navigation doesn't circle back ; useless manual ; anemic audio support

The Sony Handycam HDR-FX7 is an excellent high-definition camcorder from a video perspective, but it's less satisfying if you're an audio control freak.

Released in September 2006 with little fanfare, the JVC Everio GZ-MG57 seems to do nothing more than fill a hole in JVC's hard-disk camcorder lineup. Similar to its predecessor, the GZ-MG50, JVC made several small changes without really changing the ...

Sony Handycam HDR-SR1A virtual twin of the Sony Handycam HDR-UX1 but with shiny black-plastic accents, the HDR-SR1 delivers essentially the same video but without some of the accompanying media headaches. It too uses the AVCHD format to record 1080i ...

Normally, my product reviews begin with a discussion of, well, the product. In this case, however, the fact that the Sony Handycam HDR-UX1 is quite a nice camcorder seems completely beside the point. What is the point? Let's start with the two ...

Canon puts HD video recording in your pocket, although to make room in said pocket requires removing more than $1,000 from it. Still, that makes the Canon HV10 the cheapest, smallest HDV camcorder to date. (For the uninitiated, the HD video (HDV) ...

One of the biggest first decisions to make right now when buying a camcorder is whether to get one that records to MiniDV, to mini DVDs, or to a hard drive. MiniDV, and mini DVDs offer great value for the money and convenience with home DVD players, ...

Given their ease of use and the fact that they potentially eliminate the need for media, it's a wonder that hard-drive-based camcorders still haven't replaced DVD-based camcorders in the post-MiniDV world. After all, a camcorder the likes of Sony's ...

It's hard to tell Sony's line of MiniDV camcorders apart just by looking at them. That's because the entry-level Sony Handycam DCR-HC26, the step-up Handycam DCR-HC36, and the midlevel Handycam DCR-HC46 all have the same basic shell and extremely ...