Now that the high-definition format war is finally coming to an end, with Blu-ray appearing to have beaten HD DVD into submission, high-def movies are far more likely to grow in popularity

Head-turning price, Plenty of features, Great image quality

Fiddly controls, Sluggish autofocus

Cheap it may be, but the VPC-HD700 is far from the performer we'd hope it would be. Low light and movement cause all manner of problems. Even for the less demanding audience it's aimed at, this is likely to still be not quite good enough

We were hoping for a big finale to the kit of 2007, but we didn't expect one quite so, well, large. In the age of miniaturisation, there's just no getting around the fact that the Panasonic NV-GS80 is rotund.

Funky, unique deisgn, Good price, Good timbre-matching, Distinctive looks, Overclocking headroom, Half the price of the cheapest Ultra, Vibrant image quality, Strong build, Comfortable to use, Generous array of features, Exceptional hi-def performance, Lo...

Poor connectivity, Picture is underwhelming, Lack of lower mid-range and bass punch limits its movie-performance, No triple SLI, Stopgap measure until the 9 series?, Controls can feel awkward, Image noise, Relatively expensive, Some noise in larger patche...

The GS80 isn't cutting-edge technology, nor is it anywhere near being an example of the finest of current technology. It is, however, inexpensive, effective and easy to use. Budding moviemakers should steer well clear, but family users on a budget wil...

The unstoppable popularity of high definition has ushered in of a wave of affordable HD camcorders for home users and Canon's HV20 is no exception. In an effort to grab some of this lucrative market, Canon released the HV20.

Improved graphics card, Takes RAM up to 4GB, Santa Rosa chipset, Longer battery life, Competitive pricing, Crisp picture, Clear sound, Wide range of features, Very stylish design, Solid build quality, Lightweight, Strong performer, Robust build, Fair pric...

No antiglare screen option, High price, Flat virtual surround, Processor not up to scratch, Poor connectivity, Not the most attractive to look at, Audio quality can be hampered by upwards-facing mic

If you're looking for great value high definition without sacrificing functionality, the HV20 is a great place to start. Comprehensive connectivity coupled with fantastic user-friendliness and superb playback quality make it the leader in its class.

When we recently gave Canon's HR10 AVCHD cam a workout and were seriously impressed by what it offered for the relatively small asking price of £600. This time around it's the turn of its higher specified brethren, the HG10.

Impressive features set, Powerful, with excellent performance, Great set of features, Excellent picture-performance, Good lens, Spectra Ambilight is a showstopper, Superb pictures, Highly impressive sound, Reasonable feature count, Well built, Well built,...

Poor battery life, Chunky build, Not the cheapest compact around, Massively expensive, Could overly dominate a room, Average performance, Overly small controls, Overpriced, Drab design, Handling noise occasionally captured, Expensive

A well-specified performer with an innovative approach to navigation and manual operation that is capable of impressive pictures and sound.

Panasonic's "hybrid" camcorder offers a choice of video recording to either internal Hard Disc Drive or high-capacity SD card media and, on first impressions at least, shares an outward appearance with several models in the JVC Everio G range of HDD camco...

1GB onboard memory, Excellent call quality, Innovative design, Versatile storage options, Easy to use, Good overall quality

Small screen, Sluggish scroll wheel, Poor camera, Not HD

A generous set of user-friendly features together with its combined ability to shoot either to SDHC cards or HDD in impressive widescreen makes this camcorder the obvious choice for upgraders who aren't quite ready to make the leap to HD quite yet

The HR10 represents Canon's third dip into the waters of high-definition video; although it's still something of a departure from what has gone before from this photographic specialist.

Highly effective, Washing analogy works well, Versatile, No drivers required, Powerful, with good performance, Excellent warranty, Small footprint, Cheap, Well built and comfortable in use, Compact, Decent system spec, Strong battery life, Sturdily built,...

Resource-hungry, Quite bulky to lug around, Battery life could be better, No card reader, Underpowered, Dated design and aspect ratio, Bulky aerial, Disappointing battery life, Older CPU, Dated design, Requires two USB ports, Not overly portable, Lacking...

An impressive selection of features and a generally very good picture and sound performance make the £600 price tag something of a surprise.

Along with its sister product, the HDC-SD5, the new HDC-SX5 is one of two new AVCHD camcorders from Panasonic that are designed to take advantage of our new high-def displays by offering the full 1920 x 1080 pixel high-definition resolution

Stunning image quality, Good range of features, Good value for beginners and upgraders alike

Controls take time to get used to, Can suffer from wind noise

Some users are going to find this model a bit too big and bulky for their liking. However, the superb HD picture quality and the availability of two excellent recording media make up for this. A very good product for the price

Sony's latest Handycam is likely to be worshipped by audovisual aesthetes everywhere with its gorgeous glossy black looks and simple, but impressive design.

Attractive, and handles well, Generous features, A good price for a HD camcorder

No external mic input, No viewfinder

The CX6 is great to look at and has all the functionality that you expect from Sony. The footage we shot was without compromise, although the HD footage didn't have the 'shine' we were expecting. At this price point, though, Sony has delivered...

Panasonic's ground-breaking HDC-SD1, released earlier this year, wasn't the first video camera to allow HD video recording to truly flash media but it remains the best 3CCD HD solid-state video camera by a mile.

Enjoyable to handle and easy to use, Amazingly good images

No mic and headphone sockets, Audio affected by light wind noise outdoors

Despite the fact that the SD5 lacks some of the features of its predecessor, there's no escaping the fact that it offers something very special for those looking for superb high-definition video in such a small and compact unit. Because of this, it...

The words 'small' and 'light' are frequently attributed to Panasonic's various camcorders, but with the S10 the company has gone one better and come up with what it claims to be the world's smallest SD camcorder.

Easy to use, Good colour reproduction, Decent audio for the price

Basic features, Picture fizz in fast-moving shots

If it's quality you're after, pound-for-pound a mini DV cam will give you better footage, more features and longer recording time. But for sheer carry-anywhere convenience, the S10 offers a neat solution with acceptable image quality that will be...