Reviews of Video Cameras

Despite an attractive price and some decent features, the frustrations of the Samsung SC-HMX10 outnumber its rewards.

One of a pair of Canon's first flash-based camcorders, the Canon Vixia HF100, delivers excellent HD video quality and performance in a tiny package.

We reported on the first wave of 2008 camcorders with our recent review of the very good JVC GZ-HD6. That hard disk drive 1080p video maker did a wonderful job recording accurate colors that really popped off the screen of our plasma HDTV. In keeping with the trend away from DVD- and tape-based models, the new Canon Vixia HF10 saves video to 16GB of internal flash memory as well as optional SDHC memory cards (up to 32GB, the current maximum for the format; it will handle even bigger sizes once they’re available). Given there’s not even a HDD—God forbid a tape or disc—to weigh it down, the Vixia HF10 is unbelievably small and compact. In fact it’s just a shade smaller than the Sony HDR-CX7, another high-def camcorder that only records to Memory Stick Pro Duo memory cards. You will be amazed at the size of the HF10. The fact this AVCHD edition records 1920 x 1080i video is pretty sweet too, an increase over last year’s 1440 x 1080i. Cute is good, but how does it work in the big, bad ugly world? We couldn’t wait to find out…

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The camcorder world is moving into the high-def column of the video ledger. At the January Consumer Electronics Show, a flotilla of high-def models were launched and they’re slowly coming to the proverbial store near you—including the new JVC GZ-HD6. This $1,399 USD camcorder is a far cry from the crappy MPEG-4 video makers readily available for a 100 clams. Although barely good enough for a YouTube opus, people buy them because they’re cheap—what a shock! However, if you’re in any way serious about saving memories with a modicum of quality, high definition is the way to go although it will definitely put a dent in your wallet. I’ve used many HD camcorders and still get a thrill when playing back footage on a wide screen HDTV (what can I say? I need a life!) That confession on the table, I was happy to receive the 2008 JVC Everio and watch recordings on my new Panasonic 50-inch 1080p plasma HDTV. How did they look? Have patience, friends and click on the next page…

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Canon's first flash-based camcorder, the Canon Vixia HF10, delivers excellent HD video quality and performance in a tiny package.

An extremely minor upgrade from the HV20, the Canon Vixia HV30 remains a quality HDV camcorder with a couple of performance issues.

Though it delivers good video with excellent color, the Panasonic AG-HSC1U falls short of its "professional" aspirations in most other ways.

If you can get past the DC50's sticker shock, you'll find a very nice, simple DVD camcorder that can produce some surprisingly good snapshots.

It doesn't have a lot of bells or whistles, but the Canon DC230's long lens and solid video quality makes it stand out a little from other inexpensive DVD camcorders.

An uninspiring entrant in Sony's HD camcorder lineup, the Sony Handycam HDR-SR5's video quality and performance simply don't deliver for the price.