Camcorders

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

Price: $629.00 - $1,068.77

The bottom line: A solid hard-drive based HD camcorder, the Canon HG10 nevertheless has its share of annoying quirks.

Price: $499.99 - $819.00

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

Price: $569.00 - $998.99

The bottom line: With improved video quality, a slightly trimmer design, and upgraded software package, the Flip Video Ultra is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the emerging low-end digital camcorder category.

Price: $119.95 - $149.99

The bottom line: Despite its trio of CCDs, the video quality and performance of the Panasonic HDC-SD9 are a bit too inconsistent.

Price: $499.97 - $799.95

The bottom line: Delivering high-quality MiniDV footage and decent still images, the Panasonic PV-GS320 should appeal to advanced amateurs searching for a tape-based camcorder.

Price: $450.00 - $699.44

The bottom line: A great HD camcorder for deep-pocketed leisure shooters, as long as you like the Sony Handycam HDR-HC7's touch screen interface.

Price: $799.95 - $1,599.55

The bottom line: Sony's Handycam HDR-SR11 and SR12 60GB hard-drive-based AVCHD camcorders deliver top notch performance and image quality.

Price: $724.00 - $1,099.99