Video Camcorders

Compact Cameras

Small, simple camcorders are designed for the easiest portable and use -- most people are using them to shoot YouTube or blog videos.

• Flip Video
• Creative Vado

• DXG-567V HD Camcorder

   

  Best mini camcorders

The Ultimate Cheap Camcorder Battlemode from Gizmodo

Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam	$88.00 - $102.00
Flip Mino	$179.99

Watch this comparison of the Vado and the Flip Ultra (not the Mino)

Mini DV Camcorders

Records to easily available miniDV tapes (est. $3 each). Each tape can hold 60 minutes of best-quality video.  Advantages: Tapes can be erased and re-recorded. Less expensive than other types. Footage can be recorded through a VCR to a VHS tape. Disadvantages: Footage must be transferred to a computer for editing. Few in-camera editing options. Best SD digital camcorders

Panasonic PV-GS320

 

HD Video Cameras

Just as almost all new TVs are now HD, so are almost all new camcorders. Although they're still costlier than standard-definition camcorders, HD camcorders' prices have dropped between 15 and 30 percent in the past year. If you haven't yet made the switch to HDTV, don't worry: You can watch your HD camcorder's movies just fine on a standard-definition TV. In fact, experts say HD camcorders can record standard-definition video better than most SD camcorders.

For most, the best playback device for HD footage is the camcorder itself or by hooking up the camcorder to a TV. Placing the video on a DVD requires a process that is difficult in some formats, or requires Blu-ray burners and Blu-ray blank discs. Once created, watching high-def discs requires a Blu-ray player.

For recommendations of best HD Camcorders

Canon Vixia HF10

Flash Memory $789.00

Sony Handycam HDR-SR12

HDD $1,179.00

Panasonic HDC-SD9

Flash Memory $549.99

JVC Everio GZ-HD6

HDD $857.00

Camcorder shoppers will run into two different recording formats: HDV or AVCHD. Most new camcorders record in AVCHD.

• HDV. If you buy a camcorder that records to miniDV tapes, you'll be recording in HDV (High-Definition Video). This format uses MPEG-2 compression to fit the video on the tape. Reviewers still find this type of video to be the highest quality.

• AVCHD. If you buy a camcorder that records to anything but tapes -- DVDs, flash memory or hard disk – you'll be recording in AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). When this format first hit the market in 2006, its video quality wasn't great. AVCHD compresses video using MPEG-4, which allows a lot of high-definition video to fit on a small amount of memory, but it has traditionally degraded the video in the process. However, that's changing. Some of the AVCHD camcorders released in 2008 now rival HDV camcorders for video quality, experts say.
• PC World offers easy-to-understand advice on whether to pick HDV or AVCHD in its article, "How to Choose a Future-Proof Video Camera."