Top 10 Camcorders

There is now such a wide range of camcorders that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make the right purchase decision. High definition is now the norm, so are features like face recognition and anti-handshake technologies. Capturing quality videos for family vacations and connecting with friends by uploading to YouTube and Facebook is now just a ‘flip’ away. Among the most popular are the pocket friendly Flip camcorders which are extremely compact and reliable at a sweet price point.

To help narrow down your search, we’ve picked ten of the latest camcorders from a few price points that offer class leading performance and features. Feel free to use this as a starting point in your search for the camcorder that caters best to your needs.

August 2010 Update :

The 2010 Canon VIXIA HF S200 takes top spot garnering 5-star user reviews and strong sales at Amazon helped in part by a huge 23% discount. Taking second position is the Panasonic HDC-HS700 with top notch video quality from its 3MOS Sensor and LEICA DICOMAR Lens. Equally excellent in 1080/60p video output is the Panasonic HDC-TM700 which takes the 3rd spot.

1. Canon VIXIA HF S200

Canon VIXIA HF S200 Camcorder

Canon’s VIXIA HF S200 Flash Memory Camcorder, with two SD memory card slots, offers Canon’s most sophisticated feature set to date – blurring the line between consumer and professional. Canon’s superlative proprietary imaging technologies help deliver video and 8.0 megapixel photos with incredible detail and lifelike color. Touch & Track allows you to achieve sharp focus and precise exposure for any subject, simply by touching the generous 3.5″ High Resolution (922,000 dot) Touch Panel LCD. Native 24p Mode perfectly matches the frame rate of film and 5.1-Channel Surround Sound ensures your audio complements the stunning realism of your video.

Actual user comment: “Stunning video, even at 24fps. At its standard 60i setting – you get the picture. Additionally, and one of the principle attractions for us, the 8 megapixel stills are what we needed so that we can take just one camera to events for excellent resolutions in both photo worlds. The stills we’ve taken with our HF-S200 compete with the best photos we’ve ever taken with any still camera. Though our digital still camera exceeds this resolution, 8Mpixel translates to a little bigger than 8″x10″ prints at 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution. Canon’s dual picture mode, allowing us to snap high resolution stills while video recording, works seamlessly and is a welcome bonus feature we really enjoy. The Image Stabilizer (IS) and Powered IS yield very smooth motion on screen as advertised, a big advance from our older FS-10. Performance in all categories was impressive.” – L.Dewey (TX,USA)

List Price: $999.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on Canon VIXIA HF S200

2. Panasonic HDC-HS700

Panasonic HDC-HS700 Camcorder

The new HDC-HS700 camcorder is the first consumer camcorder to offer 1080/60p recording using their 3MOS sensor Leica Dicomar lens which is renowned for sharp images and excellent shading. It comes with a 240GB hard disk drive and records 5.1 channel surround sound with the five built-in microphones. Panasonic also upped the numbers game with a whopping 14.2 mega-pixels for stills.

Actual user comment: “So far, I love this thing, and I haven’t even had a chance to get into all the bells and whistles. I needed it for an event that occurred less than a week after I got the camera, so I just charged the battery, turned it on, and recorded. The automatic features worked for me just fine. As soon as I spend some more time with it, I’m hoping to learn all the manual functions and settings too. The end result of the footage is crisp, clean, and beautiful. It’s already gotten me some notoriety from the event I filmed, everyone wants a DVD copy. Transferring the footage is easy with my PC and Adobe Premiere, CS4. I just copy the files to my hard drive and load them into my program. I bypass the program that came with the camera. I like that with the hard drive, the footage is already broken down into scenes, since it makes a “scene” everytime you record and stop. Great product, light weight, nice to those who don’t do a lot of manual touches, worth the money!” – E.K.Budvarson (USA)

List Price: $549.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic HDC-HS700

3. Panasonic HDC-TM700

Panasonic HDC-TM700 Camcorder

The Panasonic HDC-TM700 is the highly anticipated successor to last year’s well-lauded HDC-TM300. Many new features and innovations were included and some of these include a new wider angle lens, larger LCD, 1080/60p record mode, and improved Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS). With these improvements, ease of use and a sub $1000 price tag, the HDC-TM700 raised the bar for consumer camcorders.

Actual user comment: “The Panasonic HDC-TM700 is a rare camcorder in that it breaks new ground. The key upside of this camcorder is its 28 Mbps 60P mode – the camera is capable of recording at 1920×1080 resolution in 60 PROGRESSIVE frames per second. This captures TWICE the image information of the interlaced method, resulting in smoother motion. The TM700 also captures more vertical resolution than other consumer camcorders when used in 60P mode. Another upside to the TM700 vis-a-vis other consumer cams is the manual control ring. Panasonic has done a nice job implementing this feature and it’s easy to quickly adjust zoom, focus, shutter speed, & iris using the ring. This is a slam dunk win for the TM700 because the competition doesn’t even offer a control ring (the control wheel is a far less satisfying alternative).” – C.Michael (Alabama,USA)

List Price: $999.95

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic HDC-TM700

4. Panasonic HDC-TM55

The HDC-TM55 features a 25x optical zoom and an Intelligent Zoom function that goes all the way up to 35x. When using Intelligent Zoom, Intelligent Resolution technology lets you shoot at high zoom rates while preserving the image resolution. You get sharp images of highly detailed objects without the blurry edges. Plus, the POWER O.I.S. stable images by suppressesing the effects of hand-shake especially during extreme zooming.

List Price: $529.95

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic HDC-TM55

5. Sony HDR-CX550V

Amidst Sony’s 2010 Handycam range, the HDR-CX550V is undoubtedly the crown jewel, mooted as the premier model of the new lineup. With new features and improvements on previous models like the wider angled G lens, the “Exmor R” CMOS sensor, as well as the return of a dedicated intelligent automatic (iAuto) mode to allow fuss-free shooting in high-definition, it is hard to argue otherwise.

List Price: $1199.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on Sony HDR-CX550V

6. Panasonic HDC-SD60

The full HD Panasonic HDC-SD60 features a larger, 1/4.1-inch CMOS sensor, and it includes a 25x optical zoom lens (up from 16x on last year’s models). Power O.I.S. and Intelligent Auto with Face recognition combined with other cutting edge features make this camcorder extremely easy to use with outstanding video quality at an affordable price.

List Price: $529.95

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic HDC-SD60

7. Canon VIXIA HF M31

The Canon VIXIA HF M31 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder features a 32GB internal flash drive and an SD memory card slot in an ultra-sleek, compact and lightweight body. Canon’s advanced imaging technologies, including a Genuine Canon 15x HD Video Lens and 3.89-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor, help to deliver high definition video and 3.3 megapixel photos with incredible detail and lifelike color. Sophisticated features such as Smart Auto “reads” the visual components of the scene you’re shooting and chooses the best settings. Touch & Track allows you to achieve sharp focus and precise exposure for any subject, simply by touching the 2.7″ Touch Panel LCD. And to complete the entertainment picture, 5.1-Channel Surround Sound ensures your audio is every bit as impressive as your video.

List Price: $799.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on the Canon HF M31

8. JVC GZ-MG750

It may not be hi-def but the JVC GZ-MG750 is an elegant and compact HDD/microSD camcorder with 80GB HDD. It can record up to 100 hours of video featuring Advanced Image Stabilizer, “Super LoLux” for brighter shooting in low light, 45x dynamic zoom and unique shooting functions. Excellent value for money.

List Price: $399.95

Click Here for Latest Offer on JVC GZ-MG750

9. Sony HDR-CX350V

Capture stunning 1920 x 1080 high-definition video and 7 Megapixel still images with the HDR-CX350V. It employs an “Exmor R” CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance and 32GB1 of embedded flash memory. Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization with Active Mode and 3-way Shake Canceling enables you to capture remarkably smooth video from wide angle to full telephoto shooting.

List Price: $899.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on Sony HDR-CX350V

10. Canon VIXIA HF S20

Canon’s VIXIA HF S20 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder comes with a 32GB internal flash drive and two SD memory card slots. Canon’s proprietary imaging technologies help deliver video and 8.0 megapixel photos with incredible detail and lifelike color. Touch & Track allows you to achieve sharp focus and precise exposure for any subject. Native 24p Mode perfectly matches the frame rate of film and 5.1-Channel Surround Sound ensures your audio complements the stunning realism of your video.

The Canon HF S20 can record up to 12 hours of high definition video possible. It is also equipped with two SD memory card slots. With Relay Recording, the camcorder automatically switches video recording from the internal drive to the next available SD memory card, when the memory becomes full.

List Price: $1099.00

Click Here for Latest Offer on Canon HF S20