Editors' top home-movie camcorders

Lori Grunin, Senior Editor and Philip Ryan, Senior Editor

Updated August 14, 2007

You've heard all the hype about the digital video revolution and how it could make you the local Spielberg. But what if you just want to make a nice-looking home video and call it a day? These digital camcorders offer good image quality and lots of useful features without giving you more video power than you'll need to shoot the next holiday gathering or Little League game.

Related editors' top products lists:
Budget camcorders | Home-movie camcorders | Pro and semipro camcorders | HD camcorders

Home-movie camcorders

Product	Editors' rating	Price	Summary
Sony Handycam HDR-CX7	8.0 Excellent Review date: 08/09/2007	$750-$1300 from 14 stores	As the flash-memory-based equivalent of the HDR-SR7, the Sony Handycam HDR-CX7 serves up the same pleasing performance and quality as its hard-drive cousin. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Flash card

Sony Handycam HDR-SR7	8.0 Excellent Review date: 07/19/2007	$930-$1400 from 7 stores	The hard-drive-based analog of the HDR-HC7, the Sony Handycam HDR-SR7 finally delivers a cutting-edge HD video experience, complete with great video and compatibility frustrations. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Hard disk drive

Sony Handycam HDR-HC7	8.0 Excellent Review date: 03/30/2007	$900-$1099 from 3 stores	A great HD camcorder for deep-pocketed leisure shooters, as long as you like the Sony Handycam HDR-HC7's touch screen interface. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Mini DV (HDV)

Canon HV20 Mini DV/HDV Camcorder	7.7 Very good Review date: 04/04/2007	$849-$1000 from 4 stores	Canon's HV20 camcorder is a great choice for HD-happy amateurs, but its low-light performance could have been better. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Mini DV (HDV)

Canon DC40	7.7 Very good Review date: 06/21/2006	$499 from 1 store	The Canon DC40 definitely deserves a spot on your short list of DVD camcorders. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, DVD-R (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm)

Sony Handycam HDR-HC3	7.6 Very good Review date: 05/09/2006	$700-$750 from 3 stores	Though significantly cheaper than Sony's previous consumer HD camcorder, the Sony Handycam HDR-HC3 still offers superb HD video quality. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Mini DV (HDV)

Canon HV10	7.5 Very good Review date: 10/06/2006	$499-$1300 from 7 stores	An excellent HD video camcorder with some annoying quirks, the Canon HV10 delivers almost everything a technophile wants for making home videos. Specs: Camcorder, 2.96 megapixels, 10 x, Mini DV (HDV)

Panasonic SDR-H18	7.4 Very good Review date: 07/27/2007	$900 from 1 store	Combining the simplicity of SD recording, a roomy 30GB hard drive, a long zoom, and pleasing image quality, the SDR-H18 is a good choice for a standard-definition, hard-drive camcorder. Specs: Camcorder, 32 x, Hard disk drive

Sony Handycam DCR-SR300 (40GB)	7.4 Very good Review date: 05/30/2007	Email me when this product is available	The Sony DCR-SR300 digital camcorder should appeal to casual, snapshooter-type videographers, but it's somewhat pricey, since its video quality still can't match better MiniDV camcorders. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, Hard disk drive

Panasonic HDC-SD1	7.3 Very good Review date: 07/26/2007	Email me when this product is available	A solid SD-based camcorder, the Panasonic HDC-SD1 nevertheless suffers from a few performance issues and an annoying design. Specs: Camcorder, 1.5 megapixels, 12 x, Flash card

Panasonic VDR-D310	7.3 Very good Review date: 05/01/2007	$592-$616 from 2 stores	The Panasonic VDR-D310 produces good-looking home movies without much hassle. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, DVD-R (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD-RAM (8 cm)

Panasonic VDR-D300	7.3 Very good Review date: 03/24/2006	$459-$550 from 3 stores	Rivaling its MiniDV competitors in a variety of shooting conditions, the Panasonic VDR-D300 doesn't force you to compromise video quality for the convenience of shooting directly on DVD. Specs: Camcorder, 10 x, DVD-R (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD-RAM (8 cm)

About CNET Networks|Jobs|Advertise|Partnerships|Site map