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Best home movie camcorders
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.
Canon Vixia HF100
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 4/16/08)
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.
Read review of the Canon Vixia HF100
Sony Handycam HDR-SR11
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 4/10/08)
Sony's Handycam HDR-SR11 and SR12 60GB hard-drive-based AVCHD camcorders deliver top notch performance and image quality.
Read review of the Sony Handycam HDR-SR11
Canon Vixia HF10
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 3/3/08)
Canon's first flash-based camcorder, the Canon Vixia HF10, delivers excellent HD video quality and performance in a tiny package.
Read review of the Canon Vixia HF10
Canon Vixia HV30
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 2/25/08)
An extremely minor upgrade from the HV20, the Canon Vixia HV30 remains a quality HDV camcorder with a couple of performance issues.
Read review of the Canon Vixia HV30
Sony Handycam HDR-CX7
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 8/9/07)
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.
Read review of the Sony Handycam HDR-CX7
Sony Handycam HDR-SR7
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 7/19/07)
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.
Read review of the Sony Handycam HDR-SR7
Sony Handycam HDR-HC7
8.0 Excellent (reviewed 3/30/07)
A great HD camcorder for deep-pocketed leisure shooters, as long as you like the Sony Handycam HDR-HC7's touch screen interface.
Read review of the Sony Handycam HDR-HC7
Panasonic SDR-H18
7.4 Very good (reviewed 7/27/07)
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.
Read review of the Panasonic SDR-H18
Sony Handycam DCR-SR300 (40GB)
7.4 Very good (reviewed 5/30/07)
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.
Read review of the Sony Handycam DCR-SR300 (40GB)
