Lori Grunin,
Senior Editor
June 9, 2009
Yes, the title on this page says it all: these video cameras are cheap, just about the cheapest you can buy in a digital model without dropping down a class to these low-resolution, bare-bones camcorders intended strictly for Web video. You won't get a lot of bells and whistles, and their small sensors generally make them poor choices for low-light shooting. But if you're accustomed to capturing clips with the movie feature on your point-and-shoot still camera or want something better than gimmick-marketed-for-YouTube models, you might be pleasantly surprised at the quality you'll get from these models. And one thing's for sure: cheap video is (usually) better than no video at all.
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| Product name | ||||||
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| Price | $269.96 to $299.99 | $219.99 to $385.95 | $335.00 to $429.95 | $199.99 to $282.84 | $252.94 to $399.77 | $249.00 to $299.65 |
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| Review date | June 08, 2009 | June 30, 2008 | May 28, 2009 | March 09, 2009 | October 03, 2008 | October 22, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The JVC Everio GZ-MS120 is a nice little flash-memory-based standard-definition camcorder. | Convenient, well-designed camcorders that look pricier than they are, models in the Canon FS series--FS11, FS10, and FS100--nevertheless deliver typical budget video in line with their budget price tags. | If storage amount, zoom range, and easy operation are on your list of needs before video quality, check out the Sony Handycam DCR-SR47. | The Samsung SC-MX20 has an attractive price, but you get what you pay for. | The Panasonic SDR-SW20's only saving grace is its water-, shock-, and dust-proof body (and even those have limitations). Otherwise, there's no reason to buy this pocket camcorder. | The JVC Everio GZ-MS100 is an average budget SD-card-based camcorder that's more attractive for its small design and relatively average video quality than its unique interface and one-touch uploads to YouTube. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Lens aperture | F/1.8-4 | F/2.0-5.2 | F/1.8-6.0 | F/1.6-4.3 | F/1.8-2.4 | F/1.8-4 |
| Media type | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card Hard disk drive | Flash card | Flash card | Flash card |
| Optical zoom | 35 x | 37 x | 60 x | 34 x | 10 x | 35 x |
| Optical sensor type | CCD | CCD | Advanced HAD CCD | CCD | CCD | CCD |
| Video input type | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder | Camcorder |
| Digital zoom | 800 x | 2000 x | 2000 x | Info unavailable | 700 x | 800 x |
| Weight | 8.5 oz | 9.2 oz | 10.6 oz | 9.9 oz | 1.2 lbs | 7.9 oz |
| Image stabilizer | Electronic | Electronic | Electronic (Steady Shot) | Electronic | Electronic | Electronic |
| Optical sensor size | 1/6" | 1/6" | 1/8" | 1/6" | 1/6" | 1/6" |
| Manual focus | Manual Automatic | Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic | Manual Automatic |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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