MPEG-4 Digital Camcorders

The Bottom Line: Sanyo's dual-camera Xacti VPC-CG10 has the design and features to easily shoot both HD-quality movies and 10-megapixel photos, but slow performance and mediocre photos keep it from being a solid do-it-all device.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 5 x, Flash card, 6 oz

The Bottom Line: Sanyo's dual-camera Xacti VPC-CG10 has the design and features to easily shoot both HD-quality movies and 10-megapixel photos, but slow performance and mediocre photos keep it from being a solid do-it-all device.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 5 x, Flash card, 6 oz

The Bottom Line: An excellent flash-based prosumer HD camcorder, the Canon Vixia HF S11 has the advantage of an excellent image stabilizer but it disappointingly lacks an eye-level viewfinder.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 10 x, Flash card, 15.9 oz

The Bottom Line: While it's more expensive than its sub-$600 competitors, the Canon Vixia HF20 and Vixia HF200 deliver a more extensive feature set for the extra money. The HF200, which lacks internal memory, is probably a better buy than the HF20, though the HF20's all-black body is a bit classier looking.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 15 x, Flash card, 2.99 megapixels, 12 oz

The Bottom Line: While it's more expensive than its sub-$600 competitors, the Canon Vixia HF20 and Vixia HF200 deliver a more extensive feature set for the extra money. The HF200, which lacks internal memory, is probably a better buy than the HF20, though the HF20's all-black body is a bit classier-looking.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 15 x, Flash card, 2.99 megapixels, 12 oz

The Bottom Line: An excellent flash-based prosumer HD camcorder, you may nevertheless pass on the Canon Vixia HF S100 because it lacks an eye-level viewfinder. It's probably a better buy than the identical--but more expensive, because it has 32GB built-in memory--Vixia HF S10.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 10 x, Flash card, 15.9 oz

The Bottom Line: An excellent flash-based prosumer HD camcorder, you may nevertheless pass on the Canon Vixia HF S10 because it lacks an eye-level viewfinder. And the identical--but cheaper, because it has no built-in memory--Vixia HF S100 may also be a better buy.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 10 x, Flash card, 15.9 oz

The Bottom Line: Despite some minor flaws, Pure Digital's Flip Video Mino is the best mini camcorder for straight-to-Web video currently available--but it also costs more, and it can't match the features of a video-savvy point-and-shoot camera.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, Flash card, 3.3 oz

The Bottom Line: Despite some minor flaws, Pure Digital's Flip Video Mino is the best mini camcorder for straight-to-Web video currently available--but it also costs more, and it can't match the features of a video-savvy point-and-shoot camera.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, Flash card, 3.3 oz

The Bottom Line: While its video quality doesn't quite measure up to some of its competitors, there are enough pluses to make the Creative Vado Pocket Cam a worthy contender in the mini camcorder market.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 3 oz