Accessories hot shoe Digital Camcorders

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: Like its cousin, the flash-based HF11, Canon's Vixia HG21 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance albeit in a slightly larger, heavier package. However, you do get more storage space and a lower price.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 12 x, Flash card, Hard disk drive, 17.3 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: As the flash-memory-based equivalent of the HDR-SR11, the Sony Handycam HDR-CX12 serves up the same pleasing performance and quality as its hard-drive cousin.

Specs: Camcorder, ClearVid CMOS, 12 x, Flash card, 15.9 oz

The Bottom Line: As the flash-memory-based equivalent of the HDR-SR11, the Sony Handycam HDR-CX12 serves up the same pleasing performance and quality as its hard-drive cousin.

Specs: Camcorder, ClearVid CMOS, 12 x, Flash card, 13 oz

The Bottom Line: Like its cousin, the flash-based HF11, Canon's Vixia HG20 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance albeit in a slightly larger, heavier package. However, you do get more storage space and a lower price.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 12 x, Flash card, Hard disk drive, 16.4 oz

The Bottom Line: Like its sibling the HF10, Canon's flash-based Vixia HF11 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance in a tiny package. However, the HF11 delivers a bit more value for its lower price.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 12, Flash card, 13.4 oz

The Bottom Line: Sony's Handycam HDR-SR11 and SR12 60GB hard-drive-based AVCHD camcorders deliver top notch performance and image quality.

Specs: Camcorder, ClearVid CMOS, 12 x, Hard disk drive, 1.2 lbs

The Bottom Line: An extremely minor upgrade from the HV20, the Canon Vixia HV30 remains a quality HDV camcorder with a couple of performance issues.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 10 x, Mini DV (HDV), 1.2 lbs