F/1.8-2.2 Digital Camcorders

The Bottom Line: While it's a perfectly serviceable HD camcorder, the Sony Handycam HDR-XR100 should deliver a little more of everything for the money.

Specs: Camcorder, Exmor CMOS, 10 x, Flash card, Hard disk drive, 11.6 oz

The Bottom Line: You can tell where Sony cut corners on this compact, flash-based HD camcorder. While it's decent, there are better options for the money than the Sony Handycam HDR-CX100.

Specs: Camcorder, ClearVid CMOS, 10 x, Flash card

The Bottom Line: You can tell where Sony cut corners on this compact, flash-based HD camcorder. While it's decent, there are better options for the money than the Sony Handycam HDR-CX100.

Specs: Camcorder, Exmor CMOS, 10 x, Flash card, 9.9 oz

The Bottom Line: You can tell where Sony cut corners on this compact, flash-based HD camcorder. While it's decent, there are better options for the money than the Sony Handycam HDR-CX100.

Specs: Camcorder, ClearVid CMOS, 10 x, Flash card

The Bottom Line: JVC's CMOS-based Everio GZ-HD40 offers high-definition recording flexibility with very good results, but a few shortcomings keep us from giving it a full recommendation.

Specs: Camcorder, CMOS, 10 x, Hard disk drive, 2.68 megapixels, 16 oz

The Bottom Line: Hitachi's DZ-GX3200A delivers decent video quality at a relatively inexpensive price for a DVD camcorder.

Specs: Camcorder, CCD, 10 x, DVD-R (8cm), DVD+RW (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD-RAM (8 cm), 15.9 oz

The Bottom Line: A mediocre camera in many respects, the JVC Everio GZ-MG70 is nevertheless worth consideration due to its small size and massive video storage capacity.

Specs: Camcorder, CCD, 10 x, Hard disk drive, 1.2 megapixels, 0.9 lbs

The Bottom Line: The Hitachi DZGX20A is a reasonable contender for your first DVD camcorder.

Specs: Camcorder, CCD, 10 x, DVD-R (8cm), DVD-RAM (8 cm), 1.1 lbs

Editors' Take: This stylish combination of an MPEG-2 camcorder and a 2-megapixel camera moves cassette-free digital recording forward but not without sacrifices.

Specs: Camcorder, CCD, 10 x, Microdrive, 2 megapixels, 0.7 lbs

The Bottom Line: This great little MiniDV camcorder takes decent megapixel stills. Too bad the Bluetooth technology pushes up the price.

Specs: Camcorder, CCD, 10 x, Mini DV, 1.3 lbs