When it comes to choosing a camcorder, the first thing to remember is that it's all about you. The market is crowded with dozens of sexy models from world-class manufacturers like Sony, Canon, Panasonic, JVC, Hitachi, Samsung and Sanyo. The best way to cut through the thicket of competing claims, features, recording formats and price points is to take a few minutes to focus on your own picture-taking profile.
Young parents typically want to record their children's first steps, first birthday parties, first goals in soccer. They usually don't have a great deal of free time to spend making elaborate home movies, or disposable income to devote to high-end video equipment.
Capturing the genuine emotion of once-in-a-lifetime moments matters more to them than professional-quality video. If you match this profile, consider a camcorder with a moderate zoom (10x–25x), good low-light performance for indoor scenes, standard definition and a reasonable price. Camcorders that use miniDV tapes are the most affordable, while those that record to DVDs have extra features for editing, archiving and sharing with doting grandparents.
Sony's DCR-HC48 Handycam is an attractive "family-cam" that's both penny-pinching and feature rich.
• Records to miniDV tape
• 25x optical zoom
• 2.7-inch wide touch-screen LCD
• Handycam docking station
• Under $400
www.sony.com
Techies who want the latest and greatest features (and are willing to pay the price) will gravitate toward high-definition camcorders that capture spectacular video formatted for widescreen, high-def TVs. Features of special interest to the techno crowd include 3CCD sensor systems and 5.1-channel surround sound to enhance your home theater experience.
A 3CCD sensor system splits light into three colors (red, green, blue) and processes each signal with a separate sensor. Long used on pro camcorders, 3CCD sensors produce truer, more vivid colors, greater detail and more subtle gradations. Optical image stabilization is also critical because high-def recording reveals every imperfection. You can find HD camcorders that use miniDV tapes or removable DVDs, but if you insist on the latest, you may want one with an internal hard disk drive.
JVC's Everio GZ-HD7 is cutting-edge, tech-lovers dream.
• 60GB internal hard drive
• 3CCD sensor system
• Widescreen recording
• 10x Fujinon optical zoom lens
• $1,700
www.jvc.com
Long rangers: Whether you want to capture lions on an African safari without getting clawed or shoot video of your sweetie riding the surf without getting wet, you'll want a long lens on your camcorder. Some manufacturers tout features like 1,000x digital zoom, but experts insist that optical zoom, the magnification power of the lens, is the spec that matters most. To really deliver quality, camcorders with long zooms also need optical image stabilization.
Canon's DC230, with its 35x optical zoom (1,000x digital zoom), has what it takes to be a contender.
• Records to DVDs
• Smooth-zoom control
• Wireless remote
• Captures 1.07 digital photos
• Under $500
www.usa.canon.com
Multitaskers who want to carry one all-purpose imaging device should consider a camcorder that also captures quality still images. Sony leads the pack with its DCR-DVD508, which captures 6 meg stills (4 while also recording video). It'll cost you about $900.
Panasonic's more affordable VDR-D310 3CCD Palmcorder captures 3.1 megapixel stills, records to 8cm DVDs and has an SD card slot.
• Optical image stabilization
• Leica 10x optical zoom lens
• 2.7-inch wide LCD
• Widescreen 16:9 movie mode
• Under $700
www.panasonic.com
Outdoor adventurers who insist on carrying a camcorder while dangling from a cliff, bungee jumping or otherwise risking their necks should feel comfortable with Panasonic's HDC-SD1. Said to be the smallest, lightest 3CCD camcorder, it captures video to solid-state memory cards and stores an hour of high-def on a 2GB card.
• No moving parts
• Shock, weather, and dust resistant
• Under $1,300
www.panasonic.com