Lori Grunin,
Senior Editor
July 7, 2008
"Budget" HD camcorders don't dip into the most popular price range for camcorders--at least on CNET, everyone's looking for a sub-$300 bargain--but you can now get a good model for less than $1,000 and a better-than-adequate one for about $800 (especially if you're willing to buy a tape-based HDV unit). Here's a roundup of some of the least-expensive models we've looked at thus far.
- More Resources
- Best HD camcorders,
- Quick Guide to HD camcorders
| Product name | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $930.04 to $999.00 | $699.97 to $799.00 | $547.64 to $899.99 | $288.95 to $544.99 | $519.98 to $825.84 | $549.00 to $972.90 |
| CNET editors' rating |
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| Average user rating | ||||||
| Review date | April 04, 2007 | August 10, 2007 | April 16, 2008 | April 23, 2008 | March 17, 2008 | February 25, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | Canon's HV20 camcorder is a great choice for HD-happy amateurs, but its low-light performance could have been better. | A solid hard-drive based HD camcorder, the Canon HG10 nevertheless has its share of annoying quirks. | One of a pair of Canon's first flash-based camcorders, the Canon Vixia HF100, delivers excellent HD video quality and performance in a tiny package. | Despite an attractive price and some decent features, the frustrations of the Samsung SC-HMX10 outnumber its rewards. | Despite its trio of CCDs, the video quality and performance of the Panasonic HDC-SD9 are a bit too inconsistent. | An extremely minor upgrade from the HV20, the Canon Vixia HV30 remains a quality HDV camcorder with a couple of performance issues. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Lens aperture |
F/1.8-3.0 |
F/1.8-3.0 |
F/1.8-3.0 |
F/1.6-4.3 |
F/1.8-2.8 |
F/1.8-3.0 |
| Flash type |
Built-in flash |
Built-in flash |
Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
Built-in flash |
Built-in flash |
| Media type |
Mini DV (HDV) |
Hard disk drive |
Flash card |
Flash card |
Flash card |
Mini DV (HDV) |
| Optical zoom |
10 x |
10 x |
12 x |
10 x |
10 x |
10 x |
| Optical sensor type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
CMOS |
CMOS |
3CCD |
CMOS |
| Video input type |
Camcorder |
Camcorder |
Camcorder |
Camcorder |
Camcorder |
Camcorder |
| Digital zoom |
200 x |
200 x |
200 x |
20 x |
700 x |
200 x |
| Battery technology |
Lithium ion |
Lithium ion |
Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
| Battery included qty |
1 |
Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable |
| Min illumination |
0.2 lux |
0.2 lux |
Info unavailable |
15 lux |
1 lux |
0.2 lux |
| Weight |
1.2 lbs |
17.8 oz |
13.4 oz |
10.9 oz |
Info unavailable |
1.2 lbs |
| Image stabilizer |
Optical |
Optical (SuperRange) |
Optical (SuperRange) |
Electronic |
Optical |
Optical (SuperRange) |
| Optical sensor size |
1/2.7 in |
1/2.7 in |
1/3.2 in |
1/4.5 in |
1/6 in |
1/2.7 in |
| Effective sensor resolution | Info unavailable |
2.07 megapixels |
Info unavailable | |||
