Spotlight on Camcorders Buyer's Guide (page 2)

Compact camcorders are smaller than in the past, so, before you buy, consider: Do you want a tape-based cam or do you prefer something that records to a hard disk drive, DVD or both? Does the number of CCDs or CMOS chips matter to you? You can sometimes save money, but the overall image quality may suffer somewhat with a single-sensor model. What about the relatively new, but all-important question of standard definition vs. high definition? Do you have an HDTV at home? With so many choices, you really only need to think about the features you want.

With so many high-definition camcorders now on the market, the choice of which camcorder is right for you can be a difficult one.

There are more affordable HD camcorders on the market today which use a variety of compression formats (MPEG-4, AVCHD and HDV) than ever before, but all of them are more consumer-oriented. As low-cost HD becomes more popular and common, expect prices to drop further.

The AVCHD consumer format added more affordable HD camcorders for both the hobbyist and prosumer. These DVD- or hard disk-based camcorders include Sony’s new CMOS-sensor HDR-UX5 ($999) and HDR-UX7 ($1,299), both of which record footage to DVD. Both also feature 5.1 surround sound.

Panasonic’s offerings include the HDC-DX1 ($1,399), which burns to DVD, and the HDC-SD1 ($1,499), which records onto an SDHC memory card. Both units have three CCDs, which allow for improved color reproduction, and 5.1 stereo surround sound.

The AVCHD format specifications allow for 1080i, 720p and standard-definition recording modes, although not every AVCHD camcorder supports all these shooting modes.

In 2003, JVC released the GR-HD1, the first low-cost HD camcorder on the market. Its single CCD records in 720p resolution to Mini DV tape.

Canon introduced the 1-CMOS HV10 ($1,499) as a low-cost handheld HDV counterpart to its higher-end HDV camcorders. This camcorder can record in 60i, along with 30F and 24F, which the high-end units can do. The "F" means full frame and is very similar to how progressive video works. There is also a native 1920x1080-size sensor. Canon’s HV20 has a newer design and an HDMI connector.

Sony introduced the 1080i HDR-HC5 and HC7 in January 2007, which are very similar to its AVCHD offerings, except these CMOS-sensor camcorders are HDV and record to Mini DV tape.

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