The Manfrotto 510HDV tripod head and 351MB2 legs are a stable and durable system capable of handling a variety of camcorders. This tripod head is ideal for mid-sized prosumer camcorders, which are typically HDV camcorders, hence its name. Its fluid movements and variable drag make it a real joy to shoot with in the field and in the studio. Bundled with a sturdy set of legs, this system can hold a decent amount of weight. The 501HDV's new counterbalance mechanism on the head of the tripod impressed us with its easy on/off lever. Overall, this system is a continuation of great craftsmanship that we've grown to love and depend on in demanding shooting situations.

The Roland R-4 Pro is a ready-to-go system that is simple to use and yet preserves the highest-quality settings and controls for professional use. It's a well-built, portable audio recorder that rivals competition priced well above the R-4 Pro. In the field, the R-4 has a robust set of features, including time code record/send. In the studio, the recorder can easily be connected to your digital audio workstation, making it a quick and easy way to store and transfer digital audio. For shooters out in the field or studio, the R-4 Pro can help preserve the highest-quality audio capture with the freedom of not needing to use your camcorder as the source.

The Azden 320ULX dual-channel wireless microphone system gives shooters the most bang for their buck. The 320ULX system can easily be integrated into prosumer-level applications and quickly enhance audio production for your next video. We were impressed with the flexibility of the unit, including a slightly different setup from Azden that has two bodypacks. The dual-channel receiver is fairly small and can be easily managed in the field. The Azden 320ULX's performance is excellent and can deliver great-sounding audio without killing your entire budget. That's something we can all appreciate.

Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 has refined its already stellar performance from early versions, making this latest update a clean and simple editing interface for beginners. There are even enough features and controls underneath it all to give you intermediate users nearly everything you'd want. Its ability to interface directly with YouTube makes it a fun application for the videographers who enjoy sharing their work. We are also very impressed with its new tagging feature, allowing you to sort clips intelligently and search for them more easily. Bundle this with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0, and you've got yourself an easy-to-use post-production studio for every aspect of life worth recording.

Sony Vegas Pro 8 is a great tool for editors looking for a professional editing application without a hefty price tag. This latest version adds support for AVCHD, including M2TS import, which greatly simplifies the process of getting AVCHD footage onto your computer. Sony Vegas Pro 8 also includes a great number of audio effects, many of which perform in real time. We are also impressed with its multi-camera function, allowing event videographers to edit together different camera angles quickly. Add in DVD Architect, and you're looking at a powerful post-production tool that won't drain your budget.

For the first time ever, we have a tie. Both video editing suites deserve an award this year, as they have delivered valuable upgrades across the board. We've looked extensively at both these suites to try to find a clear winner. It used to be that editors picked their video editing suites based on their preference of platform: Mac or PC. This year Adobe changed all that, creating a cross-platform suite (well, actually not all of the tools in the suite are Mac-friendly, but most are). Equally, Apple really expanded what Final Cut Studio could do across the board and added a finishing software valued at thousands of dollars. In the end, we felt the best video editing suite really comes down to what kind of work you'll be doing. We feel confident that, whatever you're doing, either of these suites will get the job done.