Michael Perlman

The Panasonic HDC-HS9 ($1099 MSRP) is another of the manufacturer’s third generation AVCHD camcorder. Nearly identical to the HDC-SD9, the HS9 adds a 60GB hard disk drive (HDD) and a hefty $300 price hike. It’s a sleek, compact design that feels good in the hand, but the size reduction brings some handling troubles. Performance is generally improved over previous Panasonic AVCHD models. When compared against the competition, however, the HDC-HS9 does not fair well. The Canon HF10, in particular, offers far superior image quality and a more powerful set of features for the same price. In the cutthroat world of consumer HD camcorders, the HDC-HS9 has a hard time making a case for itself.

The Panasonic SDR-SW20 ($399 MSRP) is an extremely compact camcorder designed for underwater use. Eschewing a traditional look and feel, the SDR-SW20 has a rough-textured finish that should make it easier to grip in the undercurrents. Shooting in standard definition with a modest sensor/processor set, the video quality won’t blow you away, but it is a simpler and more compact alternative to buying an underwater housing for the camcorder you already own.

The DC210 is Canon’s entry-level DVD camcorder, and is identical to the DC220 except for the lack of a MiniSD card slot and a USB slot, the latter causing some degree of consternation. In this price range, finding a camcorder that takes good video is hard enough; worrying about how to edit or back it up should not be another headache. Fortunately, the DC210 has a good combination of features and performance that make it one of the better choices in the budget class for those with the right editing set-up in their homes.

The JVC Everio GZ-MS100 ($349 MSRP) is the latest attempt by a camcorder manufacturer to hitch their wagon to the YouTube star. It\'s obvious that the future of video is online, as people across the generational and economic divide are accessing news, gossip, and family videos from YouTube, which is far and away the most popular online video host. The GZ-MS100 is not necessarily the simplest camcorder to facilitate videos bound for YouTube - the Flip camcorder and Sony\'s NSC-CG1 have already beaten JVC to the punch. In fact, our testing showed the GZ-MS100\'s YouTube prowess to be highly overrated. However, the MS100 is definitely the best stand-alone camcorder. The question is, if there are easier and cheaper plug-and-play YouTube camcorders, does the Everio GZ-MS100 justify itself as the best balance of performance, price, and compatibility?

The JVC GZ-MG255 is the middle child in this year’s Everio hard disk drive camcorder line. In the style of classic middle child syndrome, the camcorder sits meekly in the back of the classroom, ignored and forgettable. It’s not that JVC has done anything particularly wrong – the camcorder doesn’t have enough going for it. The good manual control suite is undercut by poor auto mode, the convenience of the HDD medium is undercut by the lackluster image quality. It will certainly have a hard time satisfying a large general audience. Let’s see what worked and what didn’t.

This year marks the start of Canon\'s entrance into solid state camcorders. The FS11 ($599 MSRP) is the top model in its standard definition line-up, featuring a 16GB internal memory and card slot for SD and SDHC cards. Below are the FS10 ($499 MSRP) with 8GB internal memory and the FS100 ($399 MSRP) with no internal memory. Overall, the FS11 is a solid camcorder. The video performance is good, though not great in low light. It handles well. Canon seems to have mastered the problem of making an extremely compact camcorder that is also comfortable in the hand.

The Sony HDR-UX20 ($999 MSRP) is the company’s top high definition DVD camcorder for 2008, compressing video in the AVCHD format. While the UX20 has benefited from a number of upgrades since last year, Sony has clearly split the DVD and hard disk drive (HDD) camcorders into two market segments – the point-and-shooters and the enthusiasts.

The HDR-UX7 ($1,000 MSRP) is Sony’s crème de la crème DVD camcorder, a 1920 x 1080i high definition powerhouse outfitted with an impressive imager and perhaps the best handling of any Sony this year. The body is hefty, despite the serious slim-down from its predecessor, the HDR-UX1. The weight might be worth it. The top model gets all the fixings: a mic jack, headphone jack, big 3.5-inch LCD, and an interesting little knob on the front for tweaking adjustments. Does this feature-laden camcorder merit the $1,000 price tag? Let’s find out.