The Aiptek Pocket DV II is an extremely cute little DV camera and is the perfect video analog of the tiny 'party snapper' digital still cameras that have been popping up. Not at all for serious videography, the Pocket DV II features a 1.3-megapixel CDD, a 1.4in LCD preview screen and some very simple design.

The tools for home movie-making have become far more accessible and functionally more versatile. While truly broadcast-quality images are still the domain of 'prosumer' and professional video cameras

Editing performance with HDV remains sluggish, but DV-editing ability is formidable.

Buying a digital video camera is a tough task, but you’ll be well prepared with our comprehensive guide.

A high end DVD-based camcorder for quick and clean shooting.

Canopus first made its name providing top-notch 3Dfx cards. Realising the deadly competitiveness and pace of that market, however, Canopus has moved on and repositioned itself as a company specialising in video editing.

Digital video camera technology is constantly changing. The transition from analog to digital has been slow, with tape still being the standard. But, while the Mini DV tape may be the most popular recording media today, many experts tip that within a few years most of us will be recording direct to disk. Already several companies are producing DVD-based camcorders and with the introduction of Blu-Ray disks in coming years it seems the days of tape may be limited.

PowerDirector 3 is the latest version of CyberLink’s DV editing application aimed at home video enthusiasts. It has been radically overhauled since the previous version 2.5, and includes many new features as well as a revamped interface. On the capture front, a new quick-scan option enables fast pre-capture preview of an entire 60-minute DV tape in just six minutes. There’s also a new title editor, Picture-in-Picture (PiP) motion effects can be easily added, a three-track audio mixer provides real-time mixing during playback, and you can now record voiceover narration during timeline playback of a project.

As we were dealing with entry-level DV cameras, we set a price ceiling of $2,000 and in fact, five of the seven cameras tested came in at under $1,500, with one even under $1,000. Given this, we looked at them as an average consumer would, and not as a power user, so more effort was put into looking at the basics rather than some of the fancier bells and whistles.

Great real-time performance, particularly with high definition footage. But the EDIUS Pro software still needs a few more features to usurp the competition.

There was a time when semi-professional video editors and home-video enthusiasts had little choice but Adobe Premiere. Back then, video capture and output depended on proprietary hardware, which often only worked with its bundled software.

There was a time when Pinnacle dominated the PC video-editing market. But, after its initial success with the DV500, the advent of sophisticated realtime editing seemed to leave the company behind. While it was a good product, the company’s Pro-ONE arrived when competitive products from Matrox and Canopus had been available for some time. The Pinnacle Edition PRO 5 is an entirely different matter.

There is barely an area of consumer electronics that Sony does not have a hand in, and its contributions are seldom substandard in quality.

The digital revolution is entering a new, more mature phase. The early adopters are now on to their second or third generation of digital equipment, prices have come down to a more consumer oriented level, and the general public is becoming more digitally aware.

Digital video is a rising star, with DV camera sales increasing from year to year and digital software sales to consumers and enthusiasts alike also on the rise. It's a welcome trend, to be sure, but with all such trends there is a widening gap between the digital haves and the have-nots, with no easy way to share video between.

Sony's first CMOS based consumer HD camera brings control and fidelity to images in a package that's hard to beat.

Excellent features and performance, but it’s pricey and you need a suitably powerful PC to make the most of it.

HITACHI DZ-MV208E

If the CCD is the brain of a digital video camera it is logical that three should be better than one. A single CCD has to deal with all colours together while a 3-CCD system divides the primary red, green and blue (RGB) colours to individual CCDs to give a much more precise and accurate picture. The result is a high quality image that is as good as any of the cameras tested - including the Sony DVD201E, which provided the benchmark for most of the others.