Canon grabs the crown for the most fully featured HDV camcorder for under $1500

HD camcorders enter the mainstream once and for all. With image quality like this, there’s little reason to spend more.

Good quality optics and lots of storage, but not the most portable of camcorders

A good price for an HD camcorder, but poor design makes it awkward to use

The marker has been laid down. Sony's pulled off another AVCHD stunner that will be hard to beat this year

This Panny 'corder can shoot stills at a resolution of 4-megapixels, which makes it a match for a still camera

An above-average all-rounder that adds 720p recording to an already attractive mix

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

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the size and performance of this digital format. The cameras are a fraction of the size of the old camcorders we used to lug around the countryside, the batteries last longer, the tapes get smaller and, the quality gets better.

Better HD image quality than you’d expect for such a small camcorder, but the price is still a little high.

A step forward in resolution for pocket video cameras, but it’s far too pricey for the features and quality on offer

Huge storage for the money, but quality can’t match the more expensive models in this group

Impressive optical quality and storage space, though a touch expensive

Great image quality and plenty of enthusiast features for a very reasonable price

A capable cam that'll take the knocks and matches it rival, the Panasonic HDC-SD1. It can’t quite better Canon’s HV20 on sheer performance though

Great video, tons of features, easy to use... if only there was a PAL-friendly version

Not exactly a hi-def holiday shooter, but the Action Cam is perfect for creating your ‘when skiing goes wrong’ home video

Lacking a few features but for simplicity and decent quality, this has to be one of the best value camcorders around

A fully featured hard disk AVCHD camcorder with plenty of recording space

A fully featured hard disk AVCHD camcorder with plenty of recording space