A good price coupled with outstanding image quality – a good budget alternative to the Panasonic HDC-HS9

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

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

No match for Sony’s SR12 on features, but incredibly easy to use and an ideal ‘my first HD camcorder’

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

Key improvements over the SD5 make this a still more enticing pocket HD camcorder prospect

Just because something is cheap does not always make it nasty, nor does it necessarily make it the best buy. The possibility of the D701i being cheap and nasty was certainly a concern when the first one arrived and failed to operate, however, it was quickly replaced and the replacement worked fine straight from the box.

It looks like a standard webcam, but the Axis 205 is cleverer than that. Its internal web server and 10/100 Ethernet port mean it can be directly connected to and accessed by anyone on the network.

A bargain can be defined as something for which you pay less than you budgeted for, and for which you get more than you expected. Under those criteria the Sony TRV 250E qualifies as a definite bargain.

Kodak's LS433 is similar than its little brother the LS633, and they fight it out on slightly different battlefields. The 4-megapixel LS443 is the slightly bulkier of the two, has a smaller display and weighs a little more.