Digital video cameras are dropping in price, and as they become cheaper they are beginning to cut into the VHS mini cam market. Digital video has several advantages over traditional analog VHS, particularly in terms of picture quality and versatility. For example, many DV cams are capable of taking both still pictures and video, and the quality of the stills is improving.

This is indicative of DV cameras as a whole – as the prices drop the components improve, particularly the CCDs and recording media. These days you can record better quality footage, for longer and improved night mode functions even allow you to film in total darkness by recording an infrared image, adding a totally new dimension to home movies.

Also, there is now a wider choice of recording media, with Hitachi providing a range of cameras that record directly to DVD, and Sony's smaller camera that uses MICROMV tapes.

Most digital video cams will let you edit your footage in-camera and add special effects, before you've even downloaded it to your PC.

Once it's on your machine, you can further refine the video with the bundled editing suites that come with the cameras. These applications are usually straightforward, yet powerful, and you'll be sharing your creations in no time with family and friends. Windows XP and USB 2.0 are now putting PC users on an equal footing with Mac owners, who have long had an advantage when it came to video editing, and making it much easier to download your video to PC.

We've rounded up 18 of the latest DV cameras and tested them thoroughly.

In the following pages you'll find cameras ranging from $1,299 to $4,399, a guide on what to look for when you're purchasing a digital video camera, and how we evaluated each camera.