Small, sleek, easy to use and capable of producing excellent results, no matter where you are.

An entry-level HD camcorder with an identity crisis, but at this price, it puts quality in the hands of everyone.

A cheap and cheerful camera, but short on elegance, quality in low light, and ease of use.

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

The Sony HDR-XR200VE mini cam uses gyros to provide image stabilisation, and has an inbuilt GPS receiver

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

High resolution stills and laudable quality for the money, but image stabilisation isn’t the best

It may not be a looker, but in all other respects this Panasonic is a stunning camera

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

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

Impressive optical quality and storage space, though a touch expensive

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

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

The smallest, cheapest camera on test, but unsurprisingly, it also has the poorest image quality

Cheaper than the HF10, although you need to factor in the cost of storage cards

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

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

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

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