HD camcorders
Ever wanted to create your own movies? HD camcorders fit in your hand and cost less than a laptop – yet allow you to shoot high definition, near-professional quality footage.
HD camcorders comparison chart for 2012
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||||
Canon VIXIA HF R200 |
Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG20 |
Sony Handycam HDR-XR150 |
JVC GZ-MG750 |
Panasonic HDC-SD80K HD |
Samsung HMX H300 |
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Ratings  |
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Overall
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Video quality
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Sound quality
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Features
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Help & support
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Ease of use
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Specification |
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Resolution (megapixels)
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8.02 | 9.15 | 12 | 1.37 | 3.28 | 10.0 | 1.57 | 2.96 | 1.50 | 1.75 | ||||||||||
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Size (inches)
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3.0 x 2.9 x 5.8 | 2.60 x 2.83 x 5.75 | 2 5/8 x 3 x 5 3/4 | 2.1 x 2.5 in x 4.5 in | 2.4 x 2.4 x 4.8 | 1.5 in x 3.4 in x 4.3 in | 2.2 in x 2.6 in x 4.5 in | 2.1/8 x 2.1/2 x 4.3/8 | 2.02 x 2.32 x 4.29 | 2 x 2.2 x .7 | ||||||||||
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Optical zoom
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10x | 12x | 10 x | 20 x | 20 x | 5 x | 25 x | 39x | 34x | 30 x | ||||||||||
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Digital zoom
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200x | 30x / 700x | 120 x | 200 x | 400 x | 12x | 300 x | 800x | 90x / 2000x | 300 x | ||||||||||
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LCD Display (inches)
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3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3 | ||||||||||
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Weight (ounces)
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1.0 lbs | 0.87 lb | 15.5 oz | 9.3 oz | 9.5 oz. | 5.5 oz | 10.6 oz | 8.8 oz | 0.42lb | 9.5 oz |
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Connectivity |
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HDMI
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USB
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Features |
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Widescreen format
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Touchscreen
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Viewfinder
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Headphone socket
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External microphone
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Image stabilizer
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Memory |
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Flash memory
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Built-in / Dual / 64GB Internal flash | 32GB | 64 GB Flash - Integrated | Dual Flash Memory Camcorder | 32GB | 30 MB Flash Memory | 120 GB | 32GB | 32GB | 96GB | ||||||||||
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Memory cards
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SD | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/Memory Stick PRO Duo card slot | SDHC / SD | 2x SD / SDHC / SDXC | SD Memory Card , SDHC Memory Card , SDXC Memory Card | SD Memory Card | SD / SDHC | SD/SDHC / SDXC | SD Memory Card |
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Battery |
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Battery life
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107 minutes | 33 hours | 1 hour | 4.5 hours | 109 hours | 180 minutes | ||||||||||||||
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Supplied battery
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Lithium Ion Battery | Lithium-Ion | 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery | 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery - 1400 mAh | Lithium-Ion Battery | 1 x Sanyo DB-L80 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 700 mAh | Lithium ion | 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery | Lithium-Ion | 1 x Samsung BP210R Li-ion rechargeable battery | ||||||||||
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Battery charger
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Warranty |
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Period
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1 year | 1 year | 90 days | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 90 days | 1 year | 3 years | 1 year |
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Help & support |
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Telephone support
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Email support
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User manual
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HD camcorders explained
You can record anything with an HD camcorder. They’re useful for home videos, taking video clips to post to YouTube, interviewing people at work, or even creating longer films to burn to DVD.
Most HD camcorders store the video they shoot onto a memory card. Because video takes up a lot of space, you usually need high-capacity cards that can have data written to them very quickly. Check the battery life too – you might need an extra battery or two to avoid the camera running flat at crucial moments.
Despite their small size, HD camcorders pack in an impressive number of features. For a start, you should get a decent optical zoom. HD camcorders often have a ‘digital zoom’ too. These crop your video to create a zoom effect, but lead to a loss of quality. Either way, if you’re zoomed right in, every shake of the camera will be magnified, so look for image stabilizing functions too.
You should also be able to choose from different resolutions (filing at a lower resolution uses less space, but looks worse when played back) and experiment with a whole range of options for filming different scenes in different lighting conditions.
Make sure it’s easy to use
With so many features to control, the buttons on HD camcorders can be fiddly. Look for a camcorder that fits your hand comfortably, allowing you to operate it without pressing the wrong button.
All camcorders have a small screen built in so you can see what you’re filming and replay it. A viewfinder can be useful to help you accurately frame shots too, but these aren’t available on all camcorders.
HD camcorders really do bring high definition video within your reach. They’re easy to use (just switch on and press record), so you’ll soon be creating your own masterpieces or recording memories to treasure forever.
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