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Posted by T3 Online on Mon 23 Feb 2009

1. Sony HDR_SR10
£495, www.sonystyle.co.uk
PERFORMANCE Crammed full of the finest features, including a capacious hard drive that can store all the vivid footage captured via its Carl Zeiss lens.
LOVE Great images. 40GB internal storage
HATE It’s excessively heavy and has a poor
internal microphone
MORE Specs | Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Panasonic HDC_SD100EBK
£550, www.panasonic.co.uk
PERFORMANCE The new CMOS system in the HDC-SD100 ensures great colour reproduction and top-notch image quality even in dingy, low light conditions.
LOVE Fabulous HD video, and unusually good still photos for a camcorder
HATE Expensive. Fiddly buttons
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3. Canon HF11
£699, www.canon.co.uk
PERFORMANCE The HF11 is incredibly light considering the sheer volume of tech tightly packed inside. It’s also very easy to use, and the HD visual results are impactful, colourful, detailed and rich.
LOVE 24Mbps data saving means fantastic
control over moving images
HATE It’s pricey, perhaps a bit too bulky
and the poor battery life is a let-down
MORE Specs | Review

 

 

 

 

 

4. Sanyo HD2000
£413, uk.sanyo.com
PERFORMANCE Long regining as the overlord of the pistol grips, the HD2000 shoots with brilliant Full HD 1920x1080p video at 60 frames per second, boasts a 8-megapixel still camera and lends itself to a design  to be quick on the filming draw. LOVE Quick shooting and user-friendly HD camcorder
HATE Can feel almost too compact at times 
MORE Specs | Review

 

 

 

 

 

5. Canon HF10
£630, www.canon.co.uk
PERFORMANCE Superseded by the HF11, this is still a great hi-def camcorder. Over the next few months it may get cheaper online but it’s holding its value at present.
LOVE Incredibly smooth, rich video
HATE It’s by no means a compact camcorder. Fiddlesome manual focus
MORE Specs | Review

 

 

 

 

 

6. Flip Video MinoHD
£170, www.firebox.com
PERFORMANCE As small as a deck of cards and capable of recording in 720p HD, the MinoHD is still one of the smallest high definition camcorders to see the inside of your jeans pocket.
LOVE Pocket-worthy size
HATE No HDMI output
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7. Kodak Z16 Pocket Video Camera
www.kodak.com
PERFORMANCE As small as an iPod but so much more versatile – nab 720p HD footage and transfer them straight to YouTube using the fold out USB connector. It’s cheap, but the video is pleasantly surprising.
LOVE Macro shooting mode
HATE Pathetic storage, difficult to hold steady
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8. Toshiba Camileo H10
£110, www.toshiba.co.uk
PERFORMANCE This budget beast rocks decidedly good value 720p resolution and is small enough to stash away in readiness for slyly capturing drunken antics. The 2.7” display and 10 megapixel sensor also add supreme value for money.
LOVE Generous pricing, HDMI output
HATE Low storage, feels a little tacky
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9. Sony HDR-TG3
£399, www.sony.co.uk
PERFORMANCE Sony’s pistol-grip camcorder looks and feels every bit a high class product. Add to that a 2.7” touchscreen, a 10x Carl Zeis zoom lens and 5.1 surround and you, sir, have one fine piece of recording equipment.
LOVE Titanium build, minimalist touchscreen interface
HATE Lacks a decent stabiliser
MORE Specs | Review

 

 

 

 

 

10. JVC GZ-HD40
£569, www.camcorder.jvc.com
PERFORMANCE This smart little number has one big claim to fame: 50 hour recording in full 1080p HD, thanks to the monstrous 120GB hard drive. It even stands out as the world’s first AVCHD/MPEG2 dual-format camcorder.
LOVE Massive hard drive, compatible with most editing programs
HATE No image stabiliser
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Related links:

• Top 10 Pocket cancorders
• T3 Top 10s
• Top 10 standard-def camcorders