Compare Prices : Canon HG10

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

Verdict: Those same users will also be pleased to find both an external microphone and headphone socket, allowing for more advanced sound recording. However, half the camcorders on test here have a microphone socket, so it doesn't give it much of an advantage

Award: Editor's Choice!

Review summary: Whether you're in the market for a new camcorder for that trip of a lifetime or are a newcomer thinking of getting into video blogging, there's plenty of choice when it comes to how (and in which format) you record your home movies.

Pros: Generous 40GB hard disk storage is more than enough, viewfinder is handy when LCD visibility suffers in sunlight, robust build and reliable performer

Cons: Too large to be pocketed, awkward positioning of some controls, stills committed to removable card only (which costs extra), auto focus sometimes hunts

Verdict: More positively, you can further enhance the look of your footage by selecting the built-in cinema mode, which, combined with its 25fps (frames per second) progressive frame rate, lends your digital images a film-like feel. Footage displays ...

Review summary: This camcorder is one of the latest versions that record to an internal hard drive, thus increasing the capacity vastly over other storage methods. It can of course also record still images onto an SD card.

Verdict: The optical zoom is 10x and should you believe in it up to 200x digital zoom. In still image mode you can choose from 2048x1536, 1920x1080, 1440x1080, 848x480 and 640x480

Review summary: Canon's robust HG10 camcorder offers support for microSD and includes a 40GB hard drive that allows for up to 15 hours of full HD 1,080i video.

Verdict: Despite minor gripes, the HG10 offers solid performance at a reasonable price. And that's enough for us to recommend the Canon HG10.