Reviews for Camcorders around $1000

"Canon announces a new addition to its HDV camcorder range: the Legria HV40...Recording HDV1080i images to tape, the Legria HV40 is the successor to the HV30...The latest evolution of Canon's popular HV-series, the Legria HV40 offers users greater creative control over their movies...In the US version, the Vixia HV40, this is replaced by a 24p mode...The Advanced Accessory Shoe allows a range of dedicated accessories to be attached..." read more »

"The LEGRIA HF S100 records Full HD video to SDHC memory cards, ideal for sharing...Superb HD images are delivered by a high resolution Canon HD Camera System: an 8.0MP Full HD CMOS sensor, a Canon HD Video Lens (58mm filter diameter) with 10x optical zoom and the DIGIC DV III processor...A dedicated Photo mode allows users to capture high resolution still images, up to 8MP..." read more »

"Good video quality under bright light...Bad low-light video Expensive for what you get...The GPS-enabled Sony Handycam HDR-XR200V certainly sports innovative features, but it lacks the video quality needed to make it stand out from--or even measure up to--the best small AVCHD camcorders we've seen this year...The HDR-XR200V also includes two unique features, one useful, the other not...the HDR-XR200V earned a standard-lighting video..." read more »

"Record stunning 1920x1080 high definition video and crystal clear still photos to a built-in 80GB hard disk drive (HDD) with the HDR-XR100 Handycam® camcorder...A built-in 80GB hard disk drive can record and store up to almost 32 hours of high definition video footage (HD LP mode), or up to almost 56 hours of standard definition footage(SD LP mode...Colorâ„¢ technology enables the HDR-XR100 to capture nearly twice (1.8x) as many viewable colors as the standard RGB color range, resulting in more natural, life-like images...The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a compact audio/video connector interface for transmitting uncompressed digital streams..." read more »

"The latter is most evident when you look at the back of the machine, where you'll find a mode dial that has much in common with digital still cameras...There are two other striking differences between the X900 and its rivals...The good news is that you are also supplied with a docking station that has connectors for USB, AV and component as well as a power lead..." read more »

"The Sony HDR-CX500V HDR-CX500V 32GB High Definition Flash Memory Handycam Camcorder provides you with everything from hybrid recording to GPS tagging...The camera sports a Sony G Lens which, among other things, features improved true-to-life color reproduction, a 12x optical zoom, and the upgraded Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with 3-Way Shake-Canceling...Record your video and still images to the 32GB embedded flash memory or to optional Memory Stick PRO Duo media with the HDR-CX500V...Great for travelers - the built-in GPS receiver automatically adjusts the CX500V clock to the correct time zone and lets you view your exact location on the cameras LCD map display..." read more »

"Full HD 1920x1080AVCHDGZ-HM400 incorporates a 10.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor to record 1920x1080 Full HD AVCHD format video...GZ-HM400 uses a new KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS with a 10x optical zoom, and magnifies up to 15x without any picture degradation thanks to Dynamic Zoom technology...GZ-HM400 also allows shooting of 1920x1080/50i Full HD video and 5.3 Megapixel stills at the same time..." read more »

"The Sony HDR-TG5V has the same upright styling as the TG1/TG3E, but packs 16GB of built-in storage, Navteq mapping data and a smaller, lighter chassis...Other specs include a 2.7-inch touchscreen with newly reworked GUI, Memory Stick PRO Duo slot for augmenting the onboard storage, Smile Shutter and Face Detection...The Sony HDR-TG5V will begin shipping in the US come May 2009...The HDR-TG5V camcorder will ship in May for about $1,000..." read more »

"Very robust still-photo mode; good video quality; features both video light and flash....Pricey for a standard-def camcorder, uses miniSD instead of SD cards....The Canon DC50 manages to avoid these limitations, to an extent...Fortunately, its generally strong build quality and minor design tweaks make the DC50 much easier to work with...While the DC50's 5-megapixel stills look puny compared with many still cameras' 8- and 10-megapixel photos, they're large..." read more »

"Panasonic has made some big internal changes with the HDC-HS100...To evaluate video performance in bright to moderate lighting, we first shot the HDC-HS100 in our labs under standardized conditions...Out of the lab, the HDC-HS100 produced video that will please a lot of consumers...Overall, the edges were generally sharp, but anything less than ideal light produced a lot of grain..." read more »