Sanyo Xacti HD 1000
Photo by Levi Brown
$800
The good: Smallest of the five featured in our slideshow, the HD1000 is extremely comfortable to hold.
The bad: Only has one video-capture chip, the component that controls color reproduction. Many high-end HD camcorders have three, making colors look more lifelike.
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Panasonic HDC-SX5
Photo by Levi Brown
$900
The good: Has intuitive setup and controls, and a zoom microphone that narrows the audio field as you home in on a subject.
The bad: The startup lag (as long as 10 seconds for a new disc) is enough to miss spontaneous shots.
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Canon HV20
Photo by Levi Brown
$1,100
The good: Records in a format known as HDV, which has better color and audio than other formats.
The bad: HDV requires mini-DV tapes, which make users fast-forward and rewind instead of skipping ahead through chapters, as with a DVD.
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JVC Everio GZ-HD7
Photo by Levi Brown
$1,700
The good: Starts up fast (in about four seconds), with a screen that's bright even in sunlight and an internal drive that records five hours at the highest-quality setting.
The bad: Best machine of the bunch but also the largest, so it felt ungainly over time.
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Sony HDR-UX7
Photo by Levi Brown
$1,200
The good: Ergonomically friendly design puts all the controls in the right places; required fewest return trips to the instruction manual.
The bad: Zoom control is a little fast, which can lead to jerky shots.
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