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Here's the camcorder I'd recommend if you buy one right now. You need that you can get from B&H PhotoVideo:

# Canon HV20 camcorder
# B+W 010 MRC 43mm UV filter
# Sony HD Tape

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The HV20 wins vs the Sony HDR-HC7, Panasonic HDC-SD1 and JVC GZ-HD7. Mainly because of sharpness and low noise performance.

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Well, I hope folks waited if you want an high definition hard disk camcorder. Sony just announced the HDR-SR7 that seems to deliver according to Camcorderinfo.com. It is an AVCHD camcorder so you need to update your video editing software to the latest version to edit it, but it does have a 60GB hard drive.

It has a 1/3" ClearVid CMOS sensor that does OK in bright light. It still has trouble like all current generation AVCHD cameras with motion artifacts (things blur because the codec is still new) and more noise. All AVCHD camcorders have trouble. From all previous Sonys like the HDR-SR1 as well as the Panasonic HDC-SD1 (it has three 1/4" CCDs, so it is not an imager problem). Basically, if you care about quality, you still have to stick with the HDV format of the Canon HV20 (Pricegrabber $1040) . The biggest issue will be low light performance since the imager is smaller and the AVCHD format is itself noiser. Again from a performance standpoint, the miniDV tape using HDV is higher quality if less convenient.

As an aside Panasonic HDC-SD1 and the Sony HDR-CX7 both use memory cards (HDSD and Memory Stick Pro) respectively instead of a hard drive. I don't quite see why you'd want this as currently a 4GB memory card only has 30 minutes of high definition footage on it. The hard drive idea seems way better at least until flash cards get into the 60GB range.

Technically what is happening is that HDV is based on MPEG-2 and AVCHD is based on MPEG-4 (which is the same as H.264 if you like acronyms). MPEG-4 is about twice as efficient in terms of compression, but the current hardware isn't mature enough to really take advantage. Thus, HDV runs at 24Mbps while AVCHD runs at 15Mbps but the new codecs aren't as good. If you can hang on, wait for the next generation AVCHD camcorders (I'm sure they'll get better), otherwise, get the tape-based miniDV HDV based on MPEG-2 (or for the simple minded, buy a Canon HV-20).

The one good news is that at last editing programs support HDV, you need to buy Sony Vegas 7.0e (this by way is a great program).

In another sad aside, for standard definition, it looks like the Sony DCR-SR300 actually has worse low light performance than the SR100 we have. Has to do with a new imager, so beware.

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I've been thinking quite a bit about getting a high definition DV camera. Kenny has some good suggestions on the Sony line. Right now, the Canon HV20 probably makes the most sense, but the big brother or the Sonys mentioned like the HVR A1 are probably best for prosumers if they are really producing high quality audio and want the control versatility. Amazingly, the actual video quality on the HV20 is about the same as the big brothers. All are tape based, so that means its a little bit of a pain to get them into a PC for editing.

Further to your HD video camera blog, I'm about to switch from the Sony HVR
Z1 to the HVR V1 because it is just more versatile and my shooters who are used to the Sony 170 have a lower learning curve. However, for half the price, the HVR A1 is amazing especially if you're serious about sound quality. http://www.dvuser.co.uk/content.php?CID=34

What a difference just a month makes. Since the last HD Camcorders, Sony, Canon and Panasonic have all introduced new models, this changes the decisions quite a bit. Using Camcorderinfo, here are the latest tradeoffs and selection:

1. Canon HV-20. $1100 MSRP. Canon announced a bigger camera called the HV-20. Unlike the HV-20, this one isn't a skinny one, but more like a small box. The big deal is that it has much better low light performance and retains the very high quality high light. Also, it has a true 24P (24 frame progressive) at 1080i which has much truer colors. At $1100, it is $100 more expensive than the HV10 and bigger, but it has a much higher picture quality. The main drawback remains that it is not a hard disk camcorder, so you still have those pesky tapes to deal with. Again, if you can hang on, I just feel that there is a hard disk HD camcorder coming in say by Christmas 2007. It btw beats the new Sony HDR-HC7 because of better picture quality and it is $200 less.
2. Canon XH A1 ($4000 MSRP). Ok, this is if you really are a professional and semipro. It is larger and gigantic and is also tape based, but it has amazing low light performance. It has three 1/3" CCDs and it also doesn't have that really saturated look, but is more film like professional in quality.
3. Panasonic HDC-SD3 This is a SD or SDHC card based camcorder, so it doesn't have a hard drive, but is 1920×1080i with three CCDs. cost is $1275. The older HDC-SD1 is the only one available outside of Japan but I wouldn't recommend it, it is not true 1920×1080i, but is actually 1440×1080i. The biggest issue is that it uses the new AVCHD codec (like the new Sony's) which is pretty immature. It is noisier than the older HDV format used in the HV-10. It has more in-camera sharpening than the HV-20 and about the same as the more consumer-grade image of the HDR-HC7. The bright light noise is quite high at the same levels as Sony's offering (DVD-based HDR-UX1 and hard-drive-based HDR-SR1). The second is that it has lots of motion artifacting (this is really because the new H.264 codec hardware used in AVCHD is still maturing) is really noticable in the Panasonic compared with the Sony HDR-UX1 for instance. BTW, this also means low-light performance is pretty bad as well.
4. JVC Everio HD7. $1800. This is the dark horse that we just have to wait for.This is a hard disk camcorder that is about to come to the US. It records in MPEG-2 at 30Mbps onto a 60GB hard drive, so it has a higher bit rate than HDV MPEG-2 (limited to 25Mbps) and isn't as efficient as the AVCHD (15Mbps maximum, so it is about twice as efficient to go H.264 vs. MPEG-2). Also it has a broadcast quality Fujinon lense and has 3 CCDs. BTW, it is using a variable bit rate MPEG-2 up to 30Mbps which is nice since MPEG-2 works with DVDs, Blu-ray and most video editing systems.

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Only I could go from looking for a simple camcorder for someone to suddenly finding myself on a professional film production site, looking at 4 pound broadcast quality cameras, but heck, that's me. Videomaker has a great list of top products for video types at the high end. A pretty good list of things if you are nerdy enough to want them.

By the way the great resources are Camcorderinfo.com, but also SonyHDVInfo.com where all the Sony geeks live.

• Canon HV10. Mainly because it is very small. Weighs less than a pound. Main drawback is that it doesn't use a hard drive. $1200 list. The Sony HDR-SR1 is tempting as it has a hard drive, but it is quite noisy in taking HD pictures and not as high resolution as current miniDV-based HD camcorders. So as I said before, if you can stand it wait a bit for the true camcorder that is both HD and hard drive based, but if you can't then you have a hard choice, get the HV10 with better picture quality (in fact, very close to the XH A1, its $3,500 brother) or have the convenience of hard disk with the SR1. SonyHDVInfo say that while the SR1 is good, editing the new AVCHD format is a pain. Most packages support the HDV which is HD on a miniDV right now, so if you are editing current stuff and need it right now, the miniDV is right. That's going to change fast, so if you can hold on.
• JVC Everio GZ-MG505 or the Sony DCR-SR300. $1300 list. It is standard definition but it does have a hard disk with 30GB and most importantly it uses a 3-CCD design, so images are much better and these are 16:9 format imagers according to Videomaker, although Camcorderinfo found the SR100 (now the SR300 updated) to have much better picture a quality and it also has optical image stabilization like the older SR100 which they liked quite a bit at Camcorder info.
• Sony HDR-FX7 or the "Canon XH A1:"http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-XH-A1-Camcorder-Review/ComparisonsConclusion.htm $3500. This is a prosumer HD camcorder, it uses three sensors as well and has an HDMI interface. It is still tape based though. Its main competition is the really good XH A1, which is about the same price and Camcorderinfo liked the Canon better because the FX7 didn't do well in low light (because it uses CMOS not CCD sensors) and the XH A1 has more manual controls. As a technical aside, both a 3-sensor systems, but the FX7 isn't native 16:9 so it stretches pixels whereas the Canon is a native 16:9 chip. The tough tradeoff is that the Sony has more sharpness but more noise, while the canon has less sharpness, but has very little noise
• Manfrotto 560B Monopod $210. I really love the Gitzo that I just bought, but there times when a monopod is just lighter. This one actually has a little stand at the bottom so it will standup.
• Steadicam Merlin $849. OK, this is a true geek gadget, this makes the camera gyro stabilized. What a cool idea.
• AKG Perception 100 $200. This is a really high quality microphone for those studio podcasting situations.
• Sony Vegas 7 + DVD Architect, $700. This is what I use, I have to say it is amazingly good.

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Well we are the cusp of a camcorder revolution. In thinking about the next generation to get, the Canon Optura 100MC really did last a long time. It was 480i/60 standard definition that used miniDV tapes. I actually made quite a few videos considering what a pain it was to capture. A fast computer really helped. Last year, I got the Sony SR100 (the new model is the SR200), unlike the tape based, the amount of evolution in hard disk camcorders is just amazing. Sony is doing a new model every year.

The bleeding edge though is HD or high definition. This is 1080i/24p and the technology is just evolving for consumer camcorders. The picture quality promises to be great, but the use of a new codec, the AVCHD, has got lots of teething problems. The best model looks like the Sony HDR-SR1, but its quality isn't as good as the miniDV-based HD camcorders yet because the codec (H.264) is still maturing compared to MPEG-2. So what's a nerd to do. Well, other than wait for the follow-on to the SR100, its too look at the really heavy professional or prosumer camcorders that cost $2-3K rather than $1.5-1K. You get four pound monsters rather than one pound, stuff into your pocket, but the picture quality is amazing. So here's my advice:

1. Wait for the SR1 follow-on (SR2?). If you can stick it out, wait for the next generation of hard disk drive AVCHD camcorders. Sony and Canon are neck and neck as usual in producing these. The SR100 is just about done and the Canon folks don't have a hard disk based camcorder yet. Too bad.
2. SR1. If you really have to have it right away, you can still get the SR1 for about $1000, but hurry as they seem to be stocking out
3. Canon HV10. If you don't mind the miniDV format and I really do, the HV10 is probably the best of the current ones, even compared to the Sony HC3 that it competes directly with and beats it by a nose because of better color balance. It weighs less than a pound, the miniDV makes it hard for me to recommend it.
4. "Canon XL H1": . Turns out that the color quality is actually about as good as the HV10, so you only need this bigger brother if you want manual controls and you care about low or available light shooting where having 3CCDs makes a difference.
5. Sony HVR-V1U. OK, if you've got $4,000 to splurge and don't need a new car, the Sony 4 pound professional camera has a great review. It is a 3CCD system so has great color accuracy and also low light capability. It shoots 1080i in 24p, and 30p modes. So, its ready for you to make real movies. The biggest drawback is that it still uses the MiniDV format cassette.

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Well, the first generation of truly amazing camcorders are coming. These are hard disk based and record in high definition format (technically called AVCHD, how is that a mouthful, it is really just a version of MPEG4/H.264 used in iPod Video). Anyway Camcorderinfo says that it is really quite amazing but that it isn't quite a high resolution as the Canon HV10, but is easier to use ironically because it is a little larger.

The big drawback is that the encoding is higher bandwidth at 15MBps, but there are still artifacts when you take the video.

Net, net, this area is moving so fast, if you can afford to wait for the next turn of the HDD HD crank, I would. It is moving ahead so rapidly that the standard definition SR-100 I bought two months ago is already obsolete! And I'm sure this new SR1 will be as well shortly.

This could be the perfect consumer camcorder, it has a 30GB hard drive and records in high definition video. Also it has a 4 megapixel camera. We have the earlier version, the DCR-SR100 that has 3 megapixel still and 480/60i image using a HAD CCD sensor and only standard definition and it is really convenient and small. As an aside on this camera, widescreen 16:9 and 4:3 aspect have essentially identical pixel counts (2060 and 2050 respectively), so for most uses, set it for widescreen. With older camcorder, widescreen actually had less resolution like our old Canon MC-100. As an aside, if you have steady hands turn off the electronic image stabalization as this reduces effective sharpness.

Camcorderinfo has a nice first preview of it. It uses a new codec called AVCHD which is derieced from MPEG-4 H.264 codec (are those enough acronyms for you). It also uses a new CMOS sensor which is 1/3" and had 1.43 effective megapixels in 16:9 and 1.07 effective in 4:3 aspect, so widescreen is a real widescreen. Its the same imager found in their top of the line standard definition DVD camcorder, DCR-DVD505, their new AVCHD DVD camcorder, the HDR-UX1.

It also has a gigantic 3.5" LCD screen and can capture stills to MemoryStick or the 30GB hard drive like the SR100 and it has dedicated microphone and headphone jacks, which the SR100 doesn't and which is really needed for good quality recording I've found.

The big issue with all hard disk camcorders is that the picture quality isn't that good compared with tape based. Standard definition camcorders record in MPEG-2 at 9Mbps and I can say that the quality isn't as good as a miniDV camcorder that is recording at 24Mbps but with uncompressed DV format The new HDV has a maximum bit rate of 15Mbps so it isn't clear how much better it is, although it using a much more advanced codec so we'll have to see how good it is. It is shooting 1080i at 60 fps which in SD mode, it shoots 480/60i (480 lines at 60 fields per second interlaced).

The new MPEG-4 H.264 is suppoed to be twice as efficient as MPEG-2, but of course, you need video editing software that can deal with it.

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Canon launches compact "full HD" camcorder | TG Daily. It is literally raining HD camcorders now. Both Sony and Canon have come out with new small camcorders that record in 1040i. How cool is that. The big debate is whether or not the Canon is 1080i or 1080p. I'm betting 1080i.

Following Sony's HDR-UX1 and HDR-SR1 mini-camcorders, Canon announced its first compact high-definition camcorder. The HV10 will be available beginning in September and carry a suggested retail price of $1300.

The new camcorder weighs less than a pound and has image stabilization. Sony actually fired the first volley last week with two 1080i small consumer camcorders. make me wish I had not gotten the older SR1 just a month ago. And they shoot 4 megapixel stills too, so really you only need one device now for many folks

Sony introduced two camcorders that are capable of recording 1080i resolution video to miniature DVDs: Both the HDR-UX1 and HDR-SR1 models support 1920 by 1080 pixels (interlaced) and Dolby 5.1 surround sound using the new AVCHD codec (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). The UX1 model uses a 3" DVD discs, while the SR1 version writes to a built-in 30 GB hard drive. Both camcorders will be available later this year: The HDR-UX1 is expected to carry a suggested retail price of about $1400 and be available in September; the HDR-SR1 will cost $1500 and hit store shelves October.

By the way, I would certainly say you want the 30GB drive if you can afford it, those little 3" DVDs just don't hold any length of video.