The VPC-CA6 is a an extremely small SD-card based video and still camera; our product review sample came in a box that proclaimed it was the “blue” variant (with a “red” and “silver” variant also available), but that’s a strange definer of the camera, as it’s actually only the bezel around the foldout LCD that comes in a blue colour. The rest of the VPC-CA6’s casing is white with a prominent black ridge running down the bottom of the camera; this includes the hinge that houses the VPC-CA6’s battery and SD card slot. Our review sample came with a 1GB SD card. The battery is charged with an external charger, and there’s no facility to directly charge the camera battery while it’s in situ.

The VPC-CA6 has a 5x optical zoom and supports four recording modes, topping out at standard VGA (640 x 480) video at 30fps. Everything recorded comes out as a compressed MP4 file, and the supplied 1GB card should be good for about 60 minutes of footage, which is not that much more than the VPC-CA6’s estimated battery life of 80 recording minutes. Given that the camera is pitched towards the home or sports enthusiast shooter that’s not too galling. The specifications for the VPC-CA6 state that it’s compatible with newer SHDC cards, which can store 4GB or more. On the digital still front, the VPC-CA6 features a six megapixel sensor with a variety of pre-set shooting modes.

One of the selling points for the VPC-CA6 is that it’s splash-proof. It’s important to note that Sanyo don’t claim that it’s waterproof — and we were unwilling to shell out AU$799 to see what happens if you drop it into a pool but if you’re keen and try it, be sure to let us know what happens. In theory, though, the VPC-CA6 should be good for swimmers, skiers and the like, simply because you should be able to handle it with wet hands. That probably covers people doing dishes as well, now that we think of it.

The VPC-CA6 is Sanyo’s latest addition to the family. Weighing in at just 175g, its gently curving pistol-grip design will be familiar to camcorder users but may feel awkward to anyone coming from a photo background.

Flip the smallish screen out and the VPC-CA6 wakes up almost immediately. The screen doesn’t tilt up (or fold screen-side in for safety) but its meagre 86,000 pixels look surprisingly sharp and natural. In fact, the 2-inch display has a smooth, luminous quality that outshines many larger LCDs, but it performs poorly in low light.

The Hitachi DZ-H303 already was announced in Japan a month ago. It looks like Hitachi is bringing the DZ-HS301 also to Europe soon and eventually to the United States. The Hitachi DZ-HS301 features a 15x optical zoom, 1MP still photos and a 2.7 widescreen LCD. The Hitachi DZ-HS303 sports a better CCD sensor and takes 3.1MP stills.

Hitachi has recently announced their new line of camcorders and this time they have gone for something very innovative and potentially the future of camcorders. These camcorders come with DVD support as well as a ‘Hard disk’. This is one of the first time we are seeing a HDD in a camcorder. The other advantage when it comes to this range ofcamcorders from Hitachi is the long battery life.

The Hitachi DZ-HS301 and DZ-HS303 come with a 2.8 inch screen display for you to get a nice picture of what you are actually saving. The camcorder comes with a pretty big 8GB hard disk which can store over 100 minutes of the highest quality videos. In addition to this memory capacity, you can add a DVD ±RW or DVD-RAM too.

The Hitachi DZ-HS301 has a 1.3 mega pixel CCD with a 15x optical and 800x digital zoom. On the other hand the Hitachi DZ-HS303 comes with a 3.3 mega pixel CCD with 10x optical zoom and 500x digital zoom.

The Panasonic HDC-SD1 is a perfect example of the blessings of solid state memory. Because video is recorded directly to Secure Digital or SDHC cards, bulky tape mechanisms and HDDs are nowhere to be found. This let Panasonic engineers create one of the slickest-looking camcorders ever. While it won’t have the cachet of the iPod or iPhone, it’s very sleek and stylish – a true small wonder. The -SD1 measures 2.9 inches wide, 2.71 high and 5.6 inches deep; it weighs 17.4 ounces with battery, SD card and strap.

The horizontal-style camcorder has a minimalist design with very few buttons. The plastic body has a silver tone while the LCD monitor door has a pearl-like luster. The front is dominated by the 12x Leica Dicomar zoom with a built-in lens cap. You can add filters and accessory lenses that fit the 43mm diameter twist-off ring. Other than a built-in flash and a recording lamp and remote sensor located under the lens, our tour of the front is complete. The right side has the adjustable Velcro strap, speaker as well as a compartment for USB and HDMI outputs. You’ll also find a small outlet for the cooling fan. The left side is dominated by the 3-inch foldout widescreen LCD monitor so you can easily frame your 16:9 videos. The LCD is rated 250K pixels, a solid number. Once the screen is open, you’ll find keys on the body that switch focus (auto, manual) and brighten the LCD screen. You’ll also find the SD card slot and another compartment for the A/V and component outputs as well as the mic and DC ins.

At its best quality setting, the $1500 HDC-SD1 records 40 minutes of 1080i video to an included 4GB SD Card (a similar model, the HDC-DX1, records to miniDVD and costs $100 less). Both use the AVCHD format developed by Panasonic and Sony. When we tested the HDC-SD1, no video editing software supported the format, but Sony says it will offer a free update this spring to allow its Vegas video editor to import such files. You’ll also need a very powerful computer to edit the video once the apps to do so are available, as well as an HD-DVD or Blu-ray drive if you want to export it from your computer in HD. Forget about using the software included with the camcorder; though you can use it to export standard-definition video to a DVD, it’s nearly useless beyond that. You can’t even use it to watch your footage full-screen on your computer.

Since the camcorder has component outputs and an HDMI port, however, you can play back the unedited footage in high-definition on an HDTV. Video I captured in well-lit settings looked gorgeous, and even video taken in relatively dim, indoor rooms looked surprisingly good–and much better than footage from the standard-definition camcorders I’ve seen. The HDC-SD1’s microphone captures 5.1-channel audio, too; I wasn’t able to test it with a surround-sound system, but it sounded quite good through TV speakers.

The Sony HDR-HC5, a high definition camcorder using the tape-based HDV format, is a key model in the company’s lineup. While the HDR-HC7 ($1,299 MSRP) is the flagship HD camcorder, the HC5 is priced at $999, just below that magical $1,000 point at which consumers can still credibly consider the purchase. A casual glance through the big-box store Sunday circulars points to the fact that camcorders priced over $1,000 rarely get play. Even compared to the HC7, the HC5 is one of the best HD camcorders on the market. While it lacks the bells and whistles that make other Sony HD models more alluring, the performance is outstanding.

The incorporation of x.v.Color technology is also new to the HD Handycam camcorder line. Based on the new international xvYCC color standard, Sony x.v.Color supports a much wider data range of colors compared to the conventional sRGB standard. According to the National Physical Laboratory in the U.K., this wider range is closer to colors that the human eye can recognize. “x.v.Color-compatible camcorders and displays will have a huge impact on home moviemaking,” said Linda Vuolo, director of camcorder products at Sony Electronics. “They will bring exquisite color reproduction to your home movies like you’ve never seen before.”

Although the handycam supports up to 80x optical zoom, digital zoom is limited to 10x, which may be a little short for some viewers. This is fairly standard with MiniDV cameras. Video quality dropped noticeably at high zoom levels, which is of course to be expected, however the high resolution of the camera made this less critical, and footage shot in full, 80x zoom was still watchable. Unfortunately the shake at this level of zoom makes getting a steady picture difficult without a tripod. Audio quality was good, and the camera’s inbuilt microphone was powerful enough to pick up sound at over ten metres quite easily.

The HC5E is a little more bulky than several other models, due to its MiniDV format, but nevertheless rests comfortably in the hand, and at approximately 1kg with tape and battery, it isn’t too heavy. Button layout is standard and the on-screen menu is very well laid out, with customisation options allowing users to set up their own “quick menu”. The touch screen works well, with big buttons and words; we didn’t find ourselves having to squint too much to see what we were selecting.

The Canon HF100 ($899 MSRP) comes from a good pedigree. It’s nearly identical to the Canon HF10, which received our seal of approval earlier this year. The HF100 offers all the same image quality, manual controls, and form factor, but loses the 16GB internal memory of the HF10. Sure, you save $200, but think about what you’re losing first. The HF10 only records to removable memory cards, like the Panasonic HDC-SD9 or Sony HDR-TG1. Card memory is portable and easy to use, but those cards fill up quickly, and they’re not particularly cheap. It’s better to have a secondary recording medium if you’re on a long vacation or far from a camera shop.

It records AVCHD video at a maximum of 17 megabits per second (2 hours and 5 minutes of video), and can hold up to 6 hours and 5 minutes of video at the lowest bit rate of 5Mbps. That higher bit rate goes to support the full 1,920×1,080 capture, the norm for most of this year’s new models, compared with 1,440×1,080 for older AVCHD camcorders that required only a 12Mbps maximum bit rate. You can record best-quality movies to the card as long as it’s a Class 4 SDHC or better (Class 6 is currently fastest): the Class 4 16GB Kingston card I tested with worked fine.

Its optically stabilized f1.8-3.0 12X zoom lens has a longer reach than the typical 10x lens available in this class, but the rest of its features are pretty common in Canon’s prosumer models. For video, these include aperture- and shutter-priority exposure modes, three fixed/one variable zoom speed options, a video light, Instant AF, and a wind-screen filter. You can also record in progressive 30 or 24 frames-per-second (fps) modes as well as 60i. For still photos, metering, flash, and burst and exposure bracketing options become available as well. The camcorder also supplies a complete set of ports and connectors: component or mini-HDMI out for direct-to-TV playback, mini headphone and mic jacks, and USB for downloading to computer.

The HF100’s built-in stereo microphone is stationed strategically beneath the lens. If Canon mounted the mic atop the HF100, the right hand would envelop the mic and sabotage your recorded audio. Camcorders this compact require certain design and handling sacrifices, which Canon minimizes. The Panasonic HDC-SD9 is more compact than the HF100, yet its mic is mounted on top–an example of how a camcorder should not be designed.