Camcorderinfo.co.uk Select Awards 2009

by CamcorderInfo Staff
Published on Nov 9, 2009 8:40 AM



It's time once again for our annual CamcorderInfo select awards. Each year, we honor the camcorders that really rise above the rest during our review process. The camcorders you'll read about below have all survived a battery of tests—tests that are designed to give every camcorder fair and equal treatment. These models have also been carefully compared to the competition.

Our choice for Camcorder of the Year might cost you a pretty penny, but we also have quite a few awards to help steer consumers toward more affordable options. There are mid-range high def models and ultracompact budget camcorders—all choices that will be easier on your wallet this holiday season. And this year, we have a new category: Best Value.

Camcorder of the Year – Panasonic HDC-HS300 – Review, Specs, £948.74

There have certainly been a great many excellent high definition camcorders released this year. Among this array of shining stars, the Panasonic HDC-HS300 really stands out. This is a camcorder that offers impressive performance in all lighting environments and gives the consumer a seamless and enjoyable operating experience. Panasonic offers a flash memory version—the TM300—but we'll settle for the capacious hard drive of the HS300. The only downsides? You may get slightly better motion from another camcorder and not all manual controls are easy to operate on the fly. So what features put the HS300 at the top? We simply adore the lens ring for shifting manual focus and low light footage was bright and clear in any frame rate—not to mention the inclusion of a viewfinder and the excellent iA tools. As a complete package, the HS300 is, quite simply, a superb camcorder.

Runner Up: Canon Legria HF S100 – Review, Specs, £709.99

When it came to selecting a runner-up, there were quite a few that caught our attention. Of these, it was the Canon HF S100 that really caught our eye. The HF S100 offers the convenience of memory card recording with a boatload of options that appeal to savvy consumers. The HF S100 also has a slight edge in sharpness, which resulted in incredibly beautiful motion. Unfortunately, the Canon has no viewfinder and only performed well in low light with incredibly slow shutter speeds or a 25p frame rate. If these little flaws don't bug you—or if you just despise the touch screen interface of other manufacturers—the Canon HF S100 is an great option.


  
Camcorder of the Year
Panasonic HDC-HS300
Runner Up
Canon HF S100




Best Value – Sanyo VPC-HD2000 – Review, Specs, £374.99

Sanyo may have been slightly outdone by the larger manufacturers this year, but only by a bit. The excellent HD2000 had impressively smooth motion with its 60p frame rate, plus strong performance in low light and a slew of manual controls—available in both video and photo mode. Of course, the HD2000 is technically an NTSC camcorder, but it has a PAL output so UK consumers shouldn't be too inconvenienced. The convoluted menus and lack of optical image stabilization may deter some, but the HD20000 is still a bargain package for just £400. That's hundreds of pounds cheaper than the flagship cams from the competition.

Runner Up: Canon Legria HV40 – Review, Specs, £829.07

A lot of consumers are abandoning tape-based camcorders for the convenience of internal hard drives and flash memory, but there are still quite a few people that the archival benefits and easy editing of tape. There's one other great benefit to tape-based camcorders: affordability. The Canon HV40 may not have the slick new interface that Canon's other camcorders have this year, but it still boasts excellent video quality at a low price.


  
Best Value
Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Runner Up
Canon HV40




Best Ultracompact Camcorder – Pure Digital Flip UltraHD – Review, Specs, £139.65

Despite many attempts from the competition, the Flip series still remains at the top of the heap. It's true that this year's efforts by Sony (the Webbie HD MHS-PM1) and JVC (the Picsio GC-FM1) offered their own share of advantages—namely still photo capabilities and impressive performance. However, nothing can yet reach the impressive simplicity and seamless workflow of the Flip. We even got a couple noteworthy improvements to the series this year, including an increase in capacity and an HDMI output. The UltraHD may be a bit bulkier than the Mino, but it's still a sleek design with the added convenience of AA batteries and solid video performance. Of course, our favorite feature is none of the above. That award goes to the Flip's simple, intuitive editing software that makes file transfer and upload to YouTube a breeze.

Runner Up: Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 – Review, Specs, £139.99

So, the Sanyo Xacti CG10 isn't quite as simple to use as the Flip series, and it doesn't have that same iPod-like shape and size as the Flip and its many imitators. But there's a reason we chose it as our runner-up for ultracompact of the year: the CG10 offers the same compact size and affordability, plus so much more. It has a slew of manual controls, digital image stabilization, and video and still performance that far outstrips the competition—even the Flip. If you can handle the convoluted interface, the CG10 is, simply put, a lot more camcorder for your money. Unfortunately for Sanyo, ease of use plays a major role in purchasing decisions for camcorders under £200. And for that reason alone, it can't steal the top spot away from Flip... at least, not this year.


  
Best Ultracompact
Flip UltraHD
Runner Up
Sanyo VPC-CG10



Best Mid-Range Camcorder – Canon Legria HF20 – Review, Specs, £629.99

Given the tight strings on many purses lately, mid-range camcorders are likely to see a lot of action this holiday season. The Canon HF20 is a top performer, especially among mid-range camcorders. The sharpness of its videos and photos was very impressive, as was the rest of the camcorder's performance. In fact, its performance was far better than anything else we would consider to be a mid-range camcorder. Though it's lacking some of the robust features that high-end camcorder possess, it has more options than many competing camcorders and is still relatively easy to use. The problem with the HF20 is its price. Paying the £650 price tag will get you higher video quality, but it will also put a strain on your budget.

Runner Up: JVC Everio GZ-HD320 – Review, Specs, £439

The JVC Everio HD320 is light and compact, is easy to use, has excellent video performance, and possesses an enormous 120GB hard drive. It doesn't have optical image stabilization, but its digital stabilization fared very well in our testing labs and the HD320's colour accuracy was simply amazing. Motion and sharpness may not be quite as good as what you find on more expensive camcorders, but for just $580, the HD320 is a great camcorder. And for just £319.99, you can get the same excellent performance from the memory card-based HM200.

 
Best Mid-Range
Canon HF20
Runner Up
JVC GZ-HD320