By JVC

• Mini DV Format
• 2.7" Wide Clear LCD Monitor
• KONICA MINOLTA LENS
• 35x Optical 800x Digital Zoom
• Power-Linked Operation

By Canon

• CCD sensor (in pixels) - 1/6" interlaced CCD sensor 1.07 megapixels including 710,000 effective in video mode and 800,000 in photo mode
• Optical Zoom - 37x -- Digital Zoom - Digital zoom: 2000x Improved zoom: 45x
• Maximum resolution on memory card (in pixels) - 1152 x 864
• Accessories included - CR2025 lithium battery, WL-D88 remote control, CA-590 mains adapter, power cable, STV-250N cable, USB cable, BP-808 battery, WS30 strap and CD-ROM
• Other Functions - Focal length: 2.6 - 96.2 mm 24 x 36 equivalent: 41.5 - 1536 mm Maximum aperture: f/2.0 to f/5.2 Shutter speed: 1/2000th second - 1/6th second Exposure modes: EASY (automatic), programme, TV, portrait, sports, night, snow, sand, sunset, spotlight, fireworks White balance: TTL - auto - pre-set

By Panasonic

• Video Capture: CCD sensor (in pixels) - 610,000 megapixels / Media - Flash card / Viewfinder - LCD / LCD Screen - 2.7" TFT active matrix LCD colour display / Sensitivity (lux) - 2 / Optical Zoom - 12x / Digital Zoom - 700x / Image Stabiliser - Optical (Advanced O.I.S.) / Focus - Auto and manual
• Photo Mode: Maximum resolution on memory card (in pixels) - 1920 x 1080 / Memory Card - SD / SDHC / Webcam Function/ mini films - No
• Connectivity: Audio Output - Earphones / Audio Input - Microphone / Video Output - AV / Video Input - HDMi Component video / DV in (IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / DV out ( IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / Computer Interface - USB 2.0 and PictBridge / Wireless Function - Infrared remote control / Compatible Platforms - MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, Apple Mac OS X 10.4, Apple Mac OS X 10.5, MS Windows Vista / Supplied Software - Drivers and utilities
• Misc: Possible power supply - Power adapter, external battery charger and rechargeable lithium-ion battery / Accessories included - AV cable, component video cable, AC cable, DC cable, USB cable, power adapter, external battery charger, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, IR remote control and CD-ROM / Weight (in grams) - 320 / Dimensions - 65 x 72 x 138 / Other Functions - Direct printing, built-in speaker, DPOF support, screen brightness control, Pictbridge compatibility

smallest HD camcorder with a view finder HDC-SD100, 2008-10-24
panasonic HDC-SD100
what a great full HD camcorder all what it says on the tin!
worth 4.5 stars.
i would of given 5 stars but indoors in bad daylight its a bit grainy on zoom (just turn the light on if dark)
small but not tiny all the buttons in the right place,i like the fact you have to remove the battery to plug in the tv/pc so you dont drain your battery.
i just pop the sd card straight into my sd card tv slot works great.
picture quality is much better than my 18mth old sony
HD is the way to go,colour and sharpness is great.
camera is ok for pc good auto flash
comes with basic but easy and good software.
the ring on the front is a cool idea,
glad the battery life is long as a spare will put you back £55

bought mine through simplyelectrics ordered monday night turned up Friday morning RM specail delivery great service.

By Canon

• Video Capture: CCD sensor (in pixels) - 1/2.7" CMOS sensor 2.96 megapixels including 2.07 effective RGB filter / Media - MiniDV / Viewfinder - 0.27" colour viewfinder 123,000 pixels / LCD Screen - 2.7" LCD screen - 16:9 211,000 pixels Manual adjustment of brightness and backlighting / Sensitivity (lux) - 0.2 Night mode / Optical Zoom - 10x / Digital Zoom - 200x /40x / Image Stabiliser - Super optical image stabiliser with large frequency ranges / Focus - Auto and manual
• Photo Mode: Photo Mode - Special photo mode for memory cards with built-in flash Continuous recording mode Automatic exposure bracketing Simultaneous photo recording AF-zone selection Histogram Photo release / Maximum resolution on memory card (in pixels) - 2048 x 1536 / Memory Card - MiniSD / Supplied Media - - / Sound - HDV: MPEG1 11 audio recording Oversampling frequency: 48 KHz Bit rate: 384 Kbps DV: digital PCM recording Oversampling frequency: 48 KHz/16 bits or 32 KHz/12 bits
• Webcam Function/ mini films - No
• Connectivity: Audio Output - Headphones socket / Audio Input - Microphone socket / Video Output - AV output HDMi output Component video output / Video Input - Analogue input / DV in (IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / DV out ( IEEE1394, FireWire) - Yes / Computer Interface - USB 2.0 and PictBridge / Wireless Function - Wireless remote control / Compatible Platforms - PC and Mac / Supplied Software - Digital Video Solution Disk
• Misc: Possible power supply - BP-2L13 lithium battery BP-2L14H long-life battery / Accessories included - USB cable, BP-2L13 lithium battery, remote control / Weight (in grams) - 535 / Dimensions - 88 x 82 x 138 mm / Other Functions - Maximum video aperture: f/1.8 to f/3 Maximum photo aperture: f/2.8 to f/3 Focal distance: 6.1 - 61 mm Focusing distance: 10 mm Filter diameter: 43 mm Maximum shutter speed: 1/2000 secs Slow shutter speed: 1/2 secs 2- or 10-second self timer Digic DV II imag

HV30 - Excellent Camera - Shame about the extra's., 2008-12-27
Agree with the other reviews that this is an excellent camera. However I'm very dissapointed that Canon DO NOT supply:
* HD Cable.
* DV Tape (Normal or HD would be nice).
* PDF User Manual. (And the Canon web-site is no help.
* Stand-Alone Battery Charger.
Otherwise a top camera.

By Samsung

• Mini DV format.
• 0.8 megapixel CCD.
• 34x optical zoom/1200x digital zoom.
• 2.7" 16:9 widescreen LCD monitor.
• Digital image stabiliser.

Marvel camera, 2007-06-03
I had the good fortune to buy this camera yesterday and am absolutely amazed with it, the video quality is incredible, the zoom is fantastic, and the different modes are likewise. The one problem I have with it is it doesn't have a PC cable.

By Canon

• Video Capture: CCD sensor (in pixels) - 1/3.2" CMOS sensor 3.31 megapixels including 2.07 effective in video mode and 2.76 effective in photo mode RGB filter / Media - Recording to SD and SDHC card / Viewfinder - No / LCD Screen - 2.7" bright multi-angle LCD colour screen 211,000 pixels / Sensitivity (lux) - 0.2 and night mode / Optical Zoom - 12x / Digital Zoom - 200x / 40x / Image Stabiliser - Optical image stabiliser with large frequency range / Focus - Focusing distance: 10 m
• Photo Mode: Photo Mode - Photo mode for memory cards with built-in flash Normal and high speed continuous recording mode Automatic exposure bracketing AF zone selection Histogram Photo release / Maximum resolution on memory card (in pixels) - No / Memory Card - SD/HCSD / Supplied Media - - / Sound - 2-channel Dolby Digital (2-channel AC-3) / Webcam Function/ mini films - No
• Connectivity: Audio Output - Headphones socket / Audio Input - Microphone socket / Video Output - AV output Component video output HDMI output / Video Input - No / DV in (IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / DV out ( IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / Computer Interface - USB 2.0 and PictBridge / Wireless Function - No / Compatible Platforms - PC and Mac / Supplied Software - PIXELA ImageMixer 3 SE
• Misc: Possible power supply - BP-809 lithium battery, BP-819 long-life battery / Accessories included - BP-809 lithium battery, charger / Weight (in grams) - 380 / Dimensions - 73 x 64 x 129 mm / Other Functions - Focal length: 4.8 ? 57.6 mm 35 mm equivalent in video mode: 42.9 ? 514.8 mm 35 mm equivalent in photo mode: 39.3 ? 471.6 mm Aperture: f/1.8 to f/3 Maximum shutter speed: 1/2000 sec Slow shutter speed: 1/2 sec Self-timer: 2 or 10 seconds DIGIC DV II image processor Daylight corr

Just Right!, 2008-12-16
After a lot of deliberating i decided to go for the hf100 over the Sony TG3. I am quite happy with my decision. It is small and light enough to fit in the average jacket pocket quite comfortably. The video quality on my 32 Inch Sony HD ready tv is stunning. I have used the various quality settings, the highest of which is FXP. FXP is the only setting that records in full HD 1920x1080. The other settings record at a lower resolution but the difference is not noticable on my tv as it is not full HD.

I record using FXP onto 8gb sdhc cards. The reason I use 8gb cards is they will hold one hour of filming at the FXP setting, which was good enough for me in the past with tape. I can also cut and paste the folders from the card onto a dual layer dvd for archiving. I also save the files on my hard drive which i can then copy back to a SD card if i want to watch them in HD through the camera again.

I use a 20 inch imac 2.4ghz with 4gb ram. It edits no problem with Imovie 08.

Very Happy.

By Sony

• 60GB Hard Disc Drive
• 1.07 megapixel CCD
• Carl Zeiss® Vario Tessar lens
• 25x optical zoom
• Dolby Digital 2 channel audio

exellent easy to use camcorder, 2008-08-09
i only recieved my camcorder yesterday and i already know how to use all of its functions. i was looking at buying this or the dcr-sr210 but im glad i saved myself the extra £100 by getting this one. both the sound and picture quality is exellent and for a 1 meg still shot the result is impressive. the only negative thing is the software included, i installed it then uninstalled it an hour later, its rubbish. i found that windows movie maker is much more user friendly. battery included is a little poor but i dont think any camara comes with a good one. all in all exellent value for money

By Samsung

• 1 megapixel CMOS
• 10x optical/2x digital zoom
• HD 1280x720p video output
• HD 1080 still image resolution
• Samsung lens

Good in "Perfect" conditions, 2009-01-01
This camcorder is good, but only in perfect, light conditions, if you are in a dark room, it becomes nasty, and the video becomes soft, the touchscreen interface is friendly and HD is ok, overall, this is a good camera but could be improved!

By Panasonic

• Video Capture: CCD sensor (in pixels) - 1/6" Tri-CMOS sensor 2.1 megapixels Leica Dicomar lens Records in AVCHD format and in 1920 x 1080 pixel Full HD format / Media - Records on SD/HCSD card or 60GB hard drive / Viewfinder - Yes / LCD Screen - 2.7" (6.9 cm) LCD screen 300,252 pixels / Sensitivity (lux) - 1 lux in colour night vision mode 2 lux in 1/25 low-light mode / Optical Zoom - 12x / Digital Zoom - 30x 700x / Image Stabiliser - OIS advanced optical image stabilisation
• Photo Mode: Photo Mode - Yes / Maximum resolution on memory card (in pixels) - Information not supplied / Memory Card - SD/HCSD / Supplied Media - - / Sound - Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2-channel 5.1 Surround microphone, microphone zoom / Webcam Function/ mini films - No
• Connectivity: Audio Output - Hearphones socket / Audio Input - Microphone socket / Video Output - AV output HDMI output S-video output Video component output / Video Input - No / DV in (IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / DV out ( IEEE1394, FireWire) - No / Computer Interface - USB 2.0 and PictBridge / Wireless Function - Wireless remote control / Compatible Platforms - PC and Mac / Supplied Software - 2.6E HD Writer
• Misc: Possible power supply - Lithium-ion battery / Accessories included - External charger, lithium-ion battery, AV cable, composite video cable, lens cap, IR remote control, PC cable, CD-ROM / Weight (in grams) - 420 / Dimensions - 74 x 76 x 138 mm / Other Functions - Focal aprerture: F/1.8 (wide angle) and F/2.8 (telephoto) Focal length: 2.95 - 35.5 mm Equivalent in 35mm: 42.1 - 505 mm Shutter speed: 1/50 - 1/8000s (photo and video) Low speed mode ON: 1/25 - 1/8000s Filter diameter: 3

Great camera..buy it..but problems with the editing software, 2008-09-19
Having read the reviews of this camera,I decided to buy it.I have been using mini dv tapes for years,and hard disc cameras are now all the rage.
The build quality of this camera is pretty impressive, it is light and easy to use and the picture and sound are superb.
There are plenty of features which make the camera excellent value for money.
Panasonic have made a good camera here, and it stands up well against the competition from Canon and Sony.
There are some problems though. If you want to edit your footage on Pinnacle 12 or Sony Vegas the AVCHD format is not going to be much good to you, unless you have a computer with a very powerful dual core processor and at least 400 gigabyte hard drive.Editing is slow and sluggish with Pinnacle 12 and it takes about 45 minutes to render 5 minutes of AVCHD footage.
If you want to edit an hour of AVCHD, and burn it to disc you will be there forever.
If you look on YouTube, there are plenty of examples of the problems AVCHD is creating for home editors. Some reviewers have demonstrated the editing process, and expressed doubts about the ability of the software used..Sony Vegas and Pinnacle to handle AVCHD ,and the sheer length of time needed to process itto disc.
Panasonic and Sony have jointly developed the AVCHD format, but the computer editing software is far too slow and cumbersome, and it probably will need a new version to address the problems
If you are happy to press a button on the camcorder to copy your pictures to disc,and just delete shots that you dont want..then this camera was made for you,Panasonic have made it childs play to disc copy.
Personally,Mini DV tape is a much more efficient and trouble free medium, and I will carry on with my trusty Panasonic 3CCD MX500,which is less complicated,and probably one of the best 3CCD cameras in the prosumer range. Unfortunately,mini dv will probably be obsolete soon.
Think carefully abou buying HDD, sure,it takes beautiful pictures,but it is at the expense of editing creativity,which some people still want.

Both Panasonic and Sony need to address these issues with the leading video eding companies in order that the HDD camera, doesnt just become a camera incapable of producing excellent dvds,and pandering to the point and shoot market.
I am hoping at some point to try to find some reliable editing software to use with my new camera..which is still a pretty nifty camera,excellent in all respects,and good value for money.

By Kodak

Needs a Memory Card, 2008-12-30
The item states quite clearly that the "4GB high performance SDHC memory card" is a Recommended Accessory.

It is not intended to be included with the camera.