Canon Vixia HF10

Quick-Focus Camcorder Shoots Crisp Hi-Def Footage

If you're thinking hi-def (and how could you not be?), the HF10 merits serious cogitation. Compact and quick-focusing, it produces AVCHD 1920 x 1080 video with effective stability and awesome crispness. Whether you're shooting at eye level or from the hip, shrewd design places the controls just where your hands need them. There are 16 gigs of memory on board, with an SDHC slot for adding as many extra cards as you care to pack.

WIRED Dual-positioned controls on body and LCD are perfect for all shooting situations. With four zoom speeds (one of them variable), wide-angle and telephoto buttons on the superbright and sharp LCD provide excellent modulation.

TIRED Recording time on standard battery is pretty much a disappointment. Gawky toggle on the camcorder body makes zooming in and out a drag.

• Digital Zoom: 200x
• Optical Zoom: 12x

• Style: High def, Tapeless
• Manufacturer: Canon
• Price: $1,100