Convenient Camcorders

For this story we tested 10 camcorders that record video to either a Mini DVD disk or to an internal hard drive--two formats that are convenient for playback (one unit does both).

We didn't include MiniDV camcorders in our ranked chart (see "Top 10 DVD and HDD Camcorders"), in part because their popularity is waning; but you can still read our reviews of several recent MiniDV models. Sales of Mini DVD and HDD models, meanwhile, are rising. According to a report issued by IDC, 2007 will be the first year that consumers buy more DVD camcorders than they do MiniDV models.

You may also be interested in checking out our video, "New, Improved Camcorders," featuring PC World Senior Associate Editor Eric Butterfield, and our slide show of the Top 10 HDD and Mini DVD Camcorders.

Many video editing applications now let you import MPEG-2 files for editing. But even so, MiniDV content remains easier to edit than MPEG-2 footage because video editing software must rely on an MPEG codec to interpret MPEG-2 files, a process that requires far more computing power than editing DV does.

Mini DVD camcorders let you burn footage directly to a disc that you can finalize in minutes and pop into your DVD player for viewing. With most hard-disk drive (HDD) camcorders, you have to transfer video to a PC so you can burn the footage to a DVD disc; some models, however, provide a dedicated one-touch button for burning video to a DVD disc or backing it up to an external hard drive. The two JVC camcorders we reviewed have both of these capabilities. We chose to rank the two types of camcorders in a single chart because both of them capture video in the same MPEG-2 format and both produce DVDs; HDD models simply require an extra step.

Disk or Discs?

One drawback of Mini DVD camcorders is that recording to a disc limits the length of your video. Most Mini DVD models can record about 35 minutes of high-quality video on a standard disc (on a few units we tested, though, using the highest quality setting limits you to about 20 minutes). Most models we saw support dual-layer discs, which have twice the capacity of standard discs. You must finalize each disc before you can remove it--and completing that minutes-long process could cause you to miss a crucial video opportunity.

Every hard-disk camcorder we tested had a 30GB hard drive--roomy enough to store approximately 7 hours of high-quality footage (or about 14 hours of video shot in normal mode). Some other models available have 60GB drives. If you plan to shoot video in inclement weather or in dusty environments, an HDD camcorder is your best bet, because its sealed compartment is less susceptible to infiltration by foreign substances than is a camcorder that uses removable media.