Best Camcorders - 500 to 600 $ Prices, LCD Panel

'Useful and accessible automatic and manual controls'

'high-quality performance'

'Even if you don’t buy this high-def model, check it out at the local retailer: It’s quite impressive.'

'The usual array of Sony features are present and accounted for, including X.'

'Supports manual focus, which helps intermediate users to tape in hard-to-focus situations. '

'The VPC-WH1 offers a 30x optical zoom, 2-megapixel still photo capture, and Sanyo's new noise reduction technology. '

'The new Samsung HMX-H205 top of the line HD camcorder comes with a beefy 32GB of solid state storage for stashing your videos on, as well as an SDHC card slot to bolster that further, but it’s the promise of a new BSI CMOS sensor on the Samsung HMX-H205 that has us excited. '

'high-end standard-definition DVD camcorder'

'built-in flash strobe'

'decent color and sharpness'

'recording straight to DVD-R/-RW/+RW/+R Dual Layer media formats'

'standard horizontal shape'

'The Optura 60 provides a good degree of manual control, with aperture- and shutter-priority modes, plus a focus ring'