Bought my Canon HF20 last Black Friday at Best Buy for $495.

Pros: Great features, outstanding picture, very small (like a soda can), HDMI out, great zoom capabilities, Flash base (internal and card capable), shoe for external add ons, great price.

Cons: Software or lack of it, backup battery a must, no HDMI cable included, average in low light.

I would recommend it highly. Intel i930 (4x 2.80ghz), 12 gb Corsair Dominator DDR3 ram, 1.5gb Nvidia GTX480, Asus P6t mb, 850w XFX PSu, Windows 7 HP

Hi,

Both Sony and Canon have models within your price range. I use both, but mostly the Canon because it's shoots in 25p as as well as 50i.

Take a look at the Sony HDRCX155, which is the cheapest HD flash model they do, and it comes with the ability to shoot at 1920x1080 with a bitrate of 24mbps. The more expensive models are the HDRCX350 and HDRCX550. These all shoot in 50i only, or 60i in NTSC land.

On the Canon front, their cheapest offering seems to be the HFR16 but that shoots only in 50i. The more expensive HFM31 and the monster HFS200/20/21 are all excellent and do shoot in both 25p and 50i. These are the Legria range for PAL land, there are equivalent Vixia models with the same model numbers for NTSC land that shoot in 24p, 30p and 60i.

If you are looking for a camera that is compatible with SVRT (smart rendering) in Powerdirector, I'd go for Canon and Sony.

SVRT aside, I know there are users on here who have no issues with Sanyo and Panasonic cameras plus these makes give you more for your money and shoot excellent quality video.

SVRT support for Panasonic and Sanyo cameras is being investigated. I know this because I nag Cyberlink regularly about it.

Cheers,

Andrew Alienware Aurora ALX R4 - Intel i7-4820 4.2 GHz - 32GB DDR3 RAM - Crucial 512GB SSD - 1TB Seagate HDD - 3TB WD Green HDD - 4TB WD Green HDD - MSI NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB

Sony HDR-PJ810 and HDR-PJ530

I'm shooting a Canon HF S100 which I bought used on eBay for around 625.00, but this came with a bunch of extras. I seen some with the cam alone were seeling for JUST over $500.00. Cant beat this cam I think. I like it because it takes a great 8mp pic as well as great video. Some say the pic's arent that good, but I use some for my screen savor and they look great.

1 on right now Item number: 280552437281

Take a look.

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/8727.page

Hi
whatever camera you get....make sure it has a viewfinder. Richard
Panasonic HDC-TM700P

My suggestion would be research on the net the best you can then take your SD card to the store and try out the cameras you like best. Some cameras just feel different in your hands and will depend on what you like.

Plus you will then have the footage to check out at home to see what one you like best. My youtube channel====> http://www.youtube.com/user/relate2?feature=mhsn

Quote: OK i am looking to upgrade my Camcorder. I have a SD JVC right now. I want to up grade to a HD with good video and GREAT Audio. I am willing to add a mic. I do not want to spend over 500 for the camra so i will have about 250 left to spend on extras. Any one out there have any advice on a great HD camcorder.

I have heard that
Cannon has a good one
but Sony and JVC are the ones to look at.

Any feed back is welcome

I got my Canon Vixia HF S20 a few weeks ago. I am very happy with it and recomend it highly.
You can check it out here
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/canon-vixia-hf-s20/4505-6500_7-33949016.html

Hi Hilde00,

If you are looking for great sound, you might want to try a Sony. Many of their camcorders record in 5.1 Dolby Digital.

I purchased a Sony bluetooth wireless microphone. The wireless mic feeds the center channel, while the mic on the camera picks up the surround.

The sound is great.

Good Morning BradyB

Thanks for the information. I can not possible buy another camcorder now after I just spend almost $ 1000.00 but I will look it up for the future.