This camcorder is our pick

Author's Rating:

Pros: Small size, zoom is great, cost is reasonable

Cons: LCD touchpad worries me, batteries are large

The Bottom Line: 
We really like it. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to use it, cost was reasonable, and features can't be beat.

Author's Review
After looking through the endless options, we chose the HC21 for its options, size, and for its price.

The options that come on the camera make it easy to use. There is the easycam mode, and then the manual mode. Both are "easy" to use and neither mode caused me to open the booklet and read the instructions. The layout of the buttons are self-explanatory.

The nightshot is good with a reasonable amount of light. It works great in the kids' bedrooms, the tent, watching deer, etc. But it didn't work well in the dark rooms at the zoo. Maybe I was asking a bit too much there though.

The zoom is great. We can zoom in on everything we want. From the zoo animals to my youngest playing baseball. It is stable enough that I don't notice any "shake" unless I've zoomed really close, and I think that is a given.

I'm a little leery of using the screen for selecting options still. No one I know of has had any problems with doing it, aside from some greasy fingerprints. Just be careful.

Also, we like the ease in plugging it into a television with the red/yellow/white cords. We were able to watch what we did earlier in the day in the motel without having to worry about bringing anything special. It made winding down on the trip enjoyable.

I'm not impressed with the software at this juncture. I don't have firewire, so I relied on the usb to transfer to my pc. It is minute-minute so it can easily take 90 minutes for just the transfer. If you have firewire, go for it!

The weight and overall size is very nice. It has the right contour to fit most any hand without the "loose" feel, so it erases most fears of dropping it. After a while you can forget it's even on your hand!

Battery size is a downside though. When you upgrade from the minute one that comes standard, the size multiplies and hangs right there off of the back of the camcorder. This is a bit annoying and I don't necessarily like it.

The tapes are really great. After looking at the other cameras out there, these really stand out. They are much smaller, which keeps the size of the camcorder down, easier to carry extras, and they don't take up much space to store.

The price we paid was reasonable. Sears had a special, WalMart had theirs also on sale. So we pitted them against each other and came out the winner! It pays to shop around.

Overall I think that this is a great little camera for the family. It takes really nice shots, it is convenient to carry around, and it doesn't cost a lot.