Sony’s HDR-XR520V, selling for roughly $1500, is a good travel companion, thanks to its new added feature – the built-in GPS mapping system. Moreover, it has much more to recommend it. From sharp video quality and a 240 GB hard disk drive to a wealth of video features, the HDR-XR520V is a worthy addition to Sony’s camcorder family. The design of external controls is a gleaming indication that this camcorder appeals to the advanced tourist crowd, rather than the budget filmmaker brigade.

Given its touch screen design, the Sony DCR-SR300 suits the casual shooters, who will mostly stick with the camera’s Easy mode. If you’d prefer a hard-drive-based camcorder instead of a tape- or mini-DVD-based one, then this model is good for you.

Sony released their DCR-SR45 in 2008, together with three other standard definition camcorders (DCR-SR65, DCR-SR85 and the DCR-SR220). Their small sizes and the capability of recording to its internal hard disk drive or an option to record to a Memory Stick Duo PRO inserted in its built-in memory slot characterized them all. The DCR-SR45 measures about 3in x 4.4in x 3in (WxDxH) and weighs only 12.3 oz.

The Sony DCR-DVD 508 is Sony’s replacement for the DCR-DVD505 camcorder. The DCR-505 received many great reviews from consumers when it came out in 2006 and Sony produced the DCR-DVD 508 to follow in its success. The new DCR-DVD 508 is equipped with a more powerful CMOS imaging sensor and a better optical image stabilization system.

The HDR-HC9 features a 1/2.9-inch ClearVid CMOS sensor that provides good clarity and detail. It delivers quality video performance at 1080p resolution in HD format, or 530 lines of horizontal resolution in SD format. The CMOS censors require less power, thus extending battery life. The 3.2 megapixels technology takes the digital photography experience to the next level. It has an ability to shoot high-resolution (6.1-megapixel) still images.
It has a 10x optical/20x digital zoom. The optical zoom helps to bring the subject closer and the Digital zoom interpolation makes extreme digital …

The Sony HDR-CX12 High Definition Memory Stick PRO Duo Handycam Camcorder is a great innovation over its predecessor Sony HDR-CX7. Built with class and style, the HDR-CX12 from Sony boasts of high-end CMOS sensor (1/3-inch), and up to 16Mbps bit rate, which is better than the Sony HDR-CX7, but still lower than the 24Mbs on Canon’s HF S10 and HF S100. It has 12X Optical Zoom / 150X Digital Zoom which is more powerful than other Sony Camcorders, but about average for it’s class.

We’ve reviewed a lot of flash memory camcorders, and generally we think flash camcorders are the best of breed of the digital camcorders. They are smaller, lighter, less power hungary, and more reliable, but one thing we’ve never liked about them is the limited video storage. As the recording quality has skyrocketed up to 1080p @ 60 frames per second, the amount of storage space needed to operate one of these camcorders rapidly exceeds the current size of flash memory cards. And even more disturbing is the high performance memory cards needed to record at that quality are VERY expensive. One of our editors stumbled upon the MoFoto Portable Video Storage Device, and we realized that it would be a great companion to the flash camcorders we like so much.