Holiday Preview: Digital Camera and Camcorder Buying Guide

Here is a look at the hottest cameras and camcorders to look for this Holiday Season.

Memories are great things. Still, it’s a lot better having hard copies of events (specifically, pictures and videos) to help you relive each special moment rather than some hazy thoughts that get cloudier with each passing year. Enter 10 digital cameras and camcorders new for this holiday season that prove just the trick when it comes to documenting any occasion. Fancy yourself ready to start preserving all those heartwarming fireside chats and festive dinners for future generations to come? Snap those shutter buttons or hit record and let these great gadgets do the rest.

Canon PowerShot G10, $499 

The G series is near and dear to the hearts of shutterbugs. They love the old rangefinder feel, and it’s a solid, portable point-and-shoot unit that’s great to snap pictures with when the old D-SLR isn’t readily available. The new G10 has been bumped up to 14.7 megapixels while the lens is a 28-140mm 5x zoom; OIS is a given. Also new are click dials for changing ISO and modes, a cool retro throwback. The huge 3-inch LCD rated 461K pixels is a beauty as well. (Check Price)

Casio Exilim EX-FH20, $599

This model and the more expensive EX-F1 are very unique digicams. They take still images at ridiculously fast rates, and at top resolution (40 fps for the FH20, 60 for the F1). If you want to capture action scenes such as skiers on the slopes or your friends chugging eggnog, these are the cameras for you. Mind you, the F1 is way too expensive at $999, but the FH20 is a bit more realistically priced. Even though, that is, a $600 digicam should have optical image stabilization, not electronic. The 9MP camera also has a 20x zoom and a high-quality 3-inch LCD screen though, making it a solid choice nonetheless. (Check Price)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, $799

Panasonic and Olympus are introducing the first point-and-shoot digicams with interchangeable lenses. They are not D-SLRs (there’s no mirror mechanism), but you can swap lenses: Pretty neat. The G1 comes with a 14-45mm lens and since the new micro Four Thirds system has a 2x digital factor, it’s a 28-90mm 35mm equivalent. In addition, the cameras are very small like aim-and-forget digicams, but blaze a very distinct trail. (Check Price)

Nikon D700, $2,999

Overexcited photo geeks aren’t a pretty sight, but whenever the Nikon D700 is on display, you’ll find them lusting over this advanced D-SLR—not the D90, the first to take HD video. It has a 12.1MP full-frame imager, meaning any lens you attach is stated focal length and digital noise is a thing of the past. In fact, this baby can shoot at ISO 25,600 although 200-6400(!) is the native range. The D700 has many of the attributes of the $5,000 D3 including 51 focus points. It even records 5 fps at full resolution. Stop drooling, start saving and buy it. (Check Price)

Sony alpha DSLR-A900, $2,999 

This alpha is the big dog in town—it has a whopping 24.6-megapixel full-frame imager, the most potent available for consumers (pros have 50MP options). Suffice it to say that huge 13×19 prints are no problem for this baby. Like other alphas, it sports built-in sensor shift stabilization so you don’t have to go broke buying specific stabilized lenses, e.g. those required for Canon and Nikon D-SLRs. If its 3K asking price is beyond your budget, however, look closely at the A350 ($799 kit), a D-SLR with a Live View that really works. (Check Price)

Samsung SC-HMX20C, $799 

The company known for cheapo MiniDV and DVD-based camcorders took a big leap forward this year with its first quality high-def edition. The HMX20C is extremely lightweight since it records to optional SDHC cards or 8 gigs of internal memory. It also uses H.264 encoding, and you can record 1920×1080 pixel video at either 60 frames (i) and 30 progressive. The HMX20C has a 6.4MP sensor, a 10x zoom and a 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD to boot. (Check Price)

Sony HDR-CX12, $899

As tape and DVD-based camcorders fade away, flash memory models are booming. The Sony HDR-CX12 with a 5MP CMOS sensor records 1920×1080i video onto Memory Stick PRO Duo cards, making it very light and compact. Borrowing from the company’s digicams, the CX12 further has Face Detection and Smile Shutter which snaps a photo when taking video if your subject shows their pearly whites. The camcorder additionally boasts a 12x zoom, optical image stabilization and records 5.1-channel surround sound. (Check Price)

Canon Vixia HF11, $1,199 

Part of the flash-cam trend, the high-def HF11 records to 32GB of built-in memory or optional SDHC cards. Like the HG21, it captures 1920×1080i AVCHD video at a speedy 24 Mbps so picture quality is excellent. It has a 12x zoom, a 3.3MP CMOS sensor and optical image stabilization, so while expensive, it’s also a winner. (Check Price)

Canon Vixia HG21, $1,299 

The HG21 – along with the Sony SR12 – ranked among the two best camcorders we reviewed this past year. Both have 120GB hard drives, take 1920×1080i video, capture good stills and are fine examples of great HD home video makers. As we said when we previously reviewed the HG21 and gave it our Editor’s Choice award: “Simply put: this baby is in the top ranks of 2008 consumer camcorders.” (Check Price)

JVC HD Everio GZ-HD6, $1,299 

Another Editor’s Choice, this HDD high-def camcorder outputs 1080p video—not 1080i—and quality is superb. The stealthy-looking unit packs in 10x optical zoom, a 120GB hard drive and optical image stabilization to take the shakes out of handheld scenes as well. The only drawback is its piddling 2MP still capability, but video caliber is yummy. ‘Nuff said. (Check Price)