What Is The Best HD Camcorder Under $500?

Mirroring the trend of all consumer electronics, camcorders have dropped in price dramatically over the last few years. In fact, due to the reduction in price of the components that make up a camcorder, there are now some seriously impressive models on the market for a fraction of the price they would have cost just a few years ago. Due to the quality of the competition out there, choosing the best HD camcorder under $500 is a tough decision.

There are lots of new models on the market, with numerous new features. As a general guide, it is somewhat of a waste to purchase any camcorder that records with less than 720p quality (HD quality). In fact, due to the comparatively small increase in price, you should carefully consider choosing a 1080p camera - with most new TVs now supporting this enhanced resolution, it is a worthwhile purchase. Due to the quality of the market, it was too difficult to choose the best HD camcorder under $500; so what follows is a run down of three of the best.

The Toshiba Camileo S20 Full HD Pocket Camcorder

This is fantastic product, not just because of the fine quality recording it boasts, but because of its size. It easily fits into the hand, and can be transported in a small bag or even a large pocket. Additionally, forget great camcorders for less than $500 - this device is currently available at certain retailers for less than $100.

Sony HDRCX130 Handycam Camcorder

The Sony Handycam is another small, but extremely high quality recorder. It is more expensive than the Toshiba offering (being sold for between $400 and $500) and is also larger. However, the addition size and expense brings a range of extra features and quality settings, including an image stabilizer and a wide angle lens. It has a minor drawback in that one may expect a camera in its range to include a microphone input (which this does not), but apart from this, it is a very good device.

Sony Bloggie Touch

The Bloggie Touch is available for less than $200 and in controlled entirely using a high-quality touch screen. Showing similarities with the other two models, the Bloggie can record in full 1080p HD and has an in-built 8 GB of storage space, which can hold up to 4 hours of full HD video.

As discussed above, there is no single best HD camcorder under $500, but a range of quality offerings. However, those covered in this article are certainly three of the best.