The Bottom Line: Panasonic's quartet of entry-level HD camcorders--the HDC-HS60, TM60, TM55, and SD60--delivers a nice manual feature set and good performance, as well as solid video quality for their class. As long as you don't pay list price, the SD60 is a great value, and if possible, avoid paying the unnecessary price premium for the hard drive in the HS60.

Specs: MOS, Built-in flash, 11.5 oz, 4.4 in, 2.6 in, 25 x x Zoom lens - 3.02 mm - 75.5 mm - F/1.8-3.3, Panasonic HDC-HS60K - Camcorder - Consumer - Hard disk drive, - Flash card, 2.2 in

The Bottom Line: Panasonic's quartet of entry-level HD camcorders--the HDC-HS60, TM60, TM55, and SD60--delivers a nice manual feature set and good performance, as well as solid video quality for their class. As long as you don't pay list price, the SD60 is a great value, and if possible, avoid paying the unnecessary price premium for the hard drive in the HS60.

Specs: CMOS, Built-in flash, 9.1 oz, 4.4 in, 2.6 in, 25 x x Zoom lens - 3.02 mm - 75.5 mm - F/1.8-3.3, Panasonic HDC-TM55 - Camcorder - Consumer - Flash card, 2 in

The Bottom Line: Panasonic's quartet of entry-level HD camcorders--the HDC-HS60, TM60, TM55, and SD60--delivers a nice manual feature set and good performance, as well as solid video quality for their class. As long as you don't pay list price, the SD60 is a great value, and if possible, avoid paying the unnecessary price premium for the hard drive in the HS60.

Specs: MOS, Built-in flash, 9 oz, 4.4 in, 2.6 in, 25 x x Zoom lens - 3.02 mm - 75.5 mm - F/1.8-3.3, Panasonic HDC-SD60S - Camcorder - Consumer - Flash card, 2 in

The Bottom Line: The flash-based Panasonic HDC-TM700 and its hard-disk sibling, the HDC-HS700, stand out for their low-light video quality and broad set of manual controls. However, while the TM700 is very attractively priced for its class, the HS700 is not, and not worth the price premium unless you absolutely need the hard disk.

Specs: 3MOS, Built-in, 13.4 oz, 5.4 in, 2.7 in, 12 x x Zoom lens - 3.45 mm - 41.4 mm - F/1.5-2.8, Panasonic HDC-TM700K - Camcorder - Consumer - Flash card, 2.6 in

The Bottom Line: The flash-based Panasonic HDC-TM700 and its hard-disk sibling, the HDC-HS700, stand out for their low-light video quality and broad set of manual controls. However, while the TM700 is very attractively priced for its class, the HS700 is not, and not worth the price premium unless you absolutely need the hard disk.

Specs: 3MOS, Built-in flash, 15.9 oz, 5.4 in, 2.7 in, 12 x x Zoom lens - 3.45 mm - 41.4 mm - F/1.5-2.8, Panasonic HDC-HS700 - Camcorder - Consumer - Hard disk drive, - Flash card, 2.6 in

The Bottom Line: The Panasonic SDR-H85 standard-definition camcorder is worth considering for its manual controls and powerful zoom lens in a very compact body--not video quality.

Specs: CCD, 9.6 oz, 4.2 in, 2.5 in, 70 x x Zoom lens - 1.48 mm - 104 mm - F/1.9-5.7, Panasonic SDR-H85 - Camcorder - Consumer - Hard disk drive, - Flash card, 2.2 in

The Bottom Line: The Panasonic SDR-H85 standard-definition camcorder is worth considering for its manual controls and powerful zoom lens in a very compact body--not video quality.

Specs: CCD, 9.6 oz, 4.2 in, 2.5 in, 70 x x Zoom lens - 1.48 mm - 104 mm - F/1.9-5.7, Panasonic SDR-H85A - Camcorder - Consumer - Hard disk drive, - Flash card, 2.2 in

The Bottom Line: The Panasonic SDR-H85 standard-definition camcorder is worth considering for its manual controls and powerful zoom lens in a very compact body--not video quality.

Specs: CCD, 9.6 oz, 4.2 in, 2.5 in, 70 x x Zoom lens - 1.48 mm - 104 mm - F/1.9-5.7, Panasonic SDR-H85S - Camcorder - Consumer - Hard disk drive, - Flash card, 2.2 in

The Bottom Line: The Panasonic SDR-S50 standard-definition camcorder is worth considering for its manual controls and powerful zoom lens in a very compact body--not video quality.

Specs: CCD, 7.5 oz, 4.2 in, 2.5 in, 70 x x Zoom lens - 1.48 mm - 104 mm - F/1.9-5.7, Panasonic SDR-S50N - Camcorder - Consumer - Flash card, 2.2 in

The Bottom Line: The Panasonic SDR-S50 standard-definition camcorder is worth considering for its manual controls and powerful zoom lens in a very compact body--not video quality.

Specs: CCD, 7.5 oz, 4.2 in, 2.5 in, 70 x x Zoom lens - 1.48 mm - 104 mm - F/1.9-5.7, Panasonic SDR-S50 - Camcorder - Consumer - Flash card, 2.2 in