Samsung SC-DC564

The Samsung SC-DC564 is a 3" DVD-R, 3" DVD+ RW, and 3" DVD-RW-based, consumer camcorder. Compared to other consumer camcorders on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $410. Has a 26x optical zoom, which is somewhat more powerful than some similarly priced camcorders.

Supports manual focus, which helps savvy users to tape in hard to focus situations. This product weighs just 15.2 ounces without battery and media, which is quite light.

Built for those who want the perks of a DVD recordable disc but don't mind the compromises. In view of its very inexpensive price, this camcorder has good features for the money.

Mini DVD camcorders record high quality MPEG-2 footage directly to a mini DVD-R or DVD-RAM and can deliver more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, depending on camcorder quality.

Recording directly to disc makes it convenient for playing directly in set top players and for storage. Best for trendsetter, home and vacation moviemaker, business videographer.

Samsung SC-MM10S

Video cameras using a memory card format are able to achieve an ultra compact design. Because they record highly compressed video, they're best suited for gadget lovers who want to use their footage mainly on Web sites and in email.

Digital camcorders that record MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 to memory cards may be picky about the cards you use since those encoding schemes require the ability to write to the card more quickly than most standard cards can handle.

Allows for very compact camcorders. Easy searching and random access to video segments. Selectable image quality levels, including high quality variable bit rate recording.

Both video and still images are recorded on disc (instead of on a cassette and a memory card). Relatively short recording times. Video is highly compressed.