The MHS-PM1 ($169.99 MSRP) and MHS-CM1 are the two members of Sony's Webbie HD line of camcorders. While the MHS-CM1 has the traditional horizontal layout of a consumer camcorder, the MHS-PM1 offers an upright design that strongly resembles the popular Flip series of camcorders. Both Webbie HD camcorders offer 1440 x 1080 HD recording at 30 frames per second (30p). In addition to its compact design, the PM1 has a unique movable lens system that allows you to rotate the lens up to 270-degrees (great for self-shooting). The MHS-PM1 certainly has a lot more to offer than the Flip camcorders—you can change video resolutions, use scene modes, and take 5-megapixel still images. The real question, however, is whether the camcorder is able to emulate the Flip's intuitive design and simple interface.

As far as gadgets go, the iPhone is as ubiquitous as water. One of the big new features on the iPhone 3G S is video recording. Given the fact that so many people will own one, it's only natural to suspect that 3G S owners will consider saving a few hundred bucks and making their phone their default camcorder (at least until the economy picks up). With this in mind, we thought it important to stand the new iPhone up against the competition to see how it fares.

In short, the iPhone 3G S is a surprisingly capable camcorder. It's at least as good as the standard definition Flip Mino, and offers an exceptionally intuitive interface that far exceeds the typical, labyrinthine experience of a full-featured video camera. Lacking HD, it falls short of being a complete replacement, but we are very impressed with Apple's first time out on the field.

The Rebel T1i is Canon's newest member of the emerging trend of video-capable DSLR cameras. With a price tag of just under $900, the T1i offers you the ability to capture full HD video with the option of using any EF or EF-S series of lenses from Canon. While the Rebel T1i does boast a full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution, the camera only captures video at the unusual speed of 20 frames per second when using this resolution. Other drawbacks include a lack of manual aperture control, which severely limits the camera's ability to adjust depth of field, and the absence of a continuous autofocus function. The camera does have some good aspects, however, including a vivid color performance, good sharpness, and a relatively simple interface.

June 16, 2009 – The incredibly popular Flip series of budget camcorders will now ship with new software, including a Flip Channels feature for sharing videos with groups of friends and a new iPhone application for viewing Flip Channels. The Flip has long dominated the budget camcorder market with its incredibly compact design and simple user interface. For some users, the built-in software is central to the Flip's allure. The addition of Flip Channels and the new iPhone app may strengthen that appeal even more.

After the significant buzz that surrounded last year's D90, Nikon has released its second DSLR camera that can shoot HD video—the D5000. As far as video performance is concerned, the D5000 ($729.95 for body only) showed similar results to the D90. The camera still tops out with a 1280 x 720 video resolution with a 24p frame rate, and records monaural audio via a built-in speaker. Bigger improvements were expected. The new camera does offer some refinements with handling, including a flip-out LCD that makes both handheld and tripod-mounted video recording much more comfortable. So, does this second-generation video-capable DSLR camera have what it takes to compete with a high-end HD camcorder? Want to find out how well the D5000 stacks up against Canon's newest DSLR with a video mode, the Rebel T1i? Check out our full review for answers to these questions.

Weeks after their announcement in Europe and Japan, the U.S. will receive two new HD camcorders, Panasonic confirmed this morning. The HDC-SD10 ($549 MSRP), a memory card camcorder, and the HDC-TM10 ($599 MSRP), which offers 8GB of internal memory and a memory card slot, will arrive in stores in September. 

The Kodak Zx1 ($149.95 MSRP) represents another addition to the growing market of ultra-compact budget camcorders that record HD video. While the current market is dominated by Pure Digital's Flip line of camcorders, products like the Kodak Zx1 and Sony Webbie HD camcorders offer their own unique designs, settings, and features—all in an attempt to produce a simple video recording experience.