With the Vixia HF G10 ($1499 MSRP), Canon's latest flagship camcorder, the company decided to use a completely different image sensor with a smaller amount of pixels. If you check out the results from our performance testing, you'll quickly see the change paid off—particularly in low light situations. The only drawback? The HF G10 cannot capture high-resolution still photos.

The Panasonic HDC-TM900 is the successor to the lauded HDC-TM700, our pick for Camcorder of the Year in 2010. The TM900 offers the same fantastic video performance as its predecessor, particularly with its widely-praised 1080/60p mode, but Panasonic didn't improve on much else.

The Canon HF M40 is the latest mid-range camcorder from Canon. With the same risky new sensor, this impressive bargain has great low light performance and a plethora of manual controls.

Sony's newest high-end camcorder—the Handycam HDR-CX700V—offers Full HD 60p and 24p recording, as well as a traditional 60i record mode. These new frame rate options, along with the camcorder's 96GB of internal flash memory, make it one of the more intriguing flagship models to hit the shelves in 2011.

With an MSRP of $2295, the AG-HMC40 is one of the cheapest and smallest professional camcorders on the market. Its features and controls may be lacking compared to the other pro models we've reviewed, but its low price—along with its ability to record to regular SD/SDHC memory cards—makes it an intriguing product.

In the burgeoning market of hand-held pro camcorders, the tape-based Canon XH A1S isn't anything close to ground-breaking. Still, with a $4000 price tag, it is a reasonably-priced model that's loaded with features and did quite well in our performance testing.

With an MSRP of $3199, the Sony HDR-FX1000 is an HDV camcorder that's packed with enough manual controls and features to keep most people happy. If you're a professional videographer, however, you'll likely be disappointed with the camcorder's lack of precise controls and its cramped design. The HDR-FX1000 is very limited when it comes to audio connectivity (it has no XLR inputs), and the button layout for certain controls is downright terrible. That being said, the camcorder represents a decent value for what you get as there aren't too many models out there that record HD and offer this much control for less than $3200. Also, the HDR-FX1000 performed surprisingly well in our video performance tests, which means if you care more about image quality than the caliber of manual controls, this may be the camcorder for you.