Best camcorders for a summer holiday

Round-up by: Chris Stevens

Last updated: 12 May 2005

So you're jetting off to some exotic location. You've got two choices about what kind of video camera you take: either something light and nimble that will tuck into the back of your rucksack, or a professional 3CCD monster that will do justice to the African savanna.

Only one camcorder in our line-up will really make wildlife footage shine, and that's the Sony FX1. But it's also the bulkiest. If you need great looking video from a compact camcorder, a hard disk model like the JVC Everio is a good trade-off.

Other important considerations when choosing a holiday camcorder include battery life and recordable media. While hard-drive based camcorders are almost unbelievably tiny, they also use the most expensive media. Alternatively, DVD camcorders offer a cheap and easy way of archiving video, but you'll have to sacrifice image quality.

In our experience, MiniDV camcorders are still the best format to take on holiday. You won't have problems buying a replacement MiniDV tape in the Congo. You might, on the other hand, struggle to find an extra Microdrive for your JVC Everio.