Believe it or not, HF11 actually wasn't one of the many units Canon introduced at CES, but curiously enough, that moniker is showing up on the outfit's own website. When taking a peek at the Drivers & Downloads section for the DC320 DVD camcorder, you'll find a link for a PDF brochure of the VIXIA family that supposedly includes the HF11. Upon opening said file, however, you'll discover nary a mention of the mysterious item. A new model waiting just around the bend? A simple typo? A devilish trick played by the suits at Canon? The world may never know.

[Thanks, Dan]

Although Panasonic's HDC-SD9 is mighty, mighty small, reviewers over at CNET felt that it fell short in a number of key areas. For starters, Panny included a few quirky design choices; for instance, removing the battery requires the LCD cover to be open, but doing so can also turn the camera on unless you place it in a different mode. Granted, the minuscule size didn't leave the outfit too much to work with, but if you're easily flustered by these kinds of niggles, you can run far, far away right now. As for image quality, critics noted that still shots were marginally better than awful, but capturing full motion HD clips was something it did manage to do relatively well. Overall, no one handling this critter was enthusiastically shouting for joy when all was said and done, so do yourself a favor and eye the review down there before clicking that order button.

If you thought the HD camcorder announcements at NAB Show 2008 started and ended with Canon's new duo, you'd be sorely mistaken. Panasonic is launching a new one of its own under the limelight: the Fall-bound AG-HMC150. This handheld rig is the newest member of the AVCCAM family and can capture clips at 1,280 x 720 or 1,440 x 1,080 while utilizing the industry standard MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 compression profile. You'll also find native 16:9 1 / 3-inch 3CCD imagers, a digital signal processor with 14-bit A / D conversion and 19-bit processing, 13x Leica Dicomar zoom lens, optical image stabilization and the ability to store footage on SD / SDHC flash cards. Sure, $4,500 is still a lot of coin, but it's certainly within the realm of reason for many prosumers out there.

Though not nearly as sexy (or well-spec'd, for that matter) as Sony's recently-unveiled HDR-TG1, AgfaPhoto's DV-5000Z still manages to hold its own on paper. Measuring in at 4.7- x 2.75-inches (12- x 7-centimeters) and weighing just over 7-ounces (200-grams), this HD camcorder features a 5-megapixel Micron CMOS sensor, 2.5-inch flip-out LCD, 3x optical zoom and an SD / SDHC slot to store everything on. As for shooting capabilities, it'll capture clips at 1,280 x 720 (using H.264 compression) and snag 16-bit stereo sound all the while. You'll also find USB connectivity, a rechargeable Li-ion and video out, natch. Unfortunately, there's no mention of this €249 ($393) device ever coming Stateside, but it'll be ready to roll in Russia later this month.

We already spotted Canon's entirely more interesting high-definition camcorder lineup, but for those cool with doing things the SD way, the firm's got a whole slew dedicated to you. Getting things started are the flash memory-based FS11 ($599), FS10 ($499) and FS100 ($399) models, all of which include a 48x optical zoom, 1.07-megapixel CCD sensor, SDHC support and the DIGIC DV II image processor. Moving on, we've got the DC330 ($379), DC320 ($369) and DC310 ($349) DVD camcorders, which also add an SDHC expansion slot for storing photos and an LCD Video Light for "extra illumination in low light conditions." Finally, we've got the ZR950 ($279), ZR930 ($269) and ZR900 ($249) MiniDV models, which handle the basics and little more. For all the nitty-gritty, tag the read link below.

Not enough dough to snag yourself an HDD-based camcorder? No worries -- Panasonic's lookin' out for you with the introduction of two new SD-based iterations. The waterproof (up to five feet) SDR-SW20 can handle seawater and kiddie pools alike, and the rugged enclosure also resists bumps and dust. As for the ultra-compact SDR-S7, it's made for slightly gentler conditions but shares the same 10x optical zoom and 2.7-inch LCD monitor found on the aforementioned sibling. Best of all, both units can record to SD and SDHC, enabling users to store over 13 hours of SD content onto a 16GB SDHC card. The SW20 is set to land next month for $399.99, while the more vulnerable S7 (shown after the jump) hits in May for a C-note less.

JVC hasn't shown off any of its fancy Everio camcorders in quite awhile, but it's making a noticeable return with the HDD / SDHC-compatible GZ-HD3. This handheld camcorder does it up right with a built-in 60GB hard drive, MPEG-2 HD recording (though not Full HD, reportedly), and the ability to capture onto SD / SDHC flash cards. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of details beyond that are readily available, but while you wait patiently for a release date and price, feel free to click on for a few more glamor shots.

If you've been eyeing all these glitzy SD camcorders, but can't conjure up the coin to afford such niceties, Japan's Exemode has released the DV308 for pocket-sized recording on the cheap. While Panasonic's latest effort may sport 3CCDs, and Sanyo touts 720p, that's not the DV308's game -- with a plain 'ole 3.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, the inability to play nice with SD cards over 2GB, and the not-so-legendary Japanese ODM build quality, this device provides a no frills, inexpensive way to record to SD. The biggest boon is its ability to utilize XviD compression rather than the more typical MPEG-4 / 2, which reportedly allows up to 1.5 hours of recording on a single 2GB card. An apparent last ditch effort to boost the feature set sees an MP3 player thrown into the mix, but this isn't likely to become your DAP of choice anytime soon. While you won't find stunning attributes nor remarkable storage capabilities on this SD camcorder, your wallet will greatly thank you after dropping just ¥19,800 ($171) on the DV308 in late August.

[Via Impress]