A simple comparison test

To get a better feel for the similarities and differences between the video that these cams produced, I decided to conduct an experiment on some of the summer flowers outside of my apartment.

The Panasonic 'SD9 produced the warmest hues, possibly due to the three CCDs, which tend to let in more light for more vibrant colors. The video was very clear and smooth, although I admit that the light weight of the cam helped me keep a steadier hand.

The Sony 'SR10's footage was quite true to life. The touchscreen made it really easy for me to shoot and review my video, so I could quickly make any needed changes and start recording again before the shot passed. It was a little harder for me to hold this cam steady during zooming though, due to its heavier weight at 19 ounces.

The Canon HF10 produced very natural, clearly defined footage. The zoom was very smooth, and shooting in automatic mode produced some nice results. Of course I also had fun experimenting with the manual settings, which allowed me to get more creative with my video.

Playing your high-def footage

Beautifully recorded high-def footage doesn't do you any good unless you can watch it on a high-def screen. All three of these cams have mini HDMI outputs, which made it easy for me to play my videos and photos on my HDTV. All three also have mini USB outputs, so I could play my footage on my computer and save backups to my hard drive. (I also had to plug all three into an AC outlet to give them power while I transferred or viewed my footage.)

It was also really convenient to use my memory card reader at home to play footage from the Panasonic 'SD9's SD memory card. The Sony 'SR10 and Canon HF10 also have Memory Stick Pro and SD card slots (respectively), so I could easily record photos exclusively to the memory card, and then plug the card into my card reader for a quick transfer.

A few software considerations
Keep in mind that if you want to watch, edit, or make DVD copies of your high-def footage using your computer, then you're going to need some software that's AVCHD compatible. AVCHD is a pretty new high-def video recording format, and so far software developers have had some trouble keeping up.

The Sony HDC-SD9 came with an AVCHD player and Picture Motion Browser that played my footage well, but it didn't offer any serious video editing options. The Canon HF10 came with ImageMixer™ 3 SE, which offered more editing options, and unlike the other two, was compatible with both Macs and PCs.

Panasonic packages Pinnacle® Studio 11 Plus with the HDC-SD9, but I found it to be very clunky on my computer. The video was slow and choppy, and the audio quickly fell out of sync with the video. A call to Panasonic's customer service revealed that my computer's graphics card wasn't up to par with what the software required to display my high-def AVCHD footage. So don't forget to make sure that your computer meets all of the operating requirements of the software. You can find this information on the software's packaging, or on the developer's website.

If your computer doesn't meet the correct standards, then you can either update your computer's software and/or hardware, or either buy or download some different software. For more information on choosing software and editing your video, check out Tara's article on editing your home movies.

Here's another high-def shot taken using the Canon HF10. The colors are very true to life, and I could see every vein in the wings of the dragonfly.

My Recommendations

Since the Panasonic HDC-SD9 combined the picture and video modes, and had user-friendly suggestions, I would recommend this cam for beginners. I loved its light weight, as well as the gorgeously vivid hues it captured, and found it to be easier for on-the-fly recording.

If you'd like more true-to-life colors, but still want some beginner-friendly features, then I'd recommend the Sony HDR-SR10. You'll get a little more flexibility with the settings and an easy-to-use touchscreen. It's also a good choice if you want something that will give you the chance to grow as a videographer, since you can experiment with some manual settings like the focus and exposure.

If you're really into shooting video and want a lot of flexibility and control, then the Canon HF10 is a great choice. I really enjoyed the crisp, clear quality of the video and photos. For me, the internal flash memory was also a plus. It's quite battery efficient and has no moving parts, so it should last a long time. And with an accessory shoe and mic connections, you'll be able to expand the cam's capabilities for some more serious filming.