Technology Review: Cameras for Every Budget

What We Say A great benefit to this ‘starter’ camera is the replaceable external battery pack. Other cameras within this price range have internal batteries with limited life.

What Sony Says This camera shoots high definition (1080p) video, but is simple to use. It captures everything from wide open scenes to quick glances.

Canon Legria HF G40 Mid-Level €1,000 • £900 • $1,150

What We Say This is an affordable HD camera with a decent lens.

What Canon Says A versatile, easy-to-use camera with outstanding optics, HD CMOS pro sensor and wide dynamic range.

Panasonic HC X-1000 High-Level €2,500 • £2,250 • $2,900

What We Say The cheapest 4K camera on the market, plus an amazing lens.

What Panasonic Says This was the first camcorder to record 4K 60p/50p images to an SD card. It has a Leica Dicomar lens, BSI Sensor and Crystal Engine Pro 4K.

Sony PXW-Z190 Best in Class €4,000 • £3,600 • $4,600

What We Say A very professional, yet still affordable 4K camera. Excellent lens, with output to SDI or HDMI at 1080p 25fps. This is the highest quality your Blackmagic Mini Recorder can handle.

What Sony Says This superb all-rounder has a wide range of 4K and HD single camera shoots with an all-new 1/3-type 3CMOS sensor. A powerful 25x zoom lens with three independent lens rings delivers pinsharp 4K imaging for almost any professional shooting scenario.