Samsung SCL-520 Hi8 Camcorder

Samsung has been making both film cameras and camcorders for many years now, first as a manufacturer for a major Japanese camera company, and now on its own. The years of experience have paid off, and Samsung now sells high-quality, low-cost, entry-level camcorders under its own name.

The SCL-520 includes a 22x optical (440x digital) zoom lens, plus a 2.5-inch swivel-screen LCD for composing and reviewing your videos. The biggest feature we wished this camera included? Image stabilization. But if you have a steady hand, or don't mind if your movies have that slightly shaky traditional camcorder look (think The Blair Witch Project), the SCL-520 gives you a lot of camcorder for the price.