Going high definition is a good—albeit somewhat expensive—idea. Many people have, or are planning to get, an HD television. HD videos can be shown on a television. Many computer monitors can display HD content, as well. Once you shoot in HD, you won’t be happy with standard definition.

Recommending an HD camcorder isn’t as easy as you might think. The choice will depend on how you'll use it.

Do you want something small and portable? How much storage space will you need? Will you be burning high-definition DVDs? Are you into editing videos?

There is an HD camcorder for everyone. I’ll make some suggestions. But before you buy, really think about what features you'll need.

Sanyo Xacti HD700 ($500)

The Xacti HD700 is one of the most affordable HD camcorders around. And being a flash-based camcorder, it’s also one of the smallest.

This camcorder records to SD or SDHC memory cards. It can record nearly 3 hours of HD video on an 8GB card. You’ll have to buy memory cards separately. An 8GB card sells for around $60.