What better way to torture friends and family than with home movies? Once upon a time, it was a big deal to get out the huge movie camera that you had to hoist up on your shoulder. Even when movie cameras got smaller, they were still pretty large. Nowadays, these things are so small that you could probably take movies of your friends and family without anyone being the wiser—at least for a minute or so.

Movie cameras are also cheaper now, too, enough that practically everyone can have one. Of course, you can pay $1,000 for a camera if you want to, but you don't have to. If all you want to do is take the moving equivalent of a snapshot, then cheap and small is the way to go. If you have an M. Night Shamalayan in your family, however, you might consider something a little meatier. Make him prove himself on one of these babies first, though.

If you are looking for an inexpensive camcorder for home movies and things like that, the Canon ZR700 just might be exactly what you're looking for. It offers 25x optical zoom, 680k-pixel definition, auto and manual focus, image stabilization, a 2.7-inch LCD, and mini DV storage capabilities. It weighs only 13.4 ounces, which is just under a pound.

Here are a few other details as well: The camcorder type is digital, with a mini DV recording format. It has a color viewfinder and a digital zoom capability of 1,000x. The lens focal length is 2.6-65mm. Those kinds of things are important to some people.

This particular model has been out since January 2006, which could explain its low price. 

Canon ZR700 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

Posted by Rhonda.