The Sharp Viewcam VL-MC500U's unique design allows for a generous 3-inch LCD. Unlike what you find in other camcorders, the display is stationary, but the lens rotates up to 270 degrees, in case you want to ham it up and record yourself.

In our tests, the VL-MC500U had no trouble keeping up with kids at play, and the pop-up flash nicely brightened the megapixel still shots. We especially like the playback zoom feature, which lets you magnify your footage up to 10X, and the 16:9 recording mode for widescreen TVs.

Even though it weighs only 1.1 pounds, some may find the VL-MC500U's design too unorthodox. More independent-minded filmmakers, on the other hand, will probably consider it a breath of fresh air.