JVC Everio GZ-MG30 Hard-Drive Camcorder

$900; www.jvc.com

What it is: The first tapeless, disc-free digital video camera with enough storage to make it a real contender.

What we like about it: The Everio, with a built-in 30-gigabyte hard drive, has a big enough memory to make you happily forget all about tapes and storage discs. It holds up to 101/2 hours of DVD-quality footage on its hard drive and works like any other camcorder. To play back home movies, hook the device directly to your television set, or watch on the 2.5-inch color LCD screen. Or you can upload any video you want to save directly to your computer, where you can also edit raw footage or burn copies for relatives.

The Everio is small and lightweight, just 13 ounces, yet it's packed with features, including a 25x optical zoom and technology that protects the hard drive if you drop it. You can also use the Everio as a still digital camera.

Another idiot-proof benefit of the hard-drive format: Unlike with tape- or disc-based camcorders, there's no chance of accidentally recording over something you've shot earlier. When the hard drive is full, you simply can't record any more footage.

What to watch out for: There's a worrisome trend in recent digital video and still camera design that the Everio has embraced: no viewfinder. You have to use the Everio's LCD screen to frame shots.

Also, its software is not intuitive, which makes the learning curve for viewing, transferring and burning footage a bit of a bear. For example, until we got fully acclimated, we had some trouble finding a short video on the camera's hard drive, a task that should be hassle-free, even for the uninitiated.