Genius G-Shot HD520

Digital image stabilization ; Large flip-out LCD ; Motion detection mode ; Decent indoor video quality

Records only 22kHz mono audio ; Zoom stutters ; Poor overall video quality ; Inelegant controls

Price ; Flexibility ; HDMI cable included

Sub-HD performance ; Irritating to handle

It's cheap as chips, but has the performance to match

We weren’t bowled over by the Genius G-Shot HD520. It crams in a lot of ideas but doesn’t execute them terribly well. We’d be happy to take this camcorder out and about to record a family fun day, but wouldn’t rely on it as our everyday digital camera.

Unlike the candy bar-like shapes of the UltraHD, Vado HD, and Zi6, the G-Shot features a pistol-grip design with a flip-out LCD (its design is similar to the Xacti). The flip-out LCD can rotate 270 degress, so you can turn the display around for...

We weren’t bowled over by the Genius G-Shot HD520. It crams in a lot of ideas but doesn’t execute them terribly well. We’d be happy to take this camcorder out and about to record a family fun day, but wouldn't rely on it as our everyday digital camera.

At that price, you'd be excused for thinking the HD520 would be a little light on in the features department, but Genius has managed to squeeze in face detection, electronic image stabilizers (EIS), Z-lighting technology to enhance brightness in low...