They have one job to do: shoot shareable video of your fast-paced life. And everyone seems to want one. But with the newer models touting higher quality footage and more features, such as rugged designs and tripod stands, picking one can seem daunting. So we’ve rounded up four models from the top brands—Flip, Kodak, Sony, and Toshiba—and put them through their paces to find out which one offers the best mix of price, usability, and performance. Check out sample video for each camcorder in the slideshow below.

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Cisco Flip SlideHD

An awkward design and limited touchscreen capabilities overshadow this camcorder’s high-quality video and generous memory capacity.

Pros Brightly lit video quality Long battery life 3.5mm headphone jack

Cons Bulky and heavy Expensive Finicky resistive touchscreen Low-resolution display Doesn’t support 1080p

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