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JVC HD Everio GZ-HM400 (Creative, Under $1,000)

If you aspire for your homemade movies to be more 'American Beauty' than America's Funniest, you'll need to forgo the raft of pocket-sized but underpowered HD camcorders and opt for a higher-end model. Which is where's JVC's newest Everio, the GZ-HM400 HD camcorder steps in. Able to record both crisp 1080 at 60fps HD video, as well 600fps slow-mo shots (you know for when your hero jumps from an exploding helicopter, or, uh, you record a friend sneezing), the HM400 has as built-in 32-gigabyte (GB) hard drive for recording up to 14 hours of AVCHD video, and nicely also an SD slot should you fill up your rig too soon. While we continue to shy away from counting on a camcorder for still shots, the HM400 does take 10 megapixel pictures, or 5.3 megapixels images in the midst of shooting video should you need the option. And taking things to a more prosumer level, an accessory shoe and audio in/out jacks allow for attaching mics and monitoring audio levels on the fly. If a budding filmmaker in your life is in the market for high-end HD, but can't afford to go pro, this camcorder will do just fine.