Canon's doing a major refresh to its line of digital camcorders, introducing the high definition VIXIA series models HF S10, HF S100, HF20, HF200, and HV40, as well as the standard definition FS22, FS21, FS200, DC420, DC410, and ZR960. The latest VIXIA models include two with Canon's most recent image processing chip, the DIGIC DV III. These two, the VIXIA HF S10 and HF S100, record directly to solid-state media; either one to an SDHC card, or the S10 to its internal 32 GB flash memory. The HF20 and HF200 use older DIGIC II chips, but share the same storage options as the S10 and S100, respectively. While the S10 and S100 only support a 10x optical zoom, the HF20 and HF200 go up to 15x. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, the HV40 will record to HDV tape instead of flash memory. All five cameras support a full 1080p resolution.

On the standard definition side of the fence, the FS22 and FS21 record to their built-in 32 GB and 16 GB of flash memory, or to an optional SDHC card. The FS200 forgoes integrated storage, only supporting SDHC. If you're looking for compatibility with older video formats, the DC420 and DC410, differing in their 48x and 41x zoom lenses, burn recordings directly to DVD. For those of you who still dig MiniDV cassettes, the ZR960 is a basic model supporting the digital tape format, along with a 41x zoom like the DC410. All the Canon models should be coming out in early 2009, and we wouldn't be surprised to see them make an appearance at the CES.

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