As far as I’m concerned, the HF-G40 is the go-to choice for users who want an affordable, simple-to-operate camcorder geared towards event capture. The impressive zoom range (27mm-576mm) provides excellent flexibility to shooters tied down to one position (I’m talking to you, mister 50 to 75 feet away from the stage). Dazzle your family and friends with a dramatic push in by using the camera’s servo-zoom feature! The selection of internal recording options offers glorious Full HD footage in a variety of file size-conscious formats that won’t make you have to go out and buy a supercomputer to process the footage. The image sensor is slightly larger than that of its predecessor, the HF-G30, which makes it slightly more adept at low-light capture—another plus for indoor shooting.

All that being said, my major gripe is probably with the camera’s internal microphone, which is perfect if you want to be sure to capture the sound of you yawning behind the camera with as much crystal clarity as the old lady opening a peppermint two rows away. If you’re concerned with the sound in your video, I strongly suggest accessorizing with one of the recommended compact microphones, or upgrading to the XA30, which offers the same feature set plus an audio top handle so you can attach a professional microphone like the NTG-2. Nevertheless, for simplicity’s sake, this guy can’t be beat.