Now that the high-definition format war is finally coming to an end, with Blu-ray appearing to have beaten HD DVD into submission, high-def movies are far more likely to grow in popularity.

Whether or not they will enjoy the same astonishing rise that DVD did some ten years ago remains to be seen, but however quick the take-up one thing is becoming clear - HD is here to stay.

High-definition's foothold is good news for those who have already invested in a high-def cam. The good news for the rest of us is that HD videomaking looks likely to become the norm in the coming years.

Though the majority of our reviews are of cams designed for the more discerning videomaker, the £350 Xacti VPC-HD700 is aimed at those looking for a pocket-sized solution. And although it will have many purists turning their noses up at the lack of manual controls and viewfinder, the HD700 reveals itself as a satisfyingly flexible tool.

Design and layout

Though we're loath to use the word, the HD700 is one of those camcorders that screams 'fun'. It boasts jazzy colours, is portable, and aimed more at youngsters and women than your average cam. There's nothing wrong with that, and there's no doubting the advantage of having a cam that can slip easily into your a pocket or a handbag.

The chassis dimensions have more in common with an electric razor than most camcorders and it is held much in the same way. The only handstrap to speak of comes in the form of a piece of string that goes around the wrist to lower the risk of dropping it.

With simple operation in mind, controls are kept to the essentials - buttons for selecting record/playback, record and stillshot, a zoom control and a joystick - and will prove to be frustratingly challenging for anyone with digits bigger than a teenager's.

This isn't a concern for functions that don't require precision (like recording) but it can prove annoying when trying to make smooth, controlled zooms. There is certainly room for a slider twice the size of the challenging one provided.

Fiddly controls

The joystick is miniscule, but is used more for finding features and controlling playback than shooting and isn't as awkward to use as it first appears.

Fiddly though the controls are, operation is intuitive. Onscreen menus are cleanly designed, features are logically ordered and, provided you turn off the American voice that tells you what feature you've just selected, you should be filming in a matter of minutes.

As is common with pocket-sized cams, the connections are positioned mainly on additional housing that the cam docks into for charging. Outputs include composite and component video connections, USB for PCs and HDMI for playback on HD-Ready TVs.

Features

The HD700 captures its HD footage to SD card - the amount you shoot is limited by the capacity of the card you use. Disappointingly, there isn't one bundled, so this is something you will have to invest in. We'd recommend you select a minimum 2GB capacity, as footage takes up a sizeable chunk of capacity.

There is a choice of two high-definition and three standard-definition shooting modes. At the top of the tree sits HD-SHQ, which has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels (not Full HD), at 30fps.

You can expect to store just over 28 minutes of footage on a 2GB card. At the other end of the scale, is the Web-SHQ option. With its 320 x 240 pixel resolution; it's best suited for websites and allows just under four hours and 20 minutes of recording.