Wondering what the slew of Canon's new camcorders announced earlier this week look like in the flesh? Err, plastic? We went to find out and while the full suite of model numbers is far too extensive to possibly include in this post -- three separate series of camcorders, three models in each, one with lots of internal storage, one with a little, and one that relies entirely on SD-based storage -- we did at least include lots of pictures in the gallery below, and you can read all the specs from the official release here.

Compact cameras are produced in such great numbers and their models refreshed with such great frequency that it's hard to get too excited with each new iteration. It's particularly hard when that refresh is as evolutionary as it is here. But, if it ain't broke you truly shouldn't fix it, and it's hard to find much fault with Canon's compact line. So, the new A-series cameras announced earlier this week, ranging from the A490 all the way up to the A3100 IS, feature changes that are definitely of the evolutionary side. The primary difference is in the packaging, taking more styling queues from the Elph line and generally looking slimmer and sleeker than before. SDXC compatibility is in the cards if you're the wealthy type, but otherwise these won't break the bank, ranging from a thoroughly affordable $110 up to a still quite reasonable $180 for the A3100 IS.

Wondering how Canon's high-ISO response to Nikon performs in the dark? We've got the answer. Photographer John Deeb got his early and was not only kind enough to take a comprehensive set of unboxing pictures with a video, but also captured a series of pictures of model Lauren Howery to show off how the thing performs in extremely low light at increasingly excessive ISO settings. Lots and lots of pictures below.

We know you've been coveting that primo Canon VIXIA HF S11 hi-def camcorder we got our hands on a few months back, and now it looks like the company is going wild -- debuting two new camcorder lines (and three new S series machines) for your consideration. All nine new Vixia models offer flash or SD-card-based storage -- or both. And when both are present, the Relay Recording feature allows the camera to automatically switch between storage devices during recording. If that weren't enough, all SD-packin' machines are compatible with the SDXC card format (up to 2TB). S series camcorders feature 1080p AVCHD video at 24Mbps, low-light optimized CMOS sensors, Digic 4 processors, 10x optical zoom lenses, 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD panels, and 8 megapixel still photo capture -- with the ability to down-convert to MPEG-2. Prices start at $1,000 -- due out in April. The M series models feature smaller touchscreens (2.7-inch) and a smaller CMOS sensor (which only manages 3 megapixel stills) and will be out in March with a starting price of $680. The R series, which is also out in March, brings up the bottom end with a starting price of $500, but still manages 1080p video (at a lower 17Mbps bitrate), while sacrificing the touchscreen and dropping down to 2 megapixel stills from the smaller, sure-to-be-noisy CMOS. If that all weren't enough, Canon also has two new standard definition cameras in the FS series, with one sporting 16GB of built-in storage and the other doing the removable SD thing, with a starting price of $300. There's full PR after the break.