When Is a Camcorder Not a Camcorder?

Today’s launch of Sanyo’s Dual-Cam product line has re-opened an existential debate that has gripped humanity for ages. What is a camcorder?

Take these Dual-Cams. They’re not called camcorders, but they shoot high-quality video, have flip-out LCD displays and long zoom lenses. And, like every camcorder on the market, they can shoot still photographs.

You could plausibly argue that products like Pure Digital’s Flip Mino or Creative’s Vado are not camcorders because they have a completely unique design and lower-quality lenses. But Sanyo’s Dual Cams look like camcorders (surely a dead giveaway).

So why not fess up and call them what they are? It could be that because more people buy digital cameras in a given year than camcorders, Sanyo decided they’d tried to ride the more popular coattails. But make no mistake: if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and acts like a duck, it’s probably a camcorder.