Canon HV20 3MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon HV20 3MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Digital camera Review: Excellent Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this camera for a carry-on only train trip around the country. It's tiny size allowed me to tuck it away in a corner of my carry-on, and yet it recorded fantastic video (3 1/2 hours) that I'm editing now. The video is flawless, bright, and vibrant. Even the stills are great. Though I haven't tried blowing them up above 4X6Digital camera Review: Excellent HD
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera delivers excellent video quality.
I use it with the hot-shoe attachable microphone and the audio is quite good.
I've plugged this into my HD television and the quality is excellent. I have also had the Optura Xi from Canon and while the build quality of the HV20 is not quite as good as that of the Optura Xi, the video quality is nothing short of stunning.
This is a very good deal for $1000. You won't be disappointed.
Digital camera Review: Excellent buy.
Summary: 4 Stars
Solid product for a specific market segment. Very nicely priced and sized, good resolution and few shortcomings...
The product does feel cheap in your hand, but then again that's the very market this camcorder is aimed for.
For more accurate reviews I would recommend, extensive tests around the internet.
Digital camera Review: Excellent camera at a good price
Summary: 4 Stars
I am truly impressed with the quality of video I get with this camera. It's small and easy to use, and at an affordable price. However, the battery that comes with it doesn't have much capacity, even though larger/extra batteries are readily available. The "ho-hum-quality" still-photo feature is a waste to me and seems inconsistent with an HD video camera (if HD is important to someone, so would be hi-res stills that they would probably rely on getting from a second good quality still camera). I would much rather they included the accessory light and an inexpensive carrying case with a strap instead of the snapshot feature, even if it were a little more money. I can't imagine anyone not wanting the accessory light and a way to protect the camera, so I gave it four stars instead of five.Digital camera Review: Excellent for a consumer camera
Summary: 4 Stars
Considering what most people will buy this for, including myself, it's a great little camera. Not too large, not too small as to be unusable. The quality when hooked up to an HD monitor is quite amazing. I switched between footage shot during the day from the cam and our local HD Pbs channel. I could not tell a difference. This was in 1080i through the component connection, not HDMI. I can only imagine what the hdmi looks like. I also like the tape vs hard drive. If you go on a 3 week vacation somewhere, you can buy tapes or bring extras instead of portable hard drive storage. And from what I understand there is less compression on tapes. The tapes actually get you better quality.
I also use pro cameras for videography and do miss the ability to have a constant shutter speed and aperture. When pointing up at my daughter against a blue sky, it adjusts for the bright sky and my daughter's face gets dark. There's a backlight button which will probably do the trick, but an instant exposure dial would be great. Another con, the zoom rocker is TINY. Even my little fingers have a hard time zooming smoothly.
I also noticed when editing, it takes more CPU to even preview the footage due to the compression. If you have an older machine and are wanting to edit, just be aware it may be a tad slower.
Other than a few nitpicks, the quality for price is a bargain. I've been waiting for a consumer 24p HD cam for vacations for a long time. It has arrived and for relatively cheap.