It's been a longish wait, but Canon will finally premiere its first hard-disk based camcorder this October, the AVCHD-compatible HG10. Based on the innards and lens of the HV20, the HG10 nevertheless uses an almost completely different design, one that takes a few chances--not necessarily successful ones.
The HG10 is significantly smaller than the HV20, though at 1 pound, 4 ounces, it's not a whole lot lighter. And though it weighs a tad less than its main competitor, the Sony Handycam HDR-SR7, it's also a bit taller; the silver-and-dark gray body doesn't look quite as snazzy as the SR7's mostly-black chassis, though. The taller body does, however, make it easier and more comfortable to grip.
To squeeze the body, Canon moved and reshaped a lot of the controls. In some cases, as with the large, extremely smooth and comfortable zoom rocker switch and the extendable eye-level viewfinder, the changes work for the better. Some things, such as the nontethered accessory-shoe cover--you might as well toss it now, it's bound to get lost eventually--should have been changed but weren't. And others simply disappointed me. Take, for instance, the new four-way-plus-Set switch with the concentric scroll wheel. On one hand, it's far better than a touch screen. But it's very hard to use the directional switch without moving the scroll wheel, which ultimately makes navigation and manual focus difficult. (Canon also dropped the manual focus dial from the lens barrel.)
Furthermore, the joystick on the HV20 is also better located. It sits on the body of the camcorder rather than the LCD bezel. So with the HG10, you're forced to shoot using the LCD far more than necessary; that's not just annoying and harder to hold steady, but you end up wasting a lot of battery power.
For the money, though, the HG10 delivers a pretty well-rounded set of features. The 3-megapixel CMOS chip shoots native 1,920x1,080 HD video, which then gets downconverted and interlaced to 1,440x1,080 AVCHD. It can also shoot 1,440x1,080/24p, although support for this flavor of the format is even more limited than that of vanilla AVCHD). Its 40GB hard drive stores between 5.5 hours of video at 15Mbps to as much as 15 hours of video at 5Mbps. As usual, however, I don't recommend dropping below the highest quality level, unless you're absolutely certain you will never want to edit the footage. You can snap 3-megapixel stills in photo mode or take 1,920x1,080 grabs while shooting in movie mode. But I find it utterly ridiculous that stills can't be captured to the hard drive, only to a MiniSD card.
The Set button on the LCD bezel calls up shooting controls for backlight, exposure compensation, focus, and quick review; in camera mode you also get flash controls. In video mode, a membrane Function button accesses the choice of program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, Cine mode (for a film look, to go with 24fps shooting), and slow-shutter Night mode; a handful of white-balance options; various image effects presets, plus customizable color depth (for a posterized look), sharpness, contrast and brightness; a few digital effects; video quality; and still grab size. For still photos, you can also select from evaluative, center-weighted average, and spot-metering modes; continuous-shooting and bracketing; and photo size.
I'd prefer it if a couple of the features, specifically Focus Priority (the choice between Canon's AiAF and center focus), AF mode (Instant AF and normal), and zoom speed (variable plus three constant options) were closer to the surface. They're a little too frequently used to be buried in the menus, and unless you know they exist--and how they're named--you may miss them entirely. And, as with the HV20, you can't change the white balance while shooting, which is a pain in scenes with multiple light sources.
A 2.7-inch LCD is about the smallest you can get away with on an HD camcorder, but it remains viewable in direct sunlight and from multiple angles. The eye-level viewfinder is almost too small, and its hard plastic eyecup isn't very comfortable to use.
The 10x zoom lens integrates Canon's SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer, which tweaks the stability by providing continuous feedback to the system. I find it works very well; better than most out at the end of the zoom range. Canon's Instant AF uses a rangefinder approach--it bounces a signal off the subject to provide the AF system with a rough location, so that the lens hunts for a focus lock over a smaller area. You can turn IAF off when it's less useful, generally in low-motion scenes such as talking heads or school plays, in order to save battery power. The IAF makes low-light focus lock a hair faster. Although it still pulses slightly, I think the low-light performance in general--focus and video quality--is a bit better with this model than I've seen on previous Canon consumer camcorders. It also has one of the most comfortable zoom switches I've worked with in its class.
Audio doesn't fare quite as well. When the windscreen filter is set to Auto, the built-in stereo microphone records sounds from behind it very well, but voices coming from in front sound muffled and conversations to the side barely register at all. It records better from the front when the windscreen is off, but the camcorder still seems to have a rather limited range--about 3 feet or so--and no zoom mic capability. Nor are there are any input volume controls. There's a mic input and an accessory shoe for a better--albeit extra cost--audio experience.
There's little to complain about on the image quality front, however. The HG10 renders well-exposed, saturated, and sharp video and photos. There's some visual noise and softness in dimly lit scenes and blown out highlights in bright ones, but no more than usual for this class.
I dinged the Canon HG10 for its frustrating ergonomics and audio performance problems; before you buy, you should try it to see if you feel the same way about the control layout, especially in light of the Sony SR7's underwhelming touch-screen alternative. If the audio issues pose a serious problem for you, then there's either an external mic or a touch screen in your future.
Intro:
The Canon HG10 is a hard disk drive-based, home-movie camcorder.Compared to other home-movie camcorders on the market, it is midpriced at around $720.This product weighs 1.1 pounds and has a 2.1 megapixel effective sensor resolution.
Noteworthy Features:
Has an excellent resolution of 2.1 megapixels.Provides manual focus adjustment, whereas many camcorders have only auto-focus.This product weighs just 17.6 ounces without battery and media, which is quite light.
Weaker Features:
Has only a 10x optical zoom.
Suitability:
Suited for capturing important family events.This camera's built-in light will facilitate shooting in dim environments.
Value:
Overall, this camcorder's features are as expected for this price.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Love the Canon HG10
The Canon HG-10 is a superb follow-on to the top rated and highly acclaimed Canon HV-20. We could not be ...
The Canon HG-10 is a superb follow-on to the top rated and highly acclaimed Canon HV-20. We could not be happier. We thank Lori Grunin for her insightful review. We purchased the camcorder from one of CNET's partners.
This is a gem of a camcorder. Obviously each reviewer has their own specific reasons for purchasing such an advanced camcorder.
This is our third camcorder and we have been shooting family events, vacations and even hurricanes for close to 20 years. We burn our captured footage on a number of DVD?s and share with family members (many who live a great distance away).
We have two HDTV?s and are about to buy a Blu-ray player. Our Sony camcorder died in The UK this summer and instead of buying another SD camcorder, we decided it is time to step up.
Why now?? Although SIMPLE HD capture and burning software and inexpensive High Def DVD burners are behind the curve at the present time, they are going to happen. Sony, Panasonic, Canon and all the rest?will make it happen. This is too big a potential market to ignore ?so we decided to shoot in High Def now, save the backed up video on our hard drive and/or off- line storage, and burn in Standard Definition now.
When the software makers and DVD burner makers decide to catch up and make it easy to burn family movies, we will have our (saved) high def files ready to convert to Blu Ray or HDDVD or both.
There are a ton of very technical reviews on the HG-10 on this and other websites. CNET and Amazon provide a great deal of information, Camcorderinfo.com and smartguider.com are just two of the many others. We think any buyer should review them all and also do a web search on ?Canon HG-10 reviews?
After days of reading reviews virtually every web review and visiting at least 7 retail stores we came away with some interesting observations. You are not going to get much technical help at the major retail outlets. You can get hands on and see what works for you.
When comparing the HG-10 to the CanonHV-20, there was no comparison as to the ergonomic superiority of the HG-10.
For the technical data you will have to hit the web as the folks in the stores just do not have the depth you need to help you make this kind of buying decision.
We found a few very helpful ?gems? in selecting this camcorder. 1) We went to the Canon website?. www.usa.canon.com and downloaded the HG-10 manual in .pdf format (yes it is 118 pages) but if you print the pages in short batches, you will have an excellent and VERY readable document to review BEFORE and after you purchase the HG-10. The manual that comes in the box is very small and hard to read. It would also be a VERY wise idea to also download the .pdf file for the Corel Application Disc Version two. 2) This Corel Guide is a much shorter manual ?just 16 pages long. You really want to read this one cover to cover before you buy, and particularly Page 3, where they discuss needed PC systems requirements.
You may want to talk (or email) with Canon and/or Corel regarding your PC versus their ?recommended size of the PC system?. We have a Core 2 Duo Dell so the Corel software posed no problems. 3) We called Cannon Tech support while reviewing the manual. You will be delighted to find out their 800 number ( 1-800-828-4040) is located Virginia, they are very well trained and if you have a problem..they can immediately lay their hands on an HG-10 and go thru a process step-by-step with you. They were even available on a Saturday afternoon. 4) We cannot say enough good things about Canon support. Having spent untold hours since the early days of the IBM PC, on support lines, trying to get help with hardware and software, we think Canon really got it right. A couple short calls to Canon to clarify some questions made it easy for us to choose the HG-10. On the HG-10 --all the controls were when we really liked them. The HG-10 borrows a lot of its technology from its tape driven HV-20 sister but after living with internal tape transports in many worldwide (hot, cold and dusty) climates and situations over the years, the hard drive was a very logical choice. The 5 and ½ hours of HXP (full 1080) - highest format is plenty for any vacation.
Realistically, how many folks want to sit through even a three hour home movie? We have learned from Hollywood.. Keep it short..Keep it snappy..Keep it interesting. Five and ½ hours of High Def video gives you a ton of material to work with from any vacation. When you get home, the Corel software that comes with the Canon allows you to immediately back up your video files and you are ready to initialize (format) the Hard Drive and you are ready to go with a fresh 5 ½ hours of HXP.
Going through the HG-10 manual provides many happy surprises ? the camcorder has more features than you can believe and most reviewers do not have the time or space to address all of the abilities of this camcorder. This camcorder takes better still photos than our Sony Cybershot H-5 (which suffers from chromatic aberration in certain situations).
We purchased a 1 GB (Canon recommends no bigger than 2GB) Sandisk mini-SD card that also comes with an SD adapter. If you already have Still Photo capture and edit software, you may not need to load the entire very voluminous still photo (Digital Video Solution Version 27.0) software that comes on a CD with the HG-10. We went through the manual for that disc and it was all about STILL photos.
Having more still photo software than we can ever use already on our PC, we skipped that installation.
Why not get a USB-based Media card reader for your PC (if it does not have one) for under $25. When you take still photos just remove the card from the HG-10 and insert it into a USB media card reader. While, we did not by this camcorder for still photos we are more than delighted with the stills that we can capture in Camera mode.
Regarding connections (page 83 in the HG-10 manual) we love displaying the HXP High Def. video footage on our HDTV. We connect the HG-10 to the HDTV via the (optional) mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. The Canon manual calls this an optional HTC-100 HDMI cable.
Sony sells a VMC-15MHD HDMI Mini to HDMI that works very well. Canon does not provide this and you will not find these cables in most stores at the present so you may have to order one over the web. As many highly regarded reviewers have noted, use the HDMI connection whenever you can for the best quality.
Our HDTV had only one HDMI input (already being used) so we purchased a Belkin HDMI 3 to 1 Switch box that allows us to now plug in HD Cable, the HG-10 and a future Blue ray player. We keep the HG-10 HDMI cable always plugged into the home system and by attaching the mini HDMI to the camcorder we can see 1080 HD home movies in an instant.
A couple of user plusses on the HG-10 are the LCD display and the image stabilization. Both are excellent. The size of the HG-10 is amazingly small and it is incredibly light. We cannot believe they pack that much technology into such a small package. The electronic reminder messages on the screen are quite helpful as we all make mistakes.
We like the quick start and the Instant auto focus features. We would suggest buying the optional carrying strap and also a second battery when you order an HG-10. We plan to add more information to this review regarding burning video and creating AVCHD discs but at this time we think this is the perfect camcorder for our needs.
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by Claude77 (see profile) -
November 25, 2007
41 out of 41 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Excellent camcorder!
I have been researching a new HD camcorder for months. Was originally going to purchase the Sony HDR-SR1, then was ...
I have been researching a new HD camcorder for months. Was originally going to purchase the Sony HDR-SR1, then was interested in the HDR-SR7 when it came out. I ended up getting the Canon because of the great image quality they're known to have as well as the fact that I didn't have to pay an extra $300 over the Japanese model to get English menus as I would have had to do with the Sony!
I got it just in time to record my first child's birth. When we finally got home and looked at the footage on our Samsung LCD HDTV, I was amazed at the picture quality.I've downloaded so many examples from all HD camcorder options, and was very impressed with the Canon!
I have very large hands and find that the camcorder is comfortable. I love the fact that it has a HDD! I know that there is a huge debate between tape and HDD, but I find it so easy to transfer AVCHD footage from the camcorder to the computer. I am using Pinnacle 11 for editing and find it easy to do. It does take some time to render with the compression of AVCHD, but it is good none the less.
The battery seems loose on the camcorder. This isn't the first time I've heard this for a Canon. Also, the location of the USB port is such that the LCD screen must be open to plug in. This is annoying.
The menu system is good. Options are easy to access. I do wish it had a dial/ring to control focus etc however. 40GB is enough as I tend to download the footage to a computer quickly anyway.
I can hear a sound from within the camcorder when I turn it off. I believe it is the head of the HDD disengaging itself. It does sound like it could be a problem in the future though. But many not too.
The mini HDMI port is nice, however, finding a cable for it is difficult.
All in all, I'm really glad I waited. What I wanted most was an awesome picture with a nice auto option for my wife to use. That is what it does with the option to use it in a prosumer sense as well. The 24P is great in good lighting situations, but lowlight causes a lot of artifacts.
Well done though Canon! You have a product that is superior in my eyes.
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by PannTher (see profile) -
September 21, 2007
22 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect I love this little thing!
I love this camera. I'm an above-average, tech geek user who makes home movies to DVDs. I was dying ...
I love this camera. I'm an above-average, tech geek user who makes home movies to DVDs. I was dying for higher-quality video before my Disney World trip this year. I've been waiting for a HD hard drive camera that isn't Sony. I love Canon quality and optics. The video quality is amazing through an HDTV. I expect the quality to remain impressive when I make SD DVDs.
The manual says to back the hard drive up periodically and to disconnect it from the PC carefully. I get the impression that the hard drive can be touchy and require re-initialization. I'll be careful.
Now if my editing software will just support the AVCHD file format I'll bet set. At least until I move to and iMac next year.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular The Only Choice in HD Camcorders. Why buy Anything else?
This camcorder has it all. It has a great sensor in 1920 x 1080 @ 60i or offers 24P which works ...
This camcorder has it all. It has a great sensor in 1920 x 1080 @ 60i or offers 24P which works great paired with excellent Canon optics. With the build in lens cover is one of the fantastic features compared to older camcorders.
The Zoom rocker is professional level, placed perfectly and has excellent control and smooth variable zoom speeds.
The Construction is like solid hunk of metal. It feels sturdy in the hand and the construction is very high quality.
The biggest part of this camera is that is has a harddrive for recording between 6 and 15 hours of video depending on resolution. Transfer to PC is lighting fast @ 20MB/second. so you can copy over 2 hours of video in about 15 minutes.
AVCHD is the future standard for ALL camcorders & video. While some early adopters of AVCHD are complaining about lack of editing software and support, I really don't see that as a big deal. The best software is Pinnacle Studio 11.1.1 or Sony Vegas 8a and they both work great TODAY. But it's only going to get better as the months move on. and at CES2008 100% of the camcorders are AVCHD format, so it's very clear that this format is full-speed-ahead!
This camera has a 24P mode which is great for film like effects. I must say that it works FLAWLESSLY!!!! Yes, contrary to some reviews it is FLAWLESS! Those people giving it low marks for 24P and some saying that it's so bad it's unusable all made big mistakes in their review! They did NOT use a compatible player!!!!! the player they used tried to convert the 24P to 60i and back to 29.97P and that is why you get bad playback. But if you get a compatible player it's PERFECT!!.
Confusion over 1440 x 1080 or is it 1920 x 1080. there's a lot of debate and no real answer here.. no one can say for sure at this point what the REAL resolution of this camcorder is. it's advertised at 1920, it shows up in some appications at 1920. However other applications show it as 1440... but some are starting to lean toward the applications being the issue and downsizing the 1920 to 1440 incorrectly.
The only Con's I have are all minor, but I do have 5.
1.) The power/mode button is a little awkward to reach and use. most of the time I need to use my left hand.
2.) Missing standard accessories: There is no battery charger, only a power cord. and there is no neck strap.
3.) The low light performance is viewable, but very noisy and grainy.
4.) When copying files to the PC you MUST have the power cord connected... which can be annoying since it's a 2 piece cord with power pack.
5.) I have not found a way to go strait to play mode. you need to go to Record mode, wait for it to start, then go to play mode. about 4 seconds of time, but it also opens the lens cover unnecessarily.
Overall, I have no idea why you would buy any other camcorder on the market... especially anything with tape????
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by petarded (see profile) -
January 16, 2008
7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Great HD Camcorder
With our first baby on the way buying a new camcorder was a must. I really contemplated buying a regular ...
With our first baby on the way buying a new camcorder was a must. I really contemplated buying a regular hard drive or the HD version. Glad I made the decision I did. So far this camcorder is fantastic. Love the overall design, easy of use and video quality. I chose this one over the Sony because of the video quality on the screen and the fact that the Canon has a manual viewer for those bright sunny days where it is difficult to see the screen outdoors. I do recommend that you purchase the Energizer ER-D127 10 hour battery as the one that comes with the camera only lasts 1 hour.
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by jedialan (see profile) -
November 22, 2007
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Wow - You have to see to believe it
This is "The" one to get. Outstanding image quality with brilliant color. The CMOS does make a big different in ...
This is "The" one to get. Outstanding image quality with brilliant color. The CMOS does make a big different in today's digital photography and HDD video. Canon really made some changes and has re-claimed the market from Sony and Panasonic. This has been the best seller so far. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the footage taken with this camcorder. I highly recommend it to those owning LCD or Plasma HD TVs. You'll be happy to replace MiniDV with this CMOS HD beauty.
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by F1Joe (see profile) -
December 14, 2007
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Great Image Quality, Great Camera
Great image quality. You'll find no better. But... The menu is hard to use, and there are options within ...
Great image quality. You'll find no better. But... The menu is hard to use, and there are options within options. You'll need to read and re-read the user manual before you can fully use this camera. Then you'll need to keep the manual with you so you can follow up.
But, other than that it is great. I would buy this before any other out there... And I played with the new Sony and new JVC while making my decision.
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by ron_hubscher (see profile) -
October 3, 2007
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Perfect camcorder by any standard
This is the fifth camcorder I have owned, and it is far and away the best. Great color and sharpness, ...
This is the fifth camcorder I have owned, and it is far and away the best. Great color and sharpness, tons of features, even still pictures are great at 3.1 MP. The battery life is a bit low but considering the fact it is a HD HDD camcorder, this is not unexpected. Buy a second battery!
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by gkantz (see profile) -
December 25, 2007
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular How to get Amazing recordings consistently without interlacing.
My best recommendation that you must absolutely follow is to put the camcorder on a tripod, do not move the ...
My best recommendation that you must absolutely follow is to put the camcorder on a tripod, do not move the camcorder, do not, I repeat do not pan or move the camera up, down, to the left or to the right. If you move the camera at all you?ll have a horrible recording with terrible interlacing blur. Keep the camera absolutely stationary. And then don?t have your subject that you are recording move very fast. If your object moves fast, you will have terrible interlacing blur problems on playback. The funny thing is, the interlacing problems do not show up on that little LCD monitor screen. Moving objects and moving the camera looks fine on the LCD screen when you are recording. Do not believe it. On playback if you are moving the camera at all, panning left or right, up or down, or zooming the lens. It plays back terribly interlaced. Don?t let your object or people move fast as you are recording them. It looks fine in the LCD screen but the playback will really suck on the 1920 x 1080i playback. Moving the camera or fast moving subjects won?t look that good at the lower 960 X 540i playback either. If the camera is on a tripod and the objects move slowly in really good bright light, you will love the recording quality. I repeat. A stationary camera on a tripod and a non-moving or slow moving subject/object will give you amazing HD quality on playback. I suggest using the 60i and not the 24p and don?t use the cinema mode. I think the 60i is the better recording option. The 24p is a tad more jittery. I can?t do anything but speculate about that cinema mode, I don?t totally understand it, but I think it has something to do with 24p or 24 full frames per second. Don?t just go out and shoot without putting that camera on a stationary tripod. You will most likely be disappointed with the playback if you hand hold the camcorder, especially, especially when you use the zoom. The jitter on playback when you hand hold and zoom is unusable. Panning is better with a non HD mini DV camcorder. My old Canon Elura 40 MC mini DV camcorder was more clear with less blur when I panned with that lower resolution Camcorder then when I pan with this Canon HG10. The best tip, don?t move the HG10 camcorder at all when you are recording. Trust me, 20 hours of recorded vacation time later, I found out what doesn?t work, and what vacation shots are a blur and which ones are amazing and I feel like I?m there again. Avoid interlacing problems, jittery playback, and blur in your playback and video editing.
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by KevinKari (see profile) -
May 10, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Easy as 3.14
you can be making movies in min with the HG10
The onboard mic is poor, so i recommend attaching a ...
you can be making movies in min with the HG10
The onboard mic is poor, so i recommend attaching a RODE Video Mic and you will not only have awesome sound, but totally wicked looking camcorder. (yes, it does fit on the accessory shoe)
also, the 1st generation AVCHD codec is pretty good... so don't feel shy about 15mb/sec bit rate... its perfectly fine for your average point and shooter. (you probably wont bet getting 30mb/sec at that price range for at least another 2-3 years)
the fact that you can record continuously for over 5 hrs was selling point for my circumstance. I use it for recording instrumental concerts and solo recital performances (which can easily go over 60 min, so there is no need for changing tapes). Many of these concerts are in low light conditions and my experiences have shown the camera performs reasonably well... for its price bracket.
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