Canon HV20

The Canon HV-20 won't win a beauty contest. Nobody is going to stop on the street and ask about it. The HV-20 looks like a run-of-the-mill consumer video camera. But it still deserves a rating of excellent.

You can read about features elsewhere. The key to the HV-20 is it's Canon CMOS sensor. Video from this camera looks simply amazing: sharper, more accurate color, better low-light capability... all these things are present in Canon's first CMOS HDV camcorder.

There are some highlights: 24P mode on this camera is the real deal. Manual focus is very easy to use. It has a microphone and a headphone jack. The lens is very sharp and has little distortion.

The HV-20 aalso lets you adjust video parameters to get just the right look, which is great since the video it produces is of such high quality. There is a Cine-Gamma mode which gives the colors a cinematic look. When combined with 24P, this camera can truly reproduce the elusive "Film Look".

Some people are not happy with the all-plastic body, I found it to be fine. Others want a hard-drive... sorry, this kind of picture quality just doesn't exist on the new hard-drive cams.

If you don't mind using tape, and you want the best possible video quality in non-professional video camera, the Canon HV-20 is the best option.

In this review, I'm not going to talk about all the technical specs because you can obtain it from Canon website and online stores. But I'm going to tell you my opinion on the camcorder instead.

In less than 1 year since Canon introduced their first consumer grade HD camcorder HV10, they brought us even better and much more refined unit called HV20. I've probably looked at a dozen camcorders before purchasing HV20. Sony, JVC. Any camcorder in this price range($1000 or so) should do it's money's worth. And if you have been using standard dv camcorder, this HD will blow you away. Once you've seen the HD video on your HD TV, you'll never be able to go back to old dv standard. It's that good. Besides, HD is the future of TV and soon all TV will be HD capable and if you are buying a camcorder, why not get HD now, right? (Yes)

I researched other brands and models. There are two major different types of camcorders out there. One that uses DV tapes for recording, and one that uses HDD(Hard Disk Drive - like the one in your laptop computer or ipod). There are some goods and bads on either technology. Generally, HDD camcorders seems to be smaller than ones using dv tapes. With HDD camcorders, recording time is limited to the size of the Hard disk drive and when it's full, you have to unload all videos to your computer for storage, and no tapes to buy. But when you go trip, you have to bring your laptop or other off-camcorder storage unit as well so that you can transfer recorded videos. With dv tapes, you can just purchase another dv tape and put it in and start shooting right away. Image quality is much better on DV tapes.

Sony has been the long-time leader in the camcorder industry and I still think they are. But Canon isn't too far behind with success of their digital cameras. I've read many reviews on this HV20 and they are all pretty good and if you can get it for under $1000, it's a great buy for the money.

Quality of video is tremendous, but you have to go out and buy software to make the thing work with a computer (about another $100). Sony's blu-ray computers don't support it and you have to go through several steps to try to make a true HD disc. Shame on Canon & Sony for not supplying drivers. Wouldn't buy it again-would get a Sony because they would be compatible with the blu-ray don't know for sure though as I already tied up nearly 3K truing this combo.

This tiny Canon camera packs a lot of exciting features into one small easily used package!
Canon has taken their experience and leadership in the lower priced professional camera market and created a consumer product that is so impressive some pros are shooting feature film projects with it. The Canon CMOS chip coupled with their exclusive Digic processor give this camera a true HD level of quality at 1920 by 1080 resolution. It also features their film look mode that shoots at 24p (24 frames per second, the same as film)that can be easily transferred to film.
I've only shot once with the camera to date, but the colors were vivid, the electronics responsive, and the sound quality very good right out of the box.
I viewed this footage on my Sony 50 inch true HD television and the picture was astounding and in full wide screen format.
So, I'm happy with the camera, but I will never purchase again from the dealer. They tried to sell me up on their required phone follow up and lied several times as to stock on hand, and shipping. When I challenged them on it they cussed me out over the phone and sent the product by ground after charging $40 for freight. They then offerred to buy my possitive feedback with a free battery! Geez.
Good camera, but the small price reduction was not worth the hassle.