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Canon HG10 AVCHD 40GB High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
By: Canon Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 121
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 On: 2008-07-08
I ordered this product after many false ad prices on internet by many camera sites.they all offer false price and try to sell you overpriced accessories.the camara is light and ease to use.it also takes great still pictures as well video.i am 100% satisfied with product and amazon site.
On: 2008-07-07
I like this HD camcorder so much. Its easy to use. The picture quality is super good.
 On: 2008-07-05
Overall I am very happy with the camcorder. The video looks great in bright light. Inside videos and pictures tend to be grainy. Also, when moving/walking the video is very shaky. You do have to buy a separate SD memory card to take and save pictures.
On: 2008-07-03
This camcorder is trully High Definition. If youve made the jump to a HDTV and have a standerd Camcorder, then this is a worthwhile upgrade. I did my homework on this one because its a lot of money for most of us.This is the best quality family movie camera for those who have large screen HDTV at the best price. I have found that moving up to HDTV is as different as going from black & white to color. This HG10 is fully automatic but can be used manually. All the bells & whistles you would expect. Im still practicing with it and learning all that it can do, although I must admit I struggle with ATADD (Advanced Technology Attention Deficit Disorder). Read the book several times and play with the camcorder a lot. I dont need to say anything about Canon, we all know how good they are. The only down side of the HG10 is that its hard drive could be damaged if turned on over 9,800 feet in altitude. Which is easy to do if you live in the Rockys like I do. So be carfull. Its light weight, compact and tough. Might seem to small if you have big fat hands. Wait till you see your home movies in HD!
On: 2008-06-28
Recently bought this camcorder. It works really great. I didnt try all the features yet, but I really like this camcorder as my first one. I was able to put my video on my computer using "Back up" software, and I installed Corel software without any problems. I can watch my clips, but the only problem I have is the when I try to watch my video on my laptop, it goes really slowly. I think that I am having this problem because of my computer. I have Sony Vaio, Pentium 4, 3,06 GHz and 384 GB of RAM. May be I should buy additional memory? Who knows, please give me an advise.
On: 2008-06-27
high-quality output. I wish there were easier ways to upload (or broadcast) the videos on my PS3. Some people claim that Canon is being deceptive about claiming this camera to be 1080p, but I havent confirmed it either way yet.
On: 2008-06-27
I found this camera to be perfect for the purpose intended and would not hesitate to reccomend it. Its small size and recording options/quality make it just abotu perfect.
On: 2008-06-25
I have to say I was pretty impressed with this camera! I havent had alot of time to play with like I would like. But the picture on this thing is AMAZING! I have 50 inch DLP and when I plug the camera into it to watch what Ive recorded....It is BEAUTIFUL! It is FAR better than any standard camera you could ever buy! Plus because its HD it does pixelate as much when you use the digital zoom...most cameras the digital zoom is just plane crap! GREAT CAMERA! WOULD RECOMEND TO ANY WANTING AN HD CAMERA!
On: 2008-06-24
I wish I had it 1 or 2 year ago for the birth of my son. This Canon HG10 AVCHD camcorder is really amazing. On my 57" HD flat screen TV, I can barely make a difference between the quality of the videos I made with the HG10 and a HD DVD movie!!!
From 1 to 10 I will rate 9.8!!!
On: 2008-06-23
I am not an expert by any means but for a consumer grade camcorder the HG10 is outstanding. I have had mine for about three weeks now and here are my observations.
Video quality is absolutly beautiful, even in the LP mode.
Batery life is pretty good.
Plenty of record time on the 40GB HD.
It takes great still pics in picture mode.
It takes great pics while simultainiously taking video footage.
The size of the camera is pretty good for my large hands.
Transfering the files to my PC is very easy using the Canon Backup Utility.
The rest of the supplied software is useless. It wont run on my PC.
As for editing the AVCHD files Ive found two programs that handle it very well. Sony Vegas Platinum 8.0 ($69.99 on Amazon) and Ulead Video Studio 11.5 Plus ($69.99 on Amazon). Depending on you PC configuration you may get some jerky playback while editing. But the finished video will be fine. If you set the preview quality in Vegas to "Preview Auto" it will do away with most if not all of it.
The Sony program is envolved and very powerful but will take some time to learn. The Ulead program is much more user friendly for the novice. You can download a trial version of each one www.sonycreativesoftware.com and www.ulead.com.
Ive also found that having a nice big external drive, I use a 1TB My Book, will speed up processing or compression times when reading from one drive and writing the finished video to another drive.
Useful additions to you HG10:
Canon BP-2L24H extended run battery
Canon CB-2LW battery charger
Canon hot shoe video light
A good fluid head tripod
A large external hard drive to store the raw files.
On: 2008-06-17
So far, I havent had any major problems with this camera. I am new with HD camcorders. The video quality for this camcorder is quite excellent. Transferring video over to my computer works fast and well. I have not tried making DVDs using the program provided. I am disappointed I could not use other video editing software. The other drawback is the location of the power bottom; it is hard to turn on and off the camcorder with the fingers of the hand holding the camera. The use of the directional switch without moving the scroll wheel needs some getting used to.
In general I like the camcorder specially the video quality. So far I love it.
On: 2008-06-16
So far, I havent had any major problems with this camera. I am new to the camcorder experience, so you might want to check out some of the other experienced reviews, too. Both the picture and video quality for this camcorder are quite excellent. They also transfer over to your computer well. I have yet to try making DVDs out of my captured footage, using the programs provided or other outside sources, so I honestly cant say anything about that at the moment. The battery life, for the battery that came with the camera, lasts a long time when its fully charged. The only draw back I see so far is the video file type. The AVCHD file format is what the camera records in. As of right now and as far as I know, it is hard to get this file type to play in many of the video and video editing programs used in computers, hence the need for its own video editing software. This software comes with the camera, but it is limited in its abilities, and I prefer other video and video editing programs that are already on mine and other computers. So, with that in mind if you want to use other software that cant read AVCHD files, you may have to wait until those programs get updates that include the new file type or get conversion software, like Elecard, that can convert the AVCHD files to useable file types. I believe, that is about it for now.
On: 2008-06-16
I bought this camcorder for my husband as an anniversary gift, and I was very nervous about making the purchase without his opinion. I read every review and visited it at the store more than once.
He loved it. The high definition quality is great and we captured our anniversary as though we were still there. We have been completely happy with the camcorder. We have played it back on high definition TVs and it compares with the travel channel.
On: 2008-06-15
Great camcorder. From what I can tell Its the best one out there right now. I do have a few complaints, but nothings perfect
Pros:
Compact
Amazingly crisp outdoor quality
Easy menus
East to dump files to computer
Quick Start feature is a plus
Decent quality on still shots
Accessory shoe on top is nice for light and mic attachments
Has a little LED light for low-light situations (not very strong though)
Cons:
Editing software is VERY basic.
Low light situations make grainy vid quality (To do better you need to spend at least $3000 on a camcorder).
When dumping to computer, the camcorder needs to be connected to power source which is a pain.
24p Cinematic mode is useless, panning is very jerky and choppy when turned on.
Over-all great camcorder. Would definately recommend
On: 2008-06-13
I got this through a secondary seller on amazon and it was quite the buy. Best buy was selling it for around 930 and i got this one new for 630. Its light weight and very straighforward. the few issues i have had are with the battery life and the software package. While recording in high def the battery barely scrapes it to an hour half max. The softwares that come with the camcorder called correl video and inter video win dvd are quite cumbersome to use. The video files that are saved on my computer cannot be played at once for some reason and i have to select it one clip at a time. The camcorder in general works very nicely and only sees some problems when recording inside the house at night. The picture has a grainy texture sometimes. Im not sure if they are still selling for this price but if they are its a great buy. Otherwise it wont be a bad idea to check out sonys SR lineup.
On: 2008-06-12
The only downside to this camcorder is it records in AVCHD format for Hi-DEf. Thats great if you have a newer PC or Mac with the system requirments to compliment the camera. In my case, I ended up returning the camcorder because my Powermac G4 and imovie6 doesnt recognize it. I guess Ill have to upgrade my system if I want to use the HD technology on the Mac. I dont think you PC users will have a problem as long as your PC was purchased within the last couple of years. The picture Quality was very impressive!
On: 2008-06-11
This is a great little camera, takes outstanding video. Using a camera with a hard drive is a dream - no more capturing video, just drag the files to your computer and edit. Great camera for the money!
On: 2008-06-09
I used the camera for a month now, I like it. Great Video resolution when enough light. I give it 4 because the Video quality not that good in deem light
On: 2008-06-05
The video we recorded is crispy clear. Easy to set up and easy to use. Light weight, easy to carry. We have considered sony which has many neat features like zero light capability and bigger hard drive. But you would have to spend more on the sony specified audio equipment and battery which cost much more. I have shopped around, this is the best price I have found. Tip: We dumped the recorded file into sony vegas for editing instead the software they recommended.
On: 2008-06-05
The Canon HG 10 is the camera i was looking for a good price. It is very easy to use and have a layman use it too. I would recommend any one looking for a basic model with great features.
On: 2008-06-04
This is the 6th Canon camera I have bought these last 8 years, and the camera meets my expectations of performance. Its high quality definition is excellent, and is without exception much better than other similar camcorders around. However, I found a "Corel Application Disc" version 2.0 in the box, installed it, and found it did not work with the new .mts files properly, so I called Corel and found that they "did not support this product any more". I ended up buying Corels DVD MovieFactory V6 and their Video Studio 11.5 Plus Download all for $150 to resolve this issue. Also, Canon supplied 5 separate wires to connect the camcorder to an HD TV when only the HTC-100 HDMI Cable is necessary. I threw the 5 wires out and bought the HDMI cable for $11 and its an easy process now to quickly wire up my camera to the HD TV and show my pictures. Hopefully, both Corel and Canon will learn to work better together to supply improved accessories for their products.
 On: 2008-06-02
I bought this camera 7-8 months ago. I have been using this camera alot and I like it very much. It is very light and day light videos are perfect. But I dont like night recordings even some digital cameras which has video recording feature can record better at night. My previous camera was Sony TRV22e which was a minidv camcorder, so that is the only camera that I can compare my canon. There are good things and bad things about this camera. First of all if you were a Sony Camera user you will not find many different features as you had in Sony camera such as filters, effects, dubbing, voice mixing. The sound quality is not that good. The ring which is on the monitor looks very cheap. You can do manual focusing with that ring if you want but it is not that efficient. Another thing taht I dont like is 24 frame movie feature I believe it does not work good. Once you have installed the software to your computer it is very easy to transfer the files from camera to your pc. The files are not compatible with adobe premiere pro. So you have to convert them any file which is compatible. the picture quality of the digital camera is perfect. I like to take pictures with this camcorder, I dont have to carry a digital camera separately. If you are looking for a good quality camcorder I definitely recommend this camera but I would check Sony before buying.
On: 2008-06-02
The camera is great. We shot video in many types of environments and it always works great. The menus are complicated and the software provides little automation.
On: 2008-06-01
Its very nice camcorder and I like it. I can download the videos and photos directly from the camcorder to the PC.
On: 2008-05-26
It is a little complicated for me to get started for me but once I had it figured out I love it. I still dont have all the extras figured out but it gives and exellent picture. When I burnt dvd on the canon DW 100 I had to call in to get assistance and they were very helpful. I did want to play the dvd on my dvd player and it requires a blueray or play it through the DW 100 burner. I can set the camera to a lower quality but havent tried it yet. I like the hard drive so I dont have to worry about disc or tapes. Set on the SP mode I have almost 12 hours record time which is one thing I looked for before buying. There are also 2 higher quality modes but have less record time or 1 lower quality mode with longer record time.
On: 2008-05-20
I have purchased 5 camcorders in the last 5 years for family events. I am glad to see the new HG10 has hit the top of the list. (Anyone want to buy my Hitachi Mini DVD camcorder) 2 years old. I love the fact that you can record hours and hours without worrying about changing media for storing the data. I love the easy to use controls and the flip screen. The fact that you have both a viewfinder and flip screen is great for out doors. I have found the amount of light for indoor recording to be an 8 on a scale from 1-10 but the convenient built in light handles those few situations just fine.
The build in camera with high def images is an added plus. No need to carry both a camera and camcorder any longer. Just got back from a week at Disneyland with the family and had the opportunity to use the software. If you follow the instructions you will be just fine. Plan on buying an external hard drive and using it just for conversion unless you have a high end machine. I went with a 180 gig external and set up the editing. Let it convert over night and ready to burn. Then just dup the DVDs as needed.
I would highly recommend this product... Have fun...
Todd Weeden
On: 2008-05-19
Greetings,
Allow me to share my experience using the software that came with the HG10.
The only problem I had installing it was registering it with Ulead because I already was a registered user who hadnt used my account for ages. I tried creating a new account and it was rejected because my email address was already in their data bank. Took me 15 minutes to straighten myself out.
Uploading data from camcorder to PC is easy but cumbersome because you need to use the external power supply. Cardinal rule #1: Go nowhere without ALL the supplied cables and power supply. The warning message about disconnecting cables displayed on the camcorders display during upload is confusing.
My first DVD produced was a HS LaCrosse game (the battery had life after recording the game for over an hour). I just selected the PC folder with the proper date and selected all the scenes. The software placed the scenes on the DVD in reverse chronological order because my XP machine listed them in its folder as latest first. I reversed the order on the HD by sorting on creation time but it didnt aid production sequencing, I still had to order the scenes manually by selecting them in the proper sequence. With 72 scenes, it was tedious.
This first DVD was in hi-def and took about 90 minutes, start of rendering to finished disk, to make. The picture off the DVD was as good as that straight off the camcorder. Im using a PS3 for playing hi-def DVDs. HDMI cables in both cases.
Next I made a standard DVD to pass around. Rendering time was over 4 1/2 hours. You need lots of patience. Users with limited computer experience beware you will probably give up and kill the operation. The disk produced is good, I was impressed, even though there are noticeable flaws and picture quality is less than the hi-def version but it is playable on standard DVD players in addition to the PS3 (Ichecked it on a Samsung).
The DVD disk produced has a format that is foreign to XP, youll need to use the manufacturers software to play and copy them on a PC. Its taking me 20 minutes to make a copy, disk to disk.
DO NOT FORGET CARDINAL RULE #1, mentioned in the beginning.
And I gave it 3 stars because I wanted to be dead center neutral. You know what you are getting, an inexpensive no frills camcorder that takes good videos.
Where is there a user group for HG10?
All the best with your HG10,
J e r
On: 2008-05-16
I bought this one last month. Its easy to use and the quality of the video is pretty good when recording a slow moving object, when the object moves fast, the picture seems not clear enough. The software for playing its video isnt very user-friendly, but overall Im satisfied with this camcorder.
On: 2008-05-15
I bought this to take with me when I go take photographs to make a video journal of the places I go. The video quality is excellent (of course, its a Canon)--great for shooting outside (pick up a polarizer when shotting outside).
The camera can record up to 15mbps, which is twice the visual data that DVDs push. I recorded a metal band in a dimly lit nightclub and picture quality was great (audio was alright). When the video was downgraded to DVD quality, it still looked great (better to work with a high quality source).
I have two problems with it:
Bulky-sure its small, but its bulky.
Long videos are split into smaller clips. Be mindful when shooting long clips that the camera will split the video into smaller chunks.
On: 2008-05-11
Good packaging great accessories put together well the quality is gorgeous but need a ps3 to view the recordings
On: 2008-05-09
Pros:
Much smaller than my old Canon Optura Xi
Fantastic 1080i HD @ 60 frames per second
Can convert to 1080p @ 30 frames per second (with help...)
Image stabilization works well at maximum zoom
Uncompressed AVCHD has much better quality than flash based MPEG4 cameras
Good low-light performance
Cons:
Stills are useless (just frame-grab from video - same quality)
Much bigger than my friends new Panasonic (it is only SD though)
Wish the camera did 1080p natively :(
24p mode is useless.
Notes:
I also bought a Sanyo Xacti 720p - the Canon is *way* better. The Sanyo has pretty bad compression artifacts including jaggies and macroblocking. On the other hand, the Sanyo takes much better still pictures.
Also, I tried using Apple iMovie 08 to edit - would not de-interlace at 1080p, only 720p. So if you want to convert to 1080p, you will need another video editor (I bought Final Cut Express 4, but have not tried it yet...)
 On: 2008-05-05
This camera has serious problems. First, if you want to burn a high-def disc, what canon doesnt tell you is you need their dw-1000 burner costing hundreds of dollars and blue-ray burnable dvds. Oh, you want to play that burnt disc, you will need a blue-ray dvd player. Ok, so maybe you want to just burn a regular dvd? Well, you will need an intel 16-quad core, 2^32 gb of ddram and about 4 weeks computing time. Of course, why would you want to buy a high-def video recorder to burn standard dvd? Oh you want an avi or mpeg? Forget it! The software that comes with the camera is absurd. First, it is replete with spelling and grammatical errors - should make you feel confident! Then it is virtually unusable. Canon actually told me to purchase sony vegas dvd software for hundreds of dollars too. I told them no way and they said try IMovie 08 - of course on a pc, that is not too easy to do! And if you want support, forget it, you are on your own. The goal of canon support when I contacted them was to simply get me off the phone - not really a problem since they knew next to nothing. Oh and you want to take a pic with the camera, better get yourself a micro-sd memory card - sure their is 40gb of hard-disk space but you cant use any of it for your 800kb crappy picture. And when plugging in to usb, even if the battery is charged, you must have the power cable in. And good luck focusing in on anything in close range. The camera never can so it just continues to adjust the focus constantly. Long story short, I would not pay $50 for this camera.
On: 2008-05-02
The existing reviews here are great and pretty much cover what you need to know about the HG10. What youd REALLY like to see is some sample footage, right? Look no further than vimeo... there is a HG10 "channel" on vimeo where you can see a ton of sample footage and short films, etc, all shot with the HG10. [...]Ive been using my HG10 for about 2 months and I love it. Youll find some of my sample footage on that channel. A few recommendations if you purchase this camera:
1. use an external mic if you really care about sound quality. the internal mic is ok, but it picks up the (very quiet) lens sounds during focusing and zooming, and it is located on top of the camera instead of the front... so you get the sound of your own breathing instead of what you really want to hear, the stuff in front of the lens.
2. invest in Sony Vegas Movie Studio for editing this footage. totally solid software and works great with the AVCHD footage.
3. make a lot of backups! weve all been using various magnetic tapes (and even film) for years and years, many of them still sitting on shelves and ready to be pulled and played in some ancient system if you wanted to relive some old memories... DVD-Rs are not permanent! if you only backup to them, youll try to play/copy/read them a few years in the future and they wont work. That fantastic video you got of your new baby will be gone when the kid gets old enough to want to watch it. Get those video files on to some form of magnetic media (harddrives are cheap) and archive, archive, archive.
On: 2008-05-02
This was my familys first HD camcorder. We had a really old SONY camcorder that lasted for 8 years, but it finally died. We were in a hurry to get a camcorder, but I thought we should get a pretty descent one and found this. The SONY ones cost over $1000 this cost $800. This camcorder has great picture quality. It looks like your actually in it. The battery life might be a little short, but you could get a bigger one. It comes with cables, so you can watch the recorded video and also comes with software that lets you edit and burn videos.
On: 2008-04-28
Ill let the other reviews speak for themselves. I bought this for my brother. I noticed similar issues as other folks with a few new issues:
- doesnt record in multiple resolutions. I can live with that.
- "mode" button looks like a zoom button. You get used to it.
- wider angle lens would be nice.
Otherwise, its a great camera. The Panasonic/Sony cameras have better lenses, but they also cost more. This is a great camera for the feature set: Hard drive, good lens, good video processor, good sensor, all for $721. Without sales tax, it makes the camera 8.25% sweeter than it would otherwise be.
On: 2008-04-25
The Canon HG10 makes very clear movies and photographs. The camerea is compact and fits in my cargo shorts pocket. The camera is simple to use, yet has many features. Playback onto my HDTV is definitely high def. Using a HDMI cable makes hookup the fastest ever. The Ulead Video software packaged with the Canon is really terrible. A 40 minute movie took 6 hours overnight to format to a DVD disk, features are minimal
On: 2008-04-25
I bought the HG10 around the 1st of the year. Great camcorder, with one problem... it breaks the files up into 2GB pieces. I wrote a program to stitch them back together. Send me an email and Ill send you the program.
Heres my post on the DVi forum (http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=867117#post867117):
I found this discussion yesterday after searching the web for info on the 2GB size-limited files produced by the Canon HG10. After reading the entire thread, I was happy to see that you had found a work-around solution that didnt corrupt the splice-points of the files. That got me to thinking about writing a Windows-base program to do the same thing. So... I did just that! Its not as slick and robust as it could be, but it does the job. Heres some info...
The programs first dialog allows you to select multiple files from the same directory. These are the pieces that the HG10 broke your files into. You select the files by clicking on the first one to highlight it and the depressing the "shift" key and click on the last one in the list. All of your files should then be highlighted. (this is just standard Windows file-selection stuff here, but in case theres someone thats not familiar...) Alternately, you can press the "Ctrl" key and select individual files until youve highlighted all that are in the sequence.
The program DOES NOT try to figure out if two video files actually belong in the same resultant file. I trust you to identify only the files that made up the original sequence. With that said, my program DOES make sure that the files that you select are processed in the right order. That is, in the numbering sequence as produced by the HG10. For instance, file "00055.MTS" comes before file "00056.MTS".
The second file-selection dialog allows you to specify a directory and file name for the resultant, contiguous file.
Once youve identified all files, the program goes about building the contiguous file. I currently use 10MB buffers for reading and writing data. This allows pretty fast operation. For a couple of segments, this amounts to about 3 minutes 11.5 seconds on my 2.3Ghz Core 2 Duo. Its single-threaded so it ties up one processor. If folks want a more robust operation, Ill try to find time to work on it and smooth it out. I just thought youd want to get it ASAP...
There are 2 files to this program... the "MTS_FileJoinerProj.exe" file which is the executable and weighs in at about 30KB, and the "borlndmm.dll" file which is only another 24KB. Put them in a folder called "FileJoiner" and hook them up to your "Start" button by moving the folder to "C:\\Documents and Settings\\All Users\\Start Menu\\Programs". Start the program by clicking "Start->Programs->FileJoiner->MTS_FileJoiner.exe"
I havent had any problems with it, but cannot guarantee its operation. Test it on copies of your files, just to gain confidence that its working properly.
If you like it and it helps you, please consider throwing a couple of bucks in my Paypal account (thesuperstitions@gmail.com). Anything collected will be donated to my sons Cub Scout Pack (Pack 618).
Thanks!
On: 2008-04-24
I was concerned about purchasing the HG10 because of the controversial AVCHD format and the lack of computer software support for it. Fortunately for me, Im a Mac user with an Intel Core Duo Macbook Pro and iMovie 08 (required for importing AVCHD files from the HG10) so I thought itd be extremely simple to work with the HG10. It wasnt but Ill get to that momentarily.
Once I received the HG10 I shot sample videos at night and had someone shoot video of the outdoors while I drove to gauge high speed recording.
Night Recording - Recording at night is probably the weakest feature of the camcorder because the video quality is kinda crappy in low light situations. The HG10 does feature a night mode for shooting at this time but I still wouldnt recommend the HG10 if you plan to record in low light/night situations often.
High Speed Recording - After shooting the first videos at a high speed (60 mph) it occurred to me that most consumer camcorders arent going to be capable of capturing quality video at high speeds. That being said, the video quality was decent enough given the price. If you plan to use the HG10 to record cityscapes or anything that requires driving, Id recommend the HG10 only up to about 30 mph.
When I tried to download these clips to my Macbook Pro via iMovie 08 the software wouldnt recognize the camera AT ALL despite the Mac recognizing the HG10 as a hard drive. I eventually figured out (after reading the manual, of course) that you need to initialize the camcorder hard drive before it will be recognized by the computer. In fact, if you fail to do so you will have to erase the entire hard drive (and any videos on it) to initialize it so it is recognizable.
After doing this iMovie 08 recognized the camera but it took iMovie 08 about 15 minutes to see that the HG10 was connected. Every time I connect it iMovie 08 takes about 5-15 minutes to recognize the HG10 and bring up the import window.
Now for some general observations of the HG10 since Ive only had it for about two weeks:
1) Its USB only to the computer so transferring video files can take a LONG time if you film in HD and use the 5 hours or so that the camcorder is capable of holding.
2) Buy an external drive to store the videos after working with them. The HG10 is addicting and lightweight so youll be taking lots of videos in no time and will need a place to store them. I bought a Lacie 750GB external drive to store the movie files and so far its exceeded my expectations (firewire, USB connections make for easy transfers).
3) Buy a tripod! I bought a Sunpak tripod from Best Buy for $35 and it serves as an excellent tripod for the HG10. I also use it for my Canon SD800 IS and soon will use it for my Rebel XTi. The HG10 is terrific at offsetting camera shake but no technology will ever compensate 100% for human error.
4) Sports Mode is my favorite mode. I like Portrait mode but I feel its too soft for most things that I do. Sports mode is designed to capture fast movement with as little ghosting and blur as possible.
5) I have relatively medium to large hands and I find the zoom buttons to be too far back on the camera to really be useful while the camera is in your hand. Fantastic positioning for tripod use though.
I hope to update this review as I use the camcorder more. I havent used the still mode yet but as a rule of thumb I would suggest getting a good still camera (SD IS line or Rebel series) instead because I can see the HG10 being a bit awkward to use primarily as a point and shoot camera.
On: 2008-04-23
I bought this about 2 weeks ago from Amazon. First, let me say that Im very impressed with the quality of the video. It looks fantastic on my 50" flatscreen. Here are the reasons why I gave it 4 stars, instead of 5:
1) The software implementation when hooking it up to Windows PC is pretty horrid. Youre basically forced to use the bundled software. Im never happy being forced to use bundled software, but it does work... I have also heard that it works with PC software like Sony Vegas Studio, or mac software (iMovie) which I will try when I get a chance. The file format is .m2ts and run of the mill software, etc does not typically support this format. You wont be able to just give someone the raw file and expect them to be able to read it without incurring some pain.
2) Its small, so some of the buttons can be hard to use if you have big hands.
3) I think the quality goes down somewhat in low-light conditions.. Outdoor in daylight looks amazing though.
One other note... I bought the Tripp-lite HDMI to mini HDMI cable to connect this to my tv. I went through two of them... One of them worked but with a lot of grainy or miscolored picture. The other didnt work at all. Go with a better quality cable (not tripp-lite). I just ran to a brick and mortar store and got one off the shelf... It worked great.
On: 2008-04-17
Picture quality on this camera is outstanding. Unfortunately, I havent tranferred any movies to my pc yet to tell how that process is. It was one of my concerns about the AVCHD file type, and one that I couldnt find alot of insight into from everyday users as I searched for a camera. Well see how that process goes when I get around to it. The camera, though, is comfortable in my hands, is light, and takes great home movies.
On: 2008-04-15
Havent been able to see the full capability of this camera yet, as I did not create any disks, and do not have a Blu-Ray writer. However, the picture looks great, and it has been very user friendly. The fact that it has a remote control is nice, because you can just connect it up to the TV and watch your video that way.
Very happy with this purchase!
On: 2008-04-13
I bought this camera twice from Amazon. Returned it both times.
First time the lens shutter stopped opening when I turned the camera on. Called Canon technical support. They had no idea why it was doing it. They suggested draining the battery down all the way (?) and recharging and trying it again. Did that. The shutter opened half way and that was it. Shipped it back to Amazon thinking defective unit, it happens.
Read several reviews - and everybody seems to agree that HG-10 is the best overall HD-High Def camera around. The videos were pretty good actually, even in the low light and I really could not bring myself to buy a JVC or a Sanyo.
So bite the bullet and buy another HG-10 from Amazon. That unit, believe it or not, worked for exactly two weeks and one morning at work after I had shot 7 episodes of my video blog - it gave me a message - Hard Drive Not Accessible. I sat there for at least 4 minutes, staring at the screen, thinking to myself - this could not be happening to me.
Again.
Called Canon again - lovely bunch of people by the way - and they said, "Well once in a while the hard drives do blow up. Are you sure you got a new unit?" Yes I am sure. "Well you need to ship it back."
And so that camera, with 7 of my videos, went back to Amazon.
I dont know what to say - I like the camera, like the videos, like the easy menus but to see a $800 camera blow up, twice in my hands AND I am paranoid careful about my equipment. I dont know what to say. If you do buy this camera - keep the box, manuals, everything that comes with it - in a safe place for at least 30 days just in case something like this happen to you.
You have been warned!
On: 2008-04-13
Great compact camcorder, two possible formats- High def and reg def. great image on both. I have shot with highend prosumer cameras and I have to say that this is comparable, the only one on the market with a mic jack to attach extrenal mic. It is compact and shoots great, easy to use and you can attach additional lenses. Great battery life.
HOWEVER...
AVCHD format is not widely used yet. the .m2v files are a nightmare to edit on any consumer or professional editing system. I have over 10 years of video production experience so I figured out different ways to edit the files, however if you are a novice it will be extremey difficult for you to figure out the editing. Canon bundles with a DVD burn software that is okay for getting the raw footage to DVD, but it is not great to edit any of the footage or do anything creative.
The interface though for editing is still very clunky, need to convert files to a PC compatible format with Canon bundled software in order to edit on MovieMaker.
VOLTAIC HD...
Importing into Final Cut pro is another story, BUT with a program created by shareware Voltaic it has become a piece of cake. The download is $30, but the best 30 bucks I ever spent. I simply move the .m2v files from the camcorder on my PC (I wouldnt plug the camera into a mac)onto a flash thumb drive, open them on my mac and drop them into the Votaic program, it comverts them to .mov and then I can import into FCP. I am REALLY hoping that FCP will come with the AVCHD codec soon, but in the meantime this $30 solution is workable.
On: 2008-04-12
I purchased the Canon HG10 for my dad to replace his giant old camcorder. He really wanted a Sony and no made in China brands either, but I insisted on this one after doing all my research and price comparisons. Best Buy was over $1000 and so were the Sony ones. My dad has no complaints other than the battery life...the one that it comes with lasts around 3-4 hours, which is pretty good, recharging it is so easy. I would suggest buying another battery pack, or the larger one thats available. Another thing he keeps doing is videotaping his feet walking because he doesnt press the stand-by button firmly enough.
Overall, the camcorder is pretty good for its generation. Its easy to use and has all the adequate features and functions that an average person needs to capture memories. Its small, compact, nicely designed, and you dont have to buy media! The photo feature is also neat to have so you dont have to switch back and forth between a camera. I still like to add pictures to the photo album.
On: 2008-04-09
I picked this camera because it got rave reviews just about everywhere. I wont reiterate everything people have already said - Ill just break it down into likes and dislikes.
Pros
Very good image quality, color and saturation.
Love that Cine mode!
Very good ergonomics (love the zoom button).
Zippy "Quick Start"
Actually comes with a hot shoe adapter (many cams these days are missing it).
IS works very well.
Cons
Good luck finding support for the AVCHD codec (READ BELOW)
Would like to work with the RAW AVCHD files vs them getting cut down in size for PC
The Joystick/Wheel in idea was great (like EOS 40D) but it sux on this cam.
When is Canon doing to dump that stupid "Print Button" and give us a `new feature?
AVCHD is not well liked or supported by Adobe at the moment and have no current (advertised) plans on getting up to speed anytime soon. I hated the provided software (its a joke) and really need the tools available in Adobe Premier Pro CS3 so I broke down and purchased Sony Vegas Movie Studio Pro 8 so I can convert the AVCHD files if needed and work directly with the files if need be. This of course degrades the movies a little more.
For those that use 24p, you better have a pretty powerful computer and have IS turned off in Cam. AVCHD is very processor intensive and will kill most weaker PCs with jerky video. Having a powerful video card with hardware decoding will help a little but AVCHD isnt MPEG-2 and wont get much benefit from these cards. In the future that will likely change.
On: 2008-04-07
Its compact, light weight and powerful. The resolution is increadable and the 40GB hard drive on board makes life so much easier. No more tapes, mini disks, etc. I work with a bunch of GEEKS and even they are impressed. I highly recommend this camcorder.
On: 2008-04-07
I havent used the camera too much yet, but so far Ive been very impressed with the quality of the footage Im getting. I keep the camera in 24P mode, so I think that helps a little bit.
Im slightly disappointed in low light footage, but very few consumer grade cameras do low light very well, so its certainly not a surprise nor is it a deal breaker.
Beware of limited support for the AVCHD format amongst editing applications. Luckily I use Final Cut Pro 6 which has support for the format, but other popular applications either have limited support or no support for AVCHD.
If youre looking for a great HD camera to capture kids events, etc. this is definitely it.
On: 2008-04-05
I ordered this camera to capture our first attempt at parenthood. I was expecting the camera would arrive in time for his birth, but he showed up 3 weeks early and the camera showed up a couple days later, still in time to see his first time home. I was happy to see the camera at work, it does show an excellent picture. I only buy new video cams about every 10 years (last one was in Hong Kong in 1997), so like to get the best for my money. I can see why there is such a following with these cams. Would I buy it again? Yes, at this point I think I would. I havent tried the computer software yet. A warning from the Cannon book with this harddrive type of setup is that strong shakes or drops of the camera can possibly erase what you recorded (as with a laptop) so they warn you to back-up your recordings. Im not all that computer literate and with a new baby not about to get any more computer savy, so Im holding out for the new Cannon Dw-100 DVR recorder.
On: 2008-04-05
This product lasted until the initial battery charge was depleated. Camera never did charge the battery and will not play nor record off the plug-in cord for power. Call canon and they want me to send the faulty product back at my expense so they can fix it. Its only two months old and should not break down ... actually it was already broken when I got it ... just didnt know until the battery went dead and so did the camera. I find it troubling that I have to pay for shipping and insurance to have a bad product that was sold to me just so I can have it fixed. This is the second and last time I will buy a canon product. I previously bought a high dollar Canon EOS 5 and it also had to be fixed. Guess Canon doesnt have a quality control program in place.
This bad rating isnt against the merchant that sold me the faulty product, but rather its against CANON !!!
On: 2008-04-02
This is my first Camcorder, so I dont have to much to compare with, but I have to say that the Image Quality is Great!! I play it on my HD TV and its amazing the perfection of the image that you get. I cant give you technical coments as other reviewers as Im new in filming, but for the price I Think you cant get better results than with this camcorder. I have to admit that the Software included is not great, but it does his job (at least includes a SW).
On: 2008-04-01
The camera is great once you take the time to figure it out. HOWEVER, to download video to a computer you need to have an intel based computer!!! Nowhere in the literature is this stated. I spent countless hour setting up everything, only to discover the Intel requirement. I questioned Canon sales people prior to purchasing the camera. I explained which computer I own, etc. Thanks a lot Canon.
On: 2008-03-29
Sick....just, sick! This thing makes fantastic movies, photos, etc. Plus everything "just works" under Mac OS X 10.5 with iMovie 08. I was so surprised by the hi-def movies I could make that I almost forgot about the photos, then I took some... Wow! The camera mode is the best Ive ever encountered from any consumer product (you know... the less-than-$2K-category)!
One word of advice: If you get this, spend $129 for the Canon iP4500. The pictures are amazing.
Please ignore the "megapixel myth" about cameras. This camera does more with 3, than any of my prior 8MP, 10 MP cameras have ever done.!
On: 2008-03-28
We just got back from a family vacation at Disney world where I filmed several hours (60 GB) of footage. The camcorder was a joy to use. This is my second hard drive camcorder that replaced a earlier version JVC hard drive camcorder.
The one area where this camcorder shines is in low light conditions. The footage is still very good even under very dark conditions. Indoors is not a problem.
I brought my Mac Book Pro with me and downloaded the video onto an external drive. It normally took about an hour to download each night but it didnt require any outside intervention so I could just start it and do something else for a while. The workflow was great even on vacation.
Two downsides to this camcorder is that the lens is not very wide and the body is made of an easily scratched plastic. You need a good amount of space between you and the subject. Im contemplating purchasing the wide angle converter but the mixed reviews and the general consensus of its weight is holding me back. Even though I got this camcorder back in December 07, after this trip, it is completely scratched and horrible looking. I am generally careful with my electronic equipment but the scratches were unavoidable with this camcorder.
All-in-all, this is a great camcorder and I am very satisfied with it.
On: 2008-03-28
Great images and enough room to store hours and hours of best moments... after a week of use, I still have a lot of space to continuing capturing those moments that no one wants forget...
On: 2008-03-26
Our 1st camcorder purchase. We needed a HD camcorder. Wed heard bad things about minidv tapes malfunctioning in high humidity and abrupt changes in temperature (for e.g. while in Hawaii on going from the A/C hotel room out onto the hot humid beach). So we decided to buy a Hard drive sort of camcorder. The plus side of this is the easy editing/deleting on the camcorder itself. Playback on a TV (regular TV or HDTV) is easy and it lets you choose scenes (rather than having to rewind a minidv tape). Battery life is good, focus and zoom adequate. Sound quality is good. The picture is very good especially in movie frame and HD mode.
Overall, a very good buy. Works well for a family needing a good point and shoot camcorder with user friendly features and HD quality. Paid $ 639 for it. Bought it from Marcus Audio Video - order arrived in time and was packaged well.
On: 2008-03-25
I have used it a few times, and it takes great videos. This is the first camcorder Ive owned since a VHS model ten years ago, so its obviously a step up in quality. One gripe I have: nowhere in advertisements or online manuals did I hear about a restriction in altitude; but the beginning pages of the users manual states that it should not be used above 9,800 feet elevation. For a person living in CO, that means I cant use it on many of my hikes.
On: 2008-03-25
I have been using the Canon HG10 for a month now and couldnt be happier with the quality of the recordings. This camcorder has many useful features and no fatal flaws. Im basing the five stars on the price/performance ratio. Im not basing the rating on the supplied software and editing capabilities because there are too many variables with computer configurations and I just want to focus on the cameras performance. I have owned an 8mm and two Mini DV camcorders over the last twenty years and have never seen results that are anything close to what I get with this camcorder. Most of my shooting has been done with full automatic mode.
Here are the features and characteristics I really like:
First and foremost, color saturation and accuracy. Even if this wasnt high definition, Id be pleased with it for the realistic color rendition alone.
It has very good low light shooting capability. Dont expect the crisp, smooth, colorful images you get under bright lighting, but this will pick up viewable images (albeit very grainy and low contrast) under candlelight and outside images at night under a bright moon. It works well under normal indoor lighting at night which is where I shoot a lot of video.
The auto focus is lightning fast. You wont see a lot of "hunting" to focus. The image stabilization works amazingly well. My videos havent looked this steady since I was using my big, heavy 8mm camcorder years ago. The automatic white balance is very fast and accurate too.
The hard drive is quick, quiet, and a real convenience after dealing with tapes for years. All of the important data is embedded in the video. No more writing information on tiny cassette labels. Finding a particular clip by viewing thumbnails is a huge improvement over winding a tape back and forth.
The controls are well placed and easy to use. The variable speed zoom is excellent and I really like having the option of using a viewfinder or LCD screen when shooting.
There are many more manual options than Im used to seeing in a compact camcorder. You can control focus, aperture, fame rate, shutter speed, and more. If youve ever used a Canon digital still camera, youll be in familiar territory with the menus, manual settings and effects. Check out cinema mode. It looks great but it does reduce the contrast and brightness slightly.
The still photo mode produces very good pictures. At about 2.7 megapixels, it wont compete with current dedicated digital still cameras for resolution, but the results are fine if you dont blow the pictures up too big. The excellent optics and image sensor really help here.
A few things I dont like:
Having to plug in the AC adapter to transfer video files to a computer. I know this is to protect the hard drive, but it is a nuisance. Still images can be transfered under battery power.
Mini SD card for storing still images. Storing still images on the hard drive would be convenient but would probably complicate playback. My gripe is that you have to use a mini and not a regular SD card. Regular SD cards are generally cheaper and easier to find. The memory card was not included. Including a small capacity card wouldnt add much to the cost of the camera and would mean the still photo mode will work right out of the box. I had to order a card and wait an extra week before I could use the still photo mode. Not a big deal, but I think everything should be ready to go right away.
Specialized connections for HDMI and component video. For HDMI, it uses a Mini to standard HDMI cable which is not included. Mini to standard HDMI cables are more expensive and harder to find than standard to standard HDMI cables. Component video is accessed by a special type of mini plug for the camera. The cable is included, but if its lost or damaged, it could be difficult to find a replacement. Using the composite video output downconverts the resolution from 1080i to 480p. Even at 480p, the video still looks very good. The composite A/V cable is also included.
I consider these minor drawbacks; not quite enough for me to dock the rating by a star.
A couple of things Im neutral on are the flash and the built in microphone. The built in microphone I would consider good, but average. The flash works well for still images but seems to have a somewhat shorter useful range than the built in flash on a lot of dedicated digital still cameras. It wont help much beyond eight to ten feet. You can attach a stronger flash to the hot shoe.
To sum everything up;
Stunning video quality. Good still images are a bonus (see customer images).
Good sound. Can be improved by using an external microphone.
Easy to use. Good control layout. You can hold and operate it with one hand. Image stabilization really helps with one handed operation.
Automatic mode works really well and there are lots of manual control options if you want to tweak them.
For the first time, Im getting video that looks as good or better than anything I see on broadcast television!
On: 2008-03-24
I have been using this cam for a few weeks and I love it. If you have a Mac and use Final Cut this cam works great. The video looks very nice (I love shooting in HD). If you add any filters get good ones. I have some and they are cheap! when filming the edges have black on them, and get good batteries (cannon) I got some cheap one on amazon and they work fine but 30mins is short Im planning on getting a real canon battery.
On: 2008-03-24
:: Overview
After much reviewing and evaluating we ([...]) found the HG10 to be the best offering on the market. Managed to get the camera here on Amazon for $[...] at the time which is a complete STEAL for what this piece of technology offers. Like all of my other Canon cameras (EOS 30D, SD20, SD870IS, EOS 650) I got the quality and performance I expect from Canon. The camera is compact and light and has a quick startup for power on and shooting quickly. The optics in the camera are stunningly clear and for those that love a big optical zoom look no further. The HG10s zoom is *massive* and to the point where I felt like I was spying on people while shooting clips of the highest residential building West of the Mississippi. Definitely make sure you pick up a decent tripod if you plan to use that zoom or youre going to make your viewers sick. Yes, the camera does have image stabilization but that only goes so far and is rendered pretty much useless in a fully zoomed in shot. When it comes to a full wide shot the image stabilization does a pretty good job of smoothing things out unless you get into a constant vibration//bumpy situation. I had the camera on a tripod shooting video of Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA with a strong wind causing some shake that had the stabilization struggling to compensate for. Color accuracy is quite good as all Canons tend to be. Sony cameras typically over saturate color to make it more "punchy" which isnt accurate and rather obnoxious. Even when using a color mode like Vivid on the HG10 you still dont end up with blown out punchy color. If thats your thing - do it in post or buy a Sony. If youre looking for a consumer camera that behaves more like a professional camera the HG10 is your choice.
:: Playback
Im on a 15" MacBook Pro 2.2GHz Santa Rosa with 4GB of RAM. RAM is cheap folks and I highly suggest making sure you have at least 2GB and 30GB+ of HDD space free on your machine. Ideally youll have a backup drive because HD files are quite large and eat up disk space quickly. That said lets get into playback and acquisition of the clips from the camera. I used iMovie 08. I have Final Cut Studio 2, but since Viddyou is a consumer//pro-sumer focused company it was important to make sure I used the tools available to the majority of our users. Its straight forward getting the clips off the camera via USB over a standard USB to mini-USB cable. Launch iMovie 08 with the HG10 connected and set to playback mode AND *plugged into power* as Canon REQUIRES you to be plugged into power in order to transfer. Its the only highly annoying aspect to this camera, but once you grumble and grown a bit you get over it. The camera will appear in iMovie and when selected iMovie will pull thumbnail versions of all your clips for quick preview and selection of what you want to bring into iMovie. Select your clips and importing will take a few min depending on how much you shot. If you plan on working in Full HD (1080) then you need to make sure you tell iMovie to import the clips at Full HD 1080. I suggest doing that so you have the most data available when it comes time to export the video later. Make your movie as you would with SD footage. Again youre going to need a computer thats a year old or so to work with Full HD as its a resource hog. Dont expect your slightly older machine to handle it because youll be sorely disappointed. This is emerging technology and it requires the latest computer hardware to really make use of it. Once you have clips into iMovie youll see just how stunningly clear, sharp and color accurate the camera is. Really, this is something you have to see to believe and since Viddyou is the first personal video site to launch Full HD 1080p online I can share some footage with you all here. Again youll need a modern machine thats got some good amount of processing power and at least a standard cable modem connection. HD will get better as hardware and home internet connections get faster...
[...]
:: Encoding (Transcoding)
iMovie converts all of your content from AVCHD to the Apple Intermediate Codec which results in large files that can be edited. To the common user you dont ever see these converted files and probably would never need to know this except for the fact this camera shoots in 1080i - interlaced. If you dont deinterlace your video you will end up with "jaggies" in the output. This is where things get a bit tricky and its an issue with iMovie//QuickTime. If you export Full HD 1080p (non-interlaced) and tell QuickTime to deinterlace the video theres a slight issue where QuickTime thinks the video is already deinterlaced and ignores the deinterlacing option. I cant tell you how many times I tried a variety of settings to make this work. It was only after scouring the web that I got some answers and it adds quite a bit of time to the process. You need to export from iMovie using QuickTime still, but set your output to a different codec that supports scan lines. I export using Apple ProRes422 HQ which results in a 1.61GB file for 2min of content. I then bring that into Final Cut Studios Compressor and export to H.264 1080x1920 HD with a deinterlacing filter. Compressor isnt available as a stand alone application however so this really isnt an option to most users, but sadly this was the only way Ive been able to get perfect deinterlacing of the 1080i video. In theory you should be able to take the 1.61GB file and check the deinterlace box in QuickTime and export to H.264 there, but for some reason QuickTime STILL ignores the deinterlacing command. Frustrating, but its new tech and consumer software so its an issue with the video tools and not the camera itself. Theres another gotcha here too. You MUST have QuickTime Pro which is $[...]. Honestly if youre going to be doing any kind of video work on Mac or PC you *should* buy QuickTime Pro period. Its a $[...] investment that will last you for years and is completely worth it. Included below is an example of what interlaced footage looks like and why its a problem. Oddly when exporting to 720x1280 (720p) QuickTime DOES deinterlace. Yeah - figure that one out...
1080i ::
:: Online Hosting of Full HD Video
Full disclaimer - Im one of the founders of [...]. Aaron and I have put an astonishing amount of time into bringing Full HD to the consumer//pro-sumer market with the best balance of playback quality and download speed. Its been quite a challenge making this happen yet the results have been more than worth it. If youre looking for a place to host and share Full HD 1080p video Viddyou is your only option as no one else offers Full HD services on the consumer level. Even if youre looking for only 720p hosting or top quality SD (standard definition) youll find us hard to beat. Putting the video quality aside for a moment its our privacy controls that let you specify exactly who gets to view and even download your original video file that make Viddyou the standout choice. Personal video is just that - personal and privacy is as critical to Aaron and myself as it is to many of you. Your uploads are archived to Amazons own S3 storage system which powers the site we all love so much here. The Canon HG10 was our test camera during development and remains our best answer to anyone wanting to get into HD. If you have any questions about HD and Viddyou feel free to contact me on [...]and Ill happily help.
 On: 2008-03-24
I am new to camcorders, but an expert with digital photography. I purchased the HG10 after reading great reviews. I took a few videos and uploaded to my XP pc without problem. However, the playback was jerky and made me motion sick watching. The playback on the camera is fine. I spent thee days reading numerous blogs on issues people have with the included software and issues such as mine. This is contrary to the rave reviews you see on Amazon and CNet. I would love to keep this camera, but the fact that after days of research and trials, I still can not playback my videos on my XP pc is totally unacceptable. I have always been a big fan of Canon but they shipped a product without the expected software support.
On: 2008-03-20
I received this HD camcorder 2 days before my wedding last weekend and I was thoroughly impressed by the picture quality of it out of the box. A family member recorded our wedding ceremony and much of our reception was filmed and the picture quality is incredible. We hooked up the camcorder to our 1080 Sony LCD TV and the picture quality is unreal. Even the later parts of the reception with the light getting lower where very sharp and the battery life was GREAT!
On: 2008-03-20
We bought this camera in anticipation of the birth of our first child. It is everything we expected. With adequate light, the video is crystal clear. There are quite a bit of noise in poorly lit environment but that is expected. Another advantage is that this camera share the same battery footprint as my Canon DSLR (Rebel XT) so I gain an extra charger and spare batteries, even if they are at lower capacity; which is good to have in a pinch.
The software is adequate and we have no problem converting them into DVDs.
On: 2008-03-18
Although I have only had the camcorder a few weeks I only have good things to say about it. It well exceded my expectations and the price was right. The item shipped very quickly and arrived on time. I would recommend the camera and seller to anyone.
On: 2008-03-18
No worries at all here. It was a great purchase at a great price. The camera has done everything we couldve envisioned. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
On: 2008-03-15
This product performs as claimed, is easy to use and is small enough to be discreet.
On: 2008-03-15
Amazing quality indoors and out. Installation was a breeze and I can even edit movies from my camera so not to take up so much room on my computer. Great small powerful camera, sleek design, I would recommend it to anyone.
On: 2008-03-11
This is my first camcorder and I really like it. After spending weeks researching hi-def camcorders I decided on the HG10. 5 1/2 hours of hard drive storage is more than enough for the average vacation. Takes nice video, and when connected to my 52inch HD TV thru the Mini HDMI cable(bought separately) it outputs a fantastic picture. You really need a powerful computer, though, to use the software given, or any of the software for Hi Def for that matter. The software is the only thing I do not like. I highly recomend this camcorder.
On: 2008-03-11
I bought it from B&H. Very good camcorder for the bucks. Good image quality. Compact size. I like it a lot because a) good image quality, b) PC and (Intel) Mac compatible (work with iMovie), c) lightweight, d) very easy to use and fully automatic for backlight situation too.
Things that can be improved.
1) Lack of neck strap
2) Lack of carrying case
3) Battery life is a bit short. Should provide a 2400 mAh one.
4) Lack of mini HDMI to HDMI cable
5) Useless 200x digital zoom - I turned that off.
6) Lack of memory to test out the camera feature. Should provide a 1GB memory card. That is cheap.
7) The placement of record button seems strange.
It could be a better camcorder if the above issues are addressed by Canon somehow. We pay $650 to $799 to buy this unit but we end up paying $200 or so on accessories. Why dont they just package a deal that would give customer everything that we dream of at a decent price? It would be a steal then!
On: 2008-03-07
i started reviewing camcorders and realized that all the ones i wanted were out of my price range. i then realized that i was looking to have a lot of features that i probably really didnt need. i found this one and it seemed to have things i was interested in....hd, storage on the hard drive, small size and compatible with my macbook. i have only used it a few times, to record my two month old and so far it works great. i am able to capture her with such great detail, its amazing. i love that you can view all the scenes in playback mode and choose which one you want to see and delete it right there. no more ffwd and rewind thru hours of video. it also has a built in light which has been helpful in some darker situations. i would recommend ordering a mini sd card to capture still images and if you are interested a hdmi/mini hdmi cable to connect the camera right to your hd tv.
On: 2008-03-03
I am still in the learning stage with this camcorder. Last year I bought a Sony DCR-SR80 (non-HD, 60 gig HDD). I was generally happy with that camcorder, using it mostly for my sons sporting events. Then I read where HD video, converted to mpeg, is a higher quality than a SD camcorder mpeg. I did a side-by-side comparison of both camcorders. The result: the Canon converted video was sharper and had truer color than the Sony SD. Also, the HD video (not converted) played through the camcorder into an HD TV is phenomenal. The disadvantage to converting to SD is that the downconverting (is that a real term?)takes time, and unless Im missing something, is a multi-step process with the included software.
Issues: There is limited software that is available to do decent editing for the HD mode. This isnt a huge problem for me at the moment, because currently Bluray burners and media are a little too $$$ for my tastes, so hopefully, when the prices go down (hopefully by football season), more software will be available. I downloaded a 30 day free trial of ULEAD 11, but it is a bit awkward to work with. I also have Vegas Studio 8, which I am very happy with for SD video, but Sony hasnt released a version to work with Canon HD video. It does work with Sony HD Camcorders, but they (the HDD versions)cost around $400 more than this one. Also, I agree with those who are unhappy with the microphone. The wind noise on a breezy day is horrible.
Overall, it seems like a nice camcorder at a great price.
On: 2008-02-27
I am not Cecil B. DeMille by any lights, and this camera is wonderful - perfect for recording the small things in life that, in the end, add up to everything that really counts! Great picture. Easy to use.
On: 2008-02-23
I have a 2.8 iMac with an Intel Processor. As I understand from doing research the HG-10 did not work easily with the Mac G5. The picture is crystal clear when transferred to my Mac. The reason i gave this 4 stars, and I plan to update this review later, is that the software that came with it did not work immediately. I had the camera plugged in and started the Canon application and nothing was recognized. I then went on to try to discover the camera in menus and then even went so far, (backwards order i know), to read the manual. Again, no immediate success. As I sat there, the Mac iMovie icon was staring at me. I opened iMove and wah-lah, there was the camera and the test movie of my kids running around. Great camera so far, software was probably works if you have time to figure it out.
On: 2008-02-23
If you need a camera will all the jazz - Touch screen, being able to snap stills while video recording, view finder that is super adjustable, 5.1 audio, do not even look at this camera. To factor in these, I have removed a star off my review (this is a bit harsh though as at $630, I feel I havent even paid for these frills)
However if you are like me and itch to record in the HD just because that sounds (actually looks) cooler and want to pay not too much more than standard recording cameras, then you may very well grab this camera.
It seems that Canon wants to position this camera right with the standard definition cameras to flush the standard cameras out of the market. Unless it is true, how could a nice little camera like this loose more than 50% of its price tag within the first few months of launch?
I bought this camera for $750 2 weeks ago from Amazon and find it priced at $630! Holy S#!+ I am therefore returning this and repurchasing it. Another star has been taken off as Amazon doesnt have a price match policy and wants me to pay for the postage and lots more for a $750 insurance ($17 approx total).
On: 2008-02-21
Cant speak for the MAC people, but Im a PC user, and this camera had been working great for me so far. The video quality is good, although the picture may get a little grainy in low light. The camcorder also takes good snap shoot pictures. I feel bad that I had just spent $250 recently on a SONY camera that takes poor pictures in low light. This camcorder would have done the job. The software that comes with the camcorder is also useful in the sense that you can use it to convert the videos from AVCHD format to the standard MPEG format easily. The only disappointment with the software is that it is too simple and doesnt offer a lot of different features, but hey... thats where ADOBE comes in. I would definitely recommend this camera to other people.
On: 2008-02-19
This camera is very good and I recommend it for casual videography. The battery life is as advertised when shooting in HD mode, about a half days worth of steady shooting. The color and light metering are about all the amateur could ask for out of the box.
As was stated in the Wired magazine review which compelled me to buy this camera, the sound recording is poor in windy conditions. Even a strong breeze will cause a racket in any recorded piece.
Windows users, be forewarned: I bought a MacBook which I was wishing for a long time because of the bad Corel software include with the camera. The software is a dog, and a dead dog on an older PC. It requires a very new computer to work in my estimation. You need a better computer than the HP Pavilion 512MB with Athlon I tried it on, but the new MacBook required nothing to work.
Try to find this camera online, as I did at J&R, if you know even a little about video recording you will appreciate the lower prices of a "sight unseen" purchase.
On: 2008-02-17
This camcorder is everything for which I was searching! It has excellent video quality, better than what I expected for less than $650 dollars! The menus are easy to use and the features are great. I love having a hard disk, eliminating the use of tapes or disc! I just upload the video to my computer edit it and make a DVD. Construction and design are durable and efficient. I love this Camcorder!
Pros: 40GB Hard Drive, HiDef Recording without huge bulky files (AVCHD format), Good in low light recording, Advanced accessory shoe makes adding accessories a snap, Amazing color (RGB engine from canon), Easily accessible menus, Decent software to convert and limitedly edit video, Durable Construction, Attractive Design, Good Battery Life, Built in flash for still pictures, Canon reliability and trust.
Cons: Inability to edit video on Camcorder, Slightly heavier and larger than other HDD camcorders, Could include better software for video editing.
On: 2008-02-15
The Motion artifacts were a disappointment. I am NOT a tech, but based on research, I understand the following:
1) [From United States Patent 5313280 Description] A typical television signal, when digitized, produces a data stream of about 100 to 150 megabits per second (Mbps) before compression. Compressed video data streams usually range from 56 kilobits per second (kbps) to 45 Mbps. The receiving codec expands or decompresses the digital signal, then converts it back to an analog video format for display.
The process of compressing and decompressing the signal introduces defects, called motion artifacts in the received video image. These artifacts are readily observable when the video signals are displayed. Such well known motion artifacts include (1) blocking, where the received video image has rectangular or checkerboard patterns not present in the original image; (2) blurring or smearing, where the received video image has lost edge detail present in the original; (3) image persistence, where an old or previous image remains on the monitor; (4) jerkiness, where the original smooth continuous motion is perceived as a series of snapshots.
For a given codec, higher compression ratios (lower transmission rates) will generally produce more noticeable motion artifacts. For example, when a signal is compressed to 56 kbps (a compression ratio of over 1000:1), the resulting motion artifacts are obvious to observers. At the lower compression ratio (about 3:1) that produces 45 Mbps transmission, most observers cannot detect the motion artifacts.
2) Canon HG10 is capable of 24 Mbps transmission, but for some reason limits it to 15 Mbps transmission. This requires a higher compression ratio, resulting in more motion artifacts.
3) When will Canon a) Increase transmission to 24 Mbps, or b) invent a better AVCHD Codec to be less lossy?
On: 2008-02-14
I traded in my GL2 (Canon GL2 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom a large Canon mini-DV camcorder with superb optics) which I loved, because I wanted to go high-def, wanted to make transferring video to my computer easier and wanted a smaller camera that I could take with me easier. The HG10 is all these things. You can find all the technical details by googling for reviews - I wont repeat them here - but what you read is borne out by the camera. It takes great video, is easy to use yet has ample scope for adjustments for those who want to go beyond automatic shooting and transfer to a Mac is a breeze. The sound captured is actually acceptable in most situations, but not that great with more ambient noise or at larger distances (>15 ft or so), and I am contemplating adding an external mic such as RODE VideoMic Directional Camcorder Microphone or Stereo VideoMic. I now take this with me to lots of different events and can take great video of my kids, and enjoy every minute of it.
On: 2008-02-11
Before buying the Canon HG10 camera I was looking around and comparing various products from different brands.
My main considerations were:
- high definition standard (1080i)
- type of media used by the camera
- low-light performance
- price
- size
There are several HD camera models from different manufacturers available on the market which utilize different media: mini-DV cassette, hard disc [HDD], flash memory, mini DVD disc, even Blue Ray disc. The reality is, that only two of them are practical at this point - HDD and flash memory ones. From those two the HDD camcorders are cheaper, but they have movable parts and are rather gentle devices (in the sense that you should not drop your camcorder on the ground whilst the HDD is still spinning).
The flash memory camcorders do not have movable parts (apart from eventual optical image stabilizer [O.I.S.]) and are (in theory) more reliable. The cost of memory is going down, so one day "flash" camcorders of similar specs will cost about the same as the HDD-based ones.
I did not consider mini-DV because of time requred for capturing recorded video and transfering it on DVD for archiving (in many cases you will need to save the video stream in large .avi files first, then render them into .mpg).
HD on mini-DVD is a laugh - less than 15 minutes of record in high quality.
Blue-Ray is still an exotic format, and I have no plans to buy a player yet. At least not until one of the formats (or a third one) is a definite leader on the market.
When it comes to low-light performance, this is all about physics. Larger image sensor gives better picture. Period. HG10 sensor being 1/2.7", is considerably larger compared to 1/5" or 1/6" sensors found in other models. And it performs accordingly.
The price makes this camera a real bargain!
HG10 is not tiny (compared to some non-HD models on the market), but still quite small (especially taking into account that it is a HD model with 1/2.7" image sensor). Maybe it is a bit "fatter" than I expected, but surprisingly it is small enough to put both it and my Pentax *ist Ds camera in one small Lowepro D Rez AW40 bag.
As I also own an older mini-DV model from the same manufacturer (MV200i), I can compare them side-by-side.
When it comes to the level of detail produced with the HG10, especially in good light, it is just stunning.
The low-light performance of the HG10 is very good, even without switching to slow shutter mode. But do not expect the same quality as in professional models.
The O.I.S. in the HG10 works fantastic, a huge improvement compared to my older camera. Still be carefull if you want to get most of your Canon HG10 HD camera - you will need a monopod or a tripod much more often now to get sharp videos. Nothing is wrong with this model, simply the improved resolution allows you to see much more detail ...and imperfection.
Now a few comments about the things which Canon could have thought better about.
No. 1: Start/Stop button and the zoom switch. Those just do not fit my fingers. I have to figure out how to hold the camera. I am also missing a start/stop button at the front of the camera (like in my MV200i). It comes very handy when shooting from a low point and using the LCD panel.
No. 2: On/Off/Mode switch. Difficult to operate due to its size and design.
No. 3: Scrolling through menus and setting up different functions is only possible when you open the LCD screen, as the scroll-wheel is on the inner side of the LCD panel.
No. 4: Very small viewfinder, almost unusable for me (maybe I should take off my complaint No. 3 :)?)
No. 5: No shoulder strap? Canon, you are kidding!
No. 6: Canon uses the full HD sensor in this model (i.e., 1920x1080), however the HD output is 1440x1080. This is not clearly stated in the specs. Practically speaking, this is not a big deal, as tests show no visible difference between these two modes.
No. 7: The built-in lamp is balanced for daylight. It produces blueish tones, if the camera is set to a lower color temperature. This makes the built-in lamp quite useless in the real life.
On: 2008-02-10
Before buying the Canon HG10 camera I was looking around and comparing various products from different brands.
My main considerations were:
- high definition standard (1080i)
- type of media used by the camera
- low-light performance
- price
- size
There are several HD camera models from different manufacturers available on the market which utilize different media: mini-DV cassette, hard disc [HDD], flash memory, mini DVD disc, even Blue Ray disc. The reality is, that only two of them are practical at this point - HDD and flash memory ones. From those two the HDD camcorders are cheaper, but they have movable parts and are rather gentle devices (in the sense that you should not drop your camcorder on the ground whilst the HDD is still spinning).
The flash memory camcorders do not have movable parts (apart from eventual optical image stabilizer [O.I.S.]) and are (in theory) more reliable. The cost of memory is going down, so one day "flash" camcorders of similar specs will cost about the same as the HDD-based ones.
I did not consider mini-DV because of time requred for capturing recorded video and transfering it on DVD for archiving (in many cases you will need to save the video stream in large .avi files first, then render them into .mpg).
HD on mini-DVD is a laugh - less than 15 minutes of record in high quality.
Blue-Ray is still an exotic format, and I have no plans to buy a player yet. At least not until one of the formats (or a third one) is a definite leader on the market.
When it comes to low-light performance, this is all about physics. Larger image sensor gives better picture. Period. HG10 sensor being 1/2.7", is considerably larger compared to 1/5" or 1/6" sensors found in other models. And it performs accordingly.
The price makes this camera a real bargain!
HG10 is not tiny (compared to some non-HD models on the market), but still quite small (especially taking into account that it is a HD model with 1/2.7" image sensor). Maybe it is a bit "fatter" than I expected, but surprisingly it is small enough to put both it and my Pentax *ist Ds camera in one small Lowepro D Rez AW40 bag.
As I also own an older mini-DV model from the same manufacturer (MV200i), I can compare them side-by-side.
When it comes to the level of detail produced with the HG10, especially in good light, it is just stunning.
The low-light performance of the HG10 is very good, even without switching to slow shutter mode. But do not expect the same quality as in professional models.
The O.I.S. in the HG10 works fantastic, a huge improvement compared to my older camera. Still be carefull if you want to get most of your Canon HG10 HD camera - you will need a monopod or a tripod much more often now to get sharp videos. Nothing is wrong with this model, simply the improved resolution allows you to see much more detail ...and imperfection.
Now a few comments about the things which Canon could have thought better about.
No. 1: Start/Stop button and the zoom switch. Those just do not fit my fingers. I have to figure out how to hold the camera. I am also missing a start/stop button at the front of the camera (like in my MV200i). It comes very handy when shooting from a low point and using the LCD panel.
No. 2: On/Off/Mode switch. Difficult to operate due to its size and design.
No. 3: Scrolling through menus and setting up different functions is only possible when you open the LCD screen, as the scroll-wheel is on the inner side of the LCD panel.
No. 4: Very small viewfinder, almost unusable for me (maybe I should take off my complaint No. 3 :)?)
No. 5: No shoulder strap? Canon, you are kidding!
No. 6: Canon uses the full HD sensor in this model (i.e., 1920x1080), however the HD output is 1440x1080. This is not clearly stated in the specs. Practically speaking, this is not a big deal, as tests show no visible difference between these two modes.
No. 7: The built-in lamp is balanced for daylight. It produces blueish tones, if the camera is set to a lower color temperature. This makes the built-in lamp quite useless in the real life.
On: 2008-02-10
Before buying the Canon HG10 camera I was looking around and comparing various products from different brands.
My main considerations were:
- high definition standard (1080i)
- type of media used by the camera
- low-light performance
- price
- size
There are several HD camera models from different manufacturers available on the market which utilize different media: mini-DV cassette, hard disk [HDD], flash memory, mini DVD disk, even Blue Ray disc. The reality is, that only two of them are practical at this point - HDD and flash memory. from those two, the HDD camcorders are cheaper, but they have movable parts and are rather gentle devices (in the sense that you should not drop your camcorder on the ground whilst the HDD is still spinning).
The flash memory camcorders do not have movable parts (apart from eventual optical image stabilizer [O.I.S.]) and are (in theory) more reliable. The cost of memory is going down, so one day "flash" camcorders will cost about the same as the HDD-based ones.
I did not consider mini-DV because of time requred for capturing recorded video and transfering it on DVD for archiving (in many cases you will need to save the video stream in large .avi files first, then render them into .mpg).
HD on mini-DVD is a laugh - less than 15 minutes of record in high quality.
Blue-Ray is still an exotic format, and I do not have a player yet.
When it comes to low-light performance, this is all about physics. Larger image sensor gives better picture. Period. HG10 sensor is 1/2.7", compared to 1/5" or 1/6" found in other models. And it performs accordingly.
The price is really a bargain!
The camera is not tiny (compared to some non-HD models on the market), but quite small (especially considering that it is HD with 1/2.7" image sensor). Maybe a bit "fatter" than I expected.
As I also own an older mini-DV model from the same manufacturer (MV200i), I can compare them side-by-side.
When it comes to the level of detail produced with the HG10, especially in good light, it is just stunning.
The low-light performance of the HG10 is very good, even without switching to slow shutter mode. But do not expect the same quality as in professional models.
The O.I.S. in the HG10 works fantastic, a huge improvement compared to my older camera. But be carefull if you want to get most of your Canon HG10 HD camera - you will need a tripod much more often now to get sharp videos. Nothing is wrong with this model, simply the improved resolution allows you to see much more detail ...and imperfection.
Now about the things which I would improve.
No. 1: Start/Stop button and the zoom switch. Those just do not fit my fingers. I have to figure out how to hold the camera. I am also missing a start/stop button at the front of the camera (like in my MV200i). It comes very handy when shooting from a low point using the LCD panel.
No. 2: On/Off/Mode switch. Very difficult to operate with one hand.
No. 3: Scrolling through menus and setting up different functions is only possible when you open the LCD screen, because the scroll-wheel is on the inner side of the LCD panel.
No. 4: Very small viewfinder, almost unusable for me (maybe I should take off my complaint No. 3 :)?)
No. 5: No shoulder strap? Canon, you are kidding!
No. 6: Canon uses the full HD sensor in this model (1920x1080), however the HD output is 1440x1080. This is not clearly stated in the specs. Pratically speaking, this is not a big deal, as tests show no visible difference between these two modes.
On: 2008-02-08
Bought this camera about a month ago, what an awesome peice of electronics. Bought the HDMI cable to view on my 50" HDTV, very nice, I think the picture is as good as some of the HD shows on TV or even better. For the price, I feel the HDMI cable should come with it, but oh well what ya gonna do? Camera is so light weight that its hard for me to keep steady while walking, but then Im a bit heavy and not so light on my feet. The access wheel on the LCD is a bit awkward but not bad once you get use to it. I always tend to spin it past where I want to be. Bought a Tiffen enhancing filter kit and man did it bring out the colors. Built in mic is so sensitive I can here myself breath and can hear the hard disk motor when very quiet, definitely need to get the Canon DM-50 mic. Not sure which software suite to buy even though the software that comes with it is good enough to transfer video files and still images. Dont like the idea of having to plug in the charger each time I want to transfer files. All in all I feel it is a great hard drive camera with nice features, however I should of waited another couple months for the new HF-10. Now that camera seems awesome, with basicly no moving parts and removable flash memory to transfer files, 12X optical and 30P - WOW !! Next time !!
On: 2008-02-08
This is a great camera, but it is not for the non-technical. The software shipped with this device does not work. Cannon will not support the software they ship with the device, and Corel will not offer technical support outside of a forum. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMCORDER is you are not a computer genius. It seems I bought in to early for diskless technology.
On: 2008-02-08
This is a great camera. The picture quality on a HDTV is stunning. I use it to film my daughters soccer games and you can actually identify the players and see the ball. The picture quality is such an improvement from my old Digital 8. And I dont miss changing tapes in the middle of a game - the HDD is more than sufficient to hold several 1.5 hr games. One complaint is that the sound microphone is on the top of the device and can pick up your breathing, etc. Also, the included editing software is barely adequate and many third-party programs have not yet come out with AVCHD-compatible editing software.
On: 2008-02-07
Bought this camera about a month ago, what an awesome peice of electronics. Bought the HDMI cable to view on my 50" HDTV, very nice, I think the picture is as good as some of the HD shows on TV or even better. For the price, I feel the HDMI cable should come with it, but oh well what ya gonna do? Camera is so light weight that its hard for me to keep steady while walking, but then Im a bit heavy and not so light on my feet. The access wheel on the LCD is a bit awkward but not bad once you get use to it. I always tend to spin it past where I want to be. Bought a Tiffen enhancing filter kit and man did it bring out the colors. Built in mic is so sensitive I can here myself breath and can hear the hard disk motor when very quiet, definitely need to get the Canon DM-50 mic. Not sure which software suite to buy even though the software that comes with it is good enough to transfer video files and still images. Dont like the idea of having to plug in the charger each time I want to transfer files. All in all I feel it is a great hard drive camera with nice features, however I should of waited another couple months for the new HF-10. Now that camera seems awesome, with basicly no moving parts and removable flash memory to transfer files, 12X optical and 30P - WOW !! Next time !!
On: 2008-02-05
Borrowed this camera from a friend to compare to my 3-year-old HDV-based Sony. Heres what I found:
1- Shoots great HD. Easy to use and very functional.
2- Plugs into my intel-based iMac via usb. Transfers easily, but TWICE as slowly as from my Sony.
3- Since the format is being converted to allow the files to play nice with iMovie, the end result is that the AVCHD is dumbed down a bit, just as with HDV. Side by side comparison of the final product (DVDs made in iDVD) is that they both end up looking just about the same.
So, Im sticking with my antique HDV tape-based rig and waiting for someone to come out with a consumer HD camera that creates a format compatible with Quicktime without having to modify the files.
Are you listening Canon? Make a camera that allows me (and everyone else) to drag and drop the digital files into iMovie or FCP and ill be first in line to buy it!!
On: 2008-01-23
This is a great camera at a great price. It normally sells for $1300 so $760 or whatever is a great price. First of all it looks even better in person then it does from the pictures. If you are used to a touch screen display, like me, then it takes a few minutes to get aquatinted to the dial. The video speaks for itself. It is amazing. It is easy to get onto a mac using final cut and Im sure that it is just as easy to get onto a pc. I took some videos in both good and low light and played them on a "standard definition" tv and they looked amazing. I cant even imagine what the quality is on an HDTV. If you are even considering breaking into the world of HD video like I was this is a great camera. It shoots high quality video (full HD) and is selling for cheap! I havens used my microphone with it yet, but the mic on the camera is pretty good at cutting out ambient noise. Overall, great.
On: 2008-01-21
I bought this camcorder mainly to use for videoing wildlife in the field. After 2 months of use I can say that it does a good job but has a few minor problems. My first concern was the auto lense cover, I like it over the manuel cover but it is a bit noisy when you turn the camera on and off. I have had close game react to it on quiet mournings. It also is exposed to the elements, so I would recomend a filter to protect it from dust, drops of water, and twigs. The filter also muffels the noise of the lense cover operating, a little. The camcorder is capable of some extremly sharp stills and videos, when the camera is focused properly, but I noticed that the auto-focus was a little off at times, not much, but enough to notice when you print it out. Like all other small camcorders I have used, the image stabilization is a bit overrated. It is ok but at higher zoom levels it doesnt seem to be much diffrent than any other small camcorder. The camcorder was not very impressive taking telephoto video under low light conditions ( 20 munites before sunrise or 20 min.after sunset ). It was able to record, but if you tried to record at any zoom distance the recording came out distorted and out of focus. It did do better than my friends sony sr-1 that at the same time wouldnt record at all!
The thing that I really liked, mainly the reason I chose the hg-10, the hard disc drive with 5.5 to 15 hours of recording time. I set mine to the next to highest (7.5hours) with excelent resolution results. The life of the battery. I recorded about 2 hours a day and would recharge the battery at night, I didnt even need a spare battery. The 3 position adjustable zoom speed. The still image transfer from captured video, I was suprised with the quality of the still images that were transfered from the video to the sd card. The size, it is small and lightweight real easy to carry I found that it will fit in a quart size zip lock plastic bag for protection in case you get caught in a rain.
Like all new gadgets,it will take time reading understanding and use to gain its full potential. I have worked a little with downloading and printing a few still pictures with good results. I am having a little trouble downloading video to my computer. I dont know if its me (probably), the program, or the acvhd format, time will tell. I have used other camcorders (3 diffrent brands) and consider this camcorder to be well worth the money for my use. I would recommend it to anyone. (it works well indoors too) My big problem now is that I have to buy another one because my wife now wants me to buy her one also.
On: 2008-01-18
Canon HG10 AVCHD 40GB High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom. This unit has great low light capability, and the 40 GB HDD provides for ample recording time. It records in 1080i not 1080p, this is the only drawback. The stills quality is also good at 5Mp.
On: 2008-01-14
This camcorders image quality is outstanding. It suffers quite a bit in low light situations, but other than that it is beautiful. Problems arise when you try to edit the footage. I tried to use Nero, and it does a good job rendering the AVC files into MPG, but it has almost no editing options. I tried pinnacle studio, Ulead movie factory and studio, and had varying degrees of success. I could not find a way to get adobe after effects or premiere to recognize the files. Finally I tried Sony Vegas pro 8. Wonderful results. Unbelievable quality was attained in NTSC DVD, PAL DVD and mpeg high def. formats. WOW. I dont like the ergonomics of the grip and positioning of the zoom toggles or the start/stop button. It makes my big, skinny hand cramp. I dont like the fact that you have to have the camera plugged into the wall outlet power source before you can hook the camera up to your computer. I havent tried the 24p settings, and I dont care if they work well or not. I havent figured out a way to get my videos to have the time/date displayed on the video, but there MUST be a way. I think the standard microphone is almost worthless, as it picks up the cameramans voice too easily, but hardly picks up the subjects voice unless they are yelling. But all is forgiven due to the wonderful video images. AWESOME!
On: 2008-01-10
When we recorded our sons chorus and watched the video on TV, we knew it was time to replace our old Hi8 camcorder so as not to lose any more precious moments. I started with Consumer Reports and after reading the pros and cons of different types of camcorders, decided a hard disk based one was what I wanted. In 2007 December, when HD TV is so prevalent, why not invest in a High-definition camcorder? The best buy Panasonic hard-drive based camcorder HDC-DX1S price was attractive but was too bulky. I generally dont carry a camcorder with me due to it additional bulk. As I read and read reports on Amazon I converged onto the Canon HG-10, due to a combination of price and the 40G hard disk capacity. The reviews were pretty good on sites such as camcorderinfo.com. I read the only drawback was its low-light performance. After using it for nearly 3 1/2 weeks, here are my impressions/findings:
Why I love the HG-10?
=====================
- Small size. It fits into the palm of your hand. However, it is not so small that it detracts from getting a steady shot.
- The image stabilizer got the best ratings among HD camcorders on camcorderinfo, which is a great plus due to the smaller size.
- The bright light clips are awesome. The quality is unbelievable compared to the quality I used to see among Hi8s. It is just another whole new level of details. As I went beyond the woods and got a shot our home, the details of the bare tree branches through which I was seeing the home was incredible.
- You dont need a separate lens cover. Once you turn the camcorder on, the shutter opens by itself and closes when you switch off. Nice.
- The scroll wheel based menu navigation needs a bit of getting used to, but is convenient to flip through a lot of clips at a time (to get to the one you want to amongst many hundred clips that you have recorded).
- The LCD view finder is compact and flips and rotates like many others.You can flip it and make it sit smugly on the side, so that others can see what is being shot.
- The 3.1 mega pixel camera is definitely handy. I dont have to carry a separate camera. All these built-in cameras do not provide the same quality as a comparable digital camera, but I find that we rarely print digital photos. To see on-screen, this is more than enough for us.
- You can choose between Auto and Manual mode. This will work well for those who want to tweak the settings themselves, but I rarely have used it except trying out in low light conditions.
- The menu for the video is fairly simple; but the cameras menu options can need some time for getting used to.
- Transferring videos to your computer via a USB cable is fairly easy. The provided software is more than adequate to transfer. You can also backup and restore the videos back to your camcorder.
- I havent seen the videos in high def as I dont yet have a HD dvd player or not yet ordered the mini HDMI-HDMI cable. This camcorder only supports variations of Blueray HD. The video quality burnt onto regular DVDs were quite impressive, especially those shot outdoors or in bright light.
- It comes along with software to edit your movies that work, given the many complaints I read about editing HD movies. The ULead DVD Movie factory . I found I was able to joins clips, add music, tittles and chapters and burn DVDs aftermy first two videos in a relatively easy way. But I am also computer savvy, working with them for daily bread!
- The ZoomBrowserEX software for transferring still images is a more mature application that the DVD Movie factory. I dont use all its features, except for transferring I admit.
- Price (about 750) is reasonable for a High-Definition, 40 GB near top of the line digital camcorder. For my first Hi8, I had paid nearly 1500 with unnecessary additional insurance. Of course, the price will drop in two months, but that is inevitable.
- The battery gives you about 40 minutes of recording time. You may want to carry the supplied adapter along which shouldnt be a problem due to the smaller size of the camcorder itself.
- The 40 GB hard disk records about 5 1/2 hours of high definition video at the highest resolution. I could no t be happier as I rarely shoot 2 hours video in a month.
Lows:
=====
- Low light performance is a deterrent. First I thought I dont shoot in low lights. But we all do. Your home on the inside during evenings with the fluorescent or incandescent lights on. This is low light for the HG-10. I found pictures to be grainy. Not much of an improvement here compared to the old Sony Hi8 I had. But at an indoorplace such as Arnolds Go karts, where the lighting was bright, the quality was not an issue.
- The movie editing software is fairly basic, which is okay as I could burn DVDs with it which is all I want to do with some music. BUT, the application crashed twice when I had too many chapters. The application is also a resource hog. Of course, we are editing videos. My 2 GB, dual core, 9100 Inspiron (laptop) took more than 7 hours to burn a DVD with about 40 minutes of edited video. Just be aware you need a nice, geek-impressing desktop to do video edits. Once upon crashing, most of my video edits were lost. After I removed many chapters (every clip becomes a chapter) the application was more stable.
- The user manual for the DVD Movie factory is just fair. It doesnt explain the process of editing using the application well. The context sensitive help is something that a school boy would have written better. It looks like a hastily written user manual.
- You want to order a mini-HDMI to HDMO cable if you want to see the video in High Def. The component video cable is provided.
Overall I am happy realizing no camcorder will be without drawbacks in the price range, I as a consumer/amateur, is willing to pay. At least with a high definition camcorder I dont have to worry about getting outdated in the next several years. The Canon HG-10 is a delight overall.
On: 2008-01-09
When we recorded our sons chorus and watched the video on TV, we knew it was time to replace our old Hi8 camcorder so as not to lose any more precious moments. I started with Consumer Reports and after reading the pros and cons of different types of camcorders, decided a hard disk based one was what I wanted. In 2007 December, when HD TV is so prevalent, why not invest in a High-definition camcorder? The best buy Panasonic hard-drive based camcorder HDC-DX1S price was attractive but was too bulky. I generally dont carry a camcorder with me due to it additional bulk. As I read and read reports on Amazon I converged onto the Canon HG-10, due to a combination of price and the 40G hard disk capacity. The reviews were pretty good on sites such as camcorderinfo.com. I read the only drawback was its low-light performance. After using it for nearly 3 1/2 weeks, here are my impressions/findings:
Why I love the HG-10?
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- Small size. It fits into the palm of your hand. However, it is not so small that it detracts from getting a steady shot.
- The image stabilizer got the best ratings among HD camcorders on camcorderinfo, which is a great plus due to the smaller size.
- The bright light clips are awesome. The quality is unbelievable compared to the quality I used to see among Hi8s. It is just another whole new level of details. As I went beyond the woods and got a shot our home, the details of the bare tree branches through which I was seeing the home was incredible.
- You dont need a separate lens cover. Once you turn the camcorder on, the shutter opens by itself and closes when you switch off. Nice.
- The scroll wheel based menu navigation needs a bit of getting used to, but is convenient to flip through a lot of clips at a time (to get to the one you want to amongst many hundred clips that you have recorded).
- The LCD view finder is compact and flips and rotates like many others.You can flip it and make it sit smugly on the side, so that others can see what is being shot.
- The 3.1 mega pixel camera is definitely handy. I dont have to carry a separate camera. All these built-in cameras do not provide the same quality as a comparable digital camera, but I find that we rarely print digital photos. To see on-screen, this is more than enough for us.
- You can choose between Auto and Manual mode. This will work well for those who want to tweak the settings themselves, but I rarely have used it except trying out in low light conditions.
- The menu for the video is fairly simple; but the cameras menu options can need some time for getting used to.
- Transferring videos to your computer via a USB cable is fairly easy. The provided software is more than adequate to transfer. You can also backup and restore the videos back to your camcorder.
- I havent seen the videos in high def as I dont yet have a HD dvd player or not yet ordered the mini HDMI-HDMI cable. This camcorder only supports variations of Blueray HD. The video quality burnt onto regular DVDs were quite impressive, especially those shot outdoors or in bright light.
- It comes along with software to edit your movies that work, given the many complaints I read about editing HD movies. The ULead DVD Movie factory . I found I was able to joins clips, add music, tittles and chapters and burn DVDs aftermy first two videos in a relatively easy way. But I am also computer savvy, working with them for daily bread!
- The ZoomBrowserEX software for transferring still images is a more mature application that the DVD Movie factory. I dont use all its features, except for transferring I admit.
- Price (about 750) is reasonable for a High-Definition, 40 GB near top of the line digital camcorder. For my first Hi8, I had paid nearly 1500 with unnecessary additional insurance. Of course, the price will drop in two months, but that is inevitable.
- The battery gives you about 40 minutes of recording time. You may want to carry the supplied adapter along which shouldnt be a problem due to the smaller size of the camcorder itself.
- The 40 GB hard disk records about 5 1/2 hours of high definition video at the highest resolution. I could no t be happier as I rarely shoot 2 hours video in a month.
Lows:
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- Low light performance is a deterrent. First I thought I dont shoot in low lights. But we all do. Your home on the inside during evenings with the fluorescent or incandescent lights on. This is low light for the HG-10. I found pictures to be grainy. Not much of an improvement here compared to the old Sony Hi8 I had. But at an indoorplace such as Arnolds Go karts, where the lighting was bright, the quality was not an issue.
- The movie editing software is fairly basic, which is okay as I could burn DVDs with it which is all I want to do with some music. BUT, the application crashed twice when I had too many chapters. The application is also a resource hog. Of course, we are editing videos. My 2 GB, dual core, 9100 Inspiron (laptop) took more than 7 hours to burn a DVD with about 40 minutes of edited video. Just be aware you need a nice, geek-impressing desktop to do video edits. Once upon crashing, most of my video edits were lost. After I removed many chapters (every clip becomes a chapter) the application was more stable.
- The user manual for the DVD Movie factory is just fair. It doesnt explain the process of editing using the application well. The context sensitive help is something that a school boy would have written better. It looks like a hastily written user manual.
- You want to order a mini-HDMI to HDMO cable if you want to see the video in High Def. The component video cable is provided.
Overall I am happy realizing no camcorder will be without drawbacks in the price range, I as a consumer/amateur, is willing to pay. At least with a high definition camcorder I dont have to worry about getting outdated in the next several years. The Canon HG-10 is a delight overall.
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