11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
The Canon HV20 in my production system
Date of Review: Oct 2, 2007
The Bottom Line: The HV20 does its intended job well, and can fill both hobbyist and professional needs. I think it is the best HDV camera in its size and price range.
I bought the HV20 to take over the job of my TRV-900 DV camcorder, which is to serve as b-roll/POV camera and backup to my Sony Z1 HDV at event jobs, and serve as my personal camera for funstuff and family occasions. Initially I chose a Sony but switched to this one because it had an accessory shoe (Sony didn't) and had better low light performance.
It has done well in its intended uses and in some shots, compares well to the Sony Z1 professional HDV. It is doing well in the intended use and can pass off as an amateur camera, which is sometimes important at restrictive locations. While the hand strap design has been criticized elsewhere and I agree it could be improved, the design is tolerable and not as bad as I initially had been led to believe. The built-in stereo mike is in the camera body and I would expect it to be poor, but it does much better than I expected, even outdoors.
The camera is easy to carry and has "green" easy settings for fast operation by new users, which is important when used by my assistants. It is best used with the flip-out monitor, as the viewfinder is just a hole in the body with no rubber cushion or eyecup. I'd be happier if this cam was painted black.
There is no manual zoom, just a knurled zoom knob. It is variable speed, but hard to control and too easy to overshoot. Maybe that is a hidden benefit because I'm zooming less during shooting.
The lens has a 43mm filter thread onto which I have a Raynox wide adapter always attached. There is a retractable lens cover which is in the body, so the wide adapter needs a cover of its own.
The low light performance is better than other competing cameras of this type. Unlike my main Sony HDV camera which has the same 3 lux low light spec, this camera tends to lose red response in lower light. As a CMOS camera it gets grainier than my CCD camera, the Sony Z1. Still it is pretty amazing considering this is an HDV camera and just single chip.
I like the built-in stills capability a lot, and it does well in grabbing stills from HDV tape. As a standalone still cam it competes with a 3 MP point and shoot camera, and having one cam do both jobs is great on trips.
It uses a MiniSD memory card which is a little unusual and more expensive than a comparable regular SD card. It's card needs an adapter to fit in an SD reader.
It works well during transfer of video to my computer for editing, in fact, I think it has an edge over my Sony Z1 in that use. It also has an HDMI output, which is great for playing directly on an HDTV, and can be used with some capture cards for an uncompressed HD output.
I think it represents excellent value for the money.
