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Canon HV20 Review |
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Reviewed: 05 May 2007
Design
Canon have bowed to consumer demand and radically changed the design of the HV20 from its predecessor the HV10. The awkward vertical design has given way to a sleeker horizontal layout much more familiar to home video devotees.
Features
At the heart of the HV20 lies a 3 megapixel 1/2 7in CMOS sensor for 1920 x 1080 capture at High Definition (HD) 1080i format, or wide screen Standard Definition (SD) format. As with nearly all consumer camcorders, the HV20 is able to take still photos in either 4:3 (2.76 megapixels) or 16:9 (2.07 megapixels) mode.
Recording Format: mini DV HDV Format: 1080i Lens: f1.8 Optical Zoom: 10x Digital Zoom: 200 x Video Resolution: 1920x1080, 1440x1080 LCD: 2.7in Sensor: CMOS 1/2.7 Weight: 544 g OTHER FEATURES: SteadyShot, NightShot, SOCKETS: 1 HDMI, component output, LANC, iLINK
The HV20 sports Canon's DIGIC DV II processing technology designed for its HD camcorders. DIGIC DV II HD processing ensures handles image quality for both HD video and still images with the emphasis on improved colour reproduction.
Although the HV20 looks radically different from the HV10, all of the HV10's features are carried through to the new model and in addition there is 24p recording, an HDMI output, and an accessory shoe and longer battery life.
Optically, the HV20 sports a 10x optical, f/1.8 to f/3 zoom lens, with Canon's Super-Range Optical Image Stabilization. This feature is a more sophisticated version of optical image stabilisation which users feedback from the camcorder's processor to optimise 'shake' adjustments.
Canon's proprietary 'Advanced Accessory Shoe' sits on top of the lens and can provide power for accessories such as a microphone.
24p Cinema Mode offers video makers options that produce a cinema shot look and feel to footage, a feature only found preciously on higher end camcorders.
Usability
Despite a large 10x optical lens, the Canon HV20 will fit into a jacket pocket - just.
The horizontal layout lends itself to the easy location of operating buttons, and the HV20 is reasonably user friendly in this respect.
As with all camcorders produced by Canon, basic operation is quick and easy with four buttons placed below the camcorder's 2.7-inch, wide-screen LCD. These buttons allow you to start or stop recording, zoom in or out, reach focus assist mode, and in addition double as playback controls.
Quoted battery life is an acceptable 65 minutes, and accessories available from Canon include spare batteries (higher or lower capacities than the battery included).
Performance
The Canon HV20's strong point is the quality of its video footage with crisp, sharp pictures combined with impressive colour saturation. There is very little noise in all operational scenarios. While the HV20 has just the single CMOS sensor, it is a true 1920 x 1080 HD sensor, and this is one of the reasons footage is so good.
The HV20 is an improvement over the HV10 in that the tendency to lose 'Highlight' detail has been much reduced. We have to remind ourselves that HD cameras are far superior than most standard definition camcorders in this respect - especially in the sub £1,000 bracket.
Dim light performance from the HV20 is perhaps its Achilles heal. Very little subtle detailed is picked up from darkly lit scenes, and Canon's 'night mode' does little if anything to improve matters.
Sound quality from the HV20 while not outstanding, is as good as anything in this class.
Conclusion
The Canon HV20 is a class leading High Definition camcorder with wonderfully sharp and vibrant footage backed up by great colour saturation. The HV20 is easy to use and at around £700 on the internet it won't break the bank.