Canon Vixia HV20 Camcorder - Silver

I have two Canon HV20 high definition camcorders. They are lightweight and produce a broadcast quality image in good lighting. Unlike many newer camcorders the single CMOS chip Canon HV-20 records using Mini-DV videotape cassettes. Recording can be selected for the HDV high definition format or standard definition DV format. Both formats record data at 25 mbps.

An especially useful feature of recording with HDV videotape is the convenience of editing. Both HDV and DV tapes can be easily transferred into a computer's video editing software. Much more so than video recordings made with the newer AVCHD solid state digital format. For editing the AVCHD video files usually have to be converted to another high definition format and the conversion procedure requires a computer with exceptionally large storage drive capacity (hundreds of gigabytes). While HDV files also require large amounts of storage the amount of storage required is perhaps 1/3 less than than of AVCHD.

When they were introduced a few years ago the single CMOS chip Canon HV-20 camcorder was about $1,000. (US). With careful shopping on EBay it's possible to find one of these cameras at less cost. The Canon HV20 is very compact and lightweight. It's great for traveling and on location photography. The camcorder has dozens of special features with manual control available for all aspects of the recording. The Canon HV-20 also has the ability to record at 24 frames per second progressive which creates a sort of film effect.

I've used Canon HV-20s for both principle and B roll scenes in combination with larger professional video gear. The HV-20s integrate very nicely and with little effort before and after editing they integrate nicely in broadcast program production.

I am not a pro. I wanted a point and shoot but I hated how slow their shutter speeds were as well as the lack of an optical zoom. This camera is great. Starts up great and takes wonderful pictures. Good zoom and incredible camera for the price we got. It's a bit bulky so you don't always have it with you, but I have a camera phone for the things that you want to capture when you don't have a "real" camera. We love this camera.

I picked this up mostly because of the the price. These cameras are a cult favorite and for good reason. Canon incorporated many features found in high end cameras (mic level control and monitoring, manual picture control) into the HV20. Even today, Canon still sells this camera's replacement, the HV40, due to demand.

Yes, this camera uses tapes, but unlike AVC-HD flash-based camcorders, it uses MPEG-2 video that most computers can easily edit. It also fully supports legacy DV recording and playback if you don't need/require HD video for a project. The only real benefit AVC-HD cameras have over the HV20 is true 1920x1080 video resolution (HDV is natively 1440x1080) and the ability to shoot 60p video. The latter only supported by a handful of cameras (not Canon's ironically enough), and requires a very powerful computer to edit. Most people won't even notice the difference, particularly if your final product is going to be posted on an online video sharing site like YouTube.

The only issue I noticed with this camera is that the built in mic picks up a lot of camera noise (tape transport, zoom lens) and handling noise. This can easily be solved by connecting an external microphone, which the HV20 has a port for. This camcorder also lacks a LAN-C jack, so if you happen to have a wired tripod remote, it will NOT work.

I owned an older canon and it served me well. Since I know the Canon platform and was happy with their products, I researched a HD camcorder and the reviews for the vixia hv20 stood out. So far I am very happy with the functionality and the results. There is a lot to play with but in a good way. I added a rode shotgun mic and an L bracket - works great. Camera did not come with a manual or remote but I was able to order a manual on line for $12 and my remote from the older camera works perfectly with the new one.

We have had this camcorder for a couple months. We bought it for video and still pics. It does both with very high quality. It's not that difficult to use, but I must admit it has way more features than we'll ever use.