Digital Trends

Canon HV10 December 4th, 2006 | by David Elrich

Performance and Testing

I must admit using tape seems rather quaint in 2006. Does anyone use tape for anything any more—other than camcorders? It’s easy to see why DVD- and HDD-based camcorders are selling so well. There’s nothing better than jumping from scene to scene rather than using the FF/REW buttons—or worrying whether you’ll record over some material. Tape still has an initial cost advantage—especially for a basic MiniDV edition--but really that’s about it. Until just a few months ago, tape was your only option in the high-def camcorder realm but that’s changed since new AVCHD camcorders using HDD and DVD media can record 1080I video (Sony has them, of course). But I digress—let’s get back to the HV10…

With every camera and camcorder, I start in Auto then move to the manual options. Even with the tape system, the HV10 is ready to go in about two seconds. I shot video in the house and outdoors on an early winter’s day. Like every camcorder, you simply press record and off you go. The HV10 has a 10x optical zoom, a decent range. This lens has something unique--Instant AF. Canon claims it increases auto focus speed and accuracy since it uses an external sensor to decrease the time it takes to find focus. Canon also said it reduces focus “hunting,” an annoying problem when camcorders try to grab an edge to focus on. After using the camcorder, I have to say they are justified in their claims as the HV10 locked in on subjects very quickly. This is a real plus.

After shooting for awhile in Auto, it was time to try the relevant Scene modes. You access them by moving a switch at the bottom of the mode dial. This is simple enough but moving through the menus is hardly intuitive. It was time to check out the Owner’s Manual and discover you have to hit the Function key, move the jog wheel to specific parameter, press the set key then move through the options. This is way too many steps and hopefully Canon can simplify this for the next generation. Making adjustments for aperture- and shutter-priority and just about everything else is similar. Once you get the hang of it, it’s not too bad but Canon needs make this more consumer friendly.

After taking a variety of shots, it was time to play them back. As mentioned you need a video editing package to transfer material to your PC. I have many of them but most people aren’t so lucky. If you have a program, check the company site to see if there’s a Canon HDV plug-in like Ulead’s Video Studio 10. For me the true test of a camcorder is not on a PC monitor but on your TV since the vast majority of people never edit their footage. Connecting it to the back of my 1080I HDTV via component inputs and using the remote I settled in for a viewing session—and was impressed.

Image Courtesy of Canon