Digital Trends

Canon HV10 December 4th, 2006 | by David Elrich

Gone were the clouds of digital noise that are a part of lower-priced standard def DVD camcorders. Colors in daylight were spot on although they were a bit soft in dimly lit scenes. The LED light helped but not that much for this type of footage. Auto focus was very fast although the wide-tele switch has a spring mechanism that makes a snapping sound if you quickly take your finger off it. This was annoying and you have to train yourself to use it smoothly. This is quibbling when you sit back and watch 1080I video—it’s so much better than SD it really is a perfect match for your HDTV.

Since this is a high-end Canon, it also does a good job capturing stills, even though they’re 3MP, enough for solid 4x6 prints. You simply turn the dial to the card mode, then press the shutter halfway, the camcorder focuses, press again and you’re done—just like a digicam. The LED light acts as an AF Assist lamp, so subjects in dim light or low contrast scenes are sharply focused. If you’re in a photographic state-of-mind you have white balance and metering options, among other things. I made some 8x10s and got away with it. To its credit, this is one of the best if not the best picture-taking camcorders I’ve used.

Conclusion

The Canon HV10 HDV camcorder is a mixed bag with good overall video quality, fast focusing, OIS and solid stills. You’ll really like watching higher-quality home videos on your new widescreen HDTV. I had a problem with its form factor, lack of an HDMI output, annoying zoom switch and obtuse menus. And don’t forget about the total lack of video software support. Ah, but that high-def video is really good. It costs $999 US at a legit online dealer versus $1,199 US for the Sony HDR-HC3 (as of early December 2006). With that I’m glad to see HDV camcorders have dipped below $1,000 US. Does it make sense saving around $200 US to go with the Canon? Check out a sample of homemade HD video at your local retailer. I’d say no since the missing HDMI output is the deal breaker. But if you want to save holiday memories, definitely think high-def.


Pros:

• Good video quality with low noise
• Quick focusing
• Optical image stabilization
• Takes good 3MP stills


Cons:

• Poor ergonomics
• No HDMI output
• No editing software or blank tape