Canon HV20 High Definition (1080i) Camcorder
Canon HV20 High Definition (1080i) Camcorder
HV20 BODY DIG CAMCORDER CINEMA PROMO UK
Customer Review: Good picture, but ergonomics not so hot
I bought this after reading the warm reviews and seeing a friend’s footage. And no complaints there — in the right conditions results are superb.
However, the HV20 has controls all over, making adjustments in the field hit-and-miss to say the least, and the image stabiliser doesn’t seem to do much!
General advice (as for all HDV) is use a solid tripod or monopod where possible, and use higher shutter speeds for pans.
Customer Review: top camcorder
I have only had the camera for 24hrs but is enough time to know that its something special. i did my homework before buying and saw some of the fantastic clips on the web filmed with this camera. I know a lot of the new camcorders record on memory card etc but HDV still gives the best quality. The canon records a fantastic pictures and colurs are vivid and bright. It is easy to use both for recording and playback on your HD set. the only downside is that there is no HDMI cable included. thoroughly recommended
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Samsung VP-MX10/XEU Flash Memory Camcorder 
Amazon Price: ?156.99
Customer Review: Worth the money but not 720p (576i/p)
Got this at the weekend. Good product. fits in the hand nice, light and easy to use. The max recording resolution is 768 x 576 interlaced or progressive. takes sd cards upto 8gb with SDHC. Quality is good but not massivly impressive, but for the price its worth it. Records to mpeg-4 requires codec to be installed then the videos play straight from windows. has a 2.7 inch 16:9 screen but only records in 4:3 (very werid). Not tested battery life but it claims 120mins. Hope that helps. Raptor
Aiptek AHD200 High Definition Camcorder 
Amazon Price: ?117.78
Sony HDR-SR8E 100GB High Definition Camcorder 
The ultra-compact stylishly-designed AVCHD HDD Handycam with ClearVid CMOS Sensor x.v.Colour and Carl Zeiss? Vario-Sonnar?T* lens. Featuring 100GB HDD it records 1080i HD movie for up to 38 hours. Number of Pixels Gross (K): 6.1 Megapixel still image recording and 4.3 Megapixel Dual Rec while recording movies Built in Microphone: Dolby Digital 5.1ch Creator for Surround sound recording with built in microphone LCD: Size (inch): 2.7 Wide Clear photo LCD plus screen with touch panel Minimum Focusing Distance: 5.4-54 USB Streaming: TBC 16:9 Wide (Full): 16:9 Mode ; 40-400 / 4:3 Mode ; 49-490 Optical Zoom: x 10 Digital Zoom: x 20 Focus: Full Range Auto: SteadyShot: Super (Optical) Flash (Automatic Pop Up): No Memory Stick Compatibility: Memory Stick Duo Supplied Accessories: AC Adaptor AV Cable Rechargeable Battery Pack Handycam Station USB Cable USB Driver Editing SoftwareBattery Life (Mins): STAMINA up to 5 hours 55 minutes (with optional battery using view finder) Warranty: 1 Year
Amazon Price: ?889.85
Customer Review: Excellent - beautiful camcorder
I replaced my old tape camcorder for this and immediately it struck me - no more would I need a mountain of tapes that are a pain to copy for editing and then don’t have the courage to tape over and re-use. Forget hoping that the tape wouldn’t run out at the critical part in the wedding or fiddling with an tape insert and a biro to try and keep some semblance or order to the holiday films. OK enough about my bad habits and old woes. This camcorder is glorious, I play the footage back through a 720p projector and its crisp ,sharp and mind blowingly detailed. The sound is clear and with the added bluetooth wireless mic that I bought afterwards allows the recorded sound to really follow the action. The unit fits comfortably in hand, the build quality is sturdy and the weight makes for a steady shot without feeling like you’re carrying a lead bar. The fold out screen is bright and very highly detailed. Indoor low light performance sucks - that was until I bought another add on - the light attachment - now its great. Best of all - is the ‘easy’ button which handles all the settings and I haven’t felt the need to change it yet. The price is a serious investment and the add ons are steep as well (I do recommend the light and extended battery) but if you have any HD equipment or are planning to upgrade why would you want to watch your once only memories on anything less? As for the format - don’t worry so much about editing - Sony Vegas Platinum 8 (Customer Review: Great - as long as you don’t plan to use the footage for anything.
This camera *IS* good - but there is a problem that renders it about as useful as a brick to the home-moviemaker. The AVCHD Codec. At the time of this writing - the ‘direct to digital’ format that this camera makes its movies in is unreadable by standard windows machines. If you want to be able to use the movies you’re going to have to shell out for expensive converter software *in addition* to the money you’ve already spent on the camera. If you expect ‘out of the box usability’ (*cough* Sony Customer Service *cough*) I’d either steer well clear of this camera or wait until the codec technology catches up.
