Canon HV20 Review

The User Reviews

Average User Rating: 8.6

1. Unreliable

   

   By: Al Brenner
   March 18, 2008 @ 11:29 AM

   I have a Canon HV20 camera which I purchased less than 8 months ago and at the moment; it is a piece of junk. Here I am in Antigua Guatemala to shoot video of the Easter celebration, one of the most exciting in Central America. I have spent many hundreds of dollars to get here, not to mention the $1200 for the camera, and on the morning of Palm Sunday, I try to turn on my almost new camera and it doesn’t work.

   My previous Panasonic camera worked flawlessly for four years before it was stolen. It even continued to work after I dropped it from a Ferris wheel in India.

   Obviously, the fact that the HV20 is unreliable should be enough to dissuade anyone from buying one of this cameras but I will point out some other things.

   First, admittedly the picture quality is wonderful, the best of any camera I have used, and I have been using video cameras for over 25 years.

   On the other hand the controls are terrible, the worst on any camera I have ever used.

   To begin with, Canon has decided to eliminate the projecting viewfinder. Because of this I find that every time I start the shot, my finger bumps into my nose and I get a jump at the beginning and end of every shot. (I am forced to view with my left eye.)

   The zoom wheel is small and located in a spot where I always had to search around to find it again, often spoiling the shot. How much better to have had a small bar near the shooting button which could be raised and lowered by the thumb. Instead they choose to place the menu button there, a button that is hardly ever moved.

   Thirdly, the on-off button is quite difficult to manipulate and I suspect it is the cause of my camera’s problem. It seems to be very badly designed and difficult to use, particularly for a westerner with large fingers.

   I suspect that the camera makers never really tested the camera with actual users.

   I recommend that you avoid buying this camera, at least till Canon makes some serious changes to bring the mechanical quality of this camera up the picture quality.

   Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

2. Perfect HD Quality - Easy to Use, great for iMovie Fans

   

   By: Jim Rucker
   December 13, 2007 @ 11:00 AM

   Easily the best HD out there for the money. It was down to $698 through Amazon with free shipping when I took the plunge. The best part really was it’s compatibility with iMovie HD 6 editing software. Perfect. 24P is excellent and as good as they say. Many complained about the zoom button, but that was one of my favorite features. Not sure what they were talking about. LCD is great, however EVF needs some work. Hard to adjust diopter, and does not pull out. Overall, go for it!!

   Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

3. A surprising performer

   

   By: Bob Dix
   December 4, 2007 @ 2:05 PM

   1080i performance is outstanding, with the 1081p ok but, some motion judder on panning.

   Many reviews said sound was substandard; however there is no motor noise and the resulting sound is very good. A pity it was not made a little bigger to allow for larger fingers. However, all manual controls are there to completely control its output.

   The still images taken while videoing were simply amazing and give a great slide show on a High Definition LCD or Plasma.

   Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

4. Pound for pound, stunning

   

   By: Sam
   November 27, 2007 @ 9:47 AM

   The top rating given tells you what I think of this cam, so instead of telling you how great it is (and it is)…some drawbacks: form (nice in the hand, but the zoom toggle is a disaster), feel (cheap), usable manual controls (without having to use Barry Greens workaround). And yet even with these drawbacks it pumps out a beautiful picture and perfect for low budget documentary use where a non-obtrusive presence is a must.

   Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

5. Near-to-pro

   

   By: Brian Boyko
   September 11, 2007 @ 9:08 PM

   Chose this camera for my documentary because it was not only the best for the price but also because it’s small enough to take internationally without worrying about having to check it. (Don’t want your camera stolen when out on a shoot!)

   Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

6. Superior video

   

   By: Rodolfo
   July 9, 2007 @ 11:51 AM

   I bought this camcorder in may ‘07, the first time I took videos, I was so amazed about the video quality, features, ergonomic buttons and convenience! Its a pretty camcorder! price is expensive but worth having it to capture those life cherishing moments!

   Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

7. Great HDV cam!

   

   By: Joe T.
   June 25, 2007 @ 9:11 AM

   This is an awesome HDV cam – the rave reviews are pretty much right on. It’s A LOT smaller than I thought it would be in my hand; I’m still amazed that so much High Def "power" is coming out of this small cam. Playback to a nice HDTV is pretty much on par with the broadcasted HD channels. 5 stars.

   Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

8. Cool Cam

   

   By: Jim
   June 7, 2007 @ 5:35 PM

   This camera is a must, great review with good info!

   Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No