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Great video...impossible to edit
By: rick_marsh
April 24, 2009 @ 1:50 PM
Picture quality is outstanding. But, unless you have a super computer it is impossible to edit the footage because of the lousy AVCHD format of capture. Unless you just want to plug the camera in and watch it, unedited, or load it onto your computer, you’re plain out of luck.
The camera is a bit on the heavy side and the balance is a bit cumbersome.
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Does not record in 24p or 30p
By: Matt H
January 5, 2009 @ 12:17 PM
I went and bought an hg21 based mostly on the strength of this review but I had to return it because you missed a major flaw in this camera. Although it does indeed shoot in 24 and 30-frame progressive it converts those shots and records them in 60-field interlaced! For someone planning to edit their footage and ultimately show it on a computer display (or in my case podcast) this is a big deal. Yes, in the days of tape recording it was necessary to do this conversion and then convert back for editing because that’s what tape transport systems were designed to record. But in a file-based system to disk or memory card there is no excuse for this! Get with the program!
Incidentally, the only camera I have been able to find that does *record* in true progressive is the Panasonic HDC-SD100.
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Battery life appalling
By: Frankie James
January 1, 2009 @ 9:58 AM
The camera is good but expect to add over $200 to the price for a second long life battery. The battery provided is absolute rubbish. As soon as you turn it on, it basically empties out. The price of a replacement battery is an absolute rip off. Having all that storage and not enough power to film anything decent is inadquate. I believe Canon include a shoddy battery to force you to buy a long life battery as well. I am rating a 1 star because I feel the battery issue is a little shonky.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
One great Camera except Audio
By: Hailu Mengistu
December 5, 2008 @ 8:32 AM
Well I actually made a specification for myself to buy a consumer digital camera that records on a hard disk and can do real Cinema quality with 24MP.
I think I found it on HG21. Big space to store a lot of video.
Of course good over all.
I took 1 star for missing issues.
However I will continue to wish for 1. The wide lens when attached the flash will make a shadow on the picture. 2. The microphone is not a zoom mic. The external microphone is a must. The battery that comes with it, almost useless.
I am very happy with the colors and all the adjustments.
(Note: I am also a hobbyist with very expensive test and addicted to new gadgets)
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Great Video Quality. Easy To Use.
By: Frank G
October 22, 2008 @ 10:46 AM
I purchased the HG20. Added an extra 8gb sd card for added storage. The downside on the HG20 is the missing eyepiece – thus 4 stars instead of 5.
The menu options are simple and easy to experiment with. Changing the mode, frame rate, and other settings is logical and quick. I experimented indoor and outdoor under various settings. Great quality on both. Had to purchase a mini-HDM cable for $26 dollars to hook this up to the HD plasma screen. The video quality and sound was very good. Crisp video with near perfect color. Surround sound was very evident (and nice).
The big draw back is digital software availability for AVCHD. The software shipping with the camcorder is OK for viewing on your PC. It can burn CD’s as long as you are happy with nothing fancy. Many new software releases now support AVCHD. This means you need to upgrade to the very latest (Sep 2008) release of Adobe products if you want to perform serious edits with after effects or premiere. Adobe CS4 is the only version to support AVCHD. I downloaded Ulead’s Media Studio Pro to experiment. It took 1 hour 20 minutes to convert and burn 25 minutes of footage to DVD. Loading the .MTS files and viewing in Media Studio Pro was simple and quick. I opted to burn to Standard DVD which downgrades the quality. Nowhere near the HD quality of the actual footage. Soon I will need to buy a blu-ray player to see if the AVCHD footage looks as good on DVD as it does when viewed on the computer.
Note: I am a hobbyist with no real video camera skills.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No