Consumer HD camcorders are starting to hit the market in full force. Last year, Sony released their HDR-HC1 for prosumers and less feature-rich but cheaper HDR-HC3 for consumers. Now Canon has released their first HDV consumer camcorder, the HV10 in direct competition. This is defnitely the year for point-and-shooters looking for HD quality without having to break the bank. The Canon HV10 can be bought for $1299 from most authorized dealers.
The Canon HV10 utilizes a large 1/2.7†CMOS chip that records in 1080/60i mode giving a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60 interlaced fields per second. If you’re looking to record your upcoming vacation in HD, this is the camcorder to get. It’s compact size and built-in optical image stabalization make it the best portable HD camorder in the current market. No microphone input is included, but most casual shooters won’t miss having this feature,.since the built-in microphone will cover sound duty.
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Posted by vm3z9
I bought a Canon IXY Digital when I was in Japan roughly 3 years ago and it’s still working great. Can I assume the same from Canon Camcorders?
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Posted by Terry Ng
They use the same optics, and the build is excellent. I wouldn’t have any worries about their camcorders, especially the HV10 which has better optics than Sony’s HC3.
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Posted by rbx6jm7man
what’s the word on battery life? also, what about zoom and such?
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Posted by vm3z9
good to know, thanks Terry!
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Posted by Terry Ng
The battery lasts for about an hour. I would suggest getting a backup battery for any kind of real world use.
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Posted by David
Terry, would you say an hour is long? if that is, this camera is a battery hogger. Good to bring along an AC/DC converter if you’re going on a vacation (hoping that you can recharge it). The price is reasonable, and the design looks nice too so I would considering getting myself one.
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Posted by GameDudeX
“This is defnitely the year for point-and-shooters looking for HD quality without having to break the bank. The Canon HV10 can be bought for $1299 from most authorized dealers.”
Without breaking the bank? $1299?!?! Um… sorry, but that broke my bank about 3 times.
I’m looking for a camera, but something close to $300.
I’ll probably end up getting something like the Sony DCR-HC46.
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Posted by lance
Thanks for the review, which will definitely help buyers to make a more informed decision when selecting high-definition consumer products.
I would like to add one comment, though. The review states that “Canon HV10 records in 1080/60i, that’s a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60 interlaced fields per second”, which is not accurate. Although the full resolution of 1080i ATSC standard is indeed 1920×1080 pixels, but HDV resolution is limited to 1440×1080. The pixels are anamorphic, i.e., they are stretched horizontally to provide 16:9 aspect ratio of the whole picture.
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