Canon HG20 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: The Canon HG20 ($949 MSRP) is an HD camcorder that records to an internal hard drive, replacing last year's HG10. In addition to a new black paint job to set them apart, the HG20 also has a 60GB hard drive (up from 40GB on the HG10), a few design ...

Verdict: The 60GB internal hard drive on the HG20 is its most prominent feature. It bulks up the camcorder's size (the HG20 is 30% larger than the HF11, which records to solid state memory), but it's capable of holding approximately 330 minutes of footage at ...

Review summary: The Canon HG20 ($949 MSRP) is an HD camcorder that records to an internal hard drive, replacing last year's HG10. In addition to a new black paint job to set them apart, the HG20 also has a 60GB hard drive (up from 40GB on the HG10), a few design ...

Verdict: The 60GB internal hard drive on the HG20 is its most prominent feature. It bulks up the camcorder's size (the HG20 is 30% larger than the HF11, which records to solid state memory), but it's capable of holding approximately 330 minutes of footage at ...

Pros: Unsurpassed image sharpness, 60GB hard drive, lots of manual control

Cons: Slightly oversized, questionable build quality

Verdict: The HG20 is an excellent high-def HDD camcorder that easily matches anything else on the market. Although the build quality could be better, its video performance more than makes up for any shortcomings. Highly recommended.

Award: Recommended!

Review summary: With the option to record AVCHD video at 24Mbits/sec, Canon's HG20 puts in a great performance.

Review summary: We're loving the Canon HG20 HD camcorder, if not just for its bigger 60GB hard drive compared to Canon's comparable HF11's 32GB of internal flash memory. But that's just where it starts -- the HG20 is cheaper at around £720 and has excellent lens ...

Pros: Excellent video quality ; 60GB hard drive ; attractive, understated design

Cons: Wind filter not as dependable as previous Canon models ; manual focus pretty useless

Verdict: Like its cousin, the flash-based HF11, Canon's Vixia HG20 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance albeit in a slightly larger, heavier package. But you do get more storage space at a lower price, which we think makes it entirely worth it