Compare Prices : Canon HV-20 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Compared to Panasonic's sleek HDC-SD1, the Canon HV20 looks a bit ungainly, mostly because it has a large MiniDV tape mechanism grafted onto one side. The HV20 records 1920-by-1080-pixel HDV-formatted high-definition footage or standard-definition ...

Pros: Many features, including accessory shoe ; Very good battery life

Cons: Some tiny controls ; A bit bulky and heavy

Verdict: This high-definition camcorder is a bit heavy and bulky, but it's a good performer with lots of features.

Review summary: This high-definition camcorder is a bit heavy and bulky, but it's a good performer with lots of features.

Pros: Many features, including accessory shoe, Very good battery life

Cons: Some tiny controls, A bit bulky and heavy

Verdict: Since the HDV format demands less computing power than the AVCHD format does, I would steer clear of AVCHD models unless I had an extremely powerful PC. And the HV20 one of the better HDV models on the market, at a pretty good price to boot

Review summary: Canon's second HD camcorder sticks with the old-school DV tape but brings film-like 24P movie shooting to the masses

Pros: Captures in 24P. Stunning image quality. Good manual controls

Cons: Feels cheap. Ugly design

Review summary: The HV20 boasts quite a feature list, including a 3-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilisation, 24p recording, 10x optical zoom, an HDMI output and a long-lasting battery -- all in a horizontal design that's very comfortable to use

Pros: Excellent video quality ; handy features ; HDMI output ; accessory shoe

Cons: Can't change white balance while shooting ; night mode doesn't help poor low-light performance

Verdict: Canon's HV20 camcorder is a great choice for HD-happy amateurs, but its low-light performance could have been better

Review summary: The Canon HV20 is the company's second HDV model, following on the heels of the HV10. Note: the HR10, the company's first AVCHD camcorder using mini DVDs, will be introduced...

Pros: Excellent HDV video, OIS, nice form factor

Cons: Bulky tape-based format ; editing software is not included