Canon HV10 3.1MP High-Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
by Canon
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List Price: Our Price: $1,099.99 You Save: $200.00 (15%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $400.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon HV10 3.1MP High-Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: Great Value HD Camera
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like this camera. The picture quality is wonderful, it feels nice to hold and is a great size. The image stabilization feature is also very good. I give it 4 out of 5. Its loses one point for no HDMI and for the microphone location which is on the top at the back. The battery life of the included battery is not adequate, so you will want to look at purchasing a 2nd battery. Overall this is a really good purchase especially at the current amazon price. Customer Review: worth the money
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this camera before our vacation. The shipping was so fast, thanks Amazon. We didn't have much time to learn the features but we had great movies just in auto setting. This is a really good camera. The picture quality is great, even in regular tv the videos turn out so clear and nice. It is very light weight and looks beautiful. I am very pleased with this camera over all. Customer Review: Compact and produces great pictures
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this for a couple of weeks now. The great price at Amazon and the overall high reviews proved too much to resist. I take a lot of family videos and wanted to move to HD without breaking the bank. The HV10 has allowed me to do this.
When reading the other reviews, I found myself immediately hesitant to purchase the HV10 because of the comments regarding it having no shoe for a camcorder light and no microphone jack. Upon further reflection, however, I realized that my current camcorder has both of those things, plus I own an attachable light and it came with a microphone. Although it is always nice to have these options, I also realized that I never use them. My video-taking style is more of a "grab and shoot" approach, a style for which the HV10 is a perfect fit. The lack of HDVI connectivity is a bummer, but not a big deal for me. I have found the component connections to work quite well and the picture quality is excellent (I have a 60" HDTV).
I have ordered a second battery, although so far the one the unit came with has not failed me. I also ordered a seperate charger. If you shop around and stay away from the Canon brand, you can get these for quite a reasonable price. Same goes for a firewire cable.
The unit is certainly small, which takes some getting used to in regard to working the zoom button, etc. I adjusted the strap on the side for a little extra room and after practicing with it for a while, I have not had any issues in this area. However, you can expect a bit of a trade-off here. With a compact size come compact buttons. If at all possible, you might want to try to physically see the HV10 before ordering. After reading the comments and seeing the photo of it sitting in the palm of a hand, I was actually expecting it to be even smaller than it really is. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice, handy size, but don't expect to drop it into your shirt pocket or anything like that.
It certainly does not take "stunning" video in low light conditions, but I have found it to be quite adequate in this area; not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be after reading the reviews. It seems to switch to more of an "analog look" when in extreme low light, but it is as good or better than my current, non-HD camcorders, including a 3 CCD Panasonic PV-GS500.
I love the portabiliy, like the fact it uses mini tapes, and the picture quality is excellent. I have not tried taking any photos and will probably rarely use this feature anyway, but I did buy and install a 2GB mini SD card.
I consider this to be a great family hi-def camcorder at a great price and have been completely satisfied with the purchase.
Customer Review: Technology: 4 stars , Usability: 1 star = Avg 2.5 stars (rounded to 3 stars)
Summary: 3 Stars
The HV10 is precisely an example of the kind of device the term "bleeding edge" of technology was coined for...good technology but poor usability.
Canon simply 'dropped the ball' in the human factors engineering and ergonomic design of this device. The controls are extremely awkward -- in particular trying to manipulate the zoom given the way the device is positioned in your hand by the hand strap was very uncomfortable and even physically painful after only a few minutes because it gave me a cramp in my hand. The menus and other controls aren't great either but I could have lived with them -- the ergonomic issue is what really made this device unusable for me and why I returned it.
Also, the microphone picks up a lot of noise generated by the device itself, so there's a constant background buzz sound from the motors of the MiniDV mechanism -- some might find this annoying as I did, other might be willing to overlook it.
So bottom line, this camera while novel, suffers from many of the typical usability shortcomings of a first generation product... But at its current price point however some might willing to put up with these usability problems as the picture quality is indeed amazing. So it can take great video, but its just "no fun" to use...
Customer Review: Needed a travel HDV camcorder
Summary: 5 Stars
I strongly considered the HV20 and HC7 but ended up buying the HV10 due to its smaller form factor. The thought was that the only way to get good video is to carry it - and I've had other DV camcorders that sat in the bag because we didn't want to lug them around. We've shot 30 minutes of video of the dogs in the backyard and some indoor shots and we are thrilled. It puts out a wonderful 1080i image on my 1080p front projection setup of 123". Does everything we want and we'll be testing it more when we go on our next cruise this September in Hawaii.
Is it perfect? No....but nothing is when it comes to electronics. I would have liked HDMI output, higher resolution still photos, and even a smaller form factor, and a little better battery life, but there is always something missing. Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat - especially at these prices...