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Photo : Canon HG10 AVCHD High Definition Camcorder with Optical Image Stabilizer |
- A Highly Versatile and Easy to Use CombinationThis is apparently one of the most popular models currently on the market, and from my experience there is good reason for this.
First is ease of use. While it took me a while to browse through the instruction manual, when I actually started trying out the various functions, I found it surprisingly easy to set up modes/lighting conditions/resolutions/switch between still and movie/etc. The function button/+ key navigation took only a few minutes to get used to, and the on screen descriptions of what you're selecting have enough detail that you don't have to be a veteran user familiar with all the acronyms associated with picture taking to figure out what each item is. The camera is quite light and easy to hold, even for extended time periods, and the LCD display was quite visible even in bright sunlight. The zoom control is conveniently available to your fingers while holding it, and the zoom control itself is neither too sensitive nor too slow to react, and the zoom speed mode adjust is great for certain special situations.
I note that many have complained about shooting in low-light conditions causing excessive graininess in the results, but I have not observed this yet, shooting indoors with what I consider quite low light. The camera also seems to handle large light differentials quite easily: I had my wife take some shots of me while bowling (a feat in itself, as she is definitely not a camera person, so being able to do this is testimony to its ease of use). Bowling alleys have quite bright lighting on the alley itself, while the area behind the alleys is usually very dimly lit. The resulting videos that swing between both the dark/light areas and those taken from dark to light and vice versa show no flaring/glare marks or loss of focus. And the videos had more than enough resolution for me to be able to discern some mistakes I was making in my approach and ball delivery, which is very good as the critical items in bowling happen very quickly and in a very small area (wrist and fingers).
I was very pleased with the camera's close in focusing capability, finding it possible to film a beetle crawling on my rose bushes from just a couple of inches away. The 10x telephoto not only works well, it remains quite steady with the auto stabilizer on. Still picture resolution is more than adequate for anything except high-detail professional portraits, and compares well with shots taken with my 5 megapixel still camera.
I was a little unhappy with the audio quality using the built in microphone, as it seemed a little muffled and indistinct for any sounds more than about 5 feet away, while close sounds (i.e., me talking while filming) could be overly loud.
Battery life is a definite problem. The advertised approximate 1 hour on the provided battery is perhaps a little optimistic, and for any extended day trip where you expect to use the camera throughout the day I'd recommend carrying at least one and preferably two spare batteries.
Transferring videos from the camera to my computer was quite easy, and did not seem to take an excessively long time for the given file sizes, but I was not happy with the provided Corel software requiring an online registration to use it at all. Are they really so concerned about piracy that this step is necessary? The functionality of this software is ok, though it probably won't win prizes, but it does provide enough features to do most of commonly required editing and archiving tasks.
For a camera costing this much, I wish that they had included three very vital accessories: a miniSD card for still photos, a miniHDMI-HDMI cable, and a carrying strap. The cable is almost unfindable in stores, you'll need to order it on-line, but once you have it and hook up the camera to an HD TV, the results are truly amazing, looking like the demo shots you often see on the HDTV's in-store displays.
Overall, this is an excellent camcorder, with great ease-of-use and video results that are outstanding. It makes earlier technology camcorders seem positively ancient.
---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rating:
- Excellent camcorder with few issues...I was looking for a Camcorder that:
a) Did both still images and video reasonably well
b) Gave me the ability to walk into any event with only one device to carry (kids soccer games to parties to a 2 week vacation)
c) Easy to use, with good picture quality
d) Minimal hassles all the way from shooting the video/stills to downloading and modifying the video/stills.
d) Wasn't bleeding edge! So, I was paying through my nose.
e) Wouldn't be outdated in a matter of a year.
This lead me to the Canon HG10. It is an excellent Camcorder with really good video capture. The optics on this camera are great. The 10X optical zoom was just at the edge of recording steady video while holding it.
Highlights:
1) Stunning video
2) Still images look very good (not great)
3) Zoom serves our needs for most indoor shooting. Not great for outdoor but adequate and we have not run into a need where the action was not captured in detail.
4) Video compression using AVCHD makes for ample recording time on the 40 GB hard drive.
5) Image stabilizer works well and removes any shaking (trembling)
6) Easy to use menu system that did not require me to consult a manual
7) Basic connectors to laptop, TV part of package
8) Charges with both 220V and 110V power source (important for vacations)
9) Price is lesser than most comparable quality cameras
Lowlights:
1) Feels a bit combersome to use if you have bigger hands
2) Not as small or light as the other newer camcorders that have hard drives
3) Video software is unintuitive
4) Zoombrowser is not as good as Picasa (freeware from Google) for most still image tasks.
5) The AVCHD video is unrecognized by Windows Media but plays on it once you manually configure it.
6) Not a lot of editing capabilities for HD video
7) This is not true 1080P (I was not looking for it though)
8) There are very few functions that are available in still mode (so it does not do more than Aim, Zoom and Shoot)
9) You have to splurge on a MiniSD card (additional $40) for still images (otherwise that mode is disabled)
10) HDMI cables are extra and cost a pretty penny (true for most camcorders)
This camcorder served most of our requirements but for good still images, I will still have to reach for a camera. For most casual shooting, this is a perfect camcorder/camera and we are loving it!
Rating:
- Friendly to Use. Good even for non HD usersHi
I had a JVC miniDV that worked great but wanted to upgrade to HDD. I don't own HDTV or blue ray player any of those fancy stuff. Still I bought this (as who knows when I'll win a lottery and suddenly own all these :) . I was also scared that this thing will never work on my Laptop which has 1.66 GHz processor with 1 GB RAM.
Well results are amazing. I tested both video and photo. Tried all the modes like Cine with 24fps, night mode. Tried effects like Sepia . I was able to use the software provided by COrel to transfer the video to my Laptop without any issue. I even burnt a DVD thats playing on my normal DVD player and the quality is great ...
Moral of the story you don't need to be a rocket scientist or pro to use this or burn DVD's. Make sure you read the manual carefully before using
cheers
Jag
Rating:
- best value buythe camera is a good camera, i have a one year old dell dual core one point eight processor and the computer has a hard time playing the hd format in the software that came with it, that is the only downer so far, i can't really enjoy the viewing and editing process. other than that the canon name brand holds true to its value, the night recording however isn't great. infact, i recently watched the movie cloverfield, and i was laughing to myself thinking how the whole movie was filmed by this guys personal camcorder and it all takes place in the dark. obviously holywood editing. thats not even close to being realistic to how a non professional man on the run with your everyday camcorder and let alone its not a canon hg 10, would turn out.
Rating:
- Canon HG10This camera is small and very easy to use. The resolution is fabulous. When using the Canon HDMI cable with my high def TV, the home videos are as crisp and clear as any high definiton movie or show. Amazon's price was far lower than anywhere else. I highly recommend this video camera.
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