Canon HV10 HDV digital camcorder review
| Design |
| The Canon HV10 HDV digital camcorder is a nice looking camera which measuring 56mm x 104mm x 106mm and weighing 440g is just big enough to fit into your handbag comfortably or the pocket of a loose jacket. Some of the buttons and dials are positioned in the ideal place but can sometimes be a bit too closely set together and at other times so flush to the device you need to get a pin or sharp object out to be able to access them. The main cluster are found at the back with the scroll wheel and menu button as well as the function, focus and exposure buttons. These are quite small and a bit fiddly to access. Then there’s another cluster around the side where you’ll get the zoom slider, photo button and the camera-to-camcorder mode. There’s a viewfinder as well as the 2.7 inch wide-screen LCD behind which you’ll find another array of buttons including play, forward, rewind, effects, backlight, record/pause. Up front keeping the lens company is a flash and a video light and at the top is a microphone. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Providing you've used a camcorder before there's nothing to it. If you haven't you might want a quick look over the instructions but on the whole there's very little to say other than charge the battery up and start shooting. |
| Features |
| The ultra compact HDV1080i camcorder with Canon is packed with features including the 2.96MP HDV1080i CMOS video sensor which allows capture of HDV1080i footage with true 1920x1080 pixel resolution, giving stunning clarity and sharpness while also being able to record at standard DV. HDV is a widescreen format and the HV10 is optimised for 16:9 recording and comes with a high resolution 2.7 inch LCD and widescreen colour EVF display footage exactly as it is recorded. The Canon lens comes with a 10x optical zoom with Super Range OIS and a new Super Range Optical Image Stabiliser to make sure not even a tsunami pushing over you will cause any camera shake. There’s a handy level marker on the LCD to make sure you get the subjects in the middle and straight rather than at an odd angle. To make sure the camera captures perfect images Canon has used its next generation DIGIC DV II processor for increased processing requirements of HD and the fact it uses split path processing means you get simultaneous video and digital photo capturing. Canon comes with a hybrid Instant AF system that results in extremely quick and accurate auto focus. There’s a built-in video light allowing recording to continue in poorly lit conditions and a dedicated flash for stills. The HV10 integrates advanced digital photography functions into a compact frame, including a one-push histogram display to monitor brightness levels. Up to four 3MP photos per second can be stored on convenient miniSD card and you can even capture 2MP screen shots straight from a movie, either during recording or playback. There’s an AV input that will allow analogue to digital conversion and you can print directly to printer through the PictBridge. |
| Performance |
| What you’d pay close to a grand with the HV10 camcorder would be the video quality. And we can say that this is impressive. The images were sharp, saturated, and smooth with good exposure (once you’d customised it to your liking). The Instant AF and the Stabiliser worked really well giving pin sharp images even when we were shaking a bit. What was really impressive was the fact that even with only a single, relatively high-resolution CMOS chip, the camcorder produced good images in low light. They was slight saturation but pictures were on the whole sharp. Functions such as the white balance seemed to work well with the camera adjusting itself. Battery life is terrible and within half an hour it was begging to be charged up again. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Canon HV10 camcorder, Lithium Batter, Wireless Controller, Compact Power Adapter, AC Cable, Stereo Video Cable and Interface Cable set, Component Cable CTC-100/S, BP-310 OTH Battery Pack, Terminal Cover, ScartAdapter, DVSD Ver.23.0 for Win, DVSD Ver.23.0 For Mac, Instruction Manual, Guarantee, New Caution Sheet for HDV Video Heads, Canon Genuine Accessories Recommendation Leaflet |
| Overall Opinion |
| We couldn’t help but like the Canon HV10 high definition camcorder. There’s so much to like about it. While it is a bit on the pricey side we think it is worth it, because this camera will make average holiday footage look a million dollars. |
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Pros + Good image + Instant AF + Image stabiliser + HD Video |
Cons - Poor battery life |
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Battery Life 6/10
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Picture Quality 8/10
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Setup Simplicity 7/10
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Build Quality 8/10
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Ease of Use 8/10
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Overall Rating 
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By Babita Wakelin
26/10/2006 at 3:54:43pm
26/10/2006 at 3:54:43pm
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Canon HV10 This highdefinition camcorder delivers delightful video, but its sound quality is subpar... read | |||
Ecoustics
22/5/2007 1:00:00pm
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