Canon HV10
Camcorder | February 11th, 2008
The stylish Canon HV10 gives you the ultimate in HD video and digital photo quality - in the world’s smallest HDV camcorder*. Its 10x optical zoom lens and 2.96 Megapixel CMOS image sensor ensure meticulous detail and superior color reproduction. And, with its HD and Standard Definition recording modes, you can make the move to HD without making your SD equipment obsolete. The HV10 is easy to use and delivers the high level of performance you’ve come to expect from Canon. It’s the premium quality camcorder that sophisticated and discerning videographers have been waiting for.
On the inside of the HV10, a 3-megapixel 1/2.7-inch CMOS sensor captures 1,920 horizontal and 1,080 vertical pixels for 1080i HD, or wide-screen SD, video. It down-samples the horizontal resolution to 1,440 when capturing 480i standard-def video. When capturing stills, it uses 2.76 megapixels (1,920×1,440) in 4:3 mode and 2.07 megapixels (1,920×1,080)in 16:9 mode. The HV10 couples the sensor with a 10X Canon HD video lens, a scaled-down version of the 20X lens in the XH series, which shares the optical characteristics of Canon’s professional L series of lenses.
It’s the promise of increased picture quality that will prove the major attraction for most people interested in high definition camcorders. The HV10, like the HDR-HC3, produces simply exquisite images. Both cameras use HDV tapes, which record video at a resolution of 1080i (1920×1080). This gives crisp, sharp images that are well beyond what you’ll get from any standard definition camera.It certainly looks and feels like a conventional MiniDV camcorder, apart from the width, which is slightly bulkier than usual (it measures 56 x 104 x 106mm and weighs 439g). The HV10 uses a 1/2.7-inch, 2.96-megapixel HD CMOS sensor, capturing full resolution 1920 x 1080 video. The panoramic native widescreen 1080i footage is stored on MiniDV tapes. Although its default setting is for 16:9 viewing, you can switch to Standard Definition recording easily should you feel the need to watch on a conventional 4:3 telly.
Conversely, the HV10 has a draw for a lot of people – its size. It’s remarkably compact for an HD camcorder, far smaller than the comparable Sony offerings. But while the upright, pistol-grip design may give it a low profile, we found it to be the cause of some annoying handling problems. Hand size comes into play a great deal. If you have big mitts – hands off. The button layout can also cause frustration, particularly the poorly placed jog dial, the main tool for making changes and navigating the menu.