Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon HV20 High Definition Camcorder (10X Optical Zoom, 2.7" Widescreen Colour LCD)

I bought this after reading the warm reviews and seeing a friend's footage. And no complaints there -- in the right conditions results are superb.

However, the HV20 has controls all over, making adjustments in the field hit-and-miss to say the least, and the image stabiliser doesn't seem to do much!

General advice (as for all HDV) is use a solid tripod or monopod where possible, and use higher shutter speeds for pans.

I bought this as a cheap way into HD for use on a 55" full HD tv after using a great TRV20 Sony DV model for several years.

The picture quality, particularly on cine mode, is stunning. The detail even on a giant screen is outstanding. This size screen shows up the slightest picture problem on blu ray let alone Sky HD.

1st impressions not brilliant as it feels slightly flimsy and lightweight compared to the Sony but that wears off quickly. The control positioning obviously suits my hands. The memory card I bought separately but at £9 for 2 gig is hardly a problem and the picture quality of stills, especially in widescreen is very good.

I use ordinary dv tapes, which at £1 each for 25, is very cheap bulk storage for work. This is important because you can't load edited HDV back to the camera tape.

This turned out not to be the budget buy I was half expecting but a top quality purchase. Well done Canon & Amazon.

I bought this camcorder after reading all the excellent reviews, not just on the Amazon site. Initially I was looking for a camcorder with an analogue input to enable me to convert my old analogue camcorder tapes to digital. All my old footage was shot with a Sony analogue camcorder, valuable footage of my grandchildren from birth, all now in their teens. I wanted to be able to edit the footage and put it on DVD to hand to the family, and I've done it, thanks to the HV20 and an excellent video editing program.

New footage shot with the Canon is faultless. I have no complaints whatsoever with this camcorder and would recommend it to anybody. Thank you Mr Canon!

****BRILLIANT**** I purchased this for my husband's 70th birthday. He did all the 'leg work' (on the internet) and decided on this one. It must be exceptional as he is not known for holding back on criticism - I have not heard a single complaint after several months of frequent use. Whew!!!! Its always a risk buying without seeing a product first. Well done Canon and well done Amazon for a good product at a competitive price.

I jsut sold my Sony HDR FX1 because it was too big. I banked the money and bought this Canon with the proceeds. Its buidl quality isn't amazing but the quality of the pics really is awesome. The still preformance is good too.

Highly recommended over the Sony similar model which is 200 pounds more.

Very satified.