Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon HG10 Ultra-Compact High Definition HDD Camcorder (10x Optical Zoom, 2.7" widescreen Multiangle Vivid LCD)

I bought this camcorder to replace my Sony Handycam and as expected the quality is so much better than the Sony. It's very easy to find your way around the settings etc.

I would recommend purchasing the wide angle lens for this camcorder (Canon WD-H43 Wide Converter - bought via Amazon from British Bargains) as close up shots are almost impossible to achieve. It makes the camcorder a bit more 'top heavy' but the difference it makes, makes it worth the slightly heavier weight to carry around.

I would also recommend you purchase a double capacity battery Canon BP-2L24H, also purchased from Amazon (MEXXTRONICS)

The zoom lens is excellent and travels a very long way!

The editing software that comes with the camera makes the DVD's look far more professional and are fun to use.

On the downside, the instructions that were given to download the software were slightly incorrect and I could not download from the camcorders hard drive, but a bit of tinkering about made it possible.

To sum it up, this camcorder is a TOP QUALITY item and I would rate it 10/10.

I hope this helps.

Kim :o)

I haven't had it for long but find it extremely easy to use and the picture qualiry is excellent.

The Corel software that comes with it is very slow to render the final project

Canon HG10 Ultra-Compact High Definition HDD Camcorder (10x Optical Zoom, 2.7" widescreen Multiangle Vivid LCD)
I bought my HG10 through Amazon. Its was a refurbished example form Harrison Cameras. I have to say, If I wasn't told, I'd not have known. The Camera is fantastic for the novice that I am, but has some features that I will learn, and will suit the more advanced user also. Harrisons were great too. I spoke to them direct before purchasing and they answered all my questions confidently and professionally. I can certainly recommend them.

I recently bought the HG10 as most of the features fitted what I was looking for and, more importantly, my budget. I'm not a pro videographer although I was a pro photographer until relatively recently. The HG10 produces nice clean, crisp images although, like others, does fall off somewhat under low light. I don't mind the weight, in fact I quite like it, having been brought up on professional medium format stills cameras, none of which are particularly light!

Overall I think the HG10 certainly warrants 4 and a bit stars: I have an iMac with iMovie '09 and all I have to do is connect the two together with the USB cable and put the camcorder into "Play" mode and away it goes. Having an internal hard drive does mean a slow download as it happens in, more or less, real time but that isn't important to me. I don't need to install any software to edit the downloaded movies as the editing tools within iMovie '09 are perfectly adequate and for music soundtracks you have iTunes built in and if you want to create your own music you can use GarageBand as well - all of these mesh together seamlessly and provide all the tools you need, unless you want to produce a totally professional movie then, perhaps, you would need a more sophisticated suite of software but, there again, if that is what you need to achieve why are you using an HG10 in the first place?

My only complaints are, as the title of this suggests, the niggling cut corners and oversights: (1) Why use totally inadequate plastic retainers on the covers for the various sockets? (2) Why design a hot shoe cover that is bound to spring off and be lost at the earliest opportunity? (3) Why put the microphone input socket right underneath the lens where the mike cable could easily get into the picture. (4) Why put a focus assist/illumination light on that is so weak as to be virtually useless at distances more than a few feet? (5) Why provide manual control of aperture and speed but not the two together - something that is absolutely necessary for proper manual control? (6) Why incorporate a great little feature like the rotating dial on the LCD screen and then manufacture it to look, and feel, as cheap and nasty as possible?

To put the above into perspective, they are irritations but not to a degree that would put me off the camera. I like it, I like the handling and I like the results and would certainly put it up against anything else in that price range. No camera is perfect but this is as good as any and better than most.

One final question I have to ask though: why on earth put a still shot capability on a camcorder?? Especially when the resolution of most of the stills is so low!! You buy a camcorder to shoot movement and a stills camera to shoot stills - never the twain should meet - at least not until the quality of the stills shot with camcorders can at least double over what it is now!!

Great camera, love using it - very easy! Good mac compatibility which is what I'd been struggling with in other cameras. Quality of footage is great and sound is reasonable. Software that came with it is a little complicated but once imovie picks it up there is no need for any other software. Really enjoyable piece of kit!
:)