Canon's new $1100 HV10, the company's first consumer-oriented high-definition camcorder, makes a strong debut. It produces impressive video and is easy to use, though it does suffer from a somewhat bulky design.
The HV10 records high-definition video to MiniDV tapes using the HDV format, which stores high-def video in the same space that standard-def video occupies. In my informal testing, video quality was excellent: I saw bright, vivid color and plenty of detail without noise in video shot in daylight. Overall the video was a little more appealing than that shot by the Sony HC3. Colors looked more natural, and because the HV10's video showed less contrast, it looked more like film than like video.
The camcorder's low-light performance disappointed me a bit, however. When I taped with the HV10 indoors or on an outdoor evening, the resulting video's color looked pale and weak. You can tweak the results a bit by using manual controls (which are rarely seen on consumer camcorders), but my output still looked gloomier and less appealing afterward than did video from other camcorders under similar light conditions.
The camcorder itself feels a little awkward in the hand: At 2.2 by 4.2 by 4.2 inches, it's bigger than most vertical-style camcorders designed to fit in your palm; and it felt a little too large to fit comfortably in my small hands. The adjustable strap helps, though.
The HV10 has conveniently located controls: The zoom control falls under the user's index finger, and the record button sits under the thumb. The other controls are located either on the back of the camcorder or underneath the LCD screen. In informal tests, the HV10's battery lasted for around 70 minutes with the very clear and bright 2.7-inch wide-aspect LCD screen in use. That duration is a bit shorter than most camcorders offer, but it suffices for most users, and Canon sells higher-capacity batteries if you need more juice.
A built-in optical stabilizer works well at smoothing out the effects of minor camera movements, and the HV10 can snap acceptable-looking 3.1-megapixel still images. The camcorder lacks an external microphone input and an HDMI digital video output, though, so you can't connect it to a HDTV unless you use the analog component video output.
The HV10 takes good quality high-def video and is relatively easy to use. Of course, you can save a few hundred bucks by skipping high def completely: can buy Very respectable standard-definition camcorders are available for about $600 less. But if you're looking for a device that takes high-def home movies, the HV10 is a fine choice.
Richard Baguley
