Canon HV20 3MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | 
| Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
Buy New: $949.99
as of 9/6/2010 00:16 CDT details
In Stock
New (4) Used (4) from $489.00
Seller: TigerTek
Rating:  114 reviews
Sales Rank: 2,484
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 61
Minimum Focal Length: 6.1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: CAN-HV20
Model: HV20
UPC: 013803083200
EAN: 0013803083200
ASIN: B000MUV6BA
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | HDV camcorder with 1/2.7-inch CMOS image sensor; 24p Cinema Mode | | • | High-definition 10x optical zoom lens; super-range optical image stabilizer | | • | Advanced photo features: up to 3-megapixel stills, histogram display, built-in flash, and more | | • | 2.7-inch color widescreen LCD; color viewfinder | | • | HDMI terminal; advanced accessory shoe |
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Product Description
Integrating Canon's renowned optics and imaging technology, including a 10x HD video zoom lens with Super Range Optical Image Stabilization and a Canon True HD 1920 x 1080 CMOS Image Sensor, the HV20 HD Camcorder records true 1080 high definition video, making it an ideal companion to today's HD televisions. In fact, both aspiring filmmakers and home movie shooters can give their video a truly cinematic look and feel with the addition of a 24p Cinema Mode.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 114
 Excellent value, image quality, features, manual controls December 23, 2007
L. G. CHARLOT (California, USA)
195 out of 195 found this review helpful
The HV-20 is Canon's "flagship" camcorder, and received [...] "2007 Camcorder of the Year" award. It has the best low-light image quality in it's class (in 24p mode, using 1/48th second shutter speed), and CCI says that it has the overall best image quality of all comparable models.
What I like about the HV-20:
1. High definition 1440x1080i video image, using MPEG-2 compression. The similar Canon HG-10 outputs the full 1920x1080i resolution, but since it uses the more aggressive MPEG-4 compression scheme, it's low light performance suffers. Another advantage of the HV-20 is that MPEG-2 is easier to edit than MPEG-4.
2. Manual focus control that is relatively easy to access. The focus control consists of a button and wheel placed just behind the lens on the left side. The button toggles between manual and auto focus and the wheel effects the actual focussing. A lens-mounted ring would be a lot better, but these have gone by the way side on consumer priced camcorders - you have to spend $2500 or more on a semi-pro model to get a focus ring nowadays. WHY MANUAL FOCUS IS IMPORTANT: Digital cameras in general often have trouble focusing in low light or low contrast situations, for example shooting seascapes on a foggy day where everything is shades of gray and outlines are blurry and dim. On auto focus, the camera will "hunt" back and forth trying to lock focus, or will lose lock and start hunting in the middle of a shot, ruining that take. You will get better results if you use manual focus in these conditions.
3. Stereo Microphone jack, mounted on the side instead of the front. If you buy any MiniDV camcorder, you will eventually want to use an external shotgun or lavalier microphone. The built-in mic on almost any MiniDV tape drive camcorder is going to pick up the whine from the tape drive and lens zoom motors; an external mic will eliminate this problem. NOTE: The HV-20's mic jack is a stereo input, so that you can use two separate mics with a y-cable, or a single mic with a Mono-to-Stereo adapter. Radio Shack sells a suitable one for $3.00, their part number is 274-374. I use it with the ATR-55 shotgun and ATR-35 lavalier mics I bought for use with the HV-20. If you don't use this type of adapter, a mono microphone will only give a signal to the left audio channel on the HV-20 camcorder, leaving the right channel silent. The adapter will split the signal from the mic equally to both channels, which sounds better. Canon sells a shotgun mic for this camera that is stereo, and uses the camera's hot shoe, but at $150 it was three time the price of the ATR-55 shotgun, so I passed on it.
4. Ability to do "pass-through" Analog-to-digital transcoding. For example, if you have old family videos shot on VHS or 8mm analog videotape, you can use the "pass-through" capability of the HV-20 to convert the analog video to 720x480i digital video that can then be edited on a computer. You connect a VCR or your old Hi-8 camcorder to the HV-20 with component video cables (that's the red, white, and yellow cables that come with the HV-20), then connect the HV-20 to your computer with a firewire cable. Start the capture software on the computer, then play the analog tape - the HV-20 will transcode the analog video to digital video and pass it to the computer. You can then perform whatever type of image clean-up your video software supports, and output your old wedding or baby videos to DVD! Not every camcorder supports this, so it was a bonus feature that drew me to the HV-20.
5. Decent ergonomics. The camera feels pretty good in the hand and the controls are pretty good, with a few exceptions, most notably the zoom rocker, which is very poor compared to the EXCELLENT zoom rocker on Canon's own HG-10. What a shame that the HV-20 doesn't share this zoom rocker with the HG-10! Sony's camcorders generally have better "feel" in the hand than the HV-20, but I wanted the best image quality possible, so ergonomics was secondary in my priorities.
6. Well thought out layout of controls and I/O jacks. Some camcorders place I/O jacks UNDER THE BATTERY, requiring you to remove the battery to use them, meaning that you MUST power the camera with the AC adapter to use these jacks. STUPID! What if you are in the field, and don't have access to any power source other than the camera's battery? Thankfully, the HV-20 doesn't seem to suffer from any bone-head design bloopers like that. I also liked the fact that the HV-20 is fully self-contained, compared to a certain Sony model that does not have a firewire jack on the camera itself: you have to use a "docking station" to download this camera to a computer (another dumb design IMO).
7. 24P shooting mode: This is one of the "key" features on the Canon HV-20 and HG-10, and is really one of the primary features that would lead someone to choose one of these Canon's over a Sony, Panasonic, or JVC high-def camcorder. The primary benefit of 24P seems to be that it substantially improves the camera's low light capability, generally this is because 24p uses 1/48 second shutter speed instead of 1/60th second. In [...] 4-way "shootout" between the 4 top brands of High def camcorders, the HV-20 won the low-light image quality test hands-down. The HG-10 happens to use the same sensor, lens, and DIVIC processing chip as the HV-20, but it's low light capability suffers from compression noise caused by the MPEG-4 (AVCHD) compression algorithm. If the best possible low-light image quality is something you will need from your camcorder, avoid any model using AVCHD compression - this includes all current (2007) high-def camcorders that store to DVD, Hard disc, and Flash memory cards.
8. Audio (microphone) input level can be manually controlled. This feature is not available on many other camcorders. However, at highly boosted gain levels, the audio recorded from this camera gets pretty "noisy" - use a low impedance (600 ohm) microphone to get best results.
What I don't like about the HV-20:
1. Poor zoom rocker - it doesn't stick up out of the camera body enough to offer a really good "grip" to your finger. It's still useable, but could be a lot better, like the HG-10's zoom rocker.
2. The cover over the accessory hot shoe is not attached in any way to the camera, making it inevitable that you will lose it eventually. I will fix this issue by drilling a small hole in the cover and making a lanyard for it out of heavy nylon thread which can then be tied to the camera's hand strap.
3. The joystick that you use to access the camera's menu system feels loose and wobbly, like it isn't the best quality. Joysticks on other digital cameras I've used feel more "solid". I guess for $700, I shouldn't expect the same components that you get on a $8000 professional video camera, but this joystick could have been a little better.
4. The viewfinder is physically fixed, and doesn't extend or swivel. This could be a problem if you use an aftermarket high capacity battery that sticks out from the camera's body (the BP-2L13 and BP2L14 batteries that I got for the camera don't stick out, but there might be some brands of aftermarket batteries that do?). Otherwise, the viewfinder's image quality is okay, and seems to be about the same as those of comparable Sony and Panasonic models.
OTHER ISSUES TO CONSIDER AS YOU RESEARCH A CAMCORDER PURCHASE:
1. Storage media: Currently, High Def camcorders are available that record to one or more of these four media: MiniDV tape, built-in Hard disk drive, MiniDVD-R/RW discs, and SD or MemoryStick (Sony) flash cards. The primary differences here are cost, time capacity and compression algorithm used. MiniDV tapes cost about $3.00 each and hold one hour of HD video at 25 megabits per second, and use HDV (MPEG-2) compression. Hard drive, DVD, and Flash card cameras all use AVCHD (MPEG-4) compression at 15 megabits per second; AVCHD is a much more aggressive type of compression than HDV, and most cameras using it have somewhat poorer image quality in low-light situations. AVCHD is also more difficult and processor intensive to edit, requiring a computer with more power than is needed to edit HDV video. Following are some specific's (keep in mind that the Canon HV-20 uses MiniDV tape):
ADVANTAGES OF MINI-DV TAPE: It's cheap and widely available, costing about $3.00 per one hour of video storage capacity. It's easier to edit HDV video than AVCHD video, and HDV offers better image quality in low light. The tape itself is your archival media, and should last at least 10~15 years if you store it in a suitable container that protects it from moisture, dust, and temperature extremes. NOTE: It takes 3 single-sided DVD's to hold the video from one Mini-DV tape if you want to use DVD's as your back-up archival media.
DISADVANTAGES OF MINI-DV TAPE: Real-time video transfer via Firewire; if you have a full 60 minute tape, it takes 60 minutes of real time to download your video to your computer. Also, the 25 megabit per second bandwidth may be too much for many older computers: even if you already have a Firewire card installed, if your computer's CPU, data bus, or hard drive can't accept the data stream at the rate it's being transmitted by the camera, you will at least lose frames and at worst, the whole captured video file could be trashed and unplayable. Tape drive cameras are more sensitive to humidity than the other types; condensation inside the camera's tape compartment will shut it down, requiring you to bring it indoors to an air-conditioned space to dry out. Motor noise from the tape drive can be picked up by the camera's built in microphones (same problem really with HDD and DVD cameras). The HV-20 is no exception, it's motor noise is clearly audible on the recorded video. Use an external mic (600 ohm for best results) to alleviate this problem. Keep in mind that you can remove unwanted noise from the audio track in post production with relatively inexpensive software
2. ADVANTAGES OF HARD DRIVE CAMERAS (Canon HG-10 especially): Stores the full 1920 x 1080i high def video; MiniDV tape cameras using HDV compression actually record only 1440 x 1080i (non-square pixels), requiring a resampling of the video in post-production to get 1920 x 1080i. Lots of storage capacity: Up to 5 hours on the 40 megabyte drive in the Canon HG-10. Fast and easy video transfer to your computer via USB; you don't need to install a firewire port if your PC doesn't have one already. Transferring an hour's worth of video from an HG-10 to a computer takes a lot less time than the same transfer on an HV-20. Less motor "whine" in the audio track than you have with tape drive cameras. Less sensitivity to environmental problems like dust and moisture.
DIDADVANTAGES OF HARD DRIVE CAMERAS: A little more expensive purchase price, about $100 more for the Canon HG-10 compared to the HV-20. The big disadvantage currently is the AVCHD compression: compared to HDV compression used in MiniDV tape cameras, it's harder to edit in post-processing software, and requires a more powerful computer. AVCHD video shows a LOT more noise and compression artifacts in low-light shots than you get with HDV video.
ADVANTAGES OF DVD CAMCORDERS: Only one really, and that's the ability to put the disc into a DVD player and view it, or transfer it to computer. Transfer of video to computer same as HDD (via USB) so faster than Tape drive. Hitachi recently came out with a high def camcorder that stores to Mini-BlueRay discs. I don't know for sure what the blank discs would cost, but you can bet they're way more expensive than regular 8cm DVD-RW's (Standard size blank BlueRay discs at Fry's cost $20 PER UNIT (December 2007))!
DISADVANTAGES OF DVD CAMCORDERS: Expensive media in terms of cost-per-minute of shooting time. The small, 8cm DVD's used in these camcorders have very limited capacity, only about 15~20 minutes at the highest image quality. DVD cameras tend to be bulkier, since the 80mm diameter disc takes up a lot of space compared to a 64mm wide x 45mm tall MiniDV tape. AVCHD Compression; same issues as for HDD cams in terms of loss of image quality and difficulty to edit in post-processing.
ADVANTAGES OF FLASH CARD CAMCORDERS: No moving parts in the storage media. This should mean longer service life and greater reliability. If flash memory continues to grow in capacity while dropping in cost, this type of camcorder could eventually bury Tape, HDD, and DVD. Easy transfer of video to PC over USB bus.
DISADVANTAGES OF FLASH CARD CAMCORDERS: Currently (2007) Most Expensive storage media: $140.00 for a 16 gigabyte SD card, compared to $3.00 for a 13 gigabyte MiniDV tape. Uses AVCHD compression; same issues as for HDD and DVD cams in terms of loss of image quality and difficulty to edit in post-processing.
UPDATE: June 2010
The camcorder took a fall on a vacation last month when a strong wind gust blew the whole tripod over. The impact was on the unit's left side, on a wood deck, and the LCD screen became cracked. About 1/4 of the screen is now permanently blacked out, but the camera still records and plays, so I can still use it, albeit only with the viewfinder.
Spectacular High Definition Camcorder October 14, 2007
Film Reviewer (Philadelphia, PA)
68 out of 68 found this review helpful
I purchased this camcorder almost 6 months ago, for both personal and professional uses. I made my decision because of the overwhelmingly positive professional reviews. You cannot go wrong with either a Canon HV20 or a Sony HC7, they have very similar characteristics. One thing that the Canon has is the true 24p mode which is important for indy filmmakers and also improves low light performance indoors and out.
I can attest to the durability of this unit as I put it through a limited torture test over 6 months. Its been to Hawaii which actually has many different environments. Dry, hot, wet, humid, and rain. Yes, there were shots that I had to get of waterfalls that got the camcorder sprinkled with a light mist. The camcorder performed perfectly. I quickly wiped off any moisture after I got the shot. Its been on a boat and down hiking trails.
The video in good lighting is spectacular. Lighting is the most important aspect of good video making. Even the best camcorder will perform poorly if the lighting is not good. The best time to video for the most spectacular results is either overcast days or where the sun is not visible. A sunny day is not the best for video, since you get extremes in contrast. Of course a dark environment is also not the best for video making. Canon's 24p mode is a great addition to help in the low light department, but I recommend a strong video light for very dark areas. The HV20 is the cheapest true 24p camcorder.
I also had the opportunity to take video in standard definition (this camcorder will do both High Def, and standard. I needed to take some video of a professional sports team, and interview. The requirements were standard definition. The outdoor shot were the best I have ever seen from a camcorder in standard definition. I put it on a standard DVD and played it in the home player and it was excellent. So you can shoot either way. Standard def can be put directly to regular DVD today.
Sound is very good, but I recommend that you get a wireless microphone for any interviews. I bought the Audio Technica wireless lavelier microphone. It can go up to 100 feet away and sounded very good.
Still pictures were good. Its nice to have if you don't want to lug around a still camera. But as with any camcorder, you will get your best shots from a dedicated still camera.
Overall this is a great camcorder. If you are doing editing, your best bet is to use a tape based HDV camcorder. They are less compressed (better quality) video than Hard Disk or memory card based camcorders. At least for now.
Some more tips for this camcorder: use the sony high definition tapes (available here at amazon), if you want, you can get a wide angle adapter lens, get a good case that can hold your camcorder and accessories and get at least 1 extra battery. I also recommend that you get a clear filter and lens cap if you are going to be in conditions where the lens could get dust, dirt or water. Its much easier to clean the filter than to clean the primary lens. This camcorder does have an automatic lens cover, but since I was in rainy conditions I found the filter to be very useful.
When in a car, you will many times see a reflection from the dash on the windshield. If you have ever worn polarized sunglasses you know that that will get rid of that glare. The same is true for the camcorder. Get a polarized lens if you plan to do filming in a car during the day, or are going to be outdoors in bright light, especially near the glare that comes off the ocean.
Indie Film maker's dream... with a catch August 9, 2007
David Cooley (Virginia Beach, Va USA)
74 out of 75 found this review helpful
I did a lot of researching on HDV cameras. I looked high and low for a camera that could do the pro features on a not-pro budget. For most people who want a great HD camcorder for home movies, i would recommend it without hesitation. For serious film students who want the look of 24p (film style) read on...
There is a small catch that people need to be aware of if they need the raw 24 progressive frames.
The HV20 DOES capture 24p, but in what is known as 1080pA. The 1080pA means it's really recording at standard 60i and when you capture it onto your computer, the footage is not technically in 24 frames per second (yet). It is in 30. There are (5) progressive frames and then one interlaced frame. What you will need to do is called 2:3:3:2 pull down. The reverse technique of putting film onto video. And as of right now, no editing software can do this pulldown method for the HV20. Sony Vegas can do it for the Sony HDV camera with 1080pA. But Canon did not include a "tag" on the video to tell the few editing softwares out there how to get the 24 frames out without messing with the footage. It seems because this is a "consumer grade" camera, they never thought it important.
This isn't much of a problem if you're going to dvd, because you'll never notice this while the video plays. It'll be great footage regardless. But if you're like me, and you have a need to use the direct 24 progressive images (in my case it's to put graphics and animation on top of the video) you need to be aware that as of right now, there are few solutions out there to get the footage.
The best way has been solved by some folks on www.hv20.com forum. All discussions for this camera. These brilliant folks have come up with a way to use a few free shareware programs to do the work for you. It's free. And there's lots of people there to help you out. I was able to get it up and running in just a few minutes after reading the great directions available.
Other thoughts:
Dark shooting - Cinemode works great. Took it to SeaWorld and Shamu night show was awesome!! Fireworks also looked great.
You'll need LARGE hard drives. I'd recommend an external Firewire or USB 2 drive. I have a Lacie 1 terabyte drive for all of my work. They work very well and are not that expensive considering.
Sony Vegas seems to be the software of choice from most of the users I've talked to. Vegas movie studio is only $120 or so. Apple's Final Cut software is also a favorite among mac users. But be sure you get a good HD editing program. The HV20 does not come with any software other than a disk to let you get the still images off the camera.
HD is heavy duty files on a computer. Be sure your computer is fast enough to handle capturing footage, editing video, and playing back HD video.
If you buy this camera, be sure to join the HV20.com folks. They've been a huge help to me, and I know they will help you too.
Good luck!!
My Canon HV20 WOW Moments! April 9, 2007
C. Williams (Morgantown, WV)
110 out of 118 found this review helpful
You can't beat the HD picture quality from the HV20 based on actual user reviews and comparisons with all of the latest models. While this is a single CMOS sensor, it is a true 1920 x 1080 HD sensor of the same quality found in the award winning Canon Digital SLR cameras. Don't be fooled by a 3CCD camcorder that uses smaller sensor sizes and must use "pixel shifting".
I had already hooked up the HV20 to my 720p projector, and it did look great even at my typical 120". But I do know that my projector probably isn't calibrated very well to be honest.
So, my first WOW moment came when I decided to capture some of my best outdoor footage from my Canon Elura stock and compare it to some HV20 footage shot of my kids over the weekend at an Easter egg hunt. WOW, the difference in quality was even more pronounced than I realized. I guess that the resolution difference is what it is, but this is definitely serious HD quality.
The real defining WOW moment that has me "selling" all of my family and friends on this camcorder came last night when I hooked it up at my brother-in-law's house to his Sony Wega CRT HDTV display that does 1080i and is calibrated to perfection. You won't find a higher quality HD display than his set IMO, and my jaw dropped when my video first came up on his display That was the first time when I was truly able to see what my source footage was capable of in terms of its full resolution and AMAZING colors. We switched to Discovery HD on his set, and other than obvious production value aspects you honestly couldn't really say that it looked any more HD than the footage of my kids playing.
This is way more exciting to me than when I first saw broadcast HD and watched Monday Night Football because it is hard to describe how cool it is to see your kids on video in beautiful HD for a $1,000 price point. I can hardly wait to get out there and shoot some more footage.
Quite simply amazing! April 30, 2007
Michael J. Foley (Sherman Oaks, CA United States)
55 out of 58 found this review helpful
I've had 3 camcorders. My first was a Ricoh 8mm and I loved it for years. My second was a Sony PC110 mini DV, which is a wonderful camera but I recently upgraded my television to a 46" widescreen Sony LCD and found the picture from the camcorder somewhat lacking. I've had 3 Canon Digital Elphs and recently got a Canon Digital Rebel XTi SLR camera and I really enjoy the results from them all. So, I thought that I'd try the Canon HV20 and I'm extremely impressed with it! It is small enough but large enough to control. Once it straps on your hand, all of the buttons are well placed and easily accessed. My ONLY compaint is that you have to slide a button to turn on the still camera if you want to shoot in 3.1MP resolution. A very small complaint. The visuals produced by this camera are stunning. The color is just superb. Sound is superb (stereo but not 5.1). All the resolution that you would ever want. It almost looks better than real life. Auto focus works well and the zoom is adjustable as to its speed. It is fully automatic or you can use it fully manually. I've just started to explore all that it is capable of. Battery life is just okay, but with the optional BP-2L14 (It sits flush with the viewfinder and adds very little to the overall weight), It will provide all the power that you would probably ever need. It's reasonably price and also available from Amazon. I've also got a mini SD card (as opposed to a micro SD card) and the photos (blown up to 5 by 7) are as good as any 3.1 camera can produce. With a 2GB mini SD card (available from Amazon and not expensive) on full resolution, you get almost 1,000 photos! Amazing. Use the high definition DV tapes for best results, which are available from Amazon. It comes with all the hookup cables but not a HDMI or composite cable (YES it has an optional firewire hookup! It has an HDMI output but just not the cable). It also packs with a hand strap but not a neck strap, but there ARE hooks for a neckstrap (unlike my Sony PC-110, which was extremely annoying to me). You can read about all the bells and whistles that this camera provides but just let me say that you'll be totally knocked out by the image quality on your High Definition television. It's like watching the Discovery channel in High Def. Really, it's just that good! To be able to fit all of this quality into such a small package is simply amazing. A few years ago, this would be the stuff of dreams. You simply will not be sorry...
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