Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I bought this camcorder for a recent trip to Europe, and the results are spectacular. I'm very pleased with the quality of the video and the vibrancy of the colors (almost *too* saturated). The image stabilization is good, and the zoom is great. I haven't really played with any of the other features, but I recorded 8 hours of video from my trip, and all of it looks wonderfully sharp on my Plasma TV.

Battery life was better than I expected (unlike some of the other reviewers, I was able to fill a one-hour tape on a single battery charge), but I do recommend buying a second battery. If you do so, also invest in a battery charger, as the kit only allows you to charge a battery when it is attached to the camera (it would've been nice to have one battery charging while I was using the other).

My minor complaints are as follows:
- As other reviewers have noted, the 'record' button is not intuitively placed, nor is it easy to tell when you're recording, especially in bright sunlight when one is wearing sunglasses and the screen is washed out. As a result I've got about 15 minutes of video of my pants leg instead of the desired content.
- The 'wide angle' simply wasn't wide enough to capture some of the views I wanted. I wish I had spent more time using the camera prior to the trip, as I likely would have invested in the available wide-angle lens extender.
- Low-light performance is quite grainy -- but understandable given the circumstances. The included light doesn't help all that much.
- The manual focus dial is basically useless.
- The internal microphone picks up everything - including camera hum, wind noise, etc. In especially windy conditions, this resulted in very poor audio quality.

I bought 2 of the expensive "HD" tapes, but also used 6 standard mini-DV tapes. I see no quality difference between the two. I don't know if a difference would show up with multiple recordings on the same tape, but for now, I'm more than satisfied with how standard tapes work.

Bottom line: This is an excellent consumer HD camcorder for those who want to watch high-quality home movies on their high-definition TV.

I've used higher-end ProSumer camcorders for a while and virtually every other generation of video camcorder since 1980. I recently used a Sony HC3 HDV handheld but gave that to my daughter when I got this HV30.

The HV30 has a great picture and all that. So I think I'll focus on what's either really cool, or a bit off-putting for a buyer.

Really Cool:
Video quality is the best you can find on today's one-chip HDV camera. Some 3-chip cameras have a better color depth but many 3-chip cameras actually have a worse picture. They did a great job.

It plays other Canon HDV tape. I own and use a XH A1 3-CCD canon HDV camera and the HV30 plays its tapes even better than the XHA1 seems to. That's great because I can save the A1's guts for a few more years.

It has virtually every output port you could wish for (today). HDMI, Component (yes Component!), Composite, USB and Firewire. Its very complete.

It worked with Apple FinalCut Pro without any trouble. I can't even get he XHA1 to work with it without screwing around with it for a while.

It has a mic input jack which Podcasters love, but I and other have been having trouble with it. I believe Canon didn't make a simple mic jack but some kind of phantom powered mic this or that, which hobbyist would not really use. So to make it work, and this is the tip, you have to go into the menu and turn on an option, then go into a different menu and adjust the gain and/or volume. Oops, maybe this should be a "not so cool" item.


The Not so Cool.

The ergonomics are poor. My hand doesn't feel comfortable holding it no matter how I adjust the hand strap. I've never had this issue with any other camera.

The Record start/stop button is in the wrong location. They put their goofy "joy stick" right where a person's thumb falls while holding the camera, so you're instinctively pushing on the joystick instead of the start/stop button while filming. The worse part, the Joystick is really crap as an interface element.

Noisy camera. The camera makes noise when you move it (shake it) it makes noise when you zoom and it makes a ton of noise when you insert or eject a tape.

Poor image when filming motion. If you're filming a scene and you move the camera, you are going to get streaking of the image. Why? I believe/assume its because unlike Canon's great D-SLR cameras in low light, their video equipment doesn't have the lower ISO (low light) capability that Sony's or everyone else has. Not sure why, but it seems to be a consistent theme with Canon. Fortunately it has a built-in light useful for those birthday parties but not much else.

The Bottom Line

For the under $800 it costs, its worth it if you're filming your vacations, holidays, birthdays and whatnot.

If you're a podcaster and want something with every connection known to man, its more than worth it for the HDMI and mic jacks alone.

If you wish you could afford the Canon XH A1 or better and want nearly as good a picture, this is the camera for you.

If you simply want a tape drive for your XH A1, this is actually cheaper than a commercial CANON HDV tape drive.

The bottom, bottom line is Sony had lost its way and CANON's HV30 is the current champ in the hand-held HDV camcorder race. I like sony better, but I don't like getting nickeled and dimed to death. You buy the Canon HV30 and you'll be happy with the results.

I had this Camera when it first came out, and so far I am very pleased... Camcorder looks and feels as a regular Camcorders however the wild factor is the Image Quality, its stunning in clarity and contrast... This is a great Camcorder for those who are looking to capture their best memories in HD mode... Under $1000, this is the best HD camcorder one can bargain for...

One disappointment with this Camcorder is that the video editing software is not included... It comes with software however it is only for editing Still Images (Photos)... With that said, you need to buy your own Video editing software if you want to create DVD's on your Laptop or Desktop... Please also beware that there are very few robust software's in the market that can convert your video files into DVD's... This is where mini tapes lacks improvement, you can watch your video through your camcorder in full HD with stunning clarity however you can't convert your files into Full HD DVD... There is software that can do the job (Vegas Pro 8) however with a price tag of $500; it won't be an option for many buyers...

I've spent the weekend shooting and editing with my Canon HV30, and overall, I'm very pleased with it. The image quality and color reproduction (when you switch "vivid" on in the settings) is superb. It's small, lightweight and the controls make sense. In a couple of hours I was able to put the manual away and know what I was doing. Low light performance is pretty good, with just a bit of noise all the way at iso 1600 (outside at night). It shoots very well indoors in normal lights and the auto white balance works perfectly as well.

It isn't all perfect, however. The manual focus control is inaccessible and sloppy. Thankfully the autofocus is very accurate and doesn't do a lot of hunting for what to focus on. The other problem is the zoom control. It is WAY too sensitive. You can set it for variable speed, but the slightest tremble in your finger causes a bump in the speed. I think I can learn to handle it. I'll just have to be very aware of keeping a light touch. I don't think I'll be able to work with the manual focus.

The camera doesn't come with a firewire or USB2 cable to connect to a computer. You need to buy that separately. But I was able to download hidef video effortlessly to iMovieHD using a Mac without any other installed software.

The built in microphone sucks. Definitely get Canon's optional shotgun mike Directional Microphone DM-50. That will handle just about any sound situation you run into. Also count on getting an extra battery pack or two. The included battery won't shoot long enough to fill an hour long tape. There are different sizes of batteries. Get the biggest one you can afford, along with the outboard charger, so you can be charging up the next battery while you are shooting. Also get at least four blank DV tapes to work with. You don't want to switch framerates, resolutions and aspect ratios on the same tape if you can help it.

Your whole kit, including all the accessories will fit in a very small camera bag. Pretty slick. And the quality of the movies you'll shoot will amaze you. Played back on a hidef screen, this camera is capable of producing very professional looking video.

Great camera! There's a great website hv20 dot com that show how to get the most out of this camera and answer questions that are vague in the manual. This camera doesn't need more help but there's a lot more you can do than what comes out of the box. The video quality is superb, but the sacrifice is that you might want to buy an add on mic. I got the canon boom mic for another $150 to get a great whole package.