Audio Video News

Canon's new HV20 HD Camcorder joins the ever growing field of consumer-oriented high-definition camcorders. Although it's not as small nor as inexpensive as Sanyo's $699 720p Xacti HD2 MPEG4 HD camcorder, at $1,099 the 1920 x 1080 Canon entry includes enough features and performance that it's a significant bargain for the money.

In addition to a 10x HD video zoom lens, the HV20 includes a 2.96 megapixel, 1920 x 1080 CMOS image sensor and has the option of recording video in 24p Cinema Mode. The CMOS sensor includes on-chip noise reduction, a feature Canon says helps the sensor capture video with minimal video noise or other aberrations even in low-light situations.

The 10x HD video zoom lens has an aspherical design to keep chromatic aberrations as low as possible while a special coating on the lens reduces flare and ghosting. For any home videographer who has had problems keeping the image in focus - especially in low-light situations - one of the most exciting aspects of the camcorder is a new autofocusing system that uses an external sensor in combination with Canon's more traditional autofocus technology. Canon claims the new combo system is able to focus "almost instantaneously" during both day and nighttime shooting.

Image stabilization is accomplished using both gyro and vector detection methods with a lens-shift type of optical image stabilization (OIS) that's designed to compensate for the greatest amount of camera shake without the picture degradation that is often found with electronic image stabilization. The OIS can also be used when shooting digital still images.

In addition to the 24p Cinema Mode, the HV20 includes three pre-set zoom speeds that keep the pace of the zoom consistent regardless of how hard or soft the zoom button is pressed - once again, a feature unskilled amateurs (like me), who want to impress friends and family, will greatly appreciate. Canon says the camcorder's built-in Ultra Video Light allows for the capture of color video under low-light conditions up to five feet away from the subject.

The HV20 has a pivoting, side-mounted 2.7" widescreen LCD display that can superimposed a level marker and a grid marker to help the user compose his shots.

The new camcorder can also be used a digital still camera with a nine-point autofocus system that can shoot up to five 3.1-megapixel still images per second and save them on a miniSD card. Two-megapixel images can be saved on the card while the camcorder simultaneously records HD video to tape.

Canon says the HV20 will be available in April for $1,099.