I currently shoot with a vx2000 and want to give HD a try. Not having the cash to buy my dream camera, an hdr-fx1000, I need to settle for less. So anyway i found someone who wants to trade me straight up my vx2k for his HV30 and a century .3 fisheye. I shoot primarily bmx so the fisheye will be great for me. Just wondering what you guys think? Will I miss my vx2k or will I never look back?

I know the HV30 has manual setting, just wondering if they are as easy to access as they are on the vx? I need manual white balance, shutter speed, and iris. try not to be biased because this is the sony vx section. thanks fellas

I'd ask if you can try out the HV30 for a couple days first....

What the HV30 does not have is the low light of the 2100... but in good light
the HV30 blows the 2100 out of the water...

Luke:

I have both cameras. The VX2000 has had its day. While the adjustments are easier on the VX2000, after a learning curve, you will out shoot the VX2000 in all situation-- except in a dark room.. in that situation, just turn on some lighting...

I have 2 PD-150s that I have not taken out of the closet since getting 2 HV 30s. I loved those Sonys, but the HV30 looks better in most situations. I don't think you will look back. Also, with a little tweaking the footage matches up well with my Sony Z5.

-William

I sold my VX2000 over a year ago and bought a HV20. I'll admit that I get a little irritated jumping through hoops to get the settings working manually on the HV20. Then I see the picture and all is forgiven. I'm amazed at the quality.

I wouldn't hesitate to make the trade at all. Especially given the age of the VX2000. Depending on how heavy you've used it, it's gotta be getting close to end of life although they are built like a tank.

Ok, looks like I'm going to trade. I have a pentium dual core 1.9 gig laptop with 3 gig of ram. Will that be able to handle HD? Also all I have is firewire. Do I need an HDMI or DVI in/out to edit?

You only need firewire for capture. You don't say what editor. But Vegas and Cineform's NeoScene (98.00 at one of the sponsers) will give you plenty of power to do the editing. Check those fora for more information

Yeah, you'll love the hv30 for sure, the only thing I could see being a downfall is the HV's lack of a top handle/grip, which I think is indispensible when filming action sports (skate, bmx) esp. for low angle shots. No doubt you could rig someting up though, lots of people out there fabricating handles to mount on the hv.

DO IT, you won't regret it!!

HV30 is a very capable camera. But it is a consumer cam after all. There're ways to work things around. I use it in weddings too. One thing to do for sure is to learn the "light trick" to lock down gain in dim situation.

I have the HV30 and VX2100 and i prefer using the VX2100.
The HV30 has some incapabilities like heavy motor noise. Default white balance, exposure settings look quite bad. The manual controls are not user friendly. And everyone knows about the zoom button...

I bought the HV30 to do interviews on the streets and other daily work , but i ended up using the VX2100 after all. Mainly because of the motor noise which is just plain terrible. But also because you really need to setup the HV30 beforehand.

I still take the HV30 with me on trips and use it like a normal consumer would use , but that's about it.

My aim is a Sony Z5 next year. :-)

For serious work, I added a shotgun mic for interview instead of using the onboard mic.

The zoom rocker button sucks. But I always use the camera on tripod. Then mount the remote control on the handle and wire an optical cable to the front to use it as LANC control.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-vixia-hv40-hv30-hv20-hv10/94890-cheap-solution-missing-lanc.html?highlight=missing+lanc

Hey Taky. That looks very nice. Will try that toslink trick.

I use a Rode NTG2 on top of the HV30 or by using a bracket. The NTG2, however, picks up sounds so clearly that i still hear the motor noise. :-(

BTW. Your HV30 batteries are still going strong. :-)

hey chris, I'm glad the BP-2L24H battery is still working great for you. I am also using NTG-2 on top of the camera. But I don't notice any camera noise.. oh I have bad hearing =)

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My main concern is the noise which comes and goes every few seconds.
I returned it to Canon once because of this. But they tell me this is 'normal'.

Yeah, you'll love the hv30 for sure, the only thing I could see being a downfall is the HV's lack of a top handle/grip, which I think is indispensible when filming action sports (skate, bmx) esp. for low angle shots. No doubt you could rig someting up though, lots of people out there fabricating handles to mount on the hv.

DO IT, you won't regret it!!

Mount the HV30 on a mono pod and turn it over... it works great... all you have to do
is flip the video with your NLE during post edit... very easy...

I have a VX2000, a HV30 (w/35mm adapter and LCD flip hack), and just bought a Z5U. I have a Sennheiser cardioid mic/blimp and .65 WA mounted on the VX. Here's my unscientific take: The HV30 is a wonderful small cam that has many great professional features and shoots great looking video, no denying that. But I agree with what Chris Van der Zaan said. The small size of the cam and the lack of controls when and where you need them can make it annoying to use ...as a pro-style camera (perfect for average consumer use though). Then the twitchy zoom rocker is a story in and of itself. I also nearly always use the viewfinder and the HV20/30/40 viewfinder is more token than really usable. The focus dial is just plain incompetent thinking on Canon's behalf given the camera's other manual controls. I bought a focus adapter that you see on Ebay and even that doesn't really do the trick. Because the camera is quite small compared to the VX, I found it difficult to get a smooth, steady handheald shot compared to the VX. I quickly found myself sticking with the VX2000 just because if my video was shakey or didn't turn out because I wasn't able to get to the controls, it didn't matter if it was HD or not. I think the HV30 low-light, for general indoor shooting is actually quite good. It makes a great second small cam.

Now, that being said, if you really want to go to HD, give it a try. I've become much more proficient with the HV30 controls these days compared to at first. I just bought a Sticky Pod and can't wait to try the HV30 with some car shots! It's also great for more clandestine shots when a big cam would turn heads you don't want turned. I really like the built-in light for REALLY low light (i.e. cave) shots when it's a matter of hitting the button as opposed to digging out a dedicated light. As a general rule, Never, Never rely on the built-in mic. Always get an external cardioid mic w/an anti-shock mount (i.e. rubber band suspension). You can make one of these mounts for almost nothing (but use O-rings, not rubber bands). You'll get better audio and no noise. It's also worth noting that Canon tape transfer mechanism's generally don't seem to be very robust. You see a lot of posts on the HV20/30 forum relating to this. It was also the same with GL2's, etc, something you almost never read about with Sony cameras. Just changing tapes in a Canon it always sounds like the tape mechanism can barely do it's job. My VX has been all over the world with me in sand/dust/humidity/rain, etc, even got dunked underwater for a micro-second! It's never given me a burp. I wouldn't expect anywhere near the same durability of the HV30.

I picked up a JAG 35mm static adapter w/Canon 1.4 lens. I've had some fun with it. Did the flip hack myself. The images look good, dpeth of field is out of this world (look some up on You Tube).

In the end, I think saving some $$ and going with a FX1000/Z5 is a better move when funds become available. If you plan to 'trick it out' with all the doo-dads like some of the guys on the HV20/30/40 forum do, I would rather see you put your time/money into a FX1000. You will have a much better rig in the end w/o all the time/money spent. The Z5U (same thing, really) is AMAZING and the feature set is way above/beyond the Canon as you would expect.

Enjoy. Let us know what you think about the HV30 if you go that route.

Just an update: I spent more time using my Canon HV30 in a shoot in/around San Francisco. I used it as a second camera alongside a Sony Z5U HD cam. I gotta say I was really impressed with the Canon's picture. It lags in low light compared to the Z5 (mostly from gain), but it's not bad. I also used a Sennheiser MKE300 mic. Bottom line, I'd buy the HV30/40 over the VX2000 if you haven't already.

Another option, depending on what you want to do, is to consider a DSLR that shoots HD video. Something like a Nikon D90 is cheaper than a Canon 7D. This seems to be a popular way to get outstanding video these days.