HV30 first impressions - May 2, 2008

[Robert Petersen]

I just received a Vixia HV30 yesterday from B&H. The camera is very small (I'm accoustomed to a GL-1 and a PDX10). I tried a few test shots in full automatic and also shot some clips in 30p at 1/1000 of a second on a gloomy and rainy day.
I am very impressed with the image quality. It looks very good on a 56" HD Samsung DLP TV and also on a 26" HD Westinghouse LCD TV. The video shot at 1/1000 shutter speed must have pushed the gain quite high, but I felt the image was still pretty good.
The audio over the HDMI cable is getting a weird echo on the Samsung TV but not on the Westinghouse. I'll have to research that more to try to determine the cause.
I'm really missing the Lanc connection. The absence of Lanc is a major drawback to this otherwise very good camcorder.

Added: The echo cleared up when I changed the HDMI cable. This was odd.

[Alan Zenreich]

I don't think the echo ia an HDMI issue.

I'm wondering if the echo you heard was because you had the LCD screen open and you were hearing the camera's speaker in addition to the TV's audio.

[Robert Petersen]

you might be right. I have been closing the screen, but it may not have been completely closed, as the camera was sitting on a table and I didn't check it closely. Anyway, the issue is gone.

[Taky Cheung]

Robert! How much did you pay for your HV30 from B&H? They were running a special for the NAB Show selling at $649.

There is a workaround for the missing LANC using the remote control and a TOSlink cable. Check this out

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=94890

If you will get a wide angle lens adapter for HV30 such as the Canon WD-H43 or the Raynox 6600, you can buy the lens hood from Canon XH-A1 to be used in HV30.

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=100952

[Robert Petersen]

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

Robert! How much did you pay for your HV30 from B&H? They were running a special for the NAB Show selling at $649.


http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=100952

I bought it at the NAB price. I checked the NAB price link the next day and the price had gone up. I ordered it while it was still out of stock, but it shipped very quickly. I have always been very happy with B&H.
Thanks for the other links.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Robert Petersen

I tried a few test shots in full automatic and also shot some clips in 30p at 1/1000 of a second on a gloomy and rainy day.

Use 1/60th -- no higher -- for 30p ESPECIALLY on a dark day. You likely forced the iris wide open.

[Robert Petersen]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

Use 1/60th -- no higher -- for 30p ESPECIALLY on a dark day. You likely forced the iris wide open.

I agree that for normal video, 1/60th would be the the maximum shutter speed used for 30p, but I deliberately shot at high shutter speeds to catch the rain. At 1/30th or 1/60th you don't see the rain drops; at 1/500th or 1/1000th you see the drops as short moving streaks for a very interesting effect. The point of my original post was to state that the camera did a very respectable job with poor lighting conditions.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Robert,

Congratulations on you new HV30! Hope you had a chance to play around with it a bit more.

When you bought your HV30 from B&H did you get the "Master-Works DVD" with it (as advertised on their site)? If so, how is that dvd; as far as showing how to operate the cam, functions, tips, etc.?

Finally convinced the wife that we should buy a second cam to supplement our XL2 (plus a smaller cam is less obtrusive in certain situations), and I've just begun to shop around for some prices and deals. Even though the NAB price from B&H was attractive, their present price is still pretty good.

Best,

[Robert Petersen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Anselmo

Hi Robert,

When you bought your HV30 from B&H did you get the "Master-Works DVD" with it (as advertised on their site)? If so, how is that dvd; as far as showing how to operate the cam, functions, tips, etc.?

Best,

I did not get the Master-Works DVD with the camcorder.

Here are the pros and cons from my perspective . . .

Pros:
Excellent image, much better than my GL-1 and PDX10, but you can't make any rapid pans with HDV. I made a short video of our local "Relay for Life" event and showed it with a high definition projector. I had numerous people comment on how impressive the video looked.
Colors are crisp and well balanced for a single chip camcorder; I don't see any color smear or spill. (viewed on a Samsung 56" DLP 1080p rated TV)
Much less Chromatic Aberation than I have seen in sample video from the Canon XH-A1.
The image has very fine detail; the resolution is excellent.
Instant Auto-focus works very well. I haven't experimented with manual focus yet. Note that it does have a focus assist when in manual mode.

Cons:
No Lanc terminal. I have a Manfroto Lanc controller that I wish I could use to control this camcorder.
Small size is more difficult to hold steady (handheld) than a larger camcorder.
Suffers from the "jello effect" if you try to walk with it handheld. This is pretty common for CMOS camcorders. I recommend not walking with it unless you have a steadycam system. I did shoot some video from a moving car with the optical image stabilizer turned on and the camera on a tripod; it looked okay.
The small zoom control lever is not easy to operate. It takes practice to do slow zooms consistently.


I purchased the Impact high capacity battery with it and the Impact car/home battery charger. I definitely recommend the higher capacity battery. I also purchased a Panasonic DVMCL cleaning cassette which will eventually be needed to clean the heads; I haven't needed it yet. I'm using the Maxell DVM60SE cassettes with no dropouts so far (8 for under $20 if you look - I had them on hand from my DV camcorders). If you get a tripod, some tripod mounting plates make it very difficult to get to the battery release button. I purchased a Velbon Videomate 607 from B&H for this camcorder; It is a very nice moderately priced tripod, but the mounting plate is a little too large making battery access difficult. This may not be a problem if you use the high capacity battery.

For the price, I am very pleased with the camcorder. Eventually, I will purchase one of the new Canon Prosumer camcorders, or the very impressive Sony EX1. Then, this camcorder will be used for B-roll and in instances where a large camcorder would be a problem.

[Taky Cheung]

There is a hack for to route a TOSlink cable from the remote control to use it as a LANC controller (sort of)

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=94890

Which High capacity battery you are talking about? Is it BP-2L24H ? or is there other higher capacity one?

[John Hotze]

Just a heads up on the battery release problem. I carry a small screw driver in my bag now but I also just tested releasing the battery with my car key and it worked fine. You may have to tilt the battery just a little to remove it if there is an obstrucion just below the battery.

[Robert Petersen]

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

There is a hack for to route a TOSlink cable from the remote control to use it as a LANC controller (sort of)

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=94890

Which High capacity battery you are talking about? Is it BP-2L24H ? or is there other higher capacity one?

1. I've seen the TOSlink option for remote control, but love my manfroto remote, and wish I could use it.

2. Batteries are the Impact Brand MNB2L22 and I use the Small AC/DC charger from Impact. Both are available from B&H. The battery is the same capacity as Canon's BP-2L24H, but at half the cost. So far it has worked well.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Thanks Robert for the useful info!

We're definitely planning in purchasing the HV30; prolly in the next month (I hope :) And B&H certainly has one of the better prices I've seen so far.

Got a chance to check out the cam at a local box store, and my I was really impressed (first impression); small form factor, smallish buttons (good thing I don't have sausage fingers :). I did try the manual focus, and that was disappointing (but what can you expect from a consumer cam?) I didn't bring a miniDV tape, so I dont' know how my "footage" would look. But seeing other users footage posted on vimeo, I'm truly sold.

What is your post prod workflow with the HV30 like?

Best,

[Robert Petersen]

I posted some video shot in 30p mode on the Vixia HV30.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=125519