Canon HV30 still worth getting?

[Ross Simpson]

Sorry, this is my first post here so go easy on me chaps!

I've been delaying getting myself a camcorder for years now, and I can't see myself having £2k to spend on a Z1, which I initially wanted.

So... I think i've settled on the HV30. The only thing that's putting me off are the scare stories of wobble, lots of ghosting etc.

Now... I've read these and it's got me worried, yet I've seen amazing things filmed also... White Red Panic being one. Are there proper ways to eliminate ghosting? Do you have to film everything on a tripod and keep everything still, realistically, to rid your shots of ghosting? Does removing pull down cure this?

I know these questions have been answered before but sometimes I read that it's fine, then someone comes along and says the ghosting is bad etc.

If someone could basically tell me if the HV30 is still worth getting not only as a first camera, but as something to make proper short films with too.

Thanks guys!

[Chris Barcellos]

I shoot the HV20 right along with my FX1. In most situations the HV20 can match the FX1.

There are situations where you will experience some issues, but you learn, like any other piece of equipment, what you can and can't do with it.

My film located here was shot with the HV20:


UWOL X FIlms

[Joel Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Ross Simpson

If someone could basically tell me if the HV30 is still worth getting not only as a first camera, but as something to make proper short films with too.

Thanks guys!

I've only had HV30's for a few months but I can definitely vouch for the quality of the image. I match it up with Canon's A1 and I'm continually amazed at how the 30 holds up. You probably know this but many use 35mm lens adapters with the 30 that can go a long way towards improving the look. For short films where you have control of your lighting it would be wonderful as long as you acquaint yourself with the workarounds to eliminate any gain. I simply put a flash card in which allows you to check the iris setting with a press of the photo button while you change the exposure. As you open the iris you want to stop at the point the fstop doesn't open any further. At that point the camera is dipping into the gain to brighten the image. Its only then that the image will begin showing noise. The 30's noise isn't pretty.

Shot this yesterday. Just a few shots needed color correction for a blue cast when the shot was all in the shade.

~ Halloween 2008 ~

[Tom Hardwick]

Originally Posted by Ross Simpson

I think i've settled on the HV30. The only thing that's putting me off are the scare stories of wobble, lots of ghosting etc.Are there proper ways to eliminate ghosting? Do you have to film everything on a tripod and keep everything still, realistically, to rid your shots of ghosting? Does removing pull down cure this?If someone could basically tell me if the HV30 is still worth getting not only as a first camera, but as something to make proper short films with too.Thanks guys!

Ross - go ahead and buy with confidence. OK, you could have four HV30s for the price of a Z1 and this should tell you quite a bit about the capability differences, but by no means does this say that the Sony produces films that are 4x better.

Remember there are no professional camcorders - only professional people. Forget the wobble, pull-down and ghosting stories and get out there and film. A tripod will double your picture sharpness at a stroke, but if this leads to yawn-a-mile movies, forget it.

Tape still has a huge following, and Sony's new Z5 (not even introduced till next month) is tape driven. Tape is 13 gb/£ whereas as SDHC card is ½ gig/£, so archiving on tape is very sensible. Not only that but HDV is easy for computers to edit.

The Canon's performance belies its price in my view. It does have its limitations but a lot of that has to do with the picnic-cam styling and dinkiness of the thing. Yes, it's certainly worth getting as a first camera and yes, you can make proper films on it. But then again if you're a filmmaker you can make proper films on practically any camcorder.

tom.

[Bill Pryor]

The original poster might want to read the reviews of the tapeless Canon HF10, HF11 and the HV30. The bottom line of the very exhaustive reviews is that if you want to make a movie, the HV30 is the way to go in cameras of this category.

[Bill Mecca]

I recently (in the past few weeks) purchased and HV30 from B&H and love it! I haven't had much time to work with it as the day job is hectic at the moment. What I have shot has mostly been on auto and I am impressed with the picture quality, and ease of use.

I'm not one to spend money foolishly, I do have a wife and 4 kids to support after all, so I thought long and hard and did as much research as I could. I'm a bit old school and prefer tape. It's an automatic backup. I know HD space is cheap, but I can rationalize $3 for a tape more than a couple hundred for a hard drive just for backup of my original footage (is that term even "proper" in this digital age??)

What I did shoot recently was completely hand held, basically on auto. I forced SD export and edited in Vegas 6, the quality took a hit on the export and then flash conversion, but believe me the original video is stellar quality. (I wasn't sure if my pc was up to HD, I later found out it is after getting Vegas 8).

It's the Batsto County Living Fair video at losttownsvideo.com not much of a video, but it is what it is.

[Joel Peregrine]

Hi Ross,

If you haven't bought one yet I'm looking for one more HV30 and found this deal:

Canon HV30 MiniDV 1080p HD Camcorder $617 - dealmac.com

[Mark Steele]

Originally Posted by Joel Peregrine

Hi Ross,

If you haven't bought one yet I'm looking for one more HV30 and found this deal:

Canon HV30 MiniDV 1080p HD Camcorder $617 - dealmac.com

Even better deal at amazon -
Amazon.com: Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder $601 with free shipping

[Matt Buys]

Yes. For the same cost of a z1 you can get 2 HV30's, a letus, a merlin, and some decent sticks and lights for low light. The return in production value will be much higher.

[Richard Hunter]

Originally Posted by Matt Buys

Yes. For the same cost of a z1 you can get 2 HV30's, a letus, a merlin, and some decent sticks and lights for low light. The return in production value will be much higher.

That may be true, but it also depends on what you use your camera for. e.g. for event work where you don't have much control over light conditions, the Z1 is very solid and is a lot more contrallable hence more versatile than the HV30. And of course with the Z1 there is no rolling shutter problem which is always an issue when photographers' flashguns go off.

Having said that, I would agree that the HV30 is a remarkable cam at its price point and is capable of very good results.

Richard

[Matt Buys]

I think Richard has some excellent points. Z1 is far more customizable and much better in low light. With HV30 you have to bring lights and Richard is absolutely right about it being a poor choice for weddings where flash photography is popping.

When I'm doing shots with a lot of action and running an HV30 on a merlin I notice about 5-10% of my shots suffer from skewing.

It's wierd. With waterproof housing, I've cliff-dived with them and the shots look fine flying through the air. No skewing at all until you hit the water. But if I'm walking behind my kids and pan a little too fast it's there. But if you're on a budget, I'd say don't be afraid of the HV30. I was apart of a documentary that won two film festivals that was shot entirely on HV20's and 30's that were up against films shot on, well, film. Much less a Z1.

[Mark Cinense]

bh has them for $600 now. Would you use this camera for wedding videos or DVD brochures? I assume that it will be fine for web videos and what not, but I am seriously considering the HF11 instead.

[Matt Buys]

Neither the HF11 or HV30 would be great for weddings. Like Richard pointed out, the HV30 would have some problems when flashes occur and they'would be grainy without the proper lighting which is hard to do running and gunning at a wedding. For weddings I always borrow my neighbors old Xl-1 and shoot in SD. You might consider a used one, unless you're bent on HD.

[Terry Lee]

I've heard alot of skepticism about CMOS sensors and am wondering if anyone has any comments on 3CCD VS CMOS in this respect.

Thanks
Terry.

[Mike Gunter]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

I've heard alot of skepticism about CMOS sensors and am wondering if anyone has any comments on 3CCD VS CMOS in this respect.

Hi,

They are different and have different characteristics. Whether that will have a significant impact upon your work is another thing.

CMOS technology reduces smear and increases battery life at the cost of a rolling shutter and skew for moving objects.

If your work is in an environment that is bombarded with flashes (constantly) or you do a lot of work dingy florescent lighting say in a factory where you have little to say about the ballast, you might want to use CCDs.

Mike