Had an HV20 in my hands today...

[Charles Papert]

Today's Canon seminar at Birns and Sawyer featured the venerable XLH1 and A1 front and center, but a little honey of a newcomer quietly stole the show from off in the wings--one of the two rumored working HV20's in the U.S. Sadly, the breakout cable for component out was nowhere to be found so we didn't get to see the image on the 30" plasma that displayed the A1's excellent picture instead, but having an opportunity to handle the HV20 was worth the price of admission.

My first thought is that it is amazingly light. I think the horizontal form factor might lead one to think that it will have a tad more heft from its appearance, but it feels like a feather, and the right hand wraps comfortably around the body lending a nearly covert appearance to the meld of man and machine. It's light enough that the left hand is a bit confused what to do exactly--you can steady the camera by placing a few fingers on the LCD screen, but the camera is not big enough to require a lift from below. I think it would take a bit more experimentation to figure out the optimal hand position.

I'm not an immediate fan of the zoom rocker, unfortunately. It has been downsized to the same scale as the camera which makes it rather touchy to operate--the throw from one side to the other is minute. I'm sure with practice this would improve but it's not what I would call an intuitive interface. There is a set of zoom controls just under the screen which can be easily operated by the left hand, but this is a fixed speed zoom compared to the variable offered on the body.

Likewise, the teeny focus roller on the left side is not all that easy to use; a long rack (from close focus to background) would require so many go-rounds because of the short rotation of the control that it's all but impractical. However the autofocus is quite snappy and probably the way to work with this camera under most handheld circumstances.

Bear in mind that these are first impressions; it's entirely possible that I might have become adept at both of these mechanisms had I been able to spend more time playing with them.

I walked around a little bit and it seems like with about 15 minutes of practice, most shooters could get comfy enough with the feel to deliver good looking handheld footage. Between the optical stabilization and the light body, using an elbows-tucked in approach should deliver solid images without the fatigue typical of the larger handheld but non-shoulder mounted cameras like its big brothers, the HVX etc.

At a certain point I realized that I had forgotten that this camera delivers 1080 HD images, which was a bit stunning. If only we could have watched some of this played back (but of course the picture will be the same as the HV10), this may have hit home further.

I didn't have too much time to play around with the various shooting modes; those familiar with Canon's menus will adjust pretty quickly as the familiar icons pop up on the screen.

I think this camera will really kick ass in its class, and it's an astonishing feature set for the money. Looking forward to getting one!

[Chris Hurd]

I think this qualifies as the first U.S. user report... well done, Charles!

[Zack Birlew]

Did you try out the Cinema (24p) mode?

[Charles Papert]

Yes indeed, but on the little LCD it's not all that easy to judge the motion signature, and certainly not the color matrix etc. It really is a shame we didn't have the proper cable to connect to a monitor.

[Jim Martin]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

Yes indeed, but on the little LCD it's not all that easy to judge the motion signature, and certainly not the color matrix etc. It really is a shame we didn't have the proper cable to connect to a monitor.

Fine...I hated myself all weekend because of this.

[Dylan Couper]

Thanks for the report Charles!
Have you used the HD10? I'm wondering what the physical size difference is between them, is the HD20 more compact or about the same?

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by Jim Martin

Fine...I hated myself all weekend because of this.

Oh Jim, don't be a hater!

The way I figured it, it made for more of a "tease"...more to look forward to when the camera comes out. I've seen a bit of HD10 footage so I have a sense of what to expect but it was definitely a curiousity what it would have looked like in comparison to the A1 image on both monitors all morning!

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Thanks for the report Charles!
Have you used the HD10? I'm wondering what the physical size difference is between them, is the HD20 more compact or about the same?

Different--I think it might feel less compact in some ways, in that the HV10 is more "pocketable" i.e. skinny. I've had a vertical style DV camera (Sony PC3) for years and I was never too fond of the hand position that it forced one into; the HV20 feels more natural.

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Originally Posted by Jim Martin

Fine...I hated myself all weekend because of this.

I didn't get the impression that this was your fault.

[Jim Martin]

Originally Posted by Jeff DeMaagd

I didn't get the impression that this was your fault.

It was the thespian in me talking.........

[Yi Fong Yu]

as a pro, do you feel this cam has potential to capture pro-LIKE footages? obviously it's NOT a pro-cam, but it can retain a good chunk of the resolutions of pro-cams =D.

[Mike Teutsch]

Thanks for the report Charles. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these!!! It will go with me everywhere!

Mike

[Holly Rognan]

Originally Posted by Yi Fong Yu

as a pro, do you feel this cam has potential to capture pro-LIKE footages? obviously it's NOT a pro-cam, but it can retain a good chunk of the resolutions of pro-cams =D.

The HV10 packs a mighty punch and does indeed capture images that rival professional camcorders. It isn't a "pro" cam, but retains most functionality and will resolve enough detail to complement any HDV camcorder.

[Charles Papert]

True enough.

I think the old lines are blurring with every product launch. It used to be that you could simply judge a camera's abilities by size alone; anything less than a full-size Betacam-type body (i.e. 2/3") was going to deliver "amateur" images. That mentality is long gone. Now it's the "mini-handheld" size like the HV10/20 that are kicking it up a notch. As I hear folks around the internet buzzing about capturing out via HDMI and putting 35mm lens adaptors on the HV20, it's hard to imagine what is coming next.

To me the major functional issue with a camera this size comes in working the optical side of things; as I described above, zooming and focusing is a whole different animal than a manual-type lens. But of course this camera isn't really aimed at the same group of users, so this is to be expected. You can easily tame the handheld form factor by using a shoulder mount or handheld stabilizer, but without a LANC port there's not much you can do to expand out the zoom and focus control.

I think it would be entirely possible to shoot a short film with the HV20 and given the right techniques (composition, camera movement, lighting, all the usual stuff) end up with results that would have no-one guessing that it sprang forth from a camera that size. I'm almost tempted to try it...what it comes down to is if one is really committed to making projects that count, perhaps the additional investment into an A1 can be justified over a period of time. As Jim was pointing out on Saturday, the current pricing that Canon has set up for these cameras is really a steal.

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

............. As Jim was pointing out on Saturday, the current pricing that Canon has set up for these cameras is really a steal.

Please please don't tell Canon that! :)

Mike