Canon HG20 reviews – a significant upgrade of HG10 camcorder

Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 10:01
Digital Camera
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Canon has launched an immediate upgrade of its hard disk-recording HG10 camcorder. The upgrade comes in the form of a new model, the HG20. The HG20 has been launched aside HG21, the only difference being the HG21 has a double storage capacity of 120GB as compared to the storage capacity of 60GB of the HG20. The HG20 is barrel shaped and measures 80 × 77 × 138mm. It is styled in silver and black and weighs approximately 465g. Even though it is slightly weightier than HG10, it nevertheless feels comfortable in the hand.

In the new HG20, the user can record up to 22 hours of 1920 × 1080 Full HD movies. There is a fifth recording setting (MXP) in which HD movies are captured at 24 Mbps, the maximum possible data rate. The FXP setting captures 1920 × 1080 at 17Mbps can be used to make space for more filming time in one session. The lowest setting (LP) captures 1440 × 1080 at 5Mbps. The camcorder allows dual recording via HDD and SDHC memory card. The combination of a Canon HD Video Lens with 12X optical zoom, a 3.3-megapixel Canon Full HD CMOS sensor, plus the powerful DIGIC DV II processor powers the HG20.

The camcorder has a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD with a mini joystick on the side that can be used both for scrolling through menus and for manual focusing. The Super Range Optical Image Stabilizer takes care of the effects of camera shake. The camcorder sports 11 Program AE modes (including Sports, Snow, Spotlight and Fireworks). The digital effects include Auto Fade, Wipe, Black & White, Sepia and Art. The image effects comprise Low Sharpening and Soft Skin Detail. The camcorder carries ports for USB 2.0, AV, Component and HDMI. Ports for headphone and microphone are also present. The PIXELA ImageMixer 3 SE helps the user to manage, edit and share HD movies.

At a price tag of $1,081 the Canon – HG20 is a significant camcorder that is power packed with excellent features and is certainly a great improvement on its predecessor, the HG10.