Canon HG10 Expert Reviews

The Canon HG10 AVCHD Format Hard Disk Drive Camcorder delivers high definition technology with the effortless ease of recording video directly onto a

The Canon HG10, the hard drive-based, AVCHD-compatible camcorder, takes some chances. For starters, it has one of the most comfortable zoom switches in its class. Plus, upping its low-light performance, both focus and video quality, means it goes ...

Excellent image stabilisation ; generally great video quality

Poor audio control ; smallish EVF ; some annoying ergonomics ; no manual focus dial

There's no doubt about it -- the Canon HG10 takes sharp, well-exposed photos and HD videos. Unfortunately, its poor design and audio control make it hard to recommend above its competitors

Good quality optics and lots of storage, but not the most portable of camcorders

Those same users will also be pleased to find both an external microphone and headphone socket, allowing for more advanced sound recording. However, half the camcorders on test here have a microphone socket, so it doesn't give it much of an advantage

Whether you're in the market for a new camcorder for that trip of a lifetime or are a newcomer thinking of getting into video blogging, there's plenty of choice when it comes to how (and in which format) you record your home movies.

Generous 40GB hard disk storage is more than enough, viewfinder is handy when LCD visibility suffers in sunlight, robust build and reliable performer

Too large to be pocketed, awkward positioning of some controls, stills committed to removable card only (which costs extra), auto focus sometimes hunts

More positively, you can further enhance the look of your footage by selecting the built-in cinema mode, which, combined with its 25fps (frames per second) progressive frame rate, lends your digital images a film-like feel. Footage displays ...

Canon's robust HG10 camcorder offers support for microSD and includes a 40GB hard drive that allows for up to 15 hours of full HD 1,080i video.

Despite minor gripes, the HG10 offers solid performance at a reasonable price. And that's enough for us to recommend the Canon HG10.

This camcorder is one of the latest versions that record to an internal hard drive, thus increasing the capacity vastly over other storage methods. It can of course also record still images onto an SD card.

The optical zoom is 10x and should you believe in it up to 200x digital zoom. In still image mode you can choose from 2048x1536, 1920x1080, 1440x1080, 848x480 and 640x480

At first glance, the HG10 might look rather out-of-place in this line-up, but it has several features that could make it suitable if your HD video-production needs are modest and occasional.

Low cost. Professional features. Small. Light. Impressive video quality for price.

Noticeable compression artefacts. Poor support from Adobe's applications.

The HG10's sister product, the HV20, has become the entry-level HDV camcorder of choice, and its HV30 successor looks set to continue that. The HG10 is essentially a tapeless version. If you need to record hours of HD video for test shoots, it's a ...

It's a camcorder, but without tapes

With a bright and clear screen and viewfinder, the HG10 handles like a dream

In the past couple of years, Canon has held back from new camcorder formats, but that hasn't prevented it from producing some splendid products. Canon's HV20 (web ID: 125305) is currently the best sub--1,500 HDV camcorder on the market and the HG10 - ...

Canon gets it right with its first hard-disk-based camcorder.

It's a camcorder, but without tapes