Canon HG10 review

Not only was 2007 the year in which consumer camcorders went high definition, but the MPEG 4-based AVCHD compression format, which allows HD footage to be saved to hard disk rather than tape, found itself in the spotlight as a result of the efforts of Canon, Sony and Panasonic.

Canon's latest tapeless HD camcorder is built around a fabulous 1/2.7 inch CMOS image sensor producing 2.9 megapixel resolution. (If you're wondering about that bizarre decimal fraction, it's quoted that way so you can see it's bigger than 1/3 inch and smaller than 1/2.) Unlike many consumer models, the HG10 offers great manual controls and a full range of recording and playback options combined with 25 frame progressive scan and Cinema modes. Its 40GB hard disk, protected by 'G-sensor' auto-shutdown if you drop the camera, will hold 5.5 hours of full HD recording at the highest quality and around 15 hours at the most highly compressed.

Besides shooting video, you can take stills up to 2048x1536 pixels in a choice of three quality settings. Your pics are saved to a mini-SD card, which you'll have to supply yourself. The good-quality lens provides 10x optical zoom, and full menu and operation controls are mounted around the generous 2.7 inch LCD screen. There's even a colour viewfinder, an all-too-rare feature that's handy when you don't want to use the LCD.

Both movies and stills are transferred to your PC (or Mac) via USB. Check that your video editing software can work with AVCHD. You can also play clips and images straight to a TV or computer screen via connections that include compo-site, component and HDMI. As well as the option of adding a microphone on the hot shoe, the HG10 will accept an external microphone input. TheAV-out socket can be switched to let you monitor sound using stereo headphones during recording.

Results from the HG10 are stunning. Colour, contrast and resolution are excellent, and this cam doesn't suffer from noise (digital grain) in low light to the same degree as its major rivals. Not only is the Canon a joy to use, but it produces high definition pictures and sound that are head and shoulders above the competition.