First Look: Canon HG10

Posted on 2 Nov 2007 at 16:39

Following hot on the heels of the DVD based HR10 comes this high definition camcorder that stores video to an internal 40GB hard disk. Surprsingly it has a completely different look to the HR10, with the curves and bronze details replaced by gloss black sections and a more angular shape. It's smaller than the HR10 too, and at only 81x75x129mm it's the smallest HD camcorder we've seen.

Video is captured using the same lens and sensor as both the HR10, and the excellent HV20. The HG10 is based around the AVCHD format and so compresses video using the very efficient H.264 codec. This means you can get over five hours of footage on the hard disk at the highest quality setting.

Early testing shows that you will want to use the highest setting too, as video quality seems to be limited by the maximum data rate of 15Mbit/s. This compares poorly to the HV20's 25Mbit/s video, though that camcorder does use less efficient MPEG2 compression. Despite all this, we've seen some excellent results, with great colour balance and plenty of detail.

If you want to shoot video that will later be edited on a PC, then a hard disk camcorder like this is very convenient. Furthermore, enthusiasts will be overjoyed to hear that despite the camcorder's compact size, Canon have still found space for a powered accessory shoe and microphone input.

We're going to fully test the HG10 over the next few days, and we'll give our full verdict in the February issue of Computer Shopper.

Author: Seth Barton

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