Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
List Price: $899.00
Details
- 10x visual zoom; SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer
- Contemporaneous photo capture
- Apprehension high-defintion video to MiniDV
Description
Canon VIXIA HV30 Elevated-Definition MiniDV CamcorderCustomer Reviews
Tremendous HD CamcorderDid a lot of experimentation on HD consumer camcorders and believe this one and the HV40 are the no brainers for people who dont wavering be decided using mini DV tapes. Have talked to several professional's in the field whom all seem to correspond that this camcorder is hands down the best consumer camcorder. Have owned it for a year and safe haven't had any problems. The picture is great and seems to do well in low light also.
If You Like Overexposed Video, Buy This Camera
Others seem to delight this camera, but really, after owning it for a just few days, what could one possibly understand? My report is based on a full year's use under all kinds of weather and lighting position. There is no in-between rating option, but I actually give the Canon Vixia HV30 two and a half stars.
A huge and unforgivable --and without even trying fixed problem with the Vixia HV30-- is consistently overexposed images and blown-out places of interest. Software such as iMovie may compensate somewhat, but certainly cannot correct this stain. It's impossible for software to create pixels where the Vixia HV30 never did, so don't count on software to set free your images --because you shouldn't have to.
Much of my dissatisfaction comes from shooting video of whales from my yard in Hawaii under every imaginable lighting environment. Whales are completely unpredictatable, and when one appears you have to press the record knob, or else lose the shot. There is no time for adjustments.
Under average-scene lightheartedly-lit conditions the camera performs well, but in bright sunny conditions, and anywhere coming the water it fails with horribly blown-out highlights and by consistently overexposing the full scene no matter what the weather: sunny, overcast, or gray and beast. This cannot be easily compensated for, because when set to P for program mode, a lot of fidgeting must be accomplished very despatch before this exposure compensation option disappears from your screen, and you have to start the steps all over again, faster. Very frustrating. This would be bad enough when mounting up for a planned shoot, but most good shots are serendipitous grab shots, with no ease for complicated adjustments. Whether it's the kids, the dogs, or whales, it's either shoot it, or use up it.
When the P mode's exposure is turned down/darkened to try to compensate for the overexposure-lying down HV30, the settings go away when the camera is turned off. There should be an option to set the baring where we want and leave it there until we want to change it. Or as in the Canon xti, a dial that allows you to instantly dial it down without first growing through a dozen adjustments on tiny little buttons. Or, a center-weighted metering privilege, right at your fingertip.
Another reviewer, "Sounds of Kauai", posted a video that illustrates correctly what I mean: note the first half a dozen shots of turtles and seaside scenes are way too endurable with the highlights completely blown out.
On a sunny day and zoomed in on people normal in front of dark-colored but sun-lit cliffs, with bright sunlit trees in the same box in, the people are completely blown out as well. The HV30 seems to be way overzealously weighted toward capturing detail in murk areas while overexposing mid range areas and the complete exclusion of any detail in the places of interest.
Why does the still camera function allow for adjusting the meter from an averaging meter to fore-weighted metering, but not the video? How crazy is that? Flipping a switch to forefront-weighted metering would solve 95% of my overexposure complaints and assign this camera to be light-years more valuable to all videographers. There's such a button to toggle between van focus and manual, and another for back lighting compensation, Canon, so what are you dunderheads thinking of anyway?
Residents who have trouble with the TV remote will bristle at the unintuitive function menu, which after a year still trips me up. And I'm critical with the TV remote. To go through a dozen steps to make a simple adjustment is a existent negative. The manual is difficult to decipher as well and not clearly written or well presented, and I say that as an creator of Hawaii guidebooks, in which I try my best to assume the reader knows nothing about Hawaii, and it's my job to report, or "teach".
One of the most diabolical problems with the HV 30 is this: when skies are stormy, and the embodiment is almost monochromatic due to absence of color under those conditions, troubling colored effect fields appear in the scene, with magenta/purple coloring appearing all over the edges of the whereabouts, and cyan/green artifacts in the middle. To view what should be a gorgeous mellifluous monochromatic smorgasbord of grays and silvers in a scene of stormy skies and parallelogram-colored water with whales spouting in the distance is ruined by the intrusion of good areas of purple artifacts on both sides of the image, and cyan/country-like artifacts in the middle. These either don't appear in scenes shot under richly dyed conditions, or are just not noticeable.
The still camera is a real pain basically because Canon didn't want to spend fifty cents to include a union card that fits the stupid thing, and hunting one down is ridiculously difficult. Also, you must on between shooting video and shooting stills, even though other makers allow shooting stills while you are recording video.
The eyepiece is nonsensical, with no cup or sun shield, so when the sun is bright and at either side, or low in front, you cannot see through the viewfinder, much less the little monitor. You're shooting conceal. This is an egregious flaw, easily remedied by Canon, so to have this problem not change, patently, from the HV20 to the HV30 to the HV40 in unforgivable.
Errant sun also can destroy the contrast in your images, so invest in a lens hood; I found one on eBay for $12, valuable for just a piece of plastic, but priceless for improved colors and flattering contrast. Canon should have included one.
Tapeless = Clueless. Do not run wild with the hard refer to-crazed herd. I do like tape: the image is better than on steadfastly drive, people say, but having a tape copy as back up is terrific, and having a full searching drive with no place to download it when you are on vacation or assignment and still need to fill more stuff is absolute torture. There are lots of ways you can miss a basic shot, but a full hard drive has to be the most ridiculous of all.
As a professional photographer on homework, I've always said I'd rather a thief stole my camera than the film I had just like greased lightning, and I feel the same way about video: drop a hard drive camera or suffer the loss of it, and the masterpiece you shot is gone as well.
Famous camera
I'll try not to restate what others have already said.
This camera produces omit quality video.
You need an external mic to escape the tape motor whine.
You unreservedly need the Canon WD-H43 Wide angle converter.
I dislike the eyepiece (or require thereof).
There is no image stabalization to speak of (I only use zoom from a tripod anyway).
I put in 30p - it looks wonderful.
Experiment with the P Tv and Av features (these will make sense to all you SLR owners).
Buy notably batteries. Don't expect too much from the "still photo" capabilities. (Spend a few bucks and get a Nonconformist Xsi for those)
HDV is still the best choice. AVCHD is still a few years from working well in your video editing software - unless you have an extrodanary computer. You should rate that many pro level cameras continue to use HDV. Also I like to use the tapes to archive video (3 bucks = 14 GB).
Prodigious Camera
I have had this camera for over a year and have had no problems with it. If you wish for to record to tape and want a light, portable camera then this is for you. I have had no problem with the "lightness" of the camera and have, in act, felt it to be just the right size and weight for shooting a video with or without a tripod. Again, portability is a key matter. The picture is great, especially in good lighting. I bought a ample angle converter which I would highly recommend, especially when filming privy. I also bought the larger battery which helps a lot and a shotgun mike which I have not had in reality great results with. I have used most of the settings including 24p which I think is a weighty advantage to this camera. Overall a great camera for recording to strap.
Eximious camera but what's with the price? $1.500.00???????
I have had this camera for more than a year and have shooting a lot of video. I was looking to pick up another as a backup for when I am traveling and saw the price of $599.99 here on Amazon, about what I paid for mine a year ago. But when you click on the piece, it comes up with a proce of $1,499.99! What's with that? If true, I should have invested all my money in HV30's.......
Anybody have any imaginings? Anybody at Amazon????
