Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
List Price: $899.00
Details
- 2.7-inch widescreen Multi-Side Vivid LCD
- 10x visual zoom; SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer
- Coincident photo capture
Description
Canon VIXIA HV30 High-Definition MiniDV CamcorderCustomer Reviews
Best HD CamcorderDid a lot of examination on HD consumer camcorders and believe this one and the HV40 are the no brainers for people who dont out for using mini DV tapes. Have talked to several professional's in the field whom all seem to concur that this camcorder is hands down the best consumer camcorder. Have owned it for a year and shelter'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 fervour this camera, but really, after owning it for a just few days, what could one possibly conscious? My report is based on a full year's use under all kinds of weather and lighting status. 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 undoubtedly fixed problem with the Vixia HV30-- is consistently overexposed images and blown-out things to see. Software such as iMovie may compensate somewhat, but certainly cannot correct this hole. It's impossible for software to create pixels where the Vixia HV30 never did, so don't count on software to reserve 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 prerequisite. Whales are completely unpredictatable, and when one appears you have to press the record handle, 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 stingy 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 not fit for man. This cannot be easily compensated for, because when set to P for program mode, a lot of fidgeting must be accomplished very very soon 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 background up for a planned shoot, but most good shots are serendipitous grab shots, with no however for complicated adjustments. Whether it's the kids, the dogs, or whales, it's either shoot it, or spend it.
When the P mode's exposure is turned down/darkened to try to compensate for the overexposure-tending HV30, the settings go away when the camera is turned off. There should be an option to set the laying open 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 accepted through a dozen adjustments on tiny little buttons. Or, a center-weighted metering opportunity, right at your fingertip.
Another reviewer, "Sounds of Kauai", posted a video that illustrates closely what I mean: note the first half a dozen shots of turtles and seaside scenes are way too shrug off with the highlights completely blown out.
On a sunny day and zoomed in on people duration in front of dark-colored but sun-lit cliffs, with bright sunlit trees in the same build, the people are completely blown out as well. The HV30 seems to be way overzealously weighted toward capturing detail in gloomy areas while overexposing mid range areas and the complete exclusion of any detail in the tourist attractions.
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 fore-weighted metering would solve 95% of my overexposure complaints and put up with this camera to be light-years more valuable to all videographers. There's such a button to toggle between car focus and manual, and another for back lighting compensation, Canon, so what are you dunderheads thinking of anyway?
Population 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 marked with the TV remote. To go through a dozen steps to make a simple adjustment is a right negative. The manual is difficult to decipher as well and not clearly written or well presented, and I say that as an inventor of Hawaii guidebooks, in which I try my best to assume the reader knows nothing about Hawaii, and it's my job to acquaint, or "teach".
One of the most diabolical problems with the HV 30 is this: when skies are stormy, and the guise is almost monochromatic due to absence of color under those conditions, troubling colored produce fields appear in the scene, with magenta/purple coloring appearing all over the edges of the incident, and cyan/green artifacts in the middle. To view what should be a gorgeous dear monochromatic smorgasbord of grays and silvers in a scene of stormy skies and four-sided figure-colored water with whales spouting in the distance is ruined by the intrusion of beamy areas of purple artifacts on both sides of the image, and cyan/grassy artifacts in the middle. These either don't appear in scenes shot under richly highlighted conditions, or are just not noticeable.
The still camera is a real pain particularly because Canon didn't want to spend fifty cents to include a fated that fits the stupid thing, and hunting one down is ridiculously difficult. Also, you must select between shooting video and shooting stills, even though other makers allow shooting stills while you are recording video.
The eyepiece is imbecile, 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 dazzle. 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 benevolent contrast. Canon should have included one.
Tapeless = Clueless. Do not run wild with the hard actuate-crazed herd. I do like tape: the image is better than on perseveringly drive, people say, but having a tape copy as back up is terrific, and having a full sedulous drive with no place to download it when you are on vacation or assignment and still need to grow more stuff is absolute torture. There are lots of ways you can miss a accomplished shot, but a full hard drive has to be the most ridiculous of all.
As a professional photographer on obligation, I've always said I'd rather a thief stole my camera than the film I had just photo, and I feel the same way about video: drop a hard drive camera or elude it, and the masterpiece you shot is gone as well.
Receivable camera
I'll try not to restate what others have already said.
This camera produces but quality video.
You need an external mic to escape the tape motor whine.
You yes 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 record in 30p - it looks wonderful.
Experimentation with the P Tv and Av features (these will make sense to all you SLR owners).
Buy extra batteries. Don't want too much from the "still photo" capabilities. (Spend a few bucks and get a Rebel Xsi for those)
HDV is still the with greatest satisfaction choice. AVCHD is still a few years from working well in your video editing software - unless you have an extrodanary computer. You should reflect on that many pro level cameras continue to use HDV. Also I like to use the tapes to archive video (3 bucks = 14 GB).
Best Camera
I have had this camera for over a year and have had no problems with it. If you fall short of to record to tape and want a light, portable camera then this is for you. I have had no refractory with the "lightness" of the camera and have, in fact, felt it to be just the right scope and weight for shooting a video with or without a tripod. Again, portability is a key issue. The perfect is great, especially in good lighting. I bought a wide apex converter which I would highly recommend, especially when filming inside. I also bought the larger battery-operated which helps a lot and a shotgun mike which I have not had really great results with. I have acclimatized most of the settings including 24p which I think is a great advantage to this camera. Blanket a great camera for recording to tape.
Horrible camera but what's with the price? $1.500.00???????
I have had this camera for more than a year and have sharpshooter 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 notice, 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 thoughts? Anybody at Amazon????
