Canon VIXIA HV30

[Anonymous]

Anyone have any experience with aCanon HV30 that you could share? Good camera for doing nature video?

Thanks,

Nick

[Ian]

Hi Nick

I have a Canon HV20 which as I understand it is similar to the HV30 except the HV30 is the successor model and has a better zoom control and a few additional, mainly cosmeticfeatures, but uses the same optics and sensor.

I would have to say that the HV20 is a great camera. All my previous cameras have been SD and 3 CCD, including a CanonGL2and the HV20 gives equally as good colour in the images, albeit that the lighting needs to be reasonable. I took it on a recent overseas trip to Alaska and I am very happy at the quality of the outdoor footage. Detail is great at 1080i. I have not tried it at 1080p.

I would have liked to purchase a Canon XH-A1 but the image quality difference, compared to the price difference, did not seem to be cost effective. Also the portabilityof the HV20 is great. I recommendyou also purchase a lightweight tripod as the “lightness” of the camera makes it a little more difficult to hand hold steady, although the optical image stabilizer works well. Suggest you have a look at: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HV30-Camcorder-Review-34401.htm

Also it is, in my view,a good decision to stick with tape, at least in the meanwhile, ashow else can you store an infinite amount of footage?

Cheers

[Anonymous]

iankinnz

Great response and very helpful. I notice both cameras (HV20 and HV30)can shoot footage in 24p,and I believe the HV30 also shoots in 30p. Have you filmed in 24p and did you notice much difference in the look of your video? They say it is suppose to make the video look more like film as one would expect to see in a commerical movie.

Thanks, Nick

[Ian]

I live in a PAL country so our 1080p is25p and I have not really tried it out yet. I believe it is a good idea if you want to transfer your footage to film, or capture individual frames to print out as a photo, but all the footage I have taken (about 10hrs) has been at 1080i.

Cheers Ian

[PadawanGeek]

I have an HV30 and it is just AMAZING for nature video. If you want the sounds of nature too, be sure to get a shotgun mic and a deadcat so that you can take advantae of the mic in on the HV30 for clear sound.

[Author]

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