Review:
I have been using camcorders since 1985 and I’ve used almost every possible format available to consumers. As of Oct. 2007, I can firmly say that this is by far the best camcorder ever, in terms of the picture quality, convenience, and the price. Although there are some limitations in the AVCHD format (I don’t want to repeat here again), the convenience of the hard drive made me choose the HG10 and I have absolutely no regret at all.

First of all, I would like to clarify other reviewer’s information that might misguide some folks. The HG10 does include the software to transfer and to edit the video footage for a PC. It comes with Ulead DVD MovieFactory SE for editing and burning DVDs and AVCHD-DVDs (can be playable on some blu-ray players and Playstation 3. It’s a dvd that has HD pictures). If other reviewers have only a Mac, their complaints are valid, since the HG10 only includes a picture browser to handle the still pictures, not video for a Mac.

For the most consumers like me, the DVD MovieFactory works pretty well. I just burned a standard DVD (yes, an MPEG2 DVD that you watch everyday) with the DVD MovieFactory and am very satisfied with the result. Converting HD pictures to the SD format does not degrade the original HD quality much and I was impressed by that. I added chapter marks, made menus, and did little editing. Editing the AVCHD format needs a ton of processing power. If you don’t have a fast computer (dual core, 2 ghz or faster), it will be extremely slow. I was using a Pentium 4 3.6 GHz, 2 gigs RAM, Windows Vista Business PC to make a DVD and it worked OK. Making an AVCHD-DVD is faster since it does not need to re-encode the video files. If you don’t do a complicate editing job and want to merge video clips from the HG10 and burn a DVD, you could use a slower computer for that purpose. I have experience using Adobe Premiere, Ulead VideoStudio, and iMovie (for Mac). Although DVD MovieFactory might not be the right tool for the professional work, it is quite good for a home use. I surprised my friends with the DVDs created from it. My only gripe is a complicated software activation process. You should read the software instructions carefully to avoid the hassle (specially the web link in the last page). I wasted 2 hours just to activate the software.

Yes, the HG10 does not have an IEEE1394 (or firewire, or iLink whatever you call it) port. However, it does not need one. All the footages are already stored in AVCHD format and you only need to transfer those files to your computer. If you have to capture the video and encode it to a file from the magnetic tape (MiniDV), you might need an IEEE1394 port. However, for the HG10, you don’t need to do that. If you look at other hard drive based camcorders, they don’t have it either (they mostly have a USB port). Right before the HG10, I used a Sony DCR-SR100 and it does not have a firewire port, either.

The HG10 has a mini HDMI (type C) port, so if you want to connect the HG10 via HDMI, you’ll need to order a mini-HDMI to HDMI (type C to type A) cable. The HG10 only includes a composite A/V cable and a component video cable. My minor complaint is that it does not come with a shoulder strap. This toy costs $1,000, so a nice looking shoulder strap should be given (I am using one from an old Canon ZR camcorder).

I was told that the HG10 uses the same optical mechanism as Canon HV20, which is known to be the best consumer HD camcorder on the market (it records in HDV format on tapes, not AVCHD on the hard drive). So I expected that the picture quality would be pretty good and I was right. If you have a full 1080p HD display, you will be amazed. Personally, I use a 720p projector at home and am quite impressed by the quality of the picture. Unlike Sony AVCHD camcorders, the sound is recorded in 2 channel Dolby Digital format (Sony records in 5.1 channel Dolby Digital). The good thing about 2 channel recording is that it does not record my breath. With 5.1 channel recording, you can easily hear your breathing sound, since two of the mics are catching rear sound.

For the low light performance (like indoor shot), the HG10 is comparatively better than any other consumer level camcorder on the market that I have seen. However, don’t expect too much. It cannot be compared to the low light quality of a $3,000 camcorder. My impression is that its low light picture quality is closest to a decent 3CCD high-priced consumer level camcorder.

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Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OI2Z2I?tag=dcmb-20

Review:
After reading many of the earlier reviews I took the plunge and purchased the Canon VIXIA HF200 flash memory camcorder. I upgraded from a Canon mini-DV camcorder because I had purchased my first HDTV from Amazon last Christmas. Of course, I needed an HD camcorder with my new HD television!

I use a Sonnet 21-in-1 multimedia reader&writer Express Card/34 and pop the SD card in to transfer the video clips to my MacBook Pro. Using iMovie ‘09, this works great. iMovie ‘09 recognizes it without flaw, and with this software I can choose the clips I want to download from the SD card to my laptop. I use iMovie ‘09 to organize my videos, and I make the initial selections of clips that I want in each project using iMovie ‘09. Then, I export to Apple’s Intermediate Codec and open this export file in iMovie HD. I prefer the timeline in Apple’s older version of iMovie. I also purchased Final Cut Express 4, but haven’t cracked that product yet, as it’s much more complicated than what I’m used to in iMovie. So, for now, I’m bringing video clips in with the latest version of iMovie, then downconverting and editing in iMovie HD; this works great. I’ll eventually learn Final Cut Express and move forward in my video editing hobby. I share all of this because I didn’t realize until I read in David Pogue’s Missing Manual book (iMovie ‘09 and iDVD) that I could still use iMovie HD with a flash memory video camera and the AVCHD codec. I’m glad to have discovered this.

As others have said, getting AVCHD encoded video clips into a computer takes LONGER than real-time because of the converting that must take place. My mode of operation with a Canon mini-DV camcorder was to fill a 60-minute tape, then transfer it to the laptop when convenient. I would get it started and come back 60 minutes later to 60-minutes of video ready to edit. Now, I come back 90 minutes later instead. Transfer seems to take about 1.5 times the length of the clips, give or take. For me, this is not a problem when I use my usual transfer and edit process.

If you’re looking for instantaneous transfer of files in useable form, though, flash memory won’t give it to you — at least with this camera. Others have stated, and I found directions in David Pogue’s book stating that it’s possible to transfer the files to the computer’s hard drive for LATER conversion to useable form for editing. I haven’t done this yet, and I would be nervous about deleting the clips from my flash memory card until I had them converted, could see them, and had them backed up on another hard drive. That’s when I clear the flash card and re-use it for new video clips. I’ve had too many lost data situations in the past and I guess I’m a bit overly cautious when I have once-in-a-lifetime video that I don’t want to lose. I believe in multiple copies of precious data, video data included. I get around this limitation by having two 16 Gb flash memory cards which, in best mode on this camera, gives me about 1.5 hours of video per card. I have yet to fill one before transferring video.

I also have multiple firewire and/or USB hard drives which I use for backing up video. If I take a long trip I’ll just buy a handful of SD chips, along with the two batteries I already own, and shoot away. Each evening it’s my practice to download to hard drive anyway, back that up to an external drive, and this seems to work for most situations. It’s less expensive to do this with mini-DV tapes (which provide one backup source), but when precious video is involved I don’t mind paying for a few extra 16 Gb chips. They’re pretty inexpensive on Amazon.com.

I recommend this camera if your habits fit mine, or if you’re looking for great-looking video on an HDTV. I have a lot to learn about this camera to get the most out of it, including the editing process. It will serve me for many years to come, as did my Canon mini-DV standard-definition camera.