Canon Vixia HF20 Camcorder Review
Camcorders — By Ricky on May 31, 2009 at 2:27 am
If you are looking at buying a camcorder to cherish sweet memories for a longer period of time, it is important that you make an intelligent decision, lest you would realize that somewhere down the lane you have chosen the wrong machine.
The new Cannon HF20 comes from a highly praised Award winning pedigree. It is hard to imagine that something so small can pack in a good amount of technology. There are many camcorders heading in the same direction, however there are very few of them which are as impressive as Cannon HF20. It’s the perfect lightweight consumer shooter for those looking to make impressive video and shoot HD. It is being marketed as a less expensive alternative to the Canon HF11 which was the winner of numerous accolades, and also known as the 2008 camcorder of the year. In order to make a cheaper model Canon also had to make significant cutbacks—most of which are evident based on the HF20’s diminished video performance. Cannon has also come up with even more of a budget option, with the introduction of Canon HF200 which is identical to the HF20 except it records solely to SD/SDHC cards and doesn’t contain any internal memory.
The Cannon HF20 is slightly smaller then it twin brother HF S10 and HF S100 but these models offer a longer 15x zoom lens and smaller, lower resolution 4-megapixel sensor. They retain the same features set as those models but do not include features like a manual control dial, zebra stripes, and color bars, or a pop-up flash. These models are definitely superior then their older versions. However they are more expensive than their competitors like Sony Handycam, HDR-CX100, and Panasonic HDC-TM20/SD20. There are many users who prefer essential features regardless of the camcorder size like an accessory shoe, microphone input, and headphone jack etc. Cannon generally provides these features. However like most of the new models available in the market the HF20 and HF200 lack an eye-level EVF.
The Cannon HF20 looks like a very big new cell phone, rather than a lightweight HD shooter. It weighs in at a whimpering 12 ounces, and stands at 2.8-inch-by-2.4-inch-by-4.9-inch dimensions which means that this one is easy to carry. The hand strap is large and comfortable, but due to some awkward construction on the camcorder’s right side, it can be a bit difficult to get a good grip on the camcorder. However the HF20 provides a relatively comfortable shooting experience with 15x HD video lens and 3.89-megapixel HD CMOS image sensor. This CMOS sensor prevents quality reduction from video noise and shooting in low lighting conditions however, the camcorder does not have an electronic viewfinder.
The function key provides a complete range of frequently used functions along with image effects, digital effects, video quality, and still-photo size, program etc. It also includes other high-end features accessible via the menus include three fixed or variable zoom speed and x.v.Color mode. This camcorder also offers real shutter- and aperture-priority shooting modes with a shutter speed range of 1/8 to 1/2,000 second and aperture options ranging from f1.8 to f8, which gives more control over depth of field in comparison to other compact models.
Piloting down on the joystick when you shoot you have a fly up menu which prompts to choose various options such as the video light, digital effects, 3-second prerecord, backlight and exposure compensation, manual focus, mic level, face detection etc. The menu system has been perfectly updated to choose the font size however the 2.7-inch color LCD screen makes the small fonts look pixelated and would be hard for some to read. It has been noticed that you can’t trust it for making exposure or white balance adjustment as the recordings on the LCD looks far more contrasting and blown out then the actual video.
The HF 20 and HF200 incorporates the Video Snapshots, 4-second clips which is used to create a “highlights reel” effect. It is good idea to implement this feature but it has not been very well incorporated in these models. You need to enter the Video Snapshot mode by pressing a hard-to-feel button on the left side of the camcorder. When you press record after the blue outline appears a highlight travels around the blue outline counting down to 4 seconds which stays in Video Snapshot mode until you switch to playback or press the button again. This is quite an appealing feature but a separate record button, or a choice on the mode dial rather than having the isolated button would have been preferable.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that both performance and quality are top notch with recording capacities are about 5.5 minutes per gigabyte and 7.8 min/GB, respectively. The highlight of this camcorder is that it focuses quickly and accurately, even in low light. The battery is quite power packed and does not require quick charging.
Overall it can be said that the HF20 has a sub par low light performance considering the small lens. The high noise levels, terrible low light sensitivity, and only average color accuracy all combined to produce a generally unimpressive low light image. When we go back to history and compare noise levels from other Cannon camcorders, you figure out that HF20 was worse than previous HD camcorders.
The Cannon HF20 fared better in bright lights it had good color accuracy, excellent video resolution, and captured motion very well. The camcorder’s 24p and 30p alternate frame rates also looked great, capturing motion with a slower, more film-like aesthetic.
The Cannon Vixia HF20 and HF200 a lot of similar features like the high end models like HF S10/S100, and are smaller than less expensive than these models which makes it very attractive buy.
In comparison to other products the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 fared well with excellent results in our low light testing, and it had very good numbers in our bright light tests as well. However its upright, pistol-grip design and quirky interface may not be very comfortable for the customer and it does not include any internal memory, which means you’ll have to purchase a few SD/SDHC cards before you can start shooting which adds up to the cost which again makes Cannon Vixia HF 20 a winner.
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