The powerful Canon HV10 ($1099 as of May 11, 2007) captures impressive high-definition video and shoots high-quality still images. The camcorder is compact and lightweight, and comes loaded with customization options that give you full control over its output. Nevertheless, aspiring filmmakers may find that its brilliant image quality doesn't compensate for its irritating design, short battery life, and lack of a microphone or headphone jack.
The HV10's microphone is located on the back of the camcorder, right above its viewfinder. In our tests, the audio we obtained sounded as though it had been recorded at quite a distance. The placement of this microphone might be useful for recording real-time voice-overs made while shooting documentary-style films--but most video makers handle voice-overs in post-production.
In addition to its audio problem, the HV10 lacks a microphone jack--a dubious omission, since you'll probably want to use an external microphone to record high-quality audio to accompany the images from your $1000-plus camcorder,. The HV10 doesn't have a headphone jack, either, so you won't be able to monitor your audio as you go.
An awkward design makes the HV10 uncomfortable to grip and difficult to use. Because the zoom tab is located near the camera lens, you must use your middle or ring finger to press it. The three buttons on the back of the camera--for changing focus, exposure, and function settings, respectively--are very small and hard to press.
On the plus side, the HV10 has a convenient two-directional tab for navigating through its menu; the tab is located near the record button, making it easy to press with your thumb and minimizing camera shake. Using this tab, you can access a number of controls for adjusting white balance, image effects, aperture size, and scene mode, among other settings.
The HV10 captured images with exceptional clarity and great depth. In our testing, the HV10's videos looked especially good under bright light: Noise was scarcely visible, motion seemed extremely smooth, shadows had great detail, and colors looked pleasant. Our panel of experts gave the HV10 a rating of Very Good for overall video quality.The HV10's still-image quality was impressive as well, earning a Superior rating from our jury. Despite a modest resolution of 3 megapixels, the HV10 snapped still images that looked as crisp and clear as those taken with an average digital camera. A built-in flash bulb permits you to shoot in dark settings.
If you intend to use the HV10 to shoot movies, you'll need to plan ahead because its battery life was very short (just 1 hour of recording; most camcorder batteries last at least 80 minutes). You could carry the power charger or a spare battery with you during shoots. But if you're capturing scenes outdoors, you'll run out of juice quickly.
The HV10 can shoot superb video and still images, but the positioning of its microphone and the lack of a microphone jack--among other flaws--are difficult to accept. The HV10 would be a top consumer camcorder if not for these imperfections in design and usability.
Brian Chen