ProductCritic: Canon HV10 Reviews

Digital Trends (80)

The Canon HV10 HDV camcorder is a mixed bag with good overall video quality, fast focusing, OIS and solid stills. You’ll really like watching higher-quality home videos on your new widescreen HDTV. I had a problem with its form factor, lack of an HDMI output, annoying zoom switch and obtuse menus. And don’t forget about the total lack of video software support.

T3 (80)

That’s why, in the battle for HD supremacy, Sony’s HC3 wins on style and usability. However, for sheer visual splendour, this has pixels in hand.

Business Week (80)

An affordable point-and-shoot solution that brings high-definition to the masses.

Good Gear Guide (80)

Overall, we felt the HV10 was a solid camera. It’s small, has excellent quality images and offers a wide range of manual options. The main letdowns are fairly minor: the omission of HDMI and a kit for video transfer to pc, and the slightly counterintuitive button layout.

Computer Buyer (80)

However, if you can afford it, the Canon will capture those priceless moments in crystal clarity with a minimum of hassle – and that’s something we can see people paying for.

CNET (75)

An excellent HD video camcorder with some annoying quirks, the Canon HV10 delivers almost everything a technophile wants for making home videos.

The New York Times (75)

In the meantime, by entering the high-def camcorder market a year and a half after its rivals, Canon has played the same conservative waiting game it once used with digital cameras and camcorders. Its goal, of course, is to watch and learn as the pioneers get all the arrows in their backs. If the HV10 is any indication, the company is off to a very good start.

Camcorderinfo.com (70)

To be honest, we had a hard time with the Canon HV10. Everyone wants high definition, but everyone wants it at the price and convenience of the camcorders they’re used to. Canon seems to have met so many of those needs with the HV10. It’s highly portable, easy to use, and under $1500.

EasyCamcorders.com (60)

Overall, we were expecting more from Canon’s first time out in the consumer HD realm. Their professional models are outstanding, but the strategy to make a camcorder as compact as possible clearly has to make concessions somewhere. We fear that they number too many.