Canon HV20/HV30 appreciation thread

sonnyboo

sonnyboo

So last year I was at a crux. I needed a new camera and a friend was selling his DVX100B for $1,000 but I also wanted to get into HD/HDV. When the prices dropped on the Canon HV20 to under $600 at B&H PHoto it became a no brainer and I went with the Canon HV20 HDV.

I've been using it for nearly a year and it's an absolutely amazing little camera. It does 24P at 1920x1080 with the cinegamma color for the alleged "film" look (It doesn't look like film to me, but it is a more aesthetically pleasing image).

I have since bought a JAG35 35mm film lens adapter for it for Depth of Field effects and also a Beachtek XLR mic input for it, plus a poor man's steady-cam rig. I have a cool little indie package for that shoots HDV. My primary use for the camera is shooting behind the scenes of other shoots, but it has also been a great little "B" camera for alternate shots and angles in high speed or heavy action scenes.

For post production I use the CINEFORM ASPECT HD/PROSPECT HD software/codec. It allows me to extract the true 24P from the 60i tape, plus it removes the heavy compression of MPEG2/M2T files standard in HDV editing. Also, it has settings and plugs directly into Adobe Premiere Pro CS3-CS4.

For beginners looking to get into filmmaking and making movies, this is an incredible starter camera. It has 24P, the look everyone is going for, plus it's 1920x1080, and even has an HDMI port for connecting to newer capture cards and monitoring on HDTV's.

For people looking to get into HDV on the cheap and want to learn the basics, this is the perfect starter camera in my opinion.

For several examples, go to www.vimeo.com and search out the keywords HV20 or HV30 and prepare to get blown away by the results and see them in HD online.

- Peter John Ross
sonnyboo.com
 
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This a good thread. For my personal challenge of begining filming I don't think a camera with a tape would be handy...One reason I am using it in a car and possibly a bicycle (shakey grounds) and another reason is that the local photo shop only sells the Hf20. I don't know if I want to purchase a camera online from a retailer I am unfamiliar with.
Meanwhile, downloading the filming from either of these cameras - can windows xp handle this? I fear that I will need to invest in a mac (because thats all I hear about when downloading film onto computors).
Thanks.
 
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I have had no issues downloading video with XP, I've even downloaded and edited HD with Sony Vegas Pro. Would the render be faster if I had a 64 bit OS? Sure, but overall, no issues.
 
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kazze said:
This a good thread. For my personal challenge of begining filming I don't think a camera with a tape would be handy...One reason I am using it in a car and possibly a bicycle (shakey grounds) and another reason is that the local photo shop only sells the Hf20. I don't know if I want to purchase a camera online from a retailer I am unfamiliar with.
Meanwhile, downloading the filming from either of these cameras - can windows xp handle this? I fear that I will need to invest in a mac (because thats all I hear about when downloading film onto computors).
Thanks.
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XP can "handle" things, but it's a question of editing software really. Downloading from a camcorder with it's own CODEC (that's Compressor/Decompressor) that your editing software doesn't recognize will NOT make anything easier. Check the stats and find out which codec is being used with the HF20 (I believe it's AVCHD) and make sure that whatever software you use to edit supports that codec....

PC and MAC are 100% equal at this stage. One is never "better" than the other. People can tell you their own PREFERENCE but that doesn't make it better for YOU.
 
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Thanks. My biggest fear is purchasing something that will require me to purchase a new computor. I realize that purchasing a camera is just the begining of many purchases.

Meanwhile I will probably purchase the Hf20 for reasons I stated. In addition to the local shop selling it at retail for $899 I see that Best Buy has a sale on it this week for $764. I don't want to buy something online because if something is wrong (from opening the box) its a bitch to get c.s. to do anything about it once you buy it. I have had a bad experience with a faulty piece of exersize equiptment I bought from a well known shopping dealer on tv and online. So that is why I prefer the local places where I can just go into the store if there is a problem after I buy it.
The only issues with these cameras is they don't sell them with the battery charger.
 
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sonnyboo said:
Eh, I'd spend the $150 on the CINEFORM NEO SCENE software and not worry about any of it. I use CINEFORM's ASPECT HD product (now PROSPECT HD) and I have no issues at all. CHeck out www.cineform.com

- Ross
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I have had to read this thread a few times again to get the jist of it all...I had this fear it would be my computor that would be the problem but its finding software that would work with something like the hf20.
Even the hv30 has complaints of finding editing software...but looking at cineform neo scene lists that it can edit avchd...which is what the hf20 is. Or am I confusing myself?
I have searched online and find that a lot of folks out there have invested nearly a grand in a camera that does not come with editing software and are at a loss of what to do. I don't want to invest in a camera that leaves me hanging without choices...you would think in this day and age the software would / could keep up with the technology.

From the info on neoscene it states it works with mac and windows (which is what I have). So do I understand correctly that at least this software can edit avchd with windows?

Thanks again.
 
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kazze said:
I have had to read this thread a few times again to get the jist of it all...I had this fear it would be my computor that would be the problem but its finding software that would work with something like the hf20.
Even the hv30 has complaints of finding editing software...but looking at cineform neo scene lists that it can edit avchd...which is what the hf20 is. Or am I confusing myself?
I have searched online and find that a lot of folks out there have invested nearly a grand in a camera that does not come with editing software and are at a loss of what to do. I don't want to invest in a camera that leaves me hanging without choices...you would think in this day and age the software would / could keep up with the technology.

From the info on neoscene it states it works with mac and windows (which is what I have). So do I understand correctly that at least this software can edit avchd with windows?

Thanks again.
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Hi everyone . I am using Adobe Premiere Elements 7 and it list the choice of importing AVCHD files . I didn't know this when I bought it and wasn't even aware that I may need it someday , but as I've got a Canon Fs 100 which is standard def , flash based , I haven't edited anything in HD with this program yet . The documentation mentions that you can use a variety of plug ins from Adobe and third party companies . Is Cineform a third party plug in or a separate program ? :D
 
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sonnyboo said:
Cineform offers several PLUG INS, and they are not separate programs. I don't think the work with Premiere ELEMENTS, only PRO.
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I see . I do really like the Hv 30 , but I 'm trying to stay with flash based Canon cameras . I just don't like the transfer times of tape , which when I started out was fine , but since going to flash memory ... man , it's just so fast . But , what you said about the lack of support for AVCHD , has got me wondering if I should just hold off on upgrading everything . Like I said before ,:bang:
 
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Coldhitz said:
I see . I do really like the Hv 30 , but I 'm trying to stay with flash based Canon cameras . I just don't like the transfer times of tape , which when I started out was fine , but since going to flash memory ... man , it's just so fast . But , what you said about the lack of support for AVCHD , has got me wondering if I should just hold off on upgrading everything . Like I said before ,:bang:
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If you "hold off" on upgrading something you will always be holding off for what is next, unless you know a specific release date. Just thought I would add that, not sure if it relates or helps :D
 
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indietalk said:
If you "hold off" on upgrading something you will always be holding off for what is next, unless you know a specific release date. Just thought I would add that, not sure if it relates or helps :D
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It helps . I said the same thing to myself , at least , a few times during my research . I just can't go back to tape . Besides the slow transfer speed , those stacks make a lot of noise when they fall over .... especially in the morning or middle of the night . I'm putting my money into the Canon Hf 100 . This thread did help me decide what I wanted in a camera , though . The manual controls and shooting modes on the HV 20/30 are the reason so many people love it . :lol:
 
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Sonnyboo, can you post a picture of your whole HV20 rig, with the Beachtek, mic, lens adapter and poor man's steadicam? I've seen plenty of pictures of just the camera, but I want to see one all tricked out to give me something to drool over until I have enough saved.
 
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Anyone use the HV40? It appears to be identical to an HV30 with the addition of a manual WB and native 24p in addition to the 60i/24p mode on the 30 series.
 
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