Canon HV20/HV30 appreciation thread

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
 
This is some good info, I'm still debating on getting this one, been researching this camera for over 6 months now. My main concern and reason for hesitation is the complaints people have about the awkwardness of the controls, specifically the manual focus and the little joystick thingy. According to some reviews, I guess one of the buttons is really close to the Record button or something. Do you have any comments on the ergonmics of this camera?
 
I, too, think that's an excellent camera.

It's too small for my tastes, but you get used to the size and the
bottom line is it has an excellent image. If you can jump through
the hoops sonnyboo does to improve the highly compressed HDV
format the final video files are amazing and quite good for color
correction and compositing.
 
Hmm, good to know. All the reviews on B&H say the picture quality is amazing. It sounds like an awesome novice HD camera. I guess my hang up is I have a sony which I like to control via a LANC, the HV20 doesn't appear to have a remote control feature, so believe it or not, that's really the key point that's keeping me from purchasing it so far. Either I'm lazy and like the controls on my tri-pod, or I just don't know anyother effective way, I drink to much coffee so steady shooting and smooth zooming by freehand is out of the question!
 
This is some good info, I'm still debating on getting this one, been researching this camera for over 6 months now. My main concern and reason for hesitation is the complaints people have about the awkwardness of the controls, specifically the manual focus and the little joystick thingy. According to some reviews, I guess one of the buttons is really close to the Record button or something. Do you have any comments on the ergonmics of this camera?

There is no denying it's a handicam, sub-$1,000 camcorder. That's why I do not recommend it for more professional work (and don't use it as such on my major shoots - as I use the Sony Z1U, Panasonic HVX200A, or the JVC HD110 for my more professional uses, but I have each of those cameras too).

What I mean by my recommendation, to make this abundantly clear, The Canon HV20/HV30 is the perfect camera.... UNDER $1,000 and it makes the best STARTER camera for beginners and newbies.

To compensate for depth of field and focus, I use the JAG35 adapter, so those controls on the camera don't mean anything to me.

For exposure settings, there is a handy work around with the mini SD card and the way to manually control the gain/exposure. See http://hv20.info/yopu/hv20aperturecontrol.mov

CLICK HERE for links to HV20/HV30 footage that will blow your mind
 
Well, that probably fits me then, as a videographer, I'd consider myself a novice, so maybe I should start with this camera. I've been eyeing the Sony Z1U though as well. choices choices.
 
Well, that probably fits me then, as a videographer, I'd consider myself a novice, so maybe I should start with this camera. I've been eyeing the Sony Z1U though as well. choices choices.

If you have $2,000-$3,000 then get the Z1U, but if you are looking for an under $700 camera or just want to get your feet wet - the Canon HV20 rocks.
 
Awesome thread. I have a HV30 and I love it so far. The picture quality is awesome. Thanks for that codec info too. Do you know if it will work in adobe premiere pro 2 or only in CS3 and CS4? I really just need to build a new computer and put a Mac OS on it and get Final Cut. This camera is also great in low light, I captured my friends concert in a dark bar and the footage still turned out great.
 
. This camera is also great in low light, I captured my friends concert in a dark bar and the footage still turned out great.

That's good to know, I have a lot of interior club scenes I need to film for an upcoming project next month. This camera is looking more appealing to me after reading this Thread.
 
I'm looking at buying one of these because I heard good things about it. http://www.irvdesign.com/product/mfr/
Too bad they are out of stock right now. Has anyone bought or used one and does it work well?
Looks interesting.. of course the biggest issue with the manual focus, aside from the scroll wheel being tiny, is that it's not a mechanical focus adjustment, but rather an electronic one. As such, it will never give you quite the same result a mechanical focus adjustment would. That's the primary reason I wouldn't personally bother with this or any other similar solution for making the built in manual focus easier to use.
 
There is no denying it's a handicam, sub-$1,000 camcorder. That's why I do not recommend it for more professional work (and don't use it as such on my major shoots - as I use the Sony Z1U, Panasonic HVX200A, or the JVC HD110 for my more professional uses, but I have each of those cameras too).

What I mean by my recommendation, to make this abundantly clear, The Canon HV20/HV30 is the perfect camera.... UNDER $1,000 and it makes the best STARTER camera for beginners and newbies.

To compensate for depth of field and focus, I use the JAG35 adapter, so those controls on the camera don't mean anything to me.

For exposure settings, there is a handy work around with the mini SD card and the way to manually control the gain/exposure. See http://hv20.info/yopu/hv20aperturecontrol.mov

CLICK HERE for links to HV20/HV30 footage that will blow your mind

Man ,:bang: I have been researching cameras until my head spins , and I am finally narrowing it down to one of these three . The Canon HF 30 , HV 30 , or Sony HDR - XR520V . As I've always onwed Canon in the past , I'm really in favor of these two . How often do you use a viewfinder ? Is it only important when doing outdoor work , since the sun may be to bright to accurately trust the LCD ?
 
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I have an external 7" LCD monitor that I use with a hood for outdoor shooting with my HV20...

There isn't enough support just yet for me to commit to the AVCHD codecs. They aren't bad, just not as common and the benefits are barely nominal compared to HDV-MPEG2.
 
I have an external 7" LCD monitor that I use with a hood for outdoor shooting with my HV20...

There isn't enough support just yet for me to commit to the AVCHD codecs. They aren't bad, just not as common and the benefits are barely nominal compared to HDV-MPEG2.
That's another issue that keeps coming up in my search ... the different codecs , and their ease of use . There is a lot of talk about the strain AVCHD puts on a computer . I am running Premiere Elements 7 on an E Machines ET 1641-02w with an Intel Celeron E 1400 processor @ 2GHZ with a 300 GB hard drive . I use Vista Home Premium 32 bit . My graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce 7050/NVIDIA nForce 610i . Do you see a need to upgrade my computer in order to handle these new codec issues that I may have as a result of going from Standard def ( Canon Fs100 ) to Hi-Def in the new camera I choose ? Thank you for your help .
 
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Thanks . I will be keeping all this information handy for reference . :clap: I will also have more questions . I appreciate your quick and friendly responses .


Larry
 
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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

Is Cineform any better then Vegas Pro 8? I have Windows so I just wanna make sure I can edit it to look more Cinema type.

Also, are there other Canon HD Cams that have the same specs(Mic port, 24p) HV20/HV30 that are INternal Hard Drive to save some tapes. :D
 
Is Cineform any better then Vegas Pro 8? I have Windows so I just wanna make sure I can edit it to look more Cinema type.

Also, are there other Canon HD Cams that have the same specs(Mic port, 24p) HV20/HV30 that are INternal Hard Drive to save some tapes. :D

Cineform is a PLUG for the NLE (Non-Linear Editor), so I believe NEO SCENE even plugs into VEGAS. I don't like the HARD DRIVE cameras because they use a semi-non standard CODEC that is not as efficient as M2T from tape...
 
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