added 09 August 2008

 

Canon VIXIA HG20 / HG21 Menu Structure, Part One:
Camera Menus One and Two by Chris Hurd

Those folks who are familiar with the look of Canon's long-established camcorder menu system are in for a bit of a surprise in the form of a completely new menu interface in the recently announced VIXIA HG20 and HG21 hard disk drive / flash memory AVCHD camcorders. The new menu system is clearly inspired by the menu system currently used by Canon's EOS D-SLR line of digital still photography cameras. The similarity between these new camcorder and still camera menu interfaces is another indication that Canon Inc.'s photo and video camera design teams are sharing ideas and technology with each other. Evidence of this cooperation came to light several years ago when Canon adapted their proprietary DIGIC still camera image processor to use in their video camcorders as DIGIC DV (now DIGIC DV II). The new interface for the camera menu system provides a faster way to navigate through various internal adjustments by using a tabbed icon structure. The tab icons are designated as Camera 1, Camera 2, Settings 1, Settings 2, Date / Time, and System Info. We'll look through the entire menu structure here, using the HG20 as an example (its menu system is nearly identical to that of the HG21).

First, a quick look at the menu interface of the Canon Rebel XSi. Note the tabbed icons along the top row; they represent the various submenus which can be selected from left to right are Camera 1, Camera 2 (active in this photo), Playback, Settings 1, Settings 2, Settings 3 and Custom Menu. This is a relatively new interface that is found in new Canon D-SLR camera models.

HG20 / HG21 Camera 1 Subenu

		On to the HG20 / HG21 menu system. When the menu is accessed via the Function screen, the system defaults to show the Camera 1 submenu page.
		Choose Rec Media Movies: HDD to record video to the camcorder's internal hard disk drive. This page shows the total capacity of the drive (60GB for the HG20 and 120GB for the HG21), amount of space used, total recorded time and remaining time available (based on the currently selected recording bit rate).
		Choose Rec Media Movies: Card to record video to a memory card. This page shows total capacity of an inserted SDHC flash memory card, card class, amount of space used, total recorded time and remaining time available (based on the currently selected recording bit rate).
		Choose Rec Media Photos: HDD to record still images to the camcorder's internal hard disk drive. Shows number of photos recorded and number of photos remaining at the currently selected image size and compression level.
		Choose Rec Media Photos: Card to record still images to an inserted SD or SDHC flash memory card. Shows number of photos recorded and number of photos remaining at the currently selected image size and compression level.
		Changes made to Rec Media: Videos and Rec Media: Photos are displayed on the Camera 1 Submenu page. In this case, video is recorded to the internal hard drive while photos are recording to a memory card.
		Frame rate selection (60i, 30p or 24p).
		Focus Assist On / Off.
		Audio Levels meter displayed on LCD screen On / Off.
		Guide Indicators (type and color).

HG20 / HG21 Camera 2 Submenu

		Camera 2 Submenu.
		Digital Zoom: off, 40x, 200x.
		Zoom Speed: Variable, Constant Speed 1 (slow), Constant Speed 2 (medium), Constant Speed 3 (fast).
		Autofocus Mode: Instant AF or Normal AF. Manual focus is triggered by the Joystick Guide on the fli-pout LCD screen panel.
		OIS On / Off includes a live preview window. This live preview won't show much of a difference between OIS on or off if the lens is zoomed out to full wide. However, the difference is very noticeable at telephoto focal lengths. You can change focal length by zooming in or out while this preview screen is activated.
		When OIS is switched on, the "shaky hand" icon will appear on the flip-out LCD screen.
		Microphone wind screen Auto / Off.
		Microphone attenuation On / Off.

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Thrown together by Chris Hurd.