Manual control
 

Can anyone summerize the manual capabilities of this cam? I am unable to D/L the manual for some reason. I have read the available posts that discuss some of the capabilities but there seem some questions so I gather the manual isn't steller. If the manual is half as bad as my HD-10's, I feel for everybody . A few of my main questions are: is the shutter and exposure independantly lockable? Can one observe what the F-stop is? Can the auto gain be disabled at all times?
Thanx

Download any other consumer Canon camcorder owner's manual (such as the Optura 600 for example). The manual controls on the HV10 are pretty much identical in terms of scope and operation as they are on the Canon Optura and Elura series DV camcorders (moreso with the Optura 600 as the HV10 borrows heavily from it).

Basically you have P, Av, and Tv modes (Program Auto Exposure, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority). For example in Tv mode, you can select a specific shutter speed, and then press the "Exp" button for exposure lock, so that you can manually adjust exposure as well... thereby enabling full manual control.

The above seems correct re aperture or shutter, and exposure, but I don't think there's a way to modify (or display?) the actual gain itself... so in dark shots the gain might go up more than you want.

You can turn "Auto Slow Shutter" off to help compensate for that.

I'm not planning on shooting ultra low light so I don't think it should be a problem. I would be locking at 1/60th shutter, then adjusting exposure. I just don't want gain to jump in unannounced. I plan on using up to 6 of a small type cam at once, so having the image match is very important. Is there any guarantee I can do this?
I would also like to know if there is a time out feature? I use HDVrack to capture cam streams to disk. Will these cams turn-off when I don't want them to? Do the manual settings remain when the cam is shut off.
Cheers.

Yes. Av (aperture) and Tv (time value/shutter) modes work great.
Yes. It shows on the viewfinder and is independently controlled by a thumb wheel.
No. Gain does not have an independent control.

Any word on shut-off or time-out performance of these cams? Can it be used in a serious shoot and not auto shut-off on me?

No way to disable auto shut-off. If you have a serious shoot, use a professional grade camcorder.

I shoot stop-motion with my consumer DV cam and the only way I've found to get around auto standby is to eject the cassette and leave it open. I just cover up the opening so dust doesn't get in.

Yes Chris we get your point. Crystal clear.

I am doing a unique production that would be well suited to the size/price of these little cams. I need 4-6 of them for it to work. There will be adequate lighting, and the level of manual control will work for what I need. If engaged in recording will the cam auto shut-off? I don't know how common that is but I used an old JVC DV consumer cam years ago that would auto pause even during recording once it hit a certain time limit (and loose all of its settings!) I am just hoping this little beast isn't so limited.
So basically I am asking is, can I record as long as I like?

according to p. 37 of the manual, there is a "power save off" feature. i have not used this. the camera will shut off after 5 mins. with power save on.

ken, these kinds of questions are best answered by downloading the manual and looking them up yourself. i mean, you're basically asking for someone to do this for you (which is what i did....) chris has put up the link here....

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=75445

for the situation you're describing, this sounds as if it is not a great camera because, as i and every other early user have pointed out, it's a battery hog.

Ken, there is a POWER SAVE option under the System Setup menu item that lets you turn the auto shut off ON or OFF. Have not tested it, but you'll find it in the manual.

Thanks for the correction on that folks -- much appreciated. I should have spent more time going through the manual. Nice to see this feature on the HV10.

Thanks for the hint, but if you read my first post you would have read that for some odd reason the manual will not D/L for me. Not sure why that is but it is the sad truth. Thanks for the help though.
As far as battery power goes, not a concern. All cams will be wall powered and streaming out to multiple PC's using HDVrack.

You definitely want to have a BP-315 battery on hand.