The HV20 is a harbinger
 

It's probably obvious to most of you out there already but I didn't realize it until I shot some footage today. A few years from now there will be relatively inexpensive cameras a person can stuff in their pocket that will have enough umf to get an expert filmaker onto about any screen in the world.
This camera says, for better or worse, here come the masses.

I hear ya Matt (and agree) although I heard the same when miniDV was introduced!

One thing's for sure it just keeps getting better!

The upshot is that access to the tools of filmmaking is no longer a barrier to entry. And I daresay that distribution isn't a barrier any longer either (thanks to the Internet).

Good film making still requires money/manpower to a degree, and yes, it's easier now, easier to try. We can only hope that more talent gets onto the screen. People were trying to make films with DV, (28 Days Later didn't need 35mm film stock - it was great) so nothing's changed on that front - we're just that much closer in resolution to 2k now. Which helps, yes.

Let's all thank Canon for stirring up the pot. The HV20 represents something that other camera makers will have to match in terms of resolution, and/or specs and, perhaps most importantly, price. The V1U came out in time to offer the resolution there, and the features - now, just the price has to come down. ;)

HV20 = value (and that's a darn good thing).

when I read this thread, I'm reminded of the scene from
Back to the Futuer(2 or 3?).

When Marty McFly(Michael J. Fox) showed Doc Brown
the JVC VHS-C(?) camcorder from the futre, Doc Brown
was really impressed.

Pix of that JVC camcorder from the 1980s... :)
http://www.smecc.org/video/GR-C1_redB.jpg

Imagine what the people from 1986 would say if you
can send back a Canon HV20 via a time machine! :D
:)

That was my dad's first cam...I remember it was strictly forbidden for me to touch it...well, I was only 7 years old back then (1985). Ah, memories...! ;)

Now I feel so old.... when I was growing up, TV was
still black and white.(color TV just came out but was
really expensive, like today's HDTVs)

I shot my first movie on 8mm. No, not 8mm video,
8mm film!

I still remember when I bought my first Sony Beta VCR.
It weighs more than like a ton of bricks. (still sitting
in my basement)

How time flies, doesn't it? I do even feel old when I see what tools and software today's 13 year olds can use on their own computer. I remember filming my first movies with my dad's gigantic VHS (the big tapes!) cam, then do some really basic editing with two VCRs and adding very simple 'effects' (if you can call them that...) with my Commodore Amiga. But then again I think many kids nowadays are missing the point, thinking some digital explosions etc. make a good movie... Oh and the sizes and lenses of the cameras? Even my dad's old non-professional VHS camera (which I later took with me everywhere) had better lenses (DOF!) and didn't even need an stabilization system, due to its weight. But today's customers demand those midget-cams (how I use to call them) we have to deal with. Unless, of course, you're a pro and can afford a XL-H1...

Not if you want to make money off your work.

Actually, (and at the risk of sounding arrogant), I made large sums of money in the 1990s by cofounding an Internet-focused original entertainment content company in 1995 and selling it in 1999.

Of course, the guys who recently started YouTube did MUCH, MUCH better than me.

But I understand your point. It's the best of times, and it's the worst of times. There's more readily available content than ever in the increasingly crowded marketplace, so one must be very creative in finding one's niche.

Guys, there's a lot more to it than just access alone. You can't package talent, script writing and a will to succeed, etc. etc. That's still a home brew, and the last time I checked, still requires the same amount of patience, time, and sweat equity.

I just don't see Uncle Joe average picking up an HDV palmcam and then pulling a copy of Business Plan Pro 2007 off the shelf. Nor do I see the inexperience brother Bob reading up on the manual about OIS or EIS, and realize just how much worse camera shake looks when in HDV.

maybe not Uncle Joe, but Little Joey will definitely do it... the only reason I bought my XH A1 is that my neighbor's kid, a video wiz, bought one. He even let me play with it
for a couple of days... for $50. The kid's room looks like
the editing room at the local cable news station...