Problems, Salutations?
 

I very much want to buy a HV20, but hear it has been plagued with some technical issues. The images I have seen other get out of the camera and I am very impressed. Do those who already own one reccomend a purchase, or are the early bugs too much to deal with right now?

This is a great little camera! I took it to Lake Okeechobee last weekend and loved using it to shoot birds, fish and alligators. Oh, and my lady friend too!

Hooked it up to my 50" Sony today and the footage is spectacular. I have had no issues at all.

Unless something else comes out soon to replace it, I will probably buy another for a third camera.

Mike

Plagued by technical issues!?? Hardly...

The cinema mode is fantastic! Looks great from the footage I took so far.

I also taped my Nephew's hockey game in 60i TV mode, brought it home and plugged it into my projector for instant HD hockey playback!

Great little camera. I was amazed at how great the footage looks for a simple point and shoot method. I haven't even begun learning what this thing can really do.

Mike

Brad, what technical issues have you heard it is plagued with?

Come on dude................ ;-) ............. 90+% of the internet complainers are just lost when it comes to technical issues.

Enjoy life and get on with purchasing one excellent camcorder.

JohnG

Early bugs? Technical issues? Can you elaborate?

If you're talking about the issue about "auto focus not holding during zoom" -- I have no such problem on my unit. If you're talking about OIS issues -- again, there are none to be found on my unit.

I received mine last Friday and absolutely love it. Shot some footage in Cine Mode & 24P at a lake nearby. Left the rest of the settings in auto, just to see how it handles.

When I hooked up the camera to my HD projector via HDMI and projected the footage on the big screen: WOW! My wife said "it looks like real life."

Get the cam. I don't see how anyone can not go for the double punch of HD and 24P at the HV20's price.

I'm at a loss to understand what you mean by 'plagued with technical issues'. The only issue that came out at the beginning were a couple of people that had trouble with the Instant Autofocus. The person who started this topic swapped out her camera and now reports she is thrilled with it. Almost everyone else is having no issues whatsoever.

So it might help if you explain what you mean by 'plagued with technical issues'....it's just not the case. If I were you I'd buy one and get the best picture quality in a consumer HDV camcorder this format is capable of.

The OIS is so good, I can zoom in and using the on screen guides (cross hairs) I can fix the video on one point and hold it perfectly steady. Shockingly good IMHO. I have a little practice holding a camera though so that helps.

Wow!
 

The focus and OIS isues are what I was referring to. It sounds like those are sporadic and not worth worrying over, I'm heading out to buy mine now. Thanks guys!

Well that was an easy sell... :-)

Brad - start the Los Angeles HV20 User's Group. I should have mine by the end of the week!

I see the OIS issues and focus things people speak about ..at full zoom iaf will hunt and peck depending on light and distance...turn em off

Is any of your footage online?

Good luck.

Dennis

Swamp footage....ugly duckling
 

Mike, I'd second wanting a peek at some of your swamp footage when you have time.

Brad, Congrats on your purchase. If you are looking to buy and return gear you can pick any camera, including the HV20. If you are looking to buy and keep a low cost HD camera, the HV20 is a great choice. Good feature set, works as designed, maybe a bit of an ugly duckling on first glance, but view the image and you'll quickly find the swan.
Regards, Alan

Footage!
 

Dennis and Alan,

Sorry to be so late in getting this done, but I have been very busy. Getting ready to go to NAB and getting my house ready to sell.

This is the link to my footage on my site. Sorry for the files sizes but I'm not the encoding expert that many here are. I have posted four files with different subjects.

http://www.treasurecoastvideo.com/HV20%20Footage/

The footage was shot with all auto settings as I was really there to relax and to fish. Just kept the camera with me most of the time and kept checking out menus and such.

Almost all shots were on full telephoto as I could not get that close to what I was shooting or I would spook the subject. I was even moving while shooting sometimes. I think that the OIS is just great, and all of these shots were hand-held.

The shots of the water/fish began without a polarizing filter, then I added it on and that made a great difference. The filter was just an inexpensive Hoya that I bought from B&H. It came in a three filter kit for about $45.00.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy them somewhat. I had fun using this little camera!

One last thing, I was very impressed with what this 10x zoom can do. The file labeled Zoom and Colors is just to show the zoom range and a shot of a red beer can cover sitting on the ground with green foliage. The shot of the motor home was to get a shot of my dog looking out the window at us, as we fished about 150 to 200 yards away.

Mike