At first glance, the HV20 form factor reminds me of the Sony HC3. They are similar in design, though the Canon adds 24p, cinematic colors, and a mic input to the equation.

One nice upside of this sort of camera is the low profile. It's ultra portable and can go places a larger camera either can't, or can't without attracting a lot of unwanted attention.

The HV20 looks like a godsend for documentary shooters, especially if we can add a high quality mic via the adapter.

One point in favor of those wanting to play around is that the price is so low. This is a camera that those who like to tinker and take them apart can do just that without risking much over $1,000.

Zoom and focus switches, are just switches! Who says you can't open one up and put a simple connector and use a remote switch????? You know that is gonna happen. I may even try it.

Mike

I second that Mike. I think someone is going to gut the hv20 and put it's parts into a different form factor with some type of hdmi easy setup. Maybe add a 7" monitor,hdmi capture, and battery power maybe with a modified shuttle PC. All you need is carbon fiber and fiberglass.

Can you post some footage ?
 

Hi,
did you save some footage to tape and do you have access
to a PC wih Firewire, so you can download some footage and
post some raw m2t clips ?

I really would like to see the picture quality of the HV20.

Many thanks in advance.

Regards, Stefan.

HV20 pic
 

...and here is a pic of the HV20 from Saturday morning with the Canon mic on board.
thanks to Jim and greg for a great morning!

Cheers
Paul

next time, bring an HDMI cable to such seminars ... :-)
 

Thanks for the report! It's fascinating.

Paul

Thanks for posting that pic.

That little camera/mike combo looks GREAT!

JohnG

To bad they didn't make it black like the A1 sitting there next to it. How is that canon mic?

Hi Charles!

Thanks very much for your report! It is much appreciated.

One question: Is it possible to control exposure on-the-fly? Can you use the focus dial for this? Is there any other way to do this quickly? I am currently shooting outdoors, uncontrolled lighting and all and I am controlling the exposure continuously, to expose on the correct subject. Is this possible at all with this camera?

Again, thank you very much for your report!

Thanasis

My question is on adding an external microphone (AT897) on a boom. I know the HV20 has a mini-jack input but if I use a mini-XLR adapter, does my whole line become unbalanced (and thus subject to interference)?

Great pic Paul.....Can you tell me. Is the IR sensor for the remote in the front or in the back like the HV-10??
Thanks
Luis

So can sopmebody please post a test video file
of the HV20 , if possible in 1920x1080 24p or 25p format ?

Many thanks in advance.

P.S: You can use the free
www.rapidshare.de
if you don´t have the webspace and bandwidth.

There you can store 100 Mbytes for free.

Many thanks.

Regards, Stefan.

the microphone is BIGGER than the camera lol!

This brings back the debate of "looking the part". This little cam can deliver incredible results that can be used for b-roll footage. Heck, for some lower profile gigs this cam is probably more than enough.

But are you going to look professional enough holding this cam?

Hmm,maybe someone else could upload a real
native M2T from the camera directly to
www.rapidshare.de

?
Many thanks in advance.


The MOV file is not very impressive,
especially the wind changing water on the lake looks
very artefactly bad...

Also this video looks less sharp than the HV10... ;(

Regards, Stefan.