You can still adjust exposure on the spot to avoid clipping. I've found that an adjustment of -1 in brightness can avoid clipping in many instances. For a cam of this type I think it's got a very nice assortment of picture controls.

John, glad to help out.

Well guys, put me down in the column that has absolutely zero problems with the autofocus. It behaves precisely like the HV10, instantaneous and accurate!

I'm also finding color to be a bit warmer and a bit truer with the same level of detail. Low light is 100% better than the HV10. I did an A/B test with the HV10 in my dark bedroom (we're getting rain here in N.Y.) and the HV10 was showing those vertical lines that occur with inadequate light and a CMOS sensor. It also had some trouble with focus as it hunted. The HV20 was 2X as bright, no vertical lines and a FAR more usable picture. Yes, there was still some grain, but these were very dim conditions! Additionally, I'm finding the low light of the HV20 to be at least as good as my FX7.

These are preliminary results, but I couldn't be more pleased! Kudos to Canon....again!

Ken: for the lowlight test, did you have the shutter speed locked down on the cams to the same value, or was the camera in auto?

Ken

Sounds great!

Ordered!
JohnG

I agree with Ken, the same was thru with the HV-10 when you adjust exposure on the fly the compensation is usually no more than -1 or -2 in brghtness to avoid clipping the whites on well lit bright sunny days the catch is that every time you change the scene you have to hit the exposure twice
one to measure the light of the new scene or clip and again to adjust it using the zebra pattern, I use 70% and I'm in the very good range for brightness.

Just watch a documentary on any HD channel on your TV see how many times you can see blown highlights......The answer is MANY!!!!

AGAIN, no hunting on the AIF in my unit, wide angle converter or built in lens during zoom or zooming, on tripod or without tripod, it behaves exactly like the HV-10, fast and accurate.

Be realistic.... for Christ sake this thing even has a spot meter and wide angle coverage in Photo mode for those times when you need precise exposure on your Jpegs.

Thanks,
Luis

Met the UPS man at the street, because I was watching out the window----quickly opened up the box----waited and waited for the battery to charge----ran a cleaning tape thru it----stuck in a new tape----shot 30 seconds of video----hooked it up to my 50" Sony HDTV!!!!!!!!

"WOW" what a picture and what a cool little camera!

Now it's time to sit and read the manual......... :)

What audio inputs does this cam take?

I'm starting to think that the title of this thread needs to be changed...

"Returning HV20 after 1 hour due to bad autofocus design" just seems wrong.

Mike

It’s very good that people are reporting that the auto focus is as good as the HV10’s because it would have been a shame if it wasn’t. At least we can all calm down now.

Has mini jack input on the side and a hotshoe mount on the top for the Canon DM-50 shotgun/stereo mic. I understand that the shoe does not work with the MA-300. Too bad, I have one of those too.

Mike

Just got my HV20 today from FedEX.

Wow-- It's nice and small! Just like the Optura's 30/40s.

I quickly shot some footage and played it on my 30" tube. Really nice. Lots of detail. [Watching it on a LCD computer monitor is just not the same.]

I have a PDX10, and the beautiful footage I get out of that camera, and deinterlaced with DVFilm will give me footage that is very similar to the 24p HD mode on the HV20.

Am I disappointed? Nope. This is pretty kick ass cam. And I don't have to process the footage with DVFilmmaker.

I'm not a big fan of the LCD, it is a bit small...and it doesn't close with authority like my PDX10.[which has a magnesium body]

The 24p mode still doesn't look like "film"...but it is a very pleasing image for storytelling.

But damn, the picture quality is as good as the 3 chip PDX10.[which cost $1,600!]

I will have to shoot more stuff to play around with--but so far, I'm very pleased.

Dave, both (actually all 3) were in auto, but both Canons had their slow shutter speed locked out. So shutter speeds were probably all 1/60.

I'm pleased to hear this; I sold my PDX10 package last week and immediately flipped the cash in my Paypal account to B&H for the HV20. Not having to process the footage for 24P... priceless!

Hello.

I just received the hv20 today from B&H.

I personally do not see any problems with the auto focus on this particular camera.

The only side effect this camera has produced so far is this repetitive voice inside my head that keeps saying "WOW!" over and over again.

This is one sweet camera!

Oh yeah? Watch me! ;)
Seriously though, I don't think it will be suited for payed work since your clients will freak out when they see this little camera. But I strongly believe that you can make good looking amateur movies with it. It's not useless in that matter since it has 24p, cine gamma and a mic input. I bet you can even sell those movies as long as the clients don't see the camera, just the images it produces.