Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I used this product inside home and outside and I must say that camera quality is much better outside.

The camcorder does not come with HDMi cable

Overall this is a good buy and I like it

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This camcorder is exactly what I was looking for. The 60GB HD is large enough for most applications. Excellent build quality (made in Japan) and accessories are easy to find for this camcorder.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I bought it last week and went to Niagara falls..I like quality...Awesome camera..

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I bought the Canon HG20 as an upgrade from 8mm tape camcorder. The picture quality is great on flat screen and its not even contacted by HDMI. Has not video like, I had to purchase the VL-5 light. Also, take nice still shots. There's no rearview finder, but I seldom used the view finder on my other camcorder. I would recommend this product.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

pros:
once you figure out the user interface & options, it's easy & pretty straight forward to use.

cons:
battery needs to be re-charged on camcorder. doesn't come with a charger.
hard to get software to convert .mts file to .avi or .mpg

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I'm just a guy who is starting a family and traveling during his last year in graduate school and this camera serves two great purposes: it's great to record my travels and experiences, AND it's an investment in the memories of my family. I have found this camera to be very easy to use and the learning curve, even for someone who has never used a camera before, is not bad at all. I would highly recommend this camera for anyone who wants to make an investment in both the videography field as well as the HD film field. This is a phenomenal camera for the price and I give it my highest recommendation.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Advantage:
Has a 60GB harddisk.
24Mbps Recording
Best for indoor shooting
Flash light (for stills) is too good.

Disadvantage:
Little bulky becoz of the harddisk.
A little bit lesser quality than HF100 at low light.
Imagemixer3 software provided with the camcorder is totally useless as it is crashing in Windows Xp.

I got it with the bonus kit. So far have not used the cleaning kit and don't know how to fit the filter. May be I've to buy an adapter for that. After placing the order I got a call from Abesofmaine to upgrade the additional battery in the kit. With that I can shoot upto 3+ hours. But can't see the percentage of the battery charge remaining in the display as the additional battery is not from Canon. I got a different camcorder bag than the one mentioned in the bonus kit. But the bag which I got is bigger and of correct size than the one mentioned in the bonus kit.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Canon is a great company. I purchased a camer from them longer time ago and they helped me repair for free even the warrenty was expired three year ago. That makes a big different when I select this Camcorder.
I like to deal with company that is responsible for their products.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This is my first camcorder and it works great. It has lot of features, best for casual usage, lite in weight, small in size, and handy[...]

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Pro: 1:Worth for money.
2: Great Picture Quality
3: Good Sound Quality

Con: 1: Donot have View Finder. It is required only on Bright Sunny day when you cannot see clearly through the LCD. It do have feature of backlight which helps you see the LCD during the day time but that is not too useful
2: The scenes shots comes as clips in the Cam-corder. No facility in the cam-corder to have it as whole movie. Need to use the software provided to add the clips. My old Sony Camcorder had this feature.

But I knew all these cons before buying this stuff as my main objective was good picture quality which I got

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Video whike traveling. Need super fast pc cards to download and edit. Photo quality and use is great, so bought a Mac for uploading and editing. Uploads work great with a Mac.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This camera has outstanding video clarity. All controls are easy to use and operate. Having the SD slot available for use is an excellent backup to the HDD. Low light shooting isn't this camera's specialty either. The software that comes in the box is next to worthless, it is only good for tranfering the content to a computer. A person will need to use 3rd party software out there if you want to convert you movies onto DVD or Blueray disc's. The battery life as everyone else has stated before me is POOR. I recommend buying an extra battery with a charger, this will even out the problem. I would still buy this camera again knowing all the shortcomings I have found, the picture is just fantastic.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Haven't had much time to play with it,but The picture Quality is great. Still mistifyed they didn't include a hdmi cable. but so far a great little camcorder.still have a hard time down loading to my computer. Bit of a learning curve. But I'll figure it out.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This Canon HG20 was purchased by a Junior High School for videoing school activites. After three months I've had a chance to evaluate the camera for a number of activities and I've been pretty pleased... at least with the camera itself. First, the good. The camera is solidly built and has given me no problems videoing indoors. I've used it for Basketball, Choir, Theater, and Band Orchestra. One thing I especically like is the stereo mic jack on the camera which works great for getting stereo separation in music activies. I haven't spent much time with video features because, in my experience, these are best done in the editing process. Picture playback on a computer is spectacular! It's really cool to look at video that actually uses the resolution of your computer and the frame rate allows for smooth playback. I've found the interface and controls on the camera easy to use with lots of functionality.

The downside... The included battery is pathetic. I purchased an aftermarket charger and battery which provides good life but doesn't provide capacity information to the camera. Use care when selecting an alternative battery. AVCHD video takes a LOT of computer processing power. The included software is extremely limited, doesn't provide a user manual, and barely functions for anything other than getting the video off of the camera. You will not be able to use MovieMaker to capture video since this camera only includes a USB interface and not Firewire. I've had no success editing video and burning to DVD. The only way I've been able to make DVDs is by going straight off the camera, through the computer, and burning the DVD of the raw footage. If you buy this camera PLAN on buying additional software to edit your movies.

In a nutshell... I don't regret this purchase and I'm hopeful this camera will provide good service to the school for years to come. If you want a great, inexpensive HD camera I'd recommend the Canon. Just plan on getting a few extras along with it.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I'm about to go to film school and am using this camera to shot shorts both here in New York and farther abroad. For the [$] price range, I think it's the best HD digital you can get. Best picture, great memory options (I really like the hybrid smart cards and hard drive), and enough control to finesse your shot. Wish it had an eyepiece. Pain to get videos onto a Mac.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Amazing camera for the price. The picture quality is fantastic! The easy mode works out of the gate but it has enough manual controls for the advanced user. Buy a larger battery as the one it ships with is inadequate for for shooting over 45 minutes.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Very nice vids and pics.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

excellent camcorder for the price. best video quality in daylight. not so great in dim light.
expect to get a quad core desktop if u plan on editing and burning HD DVD.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Excellent picture and sound quality, plenty of storage, and great features. Questionable durability, and software is not so good. Converting the file to view in other format like windows, quicktime or other means are very difficult (maybe I need to comb through the manual more carefully).

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

The HG-20 is an amazing little package. It delivers stellar quality video from a relatively inexpensive camera. While it is being marketed as a Consumer product, I have no doubt that pro's could use this to shoot broadcast quality video. Upstart filmmakers could use this camera to shoot scenes with some pretty amazing professional results. At the same time, in the fully automatic mode, it can be used as a point and shoot camera to video birthdays, family gatherings, and vacation trips.

Only one caution though, and that would be if you are planning on shooting at the highest HD quality, you would need a pretty powerful computer to edit the footage. Of course if you just want to view the camera output, then editing software and an expensive computer would not be necessary. The HG20 can be connected directly to an HD TV.

Abe's of Maine has priced the HG-20 to be extremely competitive. It would be tough to find any legitimate seller offering it for a lower price.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

It took great pictures of sports events - wrestling and basketball. Our grandchildren were able to easily use it with good results. The pictures were steady, clear and fun to watch. We did purchase a 4 hour battery which was needed.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

The HD recording is not as good indoor than outdoor

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I was so excited to get a video camera that it almost didn't matter what kind I ended up with. Out of familiarity and trust I went with Canon, and then went with CNET.com's reviews of Best HD Camcorders. Abe's had the best price listed on their highly recommended review of the Vixia HG20. When it arrive in the mail I was able to get it on and working within minutes. It operates similar to my Powershot camera. Good design doesn't need to change, I guess- it was easy to find and cruise all the menu functions as well as record and review right away. That night I even uploaded my test shots with unanticipated ease. It acts like an external hard drive on my Mac and it was a simple drag-and-drop process to pull the clips off the camera into the destination folder. It has already been worth it's cost after less than a month. Of course, there are a lot of things I don't know about it. I came into it with no understanding of filming anyhow. Maybe a more advanced user would find it limiting. I find it liberating.I did make an addition after a phone call from Abe's confirming my order. They recommended I order the four hour battery and charger for an additional 79.99. I did so but have so far failed to get it to register when connected to my camera. I haven't tried to return it, so it might just be one defective pieces. I would just recommend not upgrading right away. The stock battery life lasts long enough.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I waited for a while to buy an HD camcorder. I was looking for a good value and something very compact. This camera was worth the wait. The picture quality is great and the camera fits easily into my a coat pocket. The controls are very simple and the camera is easy to operate. One additonal peice of advice, get the BP-819 battery for extended use.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

So far this has been very easy to operate, with a great picture quality. I am still figuring out all of the bells and whistles, but they look good.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This was a gift for y son and daughter-in-law. They love the camera. The quality of the videos are awesome. They are traveling in California and are going to bring back some dramatic video shoots. They are goign to be having their first child and my first grand child so this camera will get many used many times over the next few years.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Works well with my Mac but I needed to upgrade to iMovie 8.0 to import video. The video quality on my new TV is outstanding!

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

easy to operate. Read the manual carefully. Also be careful about the selection of cleaning solution for LCD screen. I used one that I use for the laptop screens and that cleaner seems to have slightly damaged the camcorder screen.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This is another quality product from Canon. I own several Canon products and I have not been disappointed yet. I am disappointed in the software that came with the camera for editing. I recommend purchasing the Canon DW-100 DVD recorder too. It makes burning a DVD very simple.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Being technically challenged the video editing software leaves me high and dry.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

this would be perfect if it only had a touch screen for easier use...........

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I took the time to thoroughly review the instructional manual and by the time I was finished my wife was filming and editing. It was so simple and convenient. Picture was better than I could have imagined.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

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Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

It's digital baby, so hopefully you don't lose any of the HD Quality when you transfer your video from the Hard Drive or Memory Card.
It's small and light but the stabilization on your video is pretty smooth and even. Only drawback I can possibly see, is that there is no viewfinder, but other than that I luv this camera.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Good solid camera. Purchased an external hard drive to go with the unit.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Very easy to use and charges quickly. The included software made burning to DVD very easy. I would recommend this product!

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Software supplied is marginal

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

ease of use. and the ability to record on a sdhc card and to transfer to your computer

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Very good video quality. The video can be easily downloaded to my PS3.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

I just got the camera two weeks ago and was able to use it right out of the box. Now I'm learning the advanced features, which are many, but this is a good thing. The camera's video and audio quality are excellent. I am somewhat concerned with the build quality but only time will tell. The plastic could be a bit stronger. I had some difficulty with the included software but Canon tech support walked me through the issues.
I don't think you can beat this camera for the price.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

Good stuff.

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

i use this camcorder to make short movies of my 3 years daughter, and we had great pix, and sound, and all my family love that camcorder. thank you.
Ban

Comments about Canon VIXIA HG20 High Definition Camcorder:

This is small cute and very easy to operate. The design is very good. Image quality and Video qualities are excellent. No need to worry about the size as it has Hard drive.

Manual control of picture quality is not there. Other than this, it is perfect suit for my purpose.