Canon HG10 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Aug 9, 2007 8:40 AM 
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What’s in the Box?
The Canon HG10 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1299.99) ships with the following items included:
- CA-570 Compact Power Adapter
- BP-2L13 Battery Pack
- WL-D86 Wireless Controller
- AV (RCA) Stereo/Video Cable
- USB Cable
- Component Cable
- Corel Application Disc
- Digital Video Solution Disc
- Backup Utility Disc
The Corel Application Disc was not included in our bag, so we didn’t get a chance to look it over. We were provided with a 1GB SD Card for testing, but it is not included with consumer purchase. It’s useful to have an SD card as additional space if you exceed the 40GB of hard drive, or to simplify file transfers for still photos.
Other Features (6.0)
24P Mode- Like the HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903), the HG10 features true 24P, a tip of the hat to aspiring low budget filmmakers who aim for that movie look. When combined with Cine mode, the HG10 is capable of producing a highly cinematic image. Sadly, the HG10’s 24P mode displayed a significant amount of motion trailing, regardless of what bit rate we recorded at. This appears to be an issue with the AVCHD codec, because it looked great in HDV. Read more in Video Performance toward the beginning of the review.
Digital Effects- On the HG10, you get fade-t and wipe, which are popular transitions. You also get Black & White, Sepia, and Art (a euphemism for solarization), which allow for a more stylized video. All of these effects can be added in post production with most software, along with many other nifty effects.
Back Light Compensation (BLC)- Back light compensation adjusts the light to expose more of the foreground. For example, if you have someone standing in the shade with the sunlight behind them, the BLC will boost overall exposure to bring out detail in the shadows.
Quick Start- Between takes, you can press the Quick Start button, which sets the HG10 into Standby mode. In Standby mode, the camcorder consumes half the power used when recording in order to save battery life. When you’re ready to record, press Quick Start again and the HG10 will snap back into action in one second.
Drop Sensor- Like most HDD camcorders, the HG10 is equipped with a safety feature known as drop detection. When activated, the drop sensor detects a sudden shift in gravitational force and shuts the HDD off immediately to prevent any damage to the drive. The drop sensor can be turned on or off in the Administrative menu.