Canon HR10 Camcorder Review

by Michael Perlman

Published on Oct 25, 2007 10:00 AM
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Audio (3.0)
Audio is a grim subject in regards to the HR10 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00). This camcorder does not have a mic jack, headphone jack, or an accessory shoe to its name. All audio control is limited to a Wind Screen. Talk about consumer-grade audio! The HR10’s built-in stereo microphone does a fair job of picking up sound, but its quality is definitely not up to par for any production beyond a home movie. The HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903) and HG10 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1299.99) are both equipped with mic and headphone jacks and a hot shoe. Canon must have been driven solely by the HR10’s target audience — what soccer mom would ever care about a boom mic or proper decibel levels? Despite Canon’s logic, the Panasonic HDC-SX5 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) offers a slew of audio controls and features a hot shoe and mic jack. The Sony HDR-UX7 (Review, Specs, $0.00) also includes mic and headphone jacks and is equipped with a Sony-brand Active Interface Shoe (AIS). This is pretty embarrassing, Canon.

Playback (4.5)
Playing back footage on the HR10 is simple. In order to access Playback mode, just shift the mode switch downward and the camcorder will automatically shift gears. A stylized page appears, containing up to six thumbnails that represent individually recorded clips. Use the joystick to navigate through the thumbnails and the center of the joystick to select a clip. When a clip is selected, it begins playing within the entirety of the LCD screen. Playback controls are located along the bottom of the LCD panel and consist of Rewind, Fast Forward, Play/Pause, and Stop. You can also shuffle between clips using the joystick. Volume is controlled by pressing the center of the joystick and shifting up to make a clip louder or down to make a clip softer. You can also shuffle between clips here as well by using the left and right joystick directions.

 

Video playback screen

  

The Administrative menu in Playback mode

In Video mode, pressing the function button cues a set of three icons at the bottom of the clip thumbnail screen: Add to Playlist, Delete, and Menu. The Video Playback menu contains the following options:

Video Playback Menu
Disc Operations Disc Info, Disc Initialize, Finalize, Unfinalize, Delete All Movies, Disc Protect, Disc Title
Display Setup Brightness, Data Code, Language
System Setup Wireless Remote, Volume, Beep, Image Quality, File Numbers, TV Type, Component Out, HDMI Status
Date/Time Setup Time Zone/District, Date/Time, Date Format

 

The HDMI and AV-out ports

  
Connectivity (6.0)
Most of the HR10’s ports are located on the left side of the camcorder. The outcast is the DC input, which hides in the bottom right corner of the right side, below the disc hatch. Canon chose a round connection, which is more prone to disconnecting with a light tug. The DC jack is also bare, so tread lightly at the beach.

 
 

The MiniSD card slot
   
The HDMI and AV-out terminals are shrouded by a shield-like hard plastic port cover, located along the back end of the left side. A small strip within the LCD cavity is home to the Component-out and USB terminals. Generally, ports mounted to the left side of a camcorder are not fun to deal with while you are attempting to play back footage on the LCD screen. You won’t find a mic jack, headphone jack, or accessory shoe on the HR10. This thing is highly consumer in terms of audio and connectivity. Just the bare essentials are present.

 

 

 

 

 



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