Canon Releases Vixia HF11, HG20, and HG21 Camcorders for the US

by Kaitlyn Chantry
Published on Aug 7, 2008 7:00 AM



 
New Canon HF11
Read Full Review		  
   
August 7, 2008 – Today Canon confirmed that the Vixia HF11 and HG21 (announced last month for Japan) will be coming to the United States this fall. These high definition solid state camcorders will be the first consumer-grade camcorders capable of achieving the 24Mbps ceiling for AVCHD compression. In the U.S., Canon will also release the HG20, a slightly downgraded and less expensive version of the HG21. All three camcorders are expected to hit shelves in September. Camcorderinfo.com has the first comprehensive review here.

The HG20 and HG21 come as a replacement for Canon's HG10, released August 2007. Aside from the significant upgrade from a 17Mbps max bitrate to 24Mbps, the HG20 and HG21 have some other improvements. Both models are slightly smaller than the HF10, but with a big upgrade in hard disc drive capacity: from 40GB on the predecessor to 120GB on the HG21. The less expensive HG20 has a smaller 60GB hard drive, no viewfinder, and a standard LCD (as opposed to the multi-angle vivid LCD on the HG21).

Joining the HF10 and HF100 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $547.99), the Canon Vixia HF11 will become Canon's third model in the line of HD Dual Flash memory camcorders. The HF11 is very similar to the HF10 in lens, sensor, and body design, but offers two significant upgrades. First, the internal flash memory capacity doubled from 16GB to 32GB. Shooting in the lowest bitrate (5Mbps), you'll have 12 hours of recording. The second upgrade is the max bitrate, up from 17Mbps to 24Mbps.

CamcorderInfo.com's review of the Canon HF11 revealed that aside from the increase in capacity and maximum bitrate, it is virtually identical to the HF10. At the 24Mbps bitrate, there is a minimal improvement in video quality, primarily a reduction in compression artifacting.

The Canon Vixia HF11 and HG21 have an MSRP of $1299. The HG20 will retail at $949. All three are scheduled for release in September.