Canon Vixia HF20 Camcorder Review

by Jeremy Stamas
Published on Mar 25, 2009 12:41 PM

 
Intro
 Product Tour
Color & Noise Performance Motion & Resolution Performance
Low Light Performance Compression & Media
Manual Controls Still Features
Handling & Use Playback & Connectivity
Audio & Other Features Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Comparison
Panasonic HDC-SD20 Comparison Canon HF S100 Comparison
Conclusion Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Introduction

The new Canon HF20 comes from a highly-praised, award-winning pedigree. It is being marketed as a less expensive alternative to our 2008 camcorder of the year, the Canon HF11. For an MSRP of $899 ($300 less than the HF11), you get an HD camcorder that's stuffed with 32GB of internal flash memory and many of the features that made the HF11 such a popular choice for consumers. Be warned, however, Canon also did a fair amount of tinkering under the hood—and some of the results aren't pretty. Compared to its older sister, the HF20 is a significantly worse low light performer and it consistently measured high levels of noise in our testing.

For those looking for even more of a budget option, there's also the Canon HF200, which is identical to the HF20 except it records solely to SD/SDHC cards and doesn't contain any internal memory.

Update: The Vixia HF20 was ultimately selected as our 2009 runner-up for Mid-Range Camcorder of the Year. To see why we selected it and read about our other 2009 awards, check out the 2009 CamcorderInfo.com Select Awards.
    (Page 1 of 17) Product Tour

 

Section The Good The Bad
Product Tour Simple design isn't cluttered with buttons Right side isn't very comfortable in your palm and can be difficult to grip.
Color & Noise Performance Decent color accuracy and crisp image High noise levels
Motion & Resolution Performance Impeccable video resolution Motion at 60i had some trailing and blur.
Low Light Performance Tolerable color accuracy Poor low light sensitivity and very high noise levels
Compression & Media 32GB of internal flash memory AVCHD footage can be difficult to edit.
Manual Controls Good set of scene modes and auto controls No full manual mode and no gain control
Still Features A decent amount of options and settings for photos Still images max out at 3.31 megapixels
Handling & Use Comfortable, well-built hand strap Right side can be uncomfortable and difficult to grip.
Playback & Connectivity Lots of connectivity options HDMI and USB ports are poorly located.
Audio & Other Features Audio level control, microphone input, headphone jack, and hot accessory shoe Video snap feature is pointless and silly, accessory shoe is proprietary



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