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May 07, 2007

Canon's First AVCHD - HR10 DVD Camcorder

By David Kender
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May 7, 2007 – A new player has entered the AVCHD format as Canon formally announced today the release of the HR10 DVD camcorder ($1199 MSRP). This, Canon’s first and only AVCHD camcorder, joins Sony and Panasonic in the rapidly expanding format. The HR10 makes for the ninth AVCHD release since the summer of 2006, and consumer editing solutions were only available as of last week.
 
The Canon HR10, expected to ship in August, is based largely on the popular HV20 HDV camcorder. It features a 1/2.7" CMOS sensor, with a gross pixel count of 2,960,000 pixels (2,070,000 effective pixels). Like the HV20, it also contains the Digic DVII processor, which contains a second, fully independent processor for stills, which allows for resolution up to 2048 x 1536. Optical images stabilization will be carried over, but the HR10 will not offer a mic or headphone jack.
 
The critical difference between these two camcorders - aside from some manual control downgrades - is the format. Tape-based HDV was once the only consumer option for HD video. AVCHD has opened up HD to a much larger world of recording media, most of which are more popular with consumers than tape. Manufacturers have been quick to exploit its possibilities.

"This [AVCHD] is the first video capture technology that’s not media dependent," stated Joe Bogacz, Assistant Director, Product Development and Support, Video Division at Canon. "This is going to open up a lot of doorways."
 
Those doorways lead, of course, to customers – customers who may not be aware of the trade-offs between recording formats. While HDV has its shortcomings, particularly regarding break-up during horizontal movement, AVCHD camcorders have so far remained behind HDV models in most crucial performance categories – sharpness, noise, and overall video quality.
 
The manufacturers are well aware of this performance gap. The situation is similar to the split between standard definition MiniDV and DVD camcorders for the past several years. The former offered better picture quality; the latter offered more convenience.  
 
Bogacz refers to this split as the "two paths." On one hand, there is the enthusiast path, which Canon addresses with the HV20. The second path is the "convenience-of-use market." This group is less likely to edit, and is content to simply play back footage on their HDTVs.
 
Sony already offers or has announced three DVD and three HDD camcorders in the AVCHD format, with the new flash memory HDR-CX7 on the way. Panasonic offers one DVD and one flash memory model. Why, then, has Canon narrowed their field down to a single DVD model?
 
"The real reason we chose DVD," stated Bogacz, is that it’s the more user-friendly media. Our market research has shown that people want something in their hands." Another part of that reason may be that Canon already markets a number of DVD camcorders, but does not offer HDD or flash memory models. Canon admitted that their market research was only conducted from within consumers already purchasing Canon products. It is a question, then, of whether Sony’s deluge – and Panasonic’s sprinkling – of options, or Canon’s wait-and-see approach, will prove the more effective.
 
The Canon HR10 will support dual layer disc formats (DVD-R and DVD-RW only) and record in bit rates of 12Mbps, 9Mbps, 7 Mbps and 5Mbps. The highest quality allows for up to 27 minutes of recording time. These numbers will likely disappoint fervent techies, who are waiting for a camcorder to come closer to AVCHD’s 24Mbps max bit rate.
 
The camcorder will ship with playback software for still photos only, as well as a Corel Application Disc for basic editing (Windows XP and Vista-compatible only). Recently, a number of companies – including Sony Vegas, Ulead, and Pinnacle – have announced software releases. Prior to these announcements, camcorder owners were bereft of any editing solutions.  
 
The body of the HR10 looks similar to the DC50, with some modifications. The HR10 sports some provocative copper highlighting. The DVD transport is thinner to make room for a larger battery. The flash, video light, and external focusing sensor have all been carried over from the HV20. The menu and manual control options are also near-identical. Unlike the HV20, the HR10 does not appear to have a dial for controlling focus. Most manual controls are limited to the rear-mounted joystick.
 
The LCD measures 2.7' (211,000 pixels); the viewfinder does not extend from the body, and measures 0.27' (123,000 pixels). Connectivity includes HDMI, AV, component, USB 2.0, and a MiniSD card slot. Stills can be saved to MiniSD card only, and not the DVD. There is no accessory shoe.
 
The HR10 retails for $1199 and will ship in August 2007.


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