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Move Over HV20, Here Comes the Canon HV30 by Michael Perlman Published on Jan 7, 2008 8:00 AM
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The new Canon HV30 replaces the Canon HV20

Today at CES, Canon announced the Vixia HV30 ($999 MSRP), the replacement for the popular HV20. The new HDV camcorder features an all-black design, a multi-angle Vivid LCD screen, and the ability to capture in 30P mode. Canon now offers a total of five camcorders in their newly christened “Vixia” high definition line-up.

“With the exception of those features, the product is the same as the HV20. Is it a revolutionary product? No. But it’s a very strong product as the HV20 was a very strong product and we added just a couple of features…to make it even more attractive to a wider range of consumers,” said Mitchell Glick, assistant manager of Product Marketing, Consumer Division for Canon USA. The HV20 was the recipient of four CamInfo Select Awards, including Camcorder of the Year.

The HV30’s ability to shoot in 30P is likely the most compelling upgrade. Not only will this add a new option for those who want an option beyond 60i and 24P. Canon has marketed this as a feature that online video producers can take advantage of. Most video sharing sites down-convert the frame rate to 15fps, which can lead to a choppy image. Footage shot at 30fps can be neatly halved, unlike other frame rates. Canon has also improved the zoom toggle on the new HV30, which was found to be small on the HV20.

The HV30 is equipped with identical internal specs to the HV20: a 1/2.7” CMOS sensor with a gross pixel count of 2,960,000. Both camcorders shoots in 24P and contain a full suite of manual controls including Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. Aside from the improved zoom toggle and the new color, the outer construction is nearly identical. The small multifunction control wheel on the left side of the lens barrel has been carried over from the HV20. The HV20’s shell was criticized for feeling flimsy, as opposed to the Sony’s HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) all-around solid design. No changes have been made in this regard. The HV30’s LCD screen has been upgraded to resist solarizing, and the camcorder supports the Canon BP-2L24H expanded battery pack, which the HV20 does not.

The Canon HV30 is set to ship at the end of February with an MSRP of $999.