Canon HG10 AVCHD High Definition Camcorder with Optical Image Stabilizer
by Canon
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Our Price: $1,799.00 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $350.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon HG10 AVCHD High Definition Camcorder with Optical Image Stabilizer
Customer Review: Best hard drive camcorder ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using camcorders since 1985 and I've used almost every possible format available to consumers. As of Oct. 2007, I can firmly say that this is by far the best camcorder ever, in terms of the picture quality, convenience, and the price. Although there are some limitations in the AVCHD format (I don't want to repeat here again), the convenience of the hard drive made me choose the HG10 and I have absolutely no regret at all.
First of all, I would like to clarify other reviewer's information that might misguide some folks. The HG10 does include the software to transfer and to edit the video footage for a PC. It comes with Ulead DVD MovieFactory SE for editing and burning DVDs and AVCHD-DVDs (can be playable on some blu-ray players and Playstation 3. It's a dvd that has HD pictures). If other reviewers have only a Mac, their complaints are valid, since the HG10 only includes a picture browser to handle the still pictures, not video for a Mac.
For the most consumers like me, the DVD MovieFactory works pretty well. I just burned a standard DVD (yes, an MPEG2 DVD that you watch everyday) with the DVD MovieFactory and am very satisfied with the result. Converting HD pictures to the SD format does not degrade the original HD quality much and I was impressed by that. I added chapter marks, made menus, and did little editing. Editing the AVCHD format needs a ton of processing power. If you don't have a fast computer (dual core, 2 ghz or faster), it will be extremely slow. I was using a Pentium 4 3.6 GHz, 2 gigs RAM, Windows Vista Business PC to make a DVD and it worked OK. Making an AVCHD-DVD is faster since it does not need to re-encode the video files. If you don't do a complicate editing job and want to merge video clips from the HG10 and burn a DVD, you could use a slower computer for that purpose. I have experience using Adobe Premiere, Ulead VideoStudio, and iMovie (for Mac). Although DVD MovieFactory might not be the right tool for the professional work, it is quite good for a home use. I surprised my friends with the DVDs created from it. My only gripe is a complicated software activation process. You should read the software instructions carefully to avoid the hassle (specially the web link in the last page). I wasted 2 hours just to activate the software.
Yes, the HG10 does not have an IEEE1394 (or firewire, or iLink whatever you call it) port. However, it does not need one. All the footages are already stored in AVCHD format and you only need to transfer those files to your computer. If you have to capture the video and encode it to a file from the magnetic tape (MiniDV), you might need an IEEE1394 port. However, for the HG10, you don't need to do that. If you look at other hard drive based camcorders, they don't have it either (they mostly have a USB port). Right before the HG10, I used a Sony DCR-SR100 and it does not have a firewire port, either.
The HG10 has a mini HDMI (type C) port, so if you want to connect the HG10 via HDMI, you'll need to order a mini-HDMI to HDMI (type C to type A) cable. The HG10 only includes a composite A/V cable and a component video cable. My minor complaint is that it does not come with a shoulder strap. This toy costs $1,000, so a nice looking shoulder strap should be given (I am using one from an old Canon ZR camcorder).
I was told that the HG10 uses the same optical mechanism as Canon HV20, which is known to be the best consumer HD camcorder on the market (it records in HDV format on tapes, not AVCHD on the hard drive). So I expected that the picture quality would be pretty good and I was right. If you have a full 1080p HD display, you will be amazed. Personally, I use a 720p projector at home and am quite impressed by the quality of the picture. Unlike Sony AVCHD camcorders, the sound is recorded in 2 channel Dolby Digital format (Sony records in 5.1 channel Dolby Digital). The good thing about 2 channel recording is that it does not record my breath. With 5.1 channel recording, you can easily hear your breathing sound, since two of the mics are catching rear sound.
For the low light performance (like indoor shot), the HG10 is comparatively better than any other consumer level camcorder on the market that I have seen. However, don't expect too much. It cannot be compared to the low light quality of a $3,000 camcorder. My impression is that its low light picture quality is closest to a decent 3CCD high-priced consumer level camcorder.
I have been waiting for long to have an excellant hard drive based AVCHD camcorder. There are many hard drive based camcorders on the market now and none of these have caught my attention for some minor reasons, such as no external mic jack, no usb port on the camcorder, or the poor low light performance. Finally I found the right one and am so happy that I waited.
Thanks to Canon for introducing good equipment at the right price (under a grand). I hope this review helps some people who have waited like me.
== Update, as of Feb. 12, 2008
As of today, I have been using the HG10 for more than 4 months. I have taken so many precious moments and this camcorder never disappoints me. The best moment I had was the day I brought this camcorder to my friend's home for a party. I connected it to Samsung LNT4065F 40" 1080p LCD HDTV and showed a junior high soccer tournament game. Everyone, I mean everyone, in that house said "Wow." The picture quality coming out of this combination was AMAZING !! I felt like I was watching an HD documentary from BBC or National Geographic. As I said in the review, I use an HG10 with a 1080i/720p projector (Epson Cinema 400, 3 LCD projector), but the HG10 picture coming out from the Samsung LCD TV was truly exceptional and far superior (very bright and way more crisp). I have never seen such a good picture coming from any other consumer level camcorder. Although the indoor shots have some grainy pictures (I tested some indoor video shots, too), the outdoor shots are flawless. Most of my friends who saw it wanted to buy the HG10 and I started to dream about having the Samsung LNT4065F LCD TV ever since. :)
The only drawback that I have found new from the HG10 is that if you want to transfer video files from the HG10 to a computer, you must have an AC adapter (correct me, if I am wrong). Sometimes, I want to transfer video to a friend's computer right after I take it. However, if I don't have the AC adapter for the HG10, it simply refuses to do it (it asks me to hook it up). This is very cumbersome to me.
I just heard that the new Sony hard drive camcorder has a 120GB hard drive. However, the 5 hr 30 mins of video in highest quality that I can take from the HG10 is still pretty good.
If I had to choose a camcorder today, I would choose the HG10 again. I can't wait to see what the next version of the HG10 can do.
== Update, for the Mac users, as of Mar. 29, 2008
I recently bought a MacBook and found out one thing that I want to share with other Mac users. First of all, the HG10 does work with iMovie '08 and Leopard OS (10.5) on intel Macs. If you connect the HG10 to the Mac, all the importing process will go very smoothly. You should be patient, since the Mac converts AVCHD files from the HG10 to their propriety format (it increase the size of the original files to 7-10 times). However, iMovie '08 does not import .mts or .m2ts files directly. iMovie can only import AVCHD files from the HG10 or the storage space (external hard drive) that exactly has the same directory structure like the HG10. I mean, it does not import individual .mts (.m2ts) files. I have searched through many apple discussion forums and have not found solutions for it.
If someone only saves .mts or .m2ts files without having the original directory structure (it means, no meta data, video files only) like me, he/she has to use the conversion utility like Voltaic to convert .mts or .m2ts files. If you have a non-Intel Mac, you can import AVCHD files this way (converting through the utility like Voltaic) only, though. This conversion process takes significant amount of time and the storage space.
I wish iMovie can directly handle .mts (.m2ts) files soon. Until then, I should stick with the bundled Ulead software on PC for my old video backups. Disappointed...
== Update, for the YouTube lovers, as of May. 22, 2009
I still love the HG10. It is the best. Probably you already know about this. YouTube allows to upload the .mts or .m2ts files created by AVCHD camcorders. So, you can upload the file directly without any conversion process on YouTube and it is HD. I cannot thank YouTube enough about it.
Customer Review: Outstanding Camcorder
Summary: 5 Stars
The Canon HG-10 is a superb follow-on to the top rated and highly acclaimed Canon HV-20.
We could not be happier. This is a gem of a camcorder. Obviously each reviewer has their own specific reasons for purchasing such an advanced camcorder.
This is our third camcorder and we have been shooting family events, vacations and even hurricanes for close to 20 years. We burn our captured footage on a number of DVD's and share with family members (many who live a great distance away). We have two HDTV's and are about to buy a Blu-ray player. Our Sony camcorder died in The UK this summer and instead of buying another SD camcorder, we decided it is time to step up.
Why now?? Although SIMPLE HD capture and burning software and inexpensive High Def DVD burners are behind the curve at the present time, they are going to happen. Sony, Panasonic, Canon and all the rest...will make it happen. This is too big a potential market to ignore -so we decided to shoot in High Def now, save the backed up video on our hard drive and/or off- line storage, and burn in Standard Definition now. When the software makers and DVD burner makers decide to catch up and make it easy to burn family movies, we will have our (saved) high def files ready to convert to Blu Ray or HDDVD or both.
There are a ton of very technical reviews on the HG-10 on this and other websites. CNET and Amazon provide a great deal of information, Camcorderinfo.com and smartguider.com are just two of the many others. We think any buyer should review them all and also do a web search on
"Canon HG-10 reviews"
After days of reading reviews virtually every web review and visiting at least 7 retail stores we came away with some interesting observations. You are not going to get much technical help at the major retail outlets. You can get hands on and see what works for you. When comparing the HG-10 to the CanonHV-20, there was no comparison as to the ergonomic superiority of the HG-10.
For the technical data you will have to hit the web as the folks in the stores just do not have the depth you need to help you make this kind of buying decision.
We found a few very helpful "gems" in selecting this camcorder.
1) We went to the Canon website.... www.usa.canon.com and downloaded the HG-10 manual in .pdf format (yes it is 118 pages) but if you print the pages in short batches, you will have an excellent and VERY readable document to review BEFORE and after you purchase the HG-10. The manual that comes in the box is very small and hard to read. It would also be a VERY wise idea to also download the .pdf file for the Corel Application Disc Version two.
2) This Corel Guide is a much shorter manual -just 16 pages long. You really want to read this one cover to cover before you buy, and particularly Page 3, where they discuss needed PC systems requirements. You may want to talk (or email) with Canon and/or Corel regarding your PC versus their "recommended size of the PC system". We have a Core 2 Duo Dell so the Corel software posed no problems.
3) We called Cannon Tech support while reviewing the manual. You will be delighted to find out their 800 number ( 1-800-828-4040) is located Virginia, they are very well trained and if you have a problem..they can immediately lay their hands on an HG-10 and go thru a process step-by-step with you. They were even available on a Saturday afternoon.
4) We cannot say enough good things about Canon support. Having spent untold hours since the early days of the IBM PC, on support lines, trying to get help with hardware and software, we think Canon really got it right. A couple short calls to Canon to clarify some questions made it easy for us to choose the HG-10.
On the HG-10 --all the controls were when we really liked them. The HG-10 borrows a lot of its technology from its tape driven HV-20 sister but after living with internal tape transports in many worldwide (hot, cold and dusty) climates and situations over the years, the hard drive was a very logical choice. The 5 and ½ hours of HXP (full 1080) - highest format is plenty for any vacation. Realistically, how many folks want to sit through even a three hour home movie? We have learned from Hollywood.. Keep it short..Keep it snappy..Keep it interesting. Five and ½ hours of High Def video gives you a ton of material to work with from any vacation. When you get home, the Corel software that comes with the Canon allows you to immediately back up your video files and you are ready to initialize (format) the Hard Drive and you are ready to go with a fresh 5 ½ hours of HXP.
Going through the HG-10 manual provides many happy surprises - the camcorder has more features than you can believe and most reviewers do not have the time or space to address all of the abilities of this camcorder. This camcorder takes better still photos than our Sony Cybershot H-5 (which suffers from chromatic aberration in certain situations).
We purchased a 1 GB (Canon recommends no bigger than 2GB) Sandisk mini-SD card that also comes with an SD adapter. If you already have Still Photo capture and edit software, you may not need to load the entire very voluminous still photo (Digital Video Solution Version 27.0) software that comes on a CD with the HG-10. We went through the manual for that disc and it was all about STILL photos. Having more still photo software than we can ever use already on our PC, we skipped that installation.
Why not get a USB-based Media card reader for your PC (if it does not have one) for under $25. When you take still photos just remove the card from the HG-10 and insert it into a USB media card reader. While, we did not by this camcorder for still photos we are more than delighted with the stills that we can capture in Camera mode.
Regarding connections (page 83 in the HG-10 manual) we love displaying the HXP High Def. video footage on our HDTV. We connect the HG-10 to the HDTV via the (optional) mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. The Canon manual calls this an optional HTC-100 HDMI cable. Sony sells a VMC-15MHD HDMI Mini to HDMI that works very well. Canon does not provide this and you will not find these cables in most stores at the present so you may have to order one over the web.
As many highly regarded reviewers have noted, use the HDMI connection whenever you can for the best quality.
Our HDTV had only one HDMI input (already being used) so we purchased a Belkin HDMI 3 to 1 Switch box that allows us to now plug in HD Cable, the HG-10 and a future Blue ray player. We keep the HG-10 HDMI cable always plugged into the home system and by attaching the mini HDMI to the camcorder we can see 1080 HD home movies in an instant.
A couple of user plusses on the HG-10 are the LCD display and the image stabilization. Both are excellent. The size of the HG-10 is amazingly small and it is incredibly light. We cannot believe they pack that much technology into such a small package. The electronic reminder messages on the screen are quite helpful as we all make mistakes. We like the quick start and the Instant auto focus features. We would suggest buying the optional carrying strap and also a second battery when you order an HG-10.
We plan to add more information to this review regarding burning video and creating AVCHD discs but at this time we think this is the perfect camcorder for our needs.
Customer Review: Stunning Results + Used As The 1080HD Online Test Camera For Viddyou.com!
Summary: 5 Stars
:: Overview
After much reviewing and evaluating we ([...]) found the HG10 to be the best offering on the market. Managed to get the camera here on Amazon for $[...] at the time which is a complete STEAL for what this piece of technology offers. Like all of my other Canon cameras (EOS 30D, SD20, SD870IS, EOS 650) I got the quality and performance I expect from Canon. The camera is compact and light and has a quick startup for power on and shooting quickly. The optics in the camera are stunningly clear and for those that love a big optical zoom look no further. The HG10's zoom is *massive* and to the point where I felt like I was spying on people while shooting clips of the highest residential building West of the Mississippi. Definitely make sure you pick up a decent tripod if you plan to use that zoom or you're going to make your viewers sick. Yes, the camera does have image stabilization but that only goes so far and is rendered pretty much useless in a fully zoomed in shot. When it comes to a full wide shot the image stabilization does a pretty good job of smoothing things out unless you get into a constant vibration//bumpy situation. I had the camera on a tripod shooting video of Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA with a strong wind causing some shake that had the stabilization struggling to compensate for. Color accuracy is quite good as all Canons tend to be. Sony cameras typically over saturate color to make it more "punchy" which isn't accurate and rather obnoxious. Even when using a color mode like Vivid on the HG10 you still don't end up with blown out punchy color. If that's your thing - do it in post or buy a Sony. If you're looking for a consumer camera that behaves more like a professional camera the HG10 is your choice.
:: Playback
I'm on a 15" MacBook Pro 2.2GHz Santa Rosa with 4GB of RAM. RAM is cheap folks and I highly suggest making sure you have at least 2GB and 30GB+ of HDD space free on your machine. Ideally you'll have a backup drive because HD files are quite large and eat up disk space quickly. That said let's get into playback and acquisition of the clips from the camera. I used iMovie 08. I have Final Cut Studio 2, but since Viddyou is a consumer//pro-sumer focused company it was important to make sure I used the tools available to the majority of our users. It's straight forward getting the clips off the camera via USB over a standard USB to mini-USB cable. Launch iMovie 08 with the HG10 connected and set to playback mode AND *plugged into power* as Canon REQUIRES you to be plugged into power in order to transfer. It's the only highly annoying aspect to this camera, but once you grumble and grown a bit you get over it. The camera will appear in iMovie and when selected iMovie will pull thumbnail versions of all your clips for quick preview and selection of what you want to bring into iMovie. Select your clips and importing will take a few min depending on how much you shot. If you plan on working in Full HD (1080) then you need to make sure you tell iMovie to import the clips at Full HD 1080. I suggest doing that so you have the most data available when it comes time to export the video later. Make your movie as you would with SD footage. Again you're going to need a computer that's a year old or so to work with Full HD as it's a resource hog. Don't expect your slightly older machine to handle it because you'll be sorely disappointed. This is emerging technology and it requires the latest computer hardware to really make use of it. Once you have clips into iMovie you'll see just how stunningly clear, sharp and color accurate the camera is. Really, this is something you have to see to believe and since Viddyou is the first personal video site to launch Full HD 1080p online I can share some footage with you all here. Again you'll need a modern machine that's got some good amount of processing power and at least a standard cable modem connection. HD will get better as hardware and home internet connections get faster...
[...]
:: Encoding (Transcoding)
iMovie converts all of your content from AVCHD to the Apple Intermediate Codec which results in large files that can be edited. To the common user you don't ever see these converted files and probably would never need to know this except for the fact this camera shoots in 1080i - interlaced. If you don't deinterlace your video you will end up with "jaggies" in the output. This is where things get a bit tricky and it's an issue with iMovie//QuickTime. If you export Full HD 1080p (non-interlaced) and tell QuickTime to deinterlace the video there's a slight issue where QuickTime thinks the video is already deinterlaced and ignores the deinterlacing option. I can't tell you how many times I tried a variety of settings to make this work. It was only after scouring the web that I got some answers and it adds quite a bit of time to the process. You need to export from iMovie using QuickTime still, but set your output to a different codec that supports scan lines. I export using Apple ProRes422 HQ which results in a 1.61GB file for 2min of content. I then bring that into Final Cut Studio's Compressor and export to H.264 1080x1920 HD with a deinterlacing filter. Compressor isn't available as a stand alone application however so this really isn't an option to most users, but sadly this was the only way I've been able to get perfect deinterlacing of the 1080i video. In theory you should be able to take the 1.61GB file and check the deinterlace box in QuickTime and export to H.264 there, but for some reason QuickTime STILL ignores the deinterlacing command. Frustrating, but it's new tech and consumer software so it's an issue with the video tools and not the camera itself. There's another gotcha here too. You MUST have QuickTime Pro which is $[...]. Honestly if you're going to be doing any kind of video work on Mac or PC you *should* buy QuickTime Pro period. It's a $[...] investment that will last you for years and is completely worth it. Included below is an example of what interlaced footage looks like and why it's a problem. Oddly when exporting to 720x1280 (720p) QuickTime DOES deinterlace. Yeah - figure that one out...
1080i ::
:: Online Hosting of Full HD Video
Full disclaimer - I'm one of the founders of [...]. Aaron and I have put an astonishing amount of time into bringing Full HD to the consumer//pro-sumer market with the best balance of playback quality and download speed. It's been quite a challenge making this happen yet the results have been more than worth it. If you're looking for a place to host and share Full HD 1080p video Viddyou is your only option as no one else offers Full HD services on the consumer level. Even if you're looking for only 720p hosting or top quality SD (standard definition) you'll find us hard to beat. Putting the video quality aside for a moment its our privacy controls that let you specify exactly who gets to view and even download your original video file that make Viddyou the standout choice. Personal video is just that - personal and privacy is as critical to Aaron and myself as it is to many of you. Your uploads are archived to Amazon's own S3 storage system which powers the site we all love so much here. The Canon HG10 was our test camera during development and remains our best answer to anyone wanting to get into HD. If you have any questions about HD and Viddyou feel free to contact me on [...]and I'll happily help.
Customer Review: Delightful piece of quality!
Summary: 5 Stars
When we recorded our son's chorus and watched the video on TV, we knew it was time to replace our old Hi8 camcorder so as not to lose any more precious moments. I started with Consumer Reports and after reading the pros and cons of different types of camcorders, decided a hard disk based one was what I wanted. In 2007 December, when HD TV is so prevalent, why not invest in a High-definition camcorder? The best buy Panasonic hard-drive based camcorder HDC-DX1'S price was attractive but was too bulky. I generally don't carry a camcorder with me due to it additional bulk. As I read and read reports on Amazon I converged onto the Canon HG-10, due to a combination of price and the 40G hard disk capacity. The reviews were pretty good on sites such as camcorderinfo.com. I read the only drawback was its low-light performance. After using it for nearly 3 1/2 weeks, here are my impressions/findings:
Why I love the HG-10?
- Small size. It fits into the palm of your hand. However, it is not so small that it detracts from getting a steady shot.
- The image stabilizer got the best ratings among HD camcorders on camcorderinfo, which is a great plus due to the smaller size.
- The bright light clips are awesome. The quality is unbelievable compared to the quality I used to see among Hi8s. It is just another whole new level of details. As I went beyond the woods and got a shot our home, the details of the bare tree branches through which I was seeing the home was incredible.
- You don't need a separate lens cover. Once you turn the camcorder on, the shutter opens by itself and closes when you switch off. Nice.
- The scroll wheel based menu navigation needs a bit of getting used to, but is convenient to flip through a lot of clips at a time (to get to the one you want to amongst many hundred clips that you have recorded).
- The LCD view finder is compact and flips and rotates like many others.You can flip it and make it sit smugly on the side, so that others can see what is being shot.
- The 3.1 mega pixel camera is definitely handy. I don't have to carry a separate camera. All these built-in cameras do not provide the same quality as a comparable digital camera, but I find that we rarely print digital photos. To see on-screen, this is more than enough for us.
- You can choose between Auto and Manual mode. This will work well for those who want to tweak the settings themselves, but I rarely have used it except trying out in low light conditions.
- The menu for the video is fairly simple; but the camera's menu options can need some time for getting used to.
- Transferring videos to your computer via a USB cable is fairly easy. The provided software is more than adequate to transfer. You can also backup and restore the videos back to your camcorder.
- I haven't seen the videos in high def as I don't yet have a HD dvd player or not yet ordered the mini HDMI-HDMI cable. This camcorder only supports variations of Blueray HD. The video quality burnt onto regular DVDs were quite impressive, especially those shot outdoors or in bright light.
- It comes along with software to edit your movies that work, given the many complaints I read about editing HD movies. The ULead DVD Movie factory . I found I was able to joins clips, add music, tittles and chapters and burn DVDs aftermy first two videos in a relatively easy way. But I am also computer savvy, working with them for daily bread!
- The ZoomBrowserEX software for transferring still images is a more mature application that the DVD Movie factory. I don't use all its features, except for transferring I admit.
- Price (about 750) is reasonable for a High-Definition, 40 GB near top of the line digital camcorder. For my first Hi8, I had paid nearly 1500 with unnecessary additional insurance. Of course, the price will drop in two months, but that is inevitable.
- The battery gives you about 40 minutes of recording time. You may want to carry the supplied adapter along which shouldn't be a problem due to the smaller size of the camcorder itself.
- The 40 GB hard disk records about 5 1/2 hours of high definition video at the highest resolution. I could no t be happier as I rarely shoot 2 hours video in a month.
Lows:
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- Low light performance is a deterrent. First I thought I don't shoot in low lights. But we all do. Your home on the inside during evenings with the fluorescent or incandescent lights on. This is low light for the HG-10. I found pictures to be grainy. Not much of an improvement here compared to the old Sony Hi8 I had. But at an indoorplace such as Arnold's Go karts, where the lighting was bright, the quality was not an issue.
- The movie editing software is fairly basic, which is okay as I could burn DVDs with it which is all I want to do with some music. BUT, the application crashed twice when I had too many chapters. The application is also a resource hog. Of course, we are editing videos. My 2 GB, dual core, 9100 Inspiron (laptop) took more than 7 hours to burn a DVD with about 40 minutes of edited video. Just be aware you need a nice, geek-impressing desktop to do video edits. Once upon crashing, most of my video edits were lost. After I removed many chapters (every clip becomes a chapter) the application was more stable.
- The user manual for the DVD Movie factory is just fair. It doesn't explain the process of editing using the application well. The context sensitive help is something that a school boy would have written better. It looks like a hastily written user manual.
- You want to order a mini-HDMI to HDMO cable if you want to see the video in High Def. The component video cable is provided.
Overall I am happy realizing no camcorder will be without drawbacks in the price range, I as a consumer/amateur, is willing to pay. At least with a high definition camcorder I don't have to worry about getting outdated in the next several years. The Canon HG-10 is a delight overall.
Customer Review: Excellent Compact HD Camcorder
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using the Canon HG10 for a month now and couldn't be happier with the quality of the recordings. This camcorder has many useful features and no fatal flaws. I'm basing the five stars on the price/performance ratio. I'm not basing the rating on the supplied software and editing capabilities because there are too many variables with computer configurations and I just want to focus on the camera's performance. I have owned an 8mm and two Mini DV camcorders over the last twenty years and have never seen results that are anything close to what I get with this camcorder. Most of my shooting has been done with full automatic mode.
Here are the features and characteristics I really like:
First and foremost, color saturation and accuracy. Even if this wasn't high definition, I'd be pleased with it for the realistic color rendition alone.
It has very good low light shooting capability. Don't expect the crisp, smooth, colorful images you get under bright lighting, but this will pick up viewable images (albeit very grainy and low contrast) under candlelight and outside images at night under a bright moon. It works well under normal indoor lighting at night which is where I shoot a lot of video.
The auto focus is lightning fast. You won't see a lot of "hunting" to focus. The image stabilization works amazingly well. My videos haven't looked this steady since I was using my big, heavy 8mm camcorder years ago. The automatic white balance is very fast and accurate too.
The hard drive is quick, quiet, and a real convenience after dealing with tapes for years. All of the important data is embedded in the video. No more writing time and date information on tiny cassette labels. Finding a particular clip by viewing thumbnails is a huge improvement over winding a tape back and forth.
The controls are well placed and easy to use. The variable speed zoom is excellent and I really like having the option of using a viewfinder or LCD screen when shooting.
There are many more manual options than I'm used to seeing in a compact camcorder. You can control focus, aperture, frame rate, shutter speed, and more. If you've ever used a Canon digital still camera, you'll be in familiar territory with the menus, manual settings and effects. Check out cinema mode. It looks great but it does reduce the contrast and brightness slightly.
The still photo mode produces very good pictures. At about 2.7 megapixels, it won't compete with current dedicated digital still cameras for resolution, but the results are fine if you don't blow the pictures up too big. The excellent optics and image sensor really help here.
A few things I don't like:
Having to plug in the AC adapter to transfer video files to a computer. I know this is to protect the hard drive, but it is a nuisance. Still images can be transfered under battery power.
Mini SD card for storing still images. Storing still images on the hard drive would be convenient but would probably complicate playback. My gripe is that you have to use a mini and not a regular SD card. Regular SD cards are generally cheaper and easier to find. The memory card was not included. Including a small capacity card wouldn't add much to the cost of the camera and would mean the still photo mode will work right out of the box. I had to order a card and wait an extra week before I could use the still photo mode. Not a big deal, but I think everything should be ready to go right away.
Specialized connections for HDMI and component video. For HDMI, it uses a Mini to standard HDMI cable which is not included. Mini to standard HDMI cables are more expensive and harder to find than standard to standard HDMI cables. Component video is accessed by a special type of mini plug for the camera. The cable is included, but if it's lost or damaged, it could be difficult to find a replacement. Using the composite video output downconverts the resolution from 1080i to 480p. Even at 480p, the video still looks very good. The composite A/V cable is also included.
I consider these minor drawbacks; not quite enough for me to dock the rating by a star.
A couple of things I'm neutral on are the flash and the built in microphone. The built in microphone I would consider good, but average. The flash works well for still images but seems to have a somewhat shorter useful range than the built in flash on a lot of dedicated digital still cameras. It won't help much beyond eight to ten feet. You can attach a stronger flash to the hot shoe.
To sum everything up;
Stunning video quality. Good still images are a bonus (see customer images).
Good sound. Can be improved by using an external microphone.
Easy to use. Good control layout. You can hold and operate it with one hand. Image stabilization really helps with one handed operation.
Automatic mode works really well and there are lots of manual control options if you want to tweak them.
For the first time, I'm getting video that looks as good or better than anything I see on broadcast television!