Got my hv20 late in April. Tested it and left for China on May 5 . Two or three days later the automatic lens cover locked in the middle. I took a tooth pick and scotch taped it open for the next three weeks. Got great pics. Took six cassettes.

Had some error messages saying the tape heads were dirty. Moved the tape manually and it worked. Also, on a humid day in Hong Kong got a message saying that it had mosture and after an hour that cleared up.

Sent the HV20 to Canon on the 28th of May and got a letter stating if covered by warantee it would take about 7 work days.

Did not hear from them and called them on this Monday. They said it was not covered by warantee, that it had sand in the camera and would have to be cleaned and parts replaced. Cost $372.00 Wow... I told them I was never near a beach or any where that their was sand. A supervisor was to get back to me on Monday. I called again on Tuesday and the person told me it was covered by warantee.
On Thursday I got an email with the projected estimate of $372. Called again on Thursday and waited on hold for 15 minutes and hung up.
Today I spoke to a supervisor and explained that I was not getting anywhere near Canon's number one friendly service and explained in detail the above.
A camera that is that new and they do nothing for the customer. You have to take their word about the sand.
The supervisor gave me a 50% discount so I will only be paying 192.
I bought the camera from B&H and of course their warantee is 7 days.
If I had bought the camera from Costco at the same price I would have had a 90 guarantee. I could have returned it and got a new camera. No questions asked.
I told B&H that I would not buy from them again if I could get the same product from Costco.. They did not seem to care.

So buyer be ware.....
Gerry
I also told Canon about the terrible hand strap and the poor location of the record button. Otherwise great camera... Maybe because it is not made up to the standards of JVC or Sony it broke that easily....

Thanks for the caveat.

No one else has had a problem yet with their HV20??? Comments?

Only problems I have had were some drop outs on the first few tapings (which seems to be common for new camcorders from what I've read).

Had the unit since late March and went through 8 hours of taping with no dropouts and no other issues. *knock* *knock* *knock* I hope I didn't curse myself.

Wow, that sounds pretty wrong. Possibly the camera you bought might have been returned by a previous owner. Makes no sense that there was sand in the camera if you never took it near a beach, etc.

I just bought the Sony HC7 myself, and having heard your story, I'm glad I paid for a 3 year warranty from my retailer. It cost $140, but everything is fully covered for that period of time, even if I drop and break it, or even dump it in water. If it's the case where they can't repair it, they will replace it with a new camcorder, or give me credit of the same amount I paid for my camcorder for a new model if the HC7 is discontinued by then.

I bought the camera from B&H and of course their warantee is 7 days.
If I had bought the camera from Costco at the same price I would have had a 90 guarantee. I could have returned it and got a new camera. No questions asked.
I told B&H that I would not buy from them again if I could get the same product from Costco.. They did not seem to care.

So buyer be ware.....
Gerry
I also told Canon about the terrible hand strap and the poor location of the record button. Otherwise great camera... Maybe because it is not made up to the standards of JVC or Sony it broke that easily....[/QUOTE]

Strange, indeed. I took my HV20 to Russia, Sweden, Norway and Australia, all within a four week period. I had it in humid and dry climates and on the beaches in Australia...not one problem. I have to wonder, as someone else stated, if B&H sent you a repack that someone had returned.

FWIW, B&H may give the impression of discounting but they seldom do. Most of their pricing on photo and video is full MSRP.

I'm glad to hear all of this positive HV20 reports. Now, if the price could just go down a bit. There are fewer great deals on this camera than there were just after it came out.

:(

I bought the camera from B&H and of course their warantee is 7 days.
If I had bought the camera from Costco at the same price I would have had a 90 guarantee. I could have returned it and got a new camera. No questions asked.
I told B&H that I would not buy from them again if I could get the same product from Costco.. They did not seem to care.

So buyer be ware.....
Gerry
I also told Canon about the terrible hand strap and the poor location of the record button. Otherwise great camera... Maybe because it is not made up to the standards of JVC or Sony it broke that easily....



Strange, indeed. I took my HV20 to Russia, Sweden, Norway and Australia, all within a four week period. I had it in humid and dry climates and on the beaches in Australia...not one problem. I have to wonder, as someone else stated, if B&H sent you a repack that someone had returned.

FWIW, B&H may give the impression of discounting but they seldom do. Most of their pricing on photo and video is full MSRP.

B&H is actually one of the best online reailers.

Their prices are not the cheapest. I can get it cheaper from some other gray area web sites.


They put MSRP when the new products arrive and then lower it according to the street prices.


But they do stand behind their sales.

The reason they have 7 days on cams some consumers would like to borrow cams for the vacations etc and then return it.

Sure if you wanna do it Costco is much better.

Wrong about B&H, Sorry I was not asking to return the camera, I was asking to replace it.
All they would do is give me Canon's repair number. And Canon's warantee is like when you go to a doctor for an operation and you sign off on everything.
No water or condesation, no shock to the camera, no sand or dirt, etc or their warantee is void.
And of course it is at their descretion.
Yes, the camera may have had something in it when I got it.
Again if I had bought it from Costco, 90 days exchange or refund policy, no questions asked.
I think if you can get a warantee that covers all of the above as Kyra did for $140., Great.
Gerry

It seems like you're not the only one with these problems. There's a customer review on Amazon that says:

"I purchased this camera with the intent of filming my vacation to Jamaica a couple weeks ago. At first I was happy on day one of the trip. Day two, however, was a HUGE disappointment. I left the room to go shoot some of the gardens and was shocked to see a "moisture detected, eject tape" warning shortly after shooting my first couple minutes. It would not allow me to shoot at all while the warning message was on and it would not go away. This was clearly due to the humidity which was high but not terribly high. So I ejected the tape and left the gate open for a while. After powering off and on again it would still not allow me to shoot and gave me the same error message. I tried all combinations of restarting the camera, ejecting, reinserting, and waited HOURS....still the same error. I finally gave up and missed an entire day of shooting which included a missed opportunity to shoot a hummingbird that I was close enough to touch and DID! The wild bird actually let me touch its wings while in flight as it was busy eating the flower juice. I can now only revisit this moment in my mind, as the brand new HD camcorder I had IN HAND would not FUNCTION!! Huge let down. The next day the camera was fine, and worked for the remainder of the trip but this was certainly a huge upset. I would still buy this same camera again though if I had the decision to make over again."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B000MUV6BA/sr=8-1/qid=1183353543******cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/103-7066583-0071818?ie=UTF8&n=172282&qid=1183353543&sr=8-1#customerReviews

Seems like the HV20 is particularly sensitive to humidity, which is non-issue if you live in dry areas, but those that live in or visit tropical climates might need to be extra careful.

I received my HV20 right when it came out from B&H and got a couple months of trouble free use. Last weekend it malfunctioned on me. I kept getting the Remove Tape error message over and over again with 5 beeps. It did not let me load a tape and kept kicking it out. I called Canon and they told me to send it to the Flushing New York repair facility for repair. I mailed it out last Monday and it arrived on Wednesday.

I checked this morning with Canon Support, and they told me that the Flushing New York facility does not repair the HV20 and they sent it to New Jersey facility. It is supposed to arrive today, so after a whole week, they have not even looked at the camcorder. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come for Canon's repair service. I will keep you updated on the progress...

I am sorry "slots1" had trouble with a camera purchased from B&H, but the statement, "I bought the camera from B&H and of course their warantee is 7 days," is inaccurate. B&H has a 7-day return policy time period on video products. The warranty comes from (in this instance) Canon USA and it is they, not B&H, who set the warranty duration.

The purchase date for this transaction was 04/18/07 and UPS reports delivery on 4/20. The first after-sale contact we show in our customer service database for this transaction is dated 5/29 which is more than a month later.

Possibly the camera you bought might have been returned by a previous owner.
Not in this instance.

FWIW, B&H may give the impression of discounting but they seldom do. Most of their pricing on photo and video is full MSRP.
This is incorrect and the camera under discussion, the Canon HV20, is a fine example. MSRP is 1299.00, but B&H's price is approx 200.00 less and there's free shipping (within the continental USA) too.

henry posner from B&H is correct.
I should have said their return policy is seven days. So what, what good is that compared to Costco that is 90 days and no questions asked.
In fact to be exact about the price when I ordered it from B&H they had it at $1100. I saw it on line from Costco at $1000.
I had found on this site that you can ask B&H to match the price and I did. They agreed and sent me the camera. It certainly is possible that the camera was returned from someone and had sand in it. Remember I just said possible.
The reason I say that is a few years ago I bought Adobe Premiere software from them and yes it was repackaged. The instuction manual had other persons writing and something else was opened. They did take it back for a refund.
Otherwise I have had a very pleasant experience dealing with B&H.
But, if you have a choice of a 7 day (hardly unwraped) or 90 day return policy, which would you rather have???
He is correct about his information. I tried the camera for about half a tape and it worked fine. We left for China on May 5 and the camera broke, lens cover locked on the 8th. That is a little over two weeks. We got back on the 28th and I called them on the 29th.
Now did he want me to fly the camera back. In any case, it would not have been covered by their return policy. So, yes he can make it seem that this was long after a month but that is unfair and meaningless.
I should have said Costco's return policy is 90 days compared to B&H's 7 days. Lets be accurate.
Gerry

This is incorrect and the camera under discussion, the Canon HV20, is a fine example. MSRP is 1299.00, but B&H's price is approx 200.00 less and there's free shipping (within the continental USA) too.

Everywhere I have looked the MSRP is $1099. Camcorderinfo.com stated on Jan 7 2007 that the MSRP was $1099 (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HV20-Yes-Its-True.htm). The last line in their announcement is: "The Canon HV20 has an MSRP of $1099 and is scheduled to hit stores in mid-April 2007."

Canon lists them for $1099 MSRP (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=173).

Costco had the HV20 for $999 for a while but it has not been on their website for weeks now.

BTW: B&H is one of the better mail order sites, IMO. I've bought from them in the past and will again. But not until I do research.

Not in this instance.


This is incorrect and the camera under discussion, the Canon HV20, is a fine example. MSRP is 1299.00, but B&H's price is approx 200.00 less and there's free shipping (within the continental USA) too.

Sorry Henry, everyone knows that 'street price' is what most stores, including B&H sell products for. I know of virtually no store either brick and mortars or online, that has sold the camera for $1299.00. Canon's suggested 'street' is $1099.00, which is the popular full bore price. Circuit and BB have sold it for less than street. I purchased my HV20 from PC Nation, an excellent online retailer, for $1099.00 a week or so after the camera was released. Their price is now $1029.00, also with free shipping, and about $70 lower than your price.

Don't get me wrong, I've purchased from B&H and your service is generally good but your prices usually are no bargain, and the one time you overcharged me it took me nearly four hours of waiting at your facilty to get a $15.00 credit issued. Everyone was conveniently at lunch, or busy, or out of the store but after outwaiting you I did get the credit.

It certainly is possible that the camera was returned from someone and had sand in it. Remember I just said possible.
Anything is possible. In this case, I checked. We have the camera's serial number in the transaction database and can search the database by serial number. The only time the camera in question was sold was when we sold it to slots1.

Everywhere I have looked the MSRP is $1099. Camcorderinfo.com...
That's simply incorrect info camcorder.info ended up repeating. We've seen too much incorrect MSRP info lately. Even Canon's white paper (http://www.robgalbraith.com/public_files/Canon_EOS-1D_Mark_III_White_Paper.pdf) on the much-heralded EOS 1D Mark III has incorrect MSRP info, and that's from Canon USA themselves!

What Canon USA has on their site is not MSRP but, "an estimated selling price of $1099." That's from their original press release. (http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20070131_hv20.html)

Sorry Henry, everyone knows that 'street price' is what most stores, including B&H sell products for.
Of COURSE the street price is what we're selling the camera for. The defintion of street price is the price retailers are selling the item for.

I purchased my HV20 from PC Nation, an excellent online retailer...
A retailer with a distinctly mediocre 6.5/10 rating from resellerratings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com/store/PCNation) , with distinctly unspectacular 6.20 = Likelihood of Future Purchases and 5.23 = Customer Service ranks. And, the price you're quoting for them for the HV-20 is the same as ours. So the choice seems to be 1029.00 from a store with a 6.5/10 rank or 1029.95 from a store with a 9.4/10 rank. Decisions, decisions, decisions. :-)

What I meant was that virtually no one expects nor do many stores sell at the ficticious MSRPs that seem to be the norm in the photographic industry. 'Street price' is for all practical purposes MSRP and discounts are derived from street price.


BizRate, Price Grabber, CNET, NextTag, Shopping.com, all rank PC Nation with 4.5/5 stars or high percentages of satisfaction by customers, with majority of the negatives being posted by individuals who don't understand that many companies in an effort to prevent credit card fraud, initiate steps to prevent it from happening such as refusing to ship to an address different from the billing address of the credit card account.

Decisions are based on perceptions and experience. Over the years I have purchased items from B&H with no problems except for the one time I was overcharged and when I was coincidentally in NY, I visited your store to obtain a credit. It took four hours of being moused around from one person to the other before the credit was issued. I had the distinct impression B&H was hoping I'd give up and go away. That experience was when I made my decision that I would seek alternatives suppliers for my video and photographic needs. And it wasn't the fifteen bucks, it was the principle.

I visited your store to obtain a credit.If I'm not mistaken, that was during Oct 2003. Do all folks from Utah have equally long memories? :-)

Henry P
Why discuss the msrp. I saw it listed as msrp for 1099 everywhere. And on a hot camera very few people give a discount in the first week.
The main problem as I see it is return policy period. You can say their is no return policy, or their is a stocking fee. B&H has chosen 7 days which gives very little room for a decision.
I would rather buy from a reputable store like B&H. But, when you get the same price and 83 days more return options, with no questions asked. Come on where would you buy from .
You can quote ratings, but I have not found anyone who is unhappy with Costco's return policy. In fact, up to until recently you could return things a year later.
Gerry

If I'm not mistaken, that was during Oct 2003. Do all folks from Utah have equally long memories? :-)

I don't have a dog in this fight, but you're not helping yourself here. Your attitude as a vendor is unprofessional, in my opinion.

That's simply incorrect info camcorder.info ended up repeating. We've seen too much incorrect MSRP info lately. Even Canon's white paper (http://www.robgalbraith.com/public_files/Canon_EOS-1D_Mark_III_White_Paper.pdf) on the much-heralded EOS 1D Mark III has incorrect MSRP info, and that's from Canon USA themselves!

What Canon USA has on their site is not MSRP but, "an estimated selling price of $1099." That's from their original press release. (http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20070131_hv20.html)
The words: "an estimated selling price of $1099." are not on the link I gave. Only the prices are given. Why would the official Canonusa site give bad info?
The original press release you link says: "In stores in April, the HV20 HD Camcorder carries an estimated selling price of $1099*. (*Pricing subject to change at any time. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary.) How does one derive $1299 from this?
Give us an official link where the MSRP is $1299, please.

The only MSRP anyone has used in this forum is $1099. Every B&M store I've visited uses $1099 as the MSRP.

Are you trying to make B&H sound like a place any of us want to do business with? :rolleyes: IOW: Why are you doing this? :confused:

I am sorry "slots1" had trouble with a camera purchased from B&H, but the statement, "I bought the camera from B&H and of course their warantee is 7 days," is inaccurate. B&H has a 7-day return policy time period on video products. The warranty comes from (in this instance) Canon USA and it is they, not B&H, who set the warranty duration.

The purchase date for this transaction was 04/18/07 and UPS reports delivery on 4/20. The first after-sale contact we show in our customer service database for this transaction is dated 5/29 which is more than a month later.


Not in this instance.


This is incorrect and the camera under discussion, the Canon HV20, is a fine example. MSRP is 1299.00, but B&H's price is approx 200.00 less and there's free shipping (within the continental USA) too.

Henry,

I have nothing but good experience with B&H.

It is good to have a direct contact if you are willing to fullfill that role.

Henry,

I have nothing but good experience with B&H.

It is good to have a direct contact if you are willing to fullfill that role.
This particular exchange seems to contradict my excellent experiences with B&H. I guess the word that describes what I sense from this thread is "supercilious". (Always wanted to use that word - ;) )

This particular exchange seems to contradict my excellent experiences with B&H. I guess the word that describes what I sense from this thread is "supercilious". (Always wanted to use that word - ;) )

Actually I have a very good experience with B&H, I was not clear in my post, apologies.

Actually I did not say anything bad about B&H. I just stated if you could buy from a vendor at the same price and get 83 more days to return the item, why would you not.
It was my fault for buying from them, instead of Costco.
As an old time customer, I just hoped they would help me out.
Costco does not always carry the same products that you may want. But, whether it is canned goods, toilet paper or cameras, you will get usually the best price and the best return options.
So would I buy from B&H again? Sure as long as I could not get the same product with a longer return policy elsewhere.
Oh, by the way I was told if you use your American Express card at Costco they double the mfg warantee. In this case to two years.
Gerry

The only MSRP anyone has used in this forum is $1099. Every B&M store I've visited uses $1099 as the MSRP.
My point, and I am sorry if this has not been more plain, is that 1099 is not and was never the MSRP. It was, per Canon USA's original press release (http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20070131_hv20.html) and all their subsequent documents, their "estimated selling (street) price. " That's not MSRP. The two are different.

Henry P Why are you even picking on such a fine point. If the press kit says estimated selling price of $1099 and we all have never seen it higher then that price, why oh why keep talking about MSRP. Silly, Henry, we get your point, but sorry it is not worth talking about. Do you always have to be right?
You are not helping B&H by continuing to talk about this issue. It just angers the readers, go back to work. Overall, we do like and will continue to buy from B&H where appropriate.

Actually I have a very good experience with B&H, I was not clear in my post, apologies.
You were clear. I was not, apparently. I have had good dealings with B&H. I find this strange MSRP talk to be counterproductive.
Slot1 makes my point:

Silly, Henry, we get your point, but sorry it is not worth talking about. Do you always have to be right?
You are not helping B&H by continuing to talk about this issue. It just angers the readers, go back to work. Overall, we do like and will continue to buy from B&H where appropriate.

henryp, If you've got any pull at B&H Photo why don't you have them reimburse him for what he had to pay Canon to fix the camera or even exchange it for a new one.

Then if I was B&H I would raise hell with Canon for treating one of your customers like that & get Canon to pay you.

If Canon refused to pay you I would then just take it off the next bill they send you or if you have to pay up front for Canon products B&H should be a big enough outfit to say to Canon either pay me or were not going to carrry any Canon products anymore & you'll see how fast they come around.

As stated elsewhere I've used B&H & have been happy with them but I've also never had any problems with a product from them & that's what seperates the Good Dealers from the Bad Dealers HOW THE PROBLEMS ARE HANDLED!

Just bought it on Monday from Newegg for $999 + $7.91 shipping

It's out of stock again, but if you have an account just sign up for the auto-notify.

I was on the auto-notify list for 4 days, got an email, and by the end of that day they were gone again.

Latest shows availability at 7/10.

I also bought the Vegas Platinum, and have already received that. HV20 shipped out of their Tennesee warehouse.

As for return info, the egg place has it listed for 30 day return, only exchange, but if you buy a bunch, they work with you. I returned (2) Olevia 542i's that ups damaged, and got white glove on same tv from Target.

Anyway, mine gets delivered Monday, I bought it for my kids HS Football games and business use.

regards,
Joe

henryp, If you've got any pull at B&H Photo why don't you have them reimburse him for what he had to pay Canon to fix the camera or even exchange it for a new one.

Then if I was B&H I would raise hell with Canon for treating one of your customers like that & get Canon to pay you.

If Canon refused to pay you I would then just take it off the next bill they send you or if you have to pay up front for Canon products B&H should be a big enough outfit to say to Canon either pay me or were not going to carrry any Canon products anymore & you'll see how fast they come around.

As stated elsewhere I've used B&H & have been happy with them but I've also never had any problems with a product from them & that's what seperates the Good Dealers from the Bad Dealers HOW THE PROBLEMS ARE HANDLED!

I am afraid it won't work.

Canon is even more arrogant than Sony, they would remove B&H from the Authorized Resellers list without any hesitation.

Canon is even more arrogant than Sony

Now, THAT is saying something. I did not know this. Why do you say it? I would like to know. I have been a sometimes sony supporter and their proprietary attitude permeates everything they do, it seems.

Now, THAT is saying something. I did not know this. Why do you say it? I would like to know. I have been a sometimes sony supporter and their proprietary attitude permeates everything they do, it seems.

I know that from dealing with Canon Tech Support, from dealing with their warranties, their holy 'Authorized Reseller" lists and their fierce "intellectual property" patrols on the net.

I must be the exception. I've had extraordinary support from Canon USA. Their support and HP's lack of, is why I bought a 44" widebody printer from Canon rather than HP.

When I assembled the printer it had a slight head height error. Rather than try and talk me through the process of adjusting it they flew a technician from LA at their expense.

My other Canon products have had equally good support and I've never found the staff to be arrogant. To the contrary, I've always had my questions answered quickly and accurately, and because my calls weren't routed to a call center halfway around the world, I could understand them.

Back to my sand in the camera story from Canon. When I first called them they were going to have their tech call me to describe how the sand got in and where.
Since I had on a uv filter I would like to know how it got in to stop the auto lens cap from closing under the filter.
But, since they never called me back, what can you do except get a 50% off on a bill you cannot understand. As a customer of a brand new camera I at least deserved an explanation. Not just pay..
Yes, great Canon service!!!!!!
Gerry

Canon is even more arrogant than Sony, they would remove B&H from the Authorized Resellers list without any hesitation.
I'm not sure they're more arrogant, but I'd say they were in the same zip code. :-)
As far as removing us from their authorized retailer list, that's doubtful in the exteme.

What is true is that retailers in general and B&H in particular have different amounts of "pull" with different suppliers. Those who think the retailer is important to the company's financial future tend to be more agreeable than those who feel they'd survive without us. My personal opinion is that Sony & Apple feel they'd survive without us even if individual Sony & Apple sales reps would be substantially hurt. Other companies may feel otherwise.