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Canon HG20 Owners Thread - Page 2

post #31 of 679
12/2/08 at 4:03pm
From what I understand, the 24/30p settings are better for "movies" and anything you wish to appear "cinema like". You are right on the 60i / 30p, the camcorder records at 60i then later converts to 30p. I would assume that anything with fast motion, like sports, would look more natural at 60i, and more "creative" at 24p / 30p. There is a cinema mode in the camera that up's the contrast and color to give the video a more cinema appearance and is said to go well with a 24p setting. I'm not sure I answered your question or not, but hopefully it helped a bit.
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post #32 of 679
12/3/08 at 7:04am
I purchased this camera a few days ago and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I understand it does NOT have a standard hot shoe and that an adapter is needed. Can anyone recommend one and maybe post a link to what it looks like?
Thanks!
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post #33 of 679
12/3/08 at 7:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by abeas View Post

I purchased this camera a few days ago and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I understand it does NOT have a standard hot shoe and that an adapter is needed. Can anyone recommend one and maybe post a link to what it looks like?
Thanks!


I believe this will do it:

http://www.adorama.com/VDCMSFLATS.ht...28254157262001


The description at the link only mentions only the HF10 and HF100 - they haven't updated it.
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post #34 of 679
12/4/08 at 8:31am
I have just bought the HG20 but I am thinking of returning it due to the fact that it doesn't have a viewfinder, non-screen viewer. I know on my digital camera that this makes it difficult to see in bright sun light and it uses the battery at a higher rate. Has anyone had experiences with this on the HG20?

The new HG21 has the view finder so this may be the solution.

The 2nd question was about transferring the video directly to a hard drive. I have seen a few hard drives out there, like the Epson and Wolverine. Has anyone had experience with these types of hard drives? We are going on a trip and I do not want to take a laptop with me to transfer the video so i need some other solution....any ideas?
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post #35 of 679
12/4/08 at 12:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by radckh View Post

Has anyone with an HG20 and a PS3 tried hooking the HG20 to the PS3 via USB to see if you can play back HD video from the hard drive?

A related question: can you take the SDHC card out of any of the Canon HD camcorders and place it in the PS3 (or in a TV) to watch the HD video?

Or is the only way to watch videos on my HDTV by burning discs?

Thanks alot!!

You discovered you can use a hdmi to mini-hdmi cable to watch 100% digital HD footage from your camcorder directly to your HDTV. If you use component you would get the analog version of the HD footage.

For the PS3 you can burn the AVCHD files to a DVD-R disk and those disks will playback in your PS3 like bluray disks do, full HD quality and all, but they aren't technically bluray disks.

I can't attest to the SD card being read by the PS3 but it would stand to reason that if the PS3 can read AVCHD files then it should read the files on the SD card also.
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post #36 of 679
12/4/08 at 12:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by carl.lewinski View Post

I have just bought the HG20 but I am thinking of returning it due to the fact that it doesn't have a viewfinder, non-screen viewer. I know on my digital camera that this makes it difficult to see in bright sun light and it uses the battery at a higher rate. Has anyone had experiences with this on the HG20?

The new HG21 has the view finder so this may be the solution.

The 2nd question was about transferring the video directly to a hard drive. I have seen a few hard drives out there, like the Epson and Wolverine. Has anyone had experience with these types of hard drives? We are going on a trip and I do not want to take a laptop with me to transfer the video so i need some other solution....any ideas?

the viewfinder issue i think is a personal preference type of thing. I think if you are in bright sunlight you will have a decent enough view to see what's going on. The LCD is very bright and has an anti-glare coating. However, this may not be acceptable to you if you want to have a perfect view of the scene.

What about an external DVD burner?
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post #37 of 679
12/4/08 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by carl.lewinski View Post

I have just bought the HG20 but I am thinking of returning it due to the fact that it doesn't have a viewfinder, non-screen viewer. I know on my digital camera that this makes it difficult to see in bright sun light and it uses the battery at a higher rate. Has anyone had experiences with this on the HG20?

The new HG21 has the view finder so this may be the solution.

Carl, I've been testing the HG21 and I'm very impressed thus far. I currently own an SR12 and the HG21 seems significantly sharper. I too would never buy a camera without a viewfinder.
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post #38 of 679
12/4/08 at 4:47pm
I've thought about the external DVD burner but is it easy to rip the video from the DVD afterward, for editing? And do they make a dvd burner that works for the Canon HG series?

The real viewfinder issue for me is how much battery it will use. We will be traveling around and there may be days when we will not have access to electricity, probably not but maybe. I guess I could get an extra battery and charger. There is some people selling them on Ebay from HongKong for around 20$ shipping incl....
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post #39 of 679
12/4/08 at 5:38pm
My HG20 is arriving (hopefully) on Dec 9th but all these posts regarding viewfinder have me double minded. I guess in my case I was on a budget and paying another $240 (from the price I paid for HG to what I woudl have to pay for an HG21 or HF11) just to get a viewfinder seemed crazy.
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post #40 of 679
12/4/08 at 6:03pm
The HG21 also comes with double the HD space, 120GB, it can end up being more expensive to buy the equivalent size on SDHC cards or External photo/media hard drives...for me, I guess, I am going to have find some method of carrying all the data with me somehow...
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post #41 of 679
12/4/08 at 11:54pm
I just bought my Canon HG20 from Best Buy for only $599, online low is about $550. I tend to be a little paranoid when buying expensive items online, me being located in Hawaii. Also bought the extended warranty, anything wrong, bring it back to Best Buy. I think it was a sign to buy this camera.

I have no idea why Best Buy decided to drop the price on the HG20 but I'm glad they did. Maybe they know something about this item and are trying to get rid of it. I hope this is not the case.

Anyway, my question is do I need to install the software to get the content from the hard drive to my computer? I don't think I would use their software since I have a copy of Premiere CS3 handy.

I love the video quality, very sharp and clear in my outdoor shots. Wish it had a video light, which I thought it had but it turns out to be a light for still photos only.
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post #42 of 679
12/5/08 at 3:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by boy143878 View Post


...Anyway, my question is do I need to install the software to get the content from the hard drive to my computer? I don't think I would use their software since I have a copy of Premiere CS3 handy.

I love the video quality, very sharp and clear in my outdoor shots. Wish it had a video light, which I thought it had but it turns out to be a light for still photos only.

The computer sees the HG20/21 as a HDD (power cord need to be plugged in).
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post #43 of 679
12/5/08 at 4:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by boy143878 View Post

I just bought my Canon HG20 from Best Buy for only $599, online low is about $550. I tend to be a little paranoid when buying expensive items online, me being located in Hawaii. Also bought the extended warranty, anything wrong, bring it back to Best Buy. I think it was a sign to buy this camera.

I have no idea why Best Buy decided to drop the price on the HG20 but I'm glad they did. Maybe they know something about this item and are trying to get rid of it. I hope this is not the case.

Anyway, my question is do I need to install the software to get the content from the hard drive to my computer? I don't think I would use their software since I have a copy of Premiere CS3 handy.

I love the video quality, very sharp and clear in my outdoor shots. Wish it had a video light, which I thought it had but it turns out to be a light for still photos only.

I read online in another forum(take that for what it's worth) that AVCHD is only supported in CS4......CS3 does not import AVC files.
Again, take that for what it's worth, try it with CS3 and let us know. I use to be a big Premiere user, in fact it's how I learned to edit. I have since switched to Final Cut Pro but will go back to Premiere on Windows when I need to make WMV files for people at work.
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post #44 of 679
12/5/08 at 4:36am
I understand I need an SDHC card to record video on should I choose to. Will this work
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_668SDHC...B.html?tp=1188

Or do I need this one, with the 133x transfer rate to record 24mbps AVC?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_591SD8G...B.html?tp=1188

THanks!
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post #45 of 679
12/5/08 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by abeas View Post

I understand I need an SDHC card to record video on should I choose to. Will this work
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_668SDHC...B.html?tp=1188

Or do I need this one, with the 133x transfer rate to record 24mbps AVC?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_591SD8G...B.html?tp=1188

The SDHC card has to be at least class 4 speed to work (Class 6 will also work, but Class 2 will not) in an HD camcorder. I don't see on Crutchfield's site a speed rating for either of those. Try looking those cards up on Amazon.com or BestBuy.com - they seem to list the "Class" of all the SDHC cards.
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post #46 of 679
12/5/08 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by carl.lewinski View Post

I've thought about the external DVD burner but is it easy to rip the video from the DVD afterward, for editing? And do they make a dvd burner that works for the Canon HG series?

The real viewfinder issue for me is how much battery it will use. We will be traveling around and there may be days when we will not have access to electricity, probably not but maybe. I guess I could get an extra battery and charger. There is some people selling them on Ebay from HongKong for around 20$ shipping incl....

I'm not sure what dvd burners are available. I assumed you could just burn the AVCHD files on the dvd-r disks like a floppy disk, just to store them, not to make playable dvd's. Then you would get them home and drag/drop the files to your computer's hard drive.

For the battery, I highly recommend buying the BP-827 battery. I have that and the CG-800 battery charger. So I swap in/out my original battery that came with it and the big backup battery. By the time my original battery dies (about 80 minutes) I've got enough juice in the backup to cover the charging time of the original battery and visa versa. I was able to record 39GB of footage (9 games of volleyball) without much of an issue. The BP-827 shoots for about 4 hours or so at the highest setting. So combined i'm over 5 hours. That's continuous shooting. Not bad.

The BP-827 is about $150 or so which is well worth it to me.
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post #47 of 679
12/5/08 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by radckh View Post

The SDHC card has to be at least class 4 speed to work (Class 6 will also work, but Class 2 will not) in an HD camcorder. I don't see on Crutchfield's site a speed rating for either of those. Try looking those cards up on Amazon.com or BestBuy.com - they seem to list the "Class" of all the SDHC cards.

I used the 32GB PNY SDHC card and it works like a charm. It's a class 4 card. Class 6 cards do not exist in over 8GB capacity that I know of.
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post #48 of 679
12/6/08 at 7:42am
Can someone confirm that HG20 outputs 1080P via on-board HDMI.
I checked Canon website and it seems that it doesnt, which I am hoping is a misprint: HDMI Terminal
Type C 480i / 480p / 1080i Format Supported
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post #49 of 679
12/6/08 at 9:34am
I've been testing an HG21 over the last several days and I must say this is a hell of a camera. I've owned an SR12 since it came out and the HG21 appears to be significantly better from a sharpness, detail and color accuracy standpoint.

The only area I'd give an edge to the SR12 is in the audio department. The audio on the SR12 is a bit richer.
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post #50 of 679
12/6/08 at 10:31am
Can anyone with the HG20 with using an external mic tell me if it records Hard Drive noise?
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post #51 of 679
12/6/08 at 10:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tpuzio View Post

I used the 32GB PNY SDHC card and it works like a charm. It's a class 4 card. Class 6 cards do not exist in over 8GB capacity that I know of.

I own a class 6 16gb SDHC and I got it for only $28.79 (w/ coupon).

I went back and forth trying to decide between the HF11 and the HG21 (about the same price) and I just couldn't justify the HF11.
I love the HG21 so far.

Tpuzio, I will be using mine for indoor sporting events also. Can you make any recommendations on recording setting?

Also, is your generic charger doing fine and what brand?

Can anyone recommend a very directional mic? I am not interested in the quality. I am interested in the sound from a specific location (about 40'-50' away).
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post #52 of 679
12/6/08 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by slingblade01 View Post

Tpuzio, I will be using mine for indoor sporting events also. Can you make any recommendations on recording setting?

slingblade, for sporting stuff indoors you want as much light availability as possible, so try shooting in shutter priority mode, at 1/60th of second... that's what i used for this video, blow it up fullscreen on your computer... it's 1280x720, shot in 60i mode, and deinterlaced:

SCSN Pro Street Drag Racing Kurt Wilmes High Definition Video Vixia HF11
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post #53 of 679
12/6/08 at 6:45pm
Abeas, you are correct. Premiere CS3 installation will not support AVCHD without a third-party plug in that Adobe will not support. Tried importing the my mts footage and it gave me an invalid format error. I guess I am stuck with Canon's software until I can upgrade to CS4.
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post #54 of 679
12/7/08 at 1:39am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwgI7inEmMM&fmt=22

This clip was originally from a resized 1920x1080 (30PF,63.8 MB) to 1280x720(28.3MB).
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post #55 of 679
12/8/08 at 1:04pm
Can this camcorder or the HG21 be used to create a professional looking documentary? Or do I need to step up to a professional range camera (don't really have the means to do so).

Thanks!

-sbc
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post #56 of 679
12/8/08 at 7:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbcgroup1 View Post

Can this camcorder or the HG21 be used to create a professional looking documentary? Or do I need to step up to a professional range camera (don't really have the means to do so).

Thanks!

-sbc

"The online community for filmmaking":

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?f=109
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post #57 of 679
12/9/08 at 11:37am
I don't know if it is just me, but I can't get from Canon's main web page to the product page for their products.

So here is direct access to the Canon HG20 mfg's page:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=17382
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post #58 of 679
12/9/08 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by radckh View Post

I don't know if it is just me, but I can't get from Canon's main web page to the product page for their products.

So here is direct access to the Canon HG20 mfg's page:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=17382

The page/link may hang because of pop-up blocker. Also try deleting all "browsing history" in IE7.
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post #59 of 679
12/9/08 at 6:54pm
I bought the HG20 the Friday after Thanksgiving... I read numerous reviews and noticed the price drop.

Anyway, I love the recording, image quality, etc. However, I was toying with the importing and editing software that came with the "kit." Honestly, I'm not impressed at all and was wondering if there was anything else out there that was free or reasonably priced (I'd hate to spend more than $50 for some editing/burning/importing software).

If there's anything out there worth checking out, please let me know.
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post #60 of 679
12/9/08 at 8:33pm
Does anyone know if the mke400 will mount on the hg20 without an adapter?
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