Canon M30 or S20 - which one to buy?

I was in the same boat as you a month ago, looking to purchase my first camcorder. I decided that I wanted a Canon and was looking at these exact 2models.

I went with the M30 just because I didn't feel like spending the extra for the S20. That was 3 weeks ago, and this past Saturday I exchanged it for the S20.

I was pretty much overall happy with the M30, except for the so so low light performance. So I realized that was going to bug me, so I decided to fork over the extra money to upgrade. Just in the past 2 days shooting in the same room with the same light as the M30 I notice a substantial difference in the quality in darker areas. Lot less noise.

Maybe the M30 would suit you fine, I just tend to get real picky with things like that and knew that I couldn't stand it.

Plus there are some good additional features on the S20 as well, most of which I haven't learned to use yet.

There is a size difference also, dont know if that matters to you. I personally like it better larger(too easy, dont say anything... haha), feels like a step up quality wise. The larger LCD is cool too.

Good luck and congrats on the baby! If you decide to buy online, there are some good prices on the S20 around. B&H, Amazon.... let us know what you decide and how you like it.

Get the S200 instead. $100-150 cheaper, no stupid built-in memory.

S21/20/200 have 58mm thread, filters will be more expensive than 37mm filters.

Good point on the S200. The only reason I got the S20 was due to the availability at the store I was making the purchase(not online).

Amazon has the S200 for 752. Sold by them, not a 3rd party store. The s20 for 869.

Also, I can recommend this battery... way cheaper than the Canon brand, and it communicates with the camera to display remaining minutes.

http://www.amazon.com/BP-827-Recharg...2585396&sr=8-7

$705 by 42nd Street Photo. Even with tax it should be a good deal. They are reliable; I cannot say much about Central Digital.

You don't need to have the camera around to download video. If the card dies you will buy another one.

As for the prices, 32GB cards are $80-90, not $150 (you don't need anything faster than Class 4, but Class 6 are in the same price range too). Two 16GB cards are even cheaper: $58 total.

http://www.meritline.com/pqi-150x-16...q_v=2682c727d9

Code: MLC116491082312NL1

I bought an M30 and returned it bec. I was not satisfied with decent low light capability and the HD quality on my LCD tv. I bought the S20 and I`m very happy!