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Canon HF S11 and HF 21 AVCHD camcorders flash more memory in Japanese debut
With Panasonic recently announcing a 240GB camcorder, Canon has deemed this a good time to juice up the storage on its own product line with a pair of updated models. Both the HF 21 and the new flagship HF S11 double their predecessors' integrated memory to 64GB, with the latter also adding in a new night shooting mode and more advanced image stabilization to the mix. The expanded storage will allow up to five and a half hours of recording at the top quality settings, which pales in comparison to the 30+ hours you can get from Panasonic's HDD-equipped beast. Other major specs, like the DIGIC DV III image processor, Full HD CMOS sensors, AVCHD format and SDHC expandability, have been left untouched. You can expect Japanese availability in early August, with the US and Europe probably joining in on the fun just as soon as the territory-specific VIXIA and Legria labels have been slapped on. [Via Camcorder Info]
Canon's HG21 HD hybrid camcorder gets hands-on treatment
The flow of HD camcorders has slowed dramatically since CES 2008, but Canon bucked the trend by introducing a new pair smack dab in the middle of summer. The brawny (and capacious) HG21 was recently handled by the mates over at CNET's UK branch, and a host of hands-on photos have magically appeared. At first glance, the general build reminds us a lot of JVC's Everio HD40, but it's probably that 120GB HDD flanked on the side that does it. At any rate, have a gander yourself down in the read link.
Canon churns out HF11 / HG21 HD camcorders
No sooner did we have a chance to wrap our mitts around JVC's Everio GZ-HD40 and Samsung's SC-HMX20C than Canon comes out with a pair of its own. Kicking things off is the iVIS HF11 (which turned up in name back in April) -- an HD camcorder with 32GB of built-in memory, an SD / SDHC card slot, Full HD recording capabilities (using the polarizing AVCHD format) and a 12x optical zoom. The iVIS HG21 (pictured after the break) relates most closely to the aforementioned HD40, as it packs a capacious 120GB internal HDD, 2.7-inch flip-out LCD and most of the same specifications as its sibling. Expect 'em both to land next month (at least in Japan) for ¥140,000 ($1,317) apiece.
Canon's iVIS HG10 AVCHD camcorder packs a 40GB disk
Not to be outdone by Panasonic's flurry, Canon just announced their iVIS HG10 camcorder set to roll in September. Unlike their first AVCHD recorder (the HR10) the HG10 records 1,920 x 1,080 video to a 40GB disk drive instead of a DVD platter. While the HG10 does bump recordings to 15Mbps at maximum setting (compared to the HR10's 12Mbps), the two camcorders are pretty much feature-for-feature identical right on down to the ¥140,000 (about $1,188) price tag. Fortunately, the good folks at Impress do a good side-by-side comparison with Sony's disk-based HDR-SR7/SR8 jobbies if the decision process is causing you too much grief.[Via Impress]
Canon's HV20 HDV camcorder reviewed: dubbed "the monster"
If camcorder sales are to recover, it'll be the ability to record in HD that sparks the resurrection. After all, just about any new digicam and some cellphones can do a passing job at recording VGA or better quality video thus making the purchase of a second dedicated device hard to justify for the average consumer. That's what makes Canon's new iVIS HV20 so interesting; it shoots 1920 x 1080 resolution natively in HDV format to miniDV tapes and includes a 24p cinema mode to boot, a first in this class of camcorders. Best of all, it does this for about $1,000 -- not bad considering the price of other pro-sumer HD cams. Japan's Impress Watch are first to get their hands on a unit for review and although we had to read it using machine translation, it's easy to see that they are, er, impressed. Issues with low light shooting that plagued the HV10 seem to have been resolved on the HV20. While the CMOS sensor remains the same size, they've added the noise reduction technology found in their EOS camera lineup to bring low-light sensitivity down from 5lux to 3lux. In fact, the HV20 "eradicates" the HV10's weaknesses "entirely." Impress will be hitting a review of Sony's comparable HDR-HC7 -- a similarly spec'd HDV camcorder that also supports the xvYCC standard found in HDMI 1.3 for wider color range and space -- to see how they stack up side-by-side. No worries, you can wait, the HV20 won't hit US stores until April. Be sure to click the "read" link below for plenty of sample pics and video.
Canon announces new iVIS DVD camcorders
Canon may not have been able to keep its new HV20 HD camcorder under wraps, but it seems to have fared better with its announcement of this new pair of DVD camcorders in its iVIS line, revealing details on them on its own terms. The iVIS DC50 looks to be the more capable of the two, with a 5 megapixel CCD, 10x optical zoom, 2.7-inch widescreen LCD, and a miniSD slot, although it appears to be for still pictures only. The iVIS DC200 takes things down a notch to a 680,000 pixel CCD, but increases the optical zoom to 35x, with the camcorder packing the same 2.7-inch widescreen display and still picture-only miniSD slot. Look for both to hit Japan sometime next month, with the DC50 expected to come in around 100,000 Yen ($830) and the DC200 running about 60,000 Yen ($500).[Via Impress]
Canon's iVIS HV20 HD camcorder gets real
Well howdy HV20, we've been expecting you. Not too much of a surprise to find Canon's high-def iVIS HV20 camcorder loosed after the inadvertent appearance on Circuit City's web site the other day. Instead of an upright form factor like Canon's HV10, they've gone long-and-lean this time which should help bring a bit more stability to your videos. As we hoped, low light shooting has indeed been improved from a 5 to 3 lux sensitivity at 1/30 second shutter speed or from 0.3 to 0.2 lux at 1/2 second shutter speed. Everything else is just like we heard on this HDV 1080i MiniDV recorder: 2.96 megapixel CMOS sensor, 10x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD, miniSD slot and new HDMI out, accessory shoe, and jacks for your headphones and mic. The HV20 is expected to hit Japan sometime in March, priced at about ¥140,000 ($1,154) to go head-to-head with Sony's HDR-HC7. No guarantees mind you, but we expect this to come west before summer.Update: As Zandr notes in the comments, the HV20 hits US stores in April for $1099.[Via Impress]
