Canon HR 10 Camcorder Review: Suffers from DVD and AVCHD Issues

Of all the Canons camcorders that use DVDs, the Canon HR 10 is the worst. No offense if you like the Canon HR 10, but, since it uses the AVCHD format to record DVDs, it's a lot slower than HV20, which happens to cost less, has less space than the HG10 (hard disk), and is bulkier than the HV10(tape).

The video, though, is fine. It has a 10x zoom lens, a 1/2.7-inch, 3-megapixel CMOS sensor, plus Digic DV II processing. A clunky look almost ruins it, but it's a given since the Canon HR 10 uses 3 in DVD-R/Ws and DVD-R dual-layers. The extra lip for the drive housing provides a good grip, necessary with the somewhat slippery Canon HR 10. Program/Auto mode switches, the zoom switch and the Start/Stop button are well-placed, but the shutter button was a bit hard to get at with my forefinger.

An On/Off/Mode switch, a joystick and the Still/Video switch are under the eye-level viewfinder of the Canon HR 10, and you access lighting controls, manual focus, flash, and exposure compensation by pushing the joystick. My cheek seemed to obstruct the joystick a lot, but you won't have that problem if your eyes are further from your cheekbones than mine are.

Four buttons are on the top left of the Canon HR 10. Two of them are Quick Start, sort of like an idle, and Function, which has Shooting Mode (Scene, Aperture-Priority, Shutter-priority, Film-Gamma Cinema and Program), Image Effect (Low Sharpening, Custom, Vivid, Soft Skin Detail and Neutral), white balance, Drive Mode, for still photos, (Continuous, Exposure Bracketing, High-Speed Continuous, and Single), and the image size.

Progressive 1920x1080 resolution is deconstructed to interlaced video on the Canon HR 10. Your other option is 24p, and it can have a real film appearance when coupled with film-gamma Cinema mode. You can have qualities anywhere between the XP (12Mbps, 27min dual layer, 15min single layer) to LP (5Mbps, 60min dual layer, 33min single). With still pictures, there are some twists, like the fact that Large Wide is 1920x1080 while Large is 2048x1536. In video mode, you can only take 1920x1080 pictures.

Instant AF allows the Canon HR 10 to adjust quickly while you pan, and auto exposure is almost instant in its corrections. There's a slight pulse in the autofocus when lighting is dim, and the whole operation of the Canon HR 10 is slower. Manual focusing with the 2.7 in LCD is okay, though it seems small. Lastly, audio is very clear with the Canon HR 10, but the wind filter seems less effective than on older models.

Video looks super on an HDTV connected with HDMI. The only problem with the video quality is the cool white balance, plus the fact that highlights tend to blow out. In low light, the Canon HR 10 actually works better than many other Canons.

DVD and AVCHD don't work so well together, so the Canon HR 10 loses points. Stick with tape- or hard disk-based models.