Canon Vixia HV30
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As a one-chip HDV camera, the Canon doesn’t fail to deliver great video quality in any condition. Forget about having problems to record in a low-light setting, an issue that has haunted (and will continue to haunt) every camcorder of this generation (*cough* Sony *cough*), because it has a built-in light for those occasions in which a 100W bulb makes things difficult.
However, you will have trouble if you move the camera in a brusque way when recording. It’s sensitive in that regard because you’re going to get a streaked, blurry or distorted image.
Canon Vixia HV30 features
It is really versatile and comprehensive in all formats it supports. It has an HDMI component, Composite, USB and Firewire. What more could you ask for at that price of around $800, depending on your local store? It’s actually every output port you could wish for (today). Forget about getting adapters and extensions like crazy.
It surprisingly works well with Adobe Premiere Elements and the more refined Apple FinalCut Pro without generating any troubleshooting issues It doesn’t come with its own program so Canon finally realized that the camcorder, video editing and creating software matter should be left to the people that actually know, rather than improvising and making people waste their time with a faulty, constantly crashing program.
Canon Vixia HV30 filming issue
The microphone input works perfect for podcasts so it reaches a wide market. You can actually go to the option menu and adjust its gain or volume, which is a plus, but not really for everybody. Ergonomics can be tricky. You have to adjust well the hand strap so that you won’t feel uncomfortable holding it in your hand. It is indeed a design issue to work with in future revisions.
As well as the placement of the record start/stop button. It’s really weird because my thumb instinctively reaches the little joystick (which is an annoying attempt to be edgy, really). It’s confusing in terms of interface.
Overall, the obtuse design and that issue with streaked images need to be revised, but still this model is a lot better than the inexpensive ones under $500, so it’s a good investment in that aspect.
