Cannon announces HV40, 2009 camcorder lineup

This is awesome! I was just on Canon's website last weekend and couldn't find anything about a followup model to the HV30, so I was glad to see this. I suppose it will become a cult classic just like the HV20 and 30 models have in the past.
 
The HV40 is basically the same camera as the HV30. The only difference is that the HV40 has native 24p recording and a custom function button.

The really exciting news with this new lineup is the hfs10 and hfs100. Those two cameras have a larger lens and a larger sensor. This is allowing for, allegedly, a resolution of about 900 lines. Which is astounding for a consumer cam. But the problem is that the low light sensitivity is slightly worse on this camera compared to the HV series.
 
the HV20 and HV30 already have 24p recording.

Nope. The HV20 and the HV30 have the 24p recordings in a 60i wrapper. Which means that you have the go through reverse telecine when you import the video. The native 24p recording allows you to bypass the process. There also maybe a slight quality increase because it's native, but I don't know.
 
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I heard about the 24p video being in a 60i wrapper on http://www.hv20.com

Does this mean a guy needs some souped up software to deal with offloading the data from the camcorder to their PC? As in the Adobe or Vegas packages that cost an arm and a leg? I don't suppose the new versions of Nero or Roxio would be sufficient to deal with this issue...
 
I don't know for sure...but I wouldn't count on Nero or Roxio support 24p video. 24p is an "advanced" feature. I believe the cheapest version of vegas is only about $90.

But in reality, how often are you going to record in 24p? Probably not often. 24p is used when you are looking to transfer to film. 24p does give a cinematic feeling but it's really a whole bunch of other things. Not limited to: lighting, cinegama, shallow DOF, etc.

But anyway, my point is, if you can't afford/want pro/prosumer editing software, then your probably not going to be using 24p. I hope this answers your question and helps!
 
The real important thing to consider is that the HV40 is basically the same camera as the HV30 which was basically the same cam as the HV20. The imaging sensor hasn't changed for the most part, which means you are going to have a similar image from the 20 to the 40.

The real improvements have been on the features. You really shouldn't record at 24p for chasing unless you are wanting to film the follow-up to Twister this year :) 24p isn't widely supported by consumer editing suites to boot.

My solid recommendation is to find an HV20 or an HV30 at 1/4 - 1/2 of the cost an HV40 will cost. It will be the same image no matter the price point :)
 
I've been doing my research on HD cameras and have come to the conclusions that the HV30 or HV40 is my best bet for now. I was looking at the Sony FX1000 and the Canon XH A1, but I'm not ready to throw down that kind of cash on something that may be yesterdays news within the next year or so. I wasn't ready to make the jump to AVCHD due to it's inherent flaws, but it sounds like they aren't far away from getting it straightened out. So I was left looking for the performance of the prosumer HD cams with a "consumer-like" price. Enter the HV20/30/40. With it's somewhat ugly appearance and cheapish outer shell, it's very easy to lump it in with all of the wannabes that are flooding the market as of late. But it isn't what's outside that counts..... This camera absolutely destroys other cameras in it's category when it comes to color saturation and low-light performance, two things which should be of particular interest to storm chasers. Having filmed with a Sony VX2100 since 2004, I just can't give up decent low-light performance. Obviously, the HV20/30/40 isn't going to match the VX2100 in low-light conditions, but it shouldn't have any problem holding its own. One interesting feature, aside from 24p mode, is 30p mode which helps in low light situations without much ghosting, like you would find with 24p.

Is this the best overall choice for a storm chaser? No. But it is probably the best choice for the budget minded storm chaser that is looking to make the leap over to HD. I'm pretty much sold on the HV30/40, but I am going to wait for the reviews on some of the 2009 models before buying. I see that Panasonic has a new offering in the HDC-HS300 and I'm curious to see if it can live up to some of Panasonic's claims.
 
Anyone concerned with low-light performance might be well suited to check out Sony's new tapeless model (AVCHD). I forget what the model name is, but the performance in low-light will probably be about as good as it gets for HD Consumer Cameras in the next year.

As far as daylight shooting, my HV20 rivals my XH-A1 in some conditions, but the image control and the mid to low light shooting conditions you get with storm chasing in a lot of conditions....the XH-A1 completely destroys the HV20.
 
As far as daylight shooting, my HV20 rivals my XH-A1 in some conditions, but the image control and the mid to low light shooting conditions you get with storm chasing in a lot of conditions....the XH-A1 completely destroys the HV20.


No doubt the XH-A1 is a far superior piece of equipment and if I had the money, I'd throw down on one today! It's truly an apples to oranges comparison with those two. I still plan to use the VX2100 in < 30 lux lighting situations because I know that the HV30/40 will only disappoint me. I've really only had to film 1 tornado that required the VX2100 to capture usable footage, so the HV30/40 should be sufficient for most of the situation that I encounter. It's always a tough decision when purchasing fancy equipment. There is a saying that we often use in the world of automobile tuning/racing, and it seems that with a slight change of verbiage, it could easily apply to video equipment. It goes something like this. "Cheap. Fast. Realiable. Pick any two."
 
No doubt the XH-A1 is a far superior piece of equipment and if I had the money, I'd throw down on one today! It's truly an apples to oranges comparison with those two. I still plan to use the VX2100 in < 30 lux lighting situations because I know that the HV30/40 will only disappoint me. I've really only had to film 1 tornado that required the VX2100 to capture usable footage, so the HV30/40 should be sufficient for most of the situation that I encounter. It's always a tough decision when purchasing fancy equipment. There is a saying that we often use in the world of automobile tuning/racing, and it seems that with a slight change of verbiage, it could easily apply to video equipment. It goes something like this. "Cheap. Fast. Realiable. Pick any two."

So true, so true!

The HV20 served me EXTREMELY well last year. I don't want anyone to read my last post and think it's not worth the money. If these cams are in your budget range and the $3000+ cams aren't....get these with no question.

I'm keeping my HV20 as a dash cam this year, and might even buy an HV30/40 as a backup cam overall. I just hope canon revolutionizes their camcorder lineup again soon with some bigger sensors :D
 
that are flooding the market as of late. But it isn't what's outside that counts..... This camera absolutely destroys other cameras in it's category when it comes to color saturation and low-light performance, two things which should be of particular interest to storm chasers. Having

I used the HV20 last year along with a Sony Z1. Of course, the Z1 is much better especially in low light but for most of my video, the HV20 did very well. I did some tests and it is about equivalent to the old Sony TRV900 for light sensitivity though not as rugged. The HV20 is easy to use and makes a very good dashcam. Unlike some of the prosumer cameras such as the Z1 and FX1, the HV20 has an HDMI output for those with an HD TV. The HV20 can also capture nice stills. The Z1 can't. Finally, I use mine as a deck to copy and back up video with my Z1. I looked at the HV30 and there is an additional focus mode to toggle through when using the manual button that switches to infinity focusing, a minor annoyance. I don't know about the HV40.

Bill Hark
 
Big Time Bump

I'm not suppose to know this, but I believe the gift sitting under the Christmas tree with my name on it is a Canon HV-40. I've been hinting to my wife since Thanksgiving that an HV-40 is what I want and I'm 99% sure she came through. I feel like a little kid who cannot wait for Christmas morning!!
 
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