Photo: Canon HV10 as a stills camera - part 1

Photo: Canon HV10 as a stills camera - part 1

There can be no denying that the HV10 is a remarkable HD video camera. But how does it fair as a stills camera?

First the facts:
Canon Lens - 10X Zoom 6.1-61mm 1:1.8
Sensor - 1/2.7 inch CMOS approx. 2,960,000 pixels
Memory - MiniSD Card
Still Image Sizes - 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, 848 x 480, 640 x 480

As is usually the case with this blog, I’m not going to go into a whole load of technical details - far better for you to judge for yourself.

2048 x 1536 pixels

1920 x 1080 pixels

2048 x 1536 pixels - great exposure

1920 x 1080 pixels - nice colours

1920 x 1080 pixels - lovely macro

1920 x 1080 pixels - good depth of field

For me, the 1920 x 1080 pixel mode suits my needs perfectly, it easily fills my 720p LCD TV screen during iPhoto slide shows and has the more natural 16:9 aspect ratio.

The auto-focus is quick and reasonably accurate, the screen is totally gorgeous, the 10 X zoom a joy to use and the flash more than man enough for most indoor shots.

Being a pistol grip design, the Canon HV10 certainly is not the easiest form factor for still photography (or videography for that matter!) but that is the only real negative point that I can think of right now.

It’s more than adequate for my undemanding photo needs.

Tuesday, 13 March 2007

Click here to view the entire HV10 set in full res on Flickr

Click here to view the HV10 HD video sample