I've been playing around with my new Canon HV10 HD Camcorder over the past week and wanted to share my first impressions. This by no means is a comprehensive review, but should give you a good idea about this device.

Compact Size, but awkward at first to hold
The Canon HV10 is definitely compact. I saw the picture before I got it but couldn't really believe that there was finally an HD camcorder that could fit into my palm. (I actually got it by redeeming credit card points online, so I didn't actually hold it first.)

The camcorder itself if taller than it is wide, which took a little getting use to. With my old digital camcorder, I could hold the device with my whole hand and grasp it from underneath. With the Canon camcorder, you actually hold it more on the side with only three of your fingers. After awhile, it became second nature and wasn't a big a deal as at first.

Video quality
The main reason that I wanted an HD camcorder was for the increased picture quality. I must say that the Canon HV10 does not disappoint. The resolution is very obvious from my old standard definition camcorder, especially when I put it on the big screen.  It's just like watching an HD TV show vs. watching a standard definition show.  Very noticeable!

Connections to TV
There are a couple of different ways to connect your camcorder to your TV. For High Definition, use the included component cable. Unfortunately, there is no HDMI connection (the best High Definition connection), but that was not an issue for me since none of my TVs have an HDMI input. For standard definition TV's use the composite cable.  The camcorder will automatically scale down the High Definition resolution. 

Creating a Home Movie
Right after recording my first short video, I immediately took it to my PC to see if I could create a movie. I checked the connections and saw a USB output. Curious, I plugged it in to see if I could transfer video that way. It didn't work (no surprise). I read the manual to learn that the USB connector is for transferring digital pictures only, not video.

I then connected in the FireWire cable (not included in the box) between my PC and camcorder and I was in business.  I brought up Windows MovieMaker and tried to start capturing video. However, even though the computer recognized the camcorder, MovieMaker did not. After reading the manual, I made the assumption that MovieMaker did not support HD video, so I needed to set the camcorder to output standard definition video (set playback to STD and use DV Output option). That worked and in no time I created my first home movie.

(Next step will be to find HD compatible video editing software since none was supplied with the camcorder.)

Taking Pictures
The camcorder also takes 3.1 Mega pixel photos. The pictures are stored on a mini-SD card. The pictures have a reasonable quality and can work in a pinch if you forget your regular camera at home. There is also an option to capture a still image while you are recording your video. Another nice feature is a mode that allows you to snap a series of pictures continuously.

Summary
Overall, I pretty happy so far with my camcorder. The only complaint so far has been the battery life isn't as long as I would like. I suppose I could buy a spare battery, but a quick look at the Canon website priced it at $100. I think that I'll wait a little before I decide.

Bottom line is if you're looking for a compact HD camcorder, definitely consider the Canon HV10.

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