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First Impression - Canon HV30 with iMovie 08

H

harcosparky

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 14, 2008
2,055
2
WOW !!!!!!!!

I am speechless.

Without reading a manual! ( it's a man thing - we don't need no stinkin' manuals )
Without loading up any Canon software!

I charged up a battery, put in a tape and did some recording in full HD mode.

Now for the telling moment .....

Came in, cabled the HV30 to the iMac. Turned on the camcorder and fired up iMovie. In no time at all I was importing the HD video. I do recall a " warning message " from iLife 08 about importing full HD video and how on some Mac's it could be a problem unless external drives were used, but I did not see iMac listed so I just went on an imported the video.

Sorry I cannot replicate the above mentioned 'warning' I just tried another import and it just took off with no issues.

I am speechless as to how fantastic the quality is.

Just think how good it will be when I learn the Canon Camera.

Interesting Note: I read on here where some users had 'read' that the Canon was said to feel 'flimsy' as compared to the Sony offering. Well I did some deep research and found those reviews where the flimsiness was mentioned. Funny thing in those reviews the reviewers compared the Canon to the Sonys when talking about flimsiness but in the end they recommend the Canon over the Sony.
 
Nice... I too am new to HD video- I got the HV20 (I actually order the HV30, but when I went to pick it up at CC I saw they had an HV20 on clearance). I was blown away when I took some video of my kids playing in the yard- I hooked up the camera to my HDTV via HDMI and was blown away by the quality- tonight was the first time I actually loaded some HD video onto my imac (2.8 GHz Intel Core Duo)- no problems importing and editing- it might just be me, but I thought the video looked better on my 60" Sony Bravia HDTV- anyway... I did a little test movie (maybe five minutes)- it looked very good-

I am still learning imovie 08- I guess there is no way to share my new movie back to my camera??? I know Imovie HD does- next time I'll import the video there and play around with that program. I need to get good with all this before my Disney trip in June....

Anyone know the best way to export HD content from imovie 08? I want the best quality- I exported using quicktime at its highest settings- my 5 minute movie took a long time to export... it looks good- I was hoping my 360 would allow me to play my movie via (connect 360) on my HDTV- the file was not supported- I know I am able to get the 360 to play my SD movies when I exported to itunes I believe.... I need to know the best way to stream HD content from my imac to my HDTV using the 360....

Also when you hit export movie (not using quicktime) why the largest is just 960 x 540??? where is the full HD option? Again I am new to this- I love my new camera, but I still have a lot to learn about the best way to retain the amazing picture quality that I get directly from the camera....
 
Toddgabweg said:
Nice... I too am new to HD video- I got the HV20 (I actually order the HV30, but when I went to pick it up at CC I saw they had an HV20 on clearance). I was blown away when I took some video of my kids playing in the yard- I hooked up the camera to my HDTV via HDMI and was blown away by the quality- tonight was the first time I actually loaded some HD video onto my imac (2.8 GHz Intel Core Duo)- no problems importing and editing- it might just be me, but I thought the video looked better on my 60" Sony Bravia HDTV- anyway... I did a little test movie (maybe five minutes)- it looked very good-

I am still learning imovie 08- I guess there is no way to share my new movie back to my camera??? I know Imovie HD does- next time I'll import the video there and play around with that program. I need to get good with all this before my Disney trip in June....

Anyone know the best way to export HD content from imovie 08? I want the best quality- I exported using quicktime at its highest settings- my 5 minute movie took a long time to export... it looks good- I was hoping my 360 would allow me to play my movie via (connect 360) on my HDTV- the file was not supported- I know I am able to get the 360 to play my SD movies when I exported to itunes I believe.... I need to know the best way to stream HD content from my imac to my HDTV using the 360....

Also when you hit export movie (not using quicktime) why the largest is just 960 x 540??? where is the full HD option? Again I am new to this- I love my new camera, but I still have a lot to learn about the best way to retain the amazing picture quality that I get directly from the camera....
Click to expand...

I was able to get my 360 to play when I exported the movie at the largest setting of 960 x 540- the quality was very good, but not quite as amazing directly from the camera... what about the apple TV? anyone know if this can stream full HD content? Thanks:apple:
 
If you want awesome image quality AND great image stabilization, there is nothing better in the 1000 range than the Sony SR 11. I tried the HV20 and 30 and while the video quality was good, whenever I strapped it to my camera mount on my car, the video was all over the place. Almost unwatchable. With the Sony, the video was nice and smooth (same car / same camera mount / same roads)
 
I just did a 75 mile ride on my motorcycle with the HV30 mounted to an isolation mount on the handlebars. Video was as smooth as one could expect. Sat it on the dash of my van atop a mini-tripod, and video was good.

The problem with the SR11 is that it is ACVHD/ Hard Drive.

If I were to get a Sony, it would be an HDV tape based model. In fact were are looking at adding one of them to our stable of cameras, probably next month.

My reason for requiring HDV/Tape is that it is the most compatible format with both PC and Mac.

I came real, real close to getting that Sony as I have only owned Sony in the past but one of my needs is that I not be limited to the HDD in the camera, and that I am able to edit video from the camera on whatever computer I have available. I stuggled with the decision for days ... reading posts on here .... looking at Apples 'compatiblity' pages and for the time being HDV is the way to go.

Funny thing in some reviews the reviewer comment about the Canon HV30 feeling 'flimsy' in the tape drive cover as compared to the Sony, BUT, at the bottom of the review they recommend buying the Canon.
 
knifegun said:
If you want awesome image quality AND great image stabilization, there is nothing better in the 1000 range than the Sony SR 11. I tried the HV20 and 30 and while the video quality was good, whenever I strapped it to my camera mount on my car, the video was all over the place. Almost unwatchable. With the Sony, the video was nice and smooth (same car / same camera mount / same roads)
Click to expand...

The HV20 is significantly cheaper than the SR 11, and has its other merits as well (seems to have better low light performance with its 24p mode, the Sony also doesn't have a 24p mode.) The Sony does look like a very nice camera though.
 
What is the best way to export Canon HV30 with iMovie 08

The original question above was actually the answer I have been looking for. What is the best way to export the HD quality video from the HV30 camera from iMovie for viewing or more specifically to DVD for viewing? I did this myself and found the quality to be worse than regular Std Video, so I'm not sure what am missing?
 
Best way to export HV30 HDV from iMovie for DVD?

did you ever get an answer to this question? I've tried every setting possible and keep getting the same results, which I agree, is less than Std video. I tried reverting back to iMovie HD/06 after reading several posts that 08 was inferior in many ways. I exported Std Video from an old camera at "Full Quality" and it looks great, but I do with with this HDV video and it's all choppy, slow and looks like a very bad cheap point and shoot camera video at best.

Help!?
 
Kulee said:
did you ever get an answer to this question? I've tried every setting possible and keep getting the same results, which I agree, is less than Std video. I tried reverting back to iMovie HD/06 after reading several posts that 08 was inferior in many ways. I exported Std Video from an old camera at "Full Quality" and it looks great, but I do with with this HDV video and it's all choppy, slow and looks like a very bad cheap point and shoot camera video at best.

Help!?
Click to expand...

are you shooting in 24p mode? I don't believe iMovie or FCE support this mode very well.

I have a PAL HV30 which shoots 25p, lucky for me everything is just great.

24p also requires a 'pulldown' process.. get more info at www.hv20.com

awesome camera!

When your bored of iMovie, consider Final Cut Express... it's reasonably priced now and so much more advanced
 
I've had the HV20 in my sights for a while now and it's still available at quite a few places still. I have an older Canon MiniDV now and it's working, but would love to upgrade to a higher format.

The HV30 seems to have a few more features, but is essentially the same camera.

Thanks for all of the input on this from everyone.

I will most likely be getting the HV30 in a few months, once I get my CC credit card paid down and can buy it with 18 months no interest.
 
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