First Camcorder - Canon HG20?

[stringtheorist]

I am shopping for my first camcorder and have a couple of questions re. the Canon HG20...

First, does this camcorder have a SD (mpeg-2 or mpeg-4) mode also, or can I only film in HD with it?

Second, is there another model in the Canon line that has the exact same features but is flash-based (which I would prefer for archiving)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[spice weasel]

Why would you want to buy an HD camcorder and then shoot in SD?

Anyway, I don't think you can do that with the HG20. You can specify the data rate, up to 24mbps. That's not the same thing, though.

The Canon HF series is flash based. You can still archive to an SDHC card with the HG20 though - you can record to the internal hard drive or to an SDHC card, or you can transfer already recorded clips to an SDHC card. Seems like an expensive way to archive though. You're better off just dumping video clips to a disk image and saving it on a hard drive that you back up. Just my 2 cents.

 

[stringtheorist]

I would like to have the option of shooting in both high and standard definition. How about the HF20? I suppose this is Hi-Def only also?

I guess I could shoot in hi-def and export to mpeg if I needed to, couldn't I?

 

[spice weasel]

I would like to have the option of shooting in both high and standard definition. How about the HF20? I suppose this is Hi-Def only also?

I guess I could shoot in hi-def and export to mpeg if I needed to, couldn't I?

What makes HD hi-def is not the codec or container, but the vertical resolution. The AVCHD camcorders record in h.264, which is an mpeg standard (mpeg-4 part 10). But to answer your question, yes, you can always downscale to a lower resolution.

 

[avaloncourt]

I have the HG21 which is the big brother to the 20. Actually, there's not much difference: viewfinder, larger drive and a slightly different LCD panel.

Related to your question, no. The lowest resolution is 1440 x 1080 and there is no 4:3 mode (with the exception of still photos). So, as the person above me said, you would always have to crop the frame and downres the video for output.