AfterDawn: News

Canon announces smallest Hard Drive based HD camcorder

In October Canon plans to start selling the HG10, the company's first high-definition hard drive camcorder and the world's smallest.

The new camcorder will weigh in at 19.92 ounces with the battery inside.



The 40GB hard disk will be enough for 5.5 hours of AVCHD recording at its highest quality setting, resulting in an Anamorphic Resolution of 1440x1080 compressed at 15Mbps. This is 25% higher than the Bitrate allowed by Canon's DVD based HR10.

Unlike Compression schemes from Sony and Panasonic, Canon's implementation of AVCHD uses VBR compression, allowing complex scenes to have less compression applied than simple scenes.

Canon said a version of the Windows-only Corel (formerly Ulead) VideoStudio 11 will be included with this HG10 camcorder, which is good news for consumers since support for AVCHD in editing software isn't exactly a standard feature.

AVCHD is only one compression standard used for Hi-Def camcorders. Some use HDV, which is related to the DV compression used in most standard definition digital camcorders. With the storage requirements for even a small amount of Hi-Def video, AVCHD's more advanced compression seems to be gaining a lot of support among manufacturers.

Source: Gizmodo

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 1 Aug 2007 19:10

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• 5 comments

• WierdName

  We're creeping into the high def age of next gen computers.
  
  EDIT- er, creeping meaning souring with a rocket in the rear.

  2.8.2007 13:28 #1

• borhan9

  I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this little baby. Would love to play with the feature. I figure that the price is going to stop me acquiring it not because its expensive its cause i cant not afford it anyways.

  2.8.2007 22:05 #2

• Tashammer

  As i read the specs of this camera as well as check out info on other up and coming kit with 11ty million companies making their seductive offers a thought strikes me...that by the time i will be able to afford what is being offered as leading edge today will be archaelogical edge. So i will never be able to catch up. Umm is this Xeno'(?) paradox or is it all an illusion - there is no hare and no tortoise, just a marketing phantasm?

  3.8.2007 16:17 #3

• moufoglou

  Originally posted by vurbal: Some use HDV, which is related to the DV compression used in most standard definition digital camcorders.
  Actually related to the standard MiniDV tape only. Compression in HDV is mpeg2,nothing to do with the DV compression.

  11.8.2007 04:01 #4

• Unfocused

  If nothing else, I like the fact that it is light weight. But realistically, I'm still recording on 8mm tapes, so it will still be awhile before I jump to HD.

  14.8.2007 21:57 #5