Canon HG21

usability, portability

100% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

usability, portability, image quality, price, size

reliability

92% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

50% des avis sur Amazon.fr donnent une note favorable à ce produit.

120GB hard drive, excellent Full HD video quality, impressive array of modes and features

Too expensive compared to the HG20, poorly constructed viewfinder

When judged on its own merits, the HG21 is an exceptional high-def camcorder that impresses on nearly every level — it even seems attractively priced. However, when compared to the near-identical HG20, its value for money is significantly diminished....

Large sensor and high data rate result in great image quality ; 24p and 30p video support ; Good audio quality

Requires power connection when transferring video to the Mac ; Manual control difficult to use

Full HD, capture still images at the same time, quick to focus on subjects

Needs to be connected to a power source to transfer footage to PC, mic isn't that good

The Canon HG21 is a good option if you are looking to shoot Full HD, however at almost £1000 it's not for the occasional user or someone just looking to catch video of their family at social gatherings.

Despite a few missteps, the Vixia HG21 is one of the better consumer HD camcorders that we've seen. The overall video image quality is very high, and the features and usability are there. If Canon could include the more advanced manual controls from...

Mind-blowing video quality; CODEC capable of recording 24Mbps; 120GB hard drive; full HD CMOS image sensor and advanced DIGIC DV II image processor; optical image stabilization; instant auto-Focus; viewfinder is at eye- level

Its design is bulky and pretty average; heavy to lug around; manual focus is of no use

The HG21 could’ve had a better LCD, been lighter in weight so that you could be more agile, the face-detection could also be included but it isn't and it is not light on fuel either. All are valid drawbacks, but should most certainly not stand in your...

Extremely user-friendly, Great picture quality, 45 hours of shooting time

Manual controls difficult to control, due to toggle

[Alex Lindsay is the founder of Pixel Corps, a training and production guild specializing in digital media. Alex has been involved in computer graphics work for nearly 20 years.]

Despite a few missteps, the Vixia HG21 is one of the better consumer HD camcorders that we've seen. The overall video image quality is very high, and the features and usability are there. If Canon could include the more advanced manual controls from...