Canon HV20 digital camcorder

The tough thing about being a gadget freak is the hours you need to work to pay for your habit…unless you can figure out how to make a living from being a gadget freak.

Which is why I became a magazine editor. I’d read BYTE Magazine since its inception and just about worshipped Jerry Pournelle’s “Chaos Manor” column. I was mesmerized by the idea of getting all that hardware and software stuff for free.

At the time, I was working three jobs to pay for my computer habit (it hadn’t yet dawned on me that most people worked on computers to pay for their hobbies–my hobby WAS computers). The notion that people were breaking down Jerry’s door to give him stuff I couldn’t afford…and all he had to do was write about it…was literally life changing. I became obsessed with getting a job as a computer reviewer for a big magazine.

More than a thousand resumes, one year and a lot of heartbreak later (I can’t tell you how many hiring managers made me second choice if the first guy didn’t accept the job), I landed a job as a reviewer at a then-Ziff-Davis publication, Government Computer News. I spent the next 5 years blissfully reviewing every PC and network gadget I could get my hands on. Then I moved into managing reviewers and finally wound up as editor of BYTE.

Thanks, Jerry.

Anyway, enough backstory. The point is, I’m a pedigreed gadget freak, always will be, and yesterday I broadened my horizons into yet another class of gadgets: digital camcorders. Specifically, I bought a Canon HV20.

I got it for my business, the part that involves interviewing members of specific audiences and figuring out what they want in Web communications. But I also got it because it’s a new gadget, it’s time I learned how to shoot my own video instead of editing other peoples’ footage..and, well, it’s a new gadget.

It’s too new to definitively say much yet except that, unsurprisingly, this is not a cheap game to get into. And I’m surprised at the relative paucity of articles, books, reviews, etc., on digital video as opposed to digital photography.

I opted for the Canon instead of my first choice, the Sony HDR-HC7. The Sony offered some additional features, like the ability to shoot infrared at night, and I believe it offers slightly better resolution in some respects. But the Canon offered progressive scan at 24 fps, which simulates “movie-quality,” seemed just a tad easier for my small hands to manage, and had a nicer interface than the Sony’s touch screen. It was also cheaper.

Buying this thing is a bit like buying a brand new house–you get the basic stuff, but there’s still a LOT to add. It doesn’t come with Firewire cabling (an almost criminal lack, in my opinion, since that’s the preferred transfer mode). Nor does it come with any kind of video editing software; the software on the included CD is primarily for managing still images. That’s an appalling lack in a digital camcorder that costs more than a thousand bucks.

I needed to buy other accessories, of course, like a tripod, extra batteries and a separate battery charger so I didn’t tie up the camera charging extra batteries. The HV20’s got a built-in mike that catches a lot of heavy breathing but otherwise sounds like lousy home movie noises, so a separate mike was also in order.

If you’re a Windows user, you’ll need to buy video editing software, which can be spendy. A new Mac comes with HD-capable editing software (iMovie HD) so you’ve got a bit more breathing room. I suspect that most enthusiasts will wind up purchasing more capable editing software anyway. I (atypically) use FreddieMac, my MacBook Pro laptop, for business and do rich media and Web development on my Windows machines. That’s because they’re powerful with lots more storage, my software licenses are in Windows and well…frankly I’m a bit more comfortable (still) with the Windows interface.

But since Freddie comes with the necessary software and I’ll need to do video on location, she’ll be the system of choice for future video work. I’ve older copies of Premiere and a beta of Final Cut Pro, but I’ll see how far I get with iMovie before I invest more money.

I was pretty conservative in my purchases but you can easily spend more than the cost of the camera for this stuff, so be warned. Also, this is a new camera, apparently in demand, and extra batteries and battery chargers are in short supply.

Getting started was a LOT more painful than expected. Canon’s manual is badly written and more convoluted than an IRS tax form. Canon has perfected the page jump; the section on hooking the camera up to your TV for viewing refers you to the settings page, which refers you to the cables page, which refers you to the settings page. There IS no step-by-step complete instruction so I wound up figuring it out on my own.

At one point, just about ready to throw the bloody thing across the room, I trekked back to the store and asked for help. Turns out the camera will only recognize a computer connection on AC power and I’d been on batteries…

This is a MiniDV machine, and MiniDV tapes, by all accounts, are becoming less popular than direct-to-DVD or HD transfer. I figure that since I’m mostly going to use the tape for on-site storage and transfer everything via Firewire it’s not a big deal…but I guess I’ll find out.

I’m pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the video I’m getting, and the low-light quality is better than I’d been led to believe from reviews. The images are more stable than I’d expected, although it’s obvious that I need to practice my filming techniques. (There’s a reason I’ve relied on professional cameramen to shoot my footage…)

So this weekend will be spent getting to know my new gadget, making sure the components work smoothly together and practicing setup, usage and takedown in an interior situation. Hopefully I’ll be posting some ‘casts before long.

Later–

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