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  • Introduction

  • Design & Usability

  • Features

  • Performance

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Low Light Performance

  • Sharpness and Motion

  • Wide-Angle Lens

  • Introduction
  • Design & Usability
  • Features
  • Performance
  • Conclusion
  • Science Introduction
  • Low Light Performance
  • Sharpness and Motion
  • Wide-Angle Lens

Introduction

Design & Usability

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With its loaded frame and extensive controls, the HF G10 may be too daunting for novice videographers.

The HF G10 is not geared towards beginners, just to be clear. It is more like a prosumer or professional product wrapped up into a compact package. The camcorder has a lot of features, particularly advanced features, that your average videographer would likely ignore. To counter this, Canon does include an intuitive auto mode that makes life easier while you're still getting accustomed to the camcorder's manual shooting modes. Pros may complain the camcorder feels too small, and the G10 is certainly far more compact than the average professional model, but the camcorder's focus ring should prove satisfying, all the same. This ring is large and precise, and it would fit just as comfortably on a $5000 camcorder as it does here.

The control dial on the back can be a nuisance to access on the fly.

The control dial on the back, on the other hand, is a cause of concern. This dial, which can be a nuisance to access on the fly, is used to set numerous exposure controls like aperture and shutter speed. A better idea would involve the inclusion of a second lens ring, or at least a toggle function for hopping between exposure and focus adjustment with the single lens ring; this would give videographers more control at their fingertips, which the small control dial at the back of the camcorder fails to deliver.

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Features

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Chock-full of professional-grade controls and features

The camcorder's nine new Cinema Filters enable the HF G10 to mimic the look and feel of film.

The HF G10 comes like no other consumer camcorder, offering a full suite of manual controls, 32GB of internal memory, two memory card slots, a 3.5-inch LCD and an electronic viewfinder, a 24p cinema mode, and manual audio modes. Certain controls, like color bars, test tone, ND filters, and Zebra Patterns, are features that may only interest pros or enthusiasts, but basic consumers may come to find use for them as well. The camcorder is stuffed with so many options, it lacks nearly nothing... yet there are a few missing items worth mentioning: 60p record mode is not included, which other high-end models do offer this year, and slow motion record modes and time lapse functions are omitted as well. There are also a few gimmicky options, like Canon's story creator shooting template and digital decoration mode, which have no place on a camcorder like this.

The list of manual controls on the HF G10 could go on for days. Most interesting may be the camcorder's nine new Cinema Filters, which are designed to produce a more cinematic look. Some of the modes are cheesier than others, and most are effects that could be added using iMovie later, but they're still fun to play around with. The Cinema Filters include: Cool, Dramatic Black & White, Dream, Memory, Nostalgic, Old Movie, Sepia, and Vivid. These modes, combined with the camcorder's large lens and precise focus control, enable the HF G10 to mimic the look and feel of film.

Performance

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The HF G10 really shines with its low light capabilities, but it's an outstanding all-around performer, too.

The Canon HF G10 aced every single one of our performance tests. From battery life to motion performance, the camcorder put up top-notch numbers in each category and showed no glaring weaknesses.

Even in dim settings the camera produced crisp, colorful, clean videos.

Its worst results came in stabilization, but even there the camcorder was able to out-perform its predecessor, the Canon HF S21. Of course, the G10's most impressive showing came in low light, putting up unprecedented numbers. The camcorder needed very little light to record viable images, and even in dim settings the camera produced crisp, colorful, clean videos.

Conclusion

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Finally, a high-end camcorder that's built with pros and enthusiasts in mind.

The HF G10 is perfect for students or first-time filmmakers who want high-end performance, but aren't quite ready for a professional camcorder. It has a ton of features, its low light performance is superb, and its just big enough to give you a slight aura of professionalism without breaking the bank. It may not have a 60p record mode, arguably the camcorder's biggest weakness, but it does have plenty of other controls and options. We can't stress enough how well the camcorder did in our overall tests, and it's unlikely you will find better image quality at this price—unless you're keen on shooting video with a DSLR.

It's unlikely you will find better image quality at this price.

The camcorder's $1499 price tag may be too high for most consumers, but the HF G10 gives you plenty for your money. People who want access to professional-grade controls often end up paying well over $2000 on prosumer camcorders, yet the HF G10 will get you the same kind of image quality at a much lower price. If you have more cash to spend, Canon does offer the professional XA10 camcorder, a model that is identical to the HF G10, but with the added benefit of a removable handlebar with XLR audio ports. It costs around $2000.

Science Introduction

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Based on our testing results, Canon's decision to use a smaller concentration of pixels on the HF G10's image sensor was clearly a positive one. The camcorder produced impressive video in all kinds of shooting situations, and its performance in low light was among the best we've ever seen from a consumer model.

Low Light Performance

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The Canon HF G10 blew away the competition in our low light tests.

No consumer camcorder has done as well on our low light sensitivity test as the Canon HF G10. It seems Canon was absolutely correct to tinker with the sensor system on the G10—the smaller amount of pixels vastly improved low light performance over last year’s HF S21. In our testing, the HF G10 needed just five lux of light to hit 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. This is an improvement of nine lux over the HF S21 and it is six lux better than the Panasonic HDC-TM700, which was formerly considered the champ of low light videography.

The HF G10 fared exceedingly well in all shooting modes on our sensitivity test, which is not often the case.

With the HF G10’s alternate frame rates (PF24, PF30, and 24p), the camcorder can produce a viable image with even less light. All three of the alternate frame rates needed just 2 lux of light to hit 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. These are unprecedented and impressive results. We also tested the Canon HF G10 using its widest aperture setting to see how much this improved low light sensitivity (this required using no optical zoom with the camcorder). Using its f/1.8 aperture, the HF G10 needed 3 lux of light to reach our testing benchmark. Needless to say, the HF G10 fared exceedingly well in all shooting modes on our sensitivity test, which is not often the case, even with HD camcorders.

Last year's HF S21 produced somewhat noisy video in low light, so there was an expectation that the HF G10 would struggle with this test. It didn't. The camcorder averaged just 0.81% noise in low light, which is consistent with the best low light scores earned by other top models. Continuing with its strong low light performance, the Canon HF G10 produced colors in our low light test with very good accuracy. It managed a color error of 3.89 and a saturation level of 76.73%. Both of these numbers are a bit worse than the G10’s bright light performance, but they are still well ahead of the competition (particularly last year’s HF S21).

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Sharpness and Motion

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Though it's not the sharpest camcorder of all time, the G10's impeccable motion results make for great all-around numbers.

Like the previous Canon models, the HF G10 handled our motion test quite well, and it earned plenty of bonus points for its extra frame rates. In addition to recording regular 60i video, the HF G10 also has PF30, PF24, and a native 24p frame rate for HD video recording. It is disappointing that the HF G10 lacks a 1080/60p record option, but it did a very good job in motion without it.

It is disappointing that the HF G10 lacks a 1080/60p record option, but it did a very good job in motion without it.

The HF G10 doesn’t quite match the results of its predecessor, the HF S21, when it comes to sharpness. However, even though Canon reduced the pixel count significantly on the HF G10, the camcorder only lost a bit of sharpness compared to its predecessor. The G10 measured a horizontal sharpness of 850 LW/PH and a vertical sharpness of 600 LW/PH, using its 60i setting. These numbers aren’t too shabby, particularly with all the image sensor tinkering that we mentioned already.

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Wide-Angle Lens

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The HF G10's lens recorded video with a 65.5° field of view.

There are a few camcorders out there that record at wider angles than this, but this performance is a great deal wider than many other Canon camcorders (a frequent complaint by some). With the HF G10, Canon clearly put energy in producing a high-quality lens, and Canon even ships a sizable lens hood with the camcorder to combat glare.

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Meet the tester

Jeremy Stamas

Jeremy Stamas

Managing Editor, Video

@nematode9

Jeremy is the video expert of our imaging team and Reviewed.com's head of video production. Originally from Pennsylvania and upstate NY, he graduated from Bard college with a degree in film and electronic media. He has been living and working in New England since 2005.

See all of Jeremy Stamas's reviews

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