Skip to main content
DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

BUY NOW
  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Back

  • Left

  • Right

  • Top

  • Bottom

  • In the Box

  • Color

  • Low Light Color

  • White Balance

  • Noise

  • Low Light Sensitivity

  • Low Light Noise

  • Low Light Color

  • Motion

  • Video Sharpness

  • Testing Samples

  • Auto Mode

  • Other Auto Features

  • Menus

  • Handling

  • Portability

  • LCD

  • Stabilization

  • Manual Focus

  • Manual Exposure

  • Miscellaneous Controls

  • Audio Controls

  • Editing

  • Compression

  • Media

  • Resolution & Frame Rates

  • Still Features

  • Lens & Imaging System

  • LCD

  • Connectivity

  • Battery

  • Media

  • Still Features

  • Other Features

  • Panasonic HDC-SD20 Comparison

  • Canon Vixia HF S100 Comparison

  • COMP 3

  • Conclusion

  • Photo Gallery

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Back
  • Left
  • Right
  • Top
  • Bottom
  • In the Box
  • Color
  • Low Light Color
  • White Balance
  • Noise
  • Low Light Sensitivity
  • Low Light Noise
  • Low Light Color
  • Motion
  • Video Sharpness
  • Testing Samples
  • Auto Mode
  • Other Auto Features
  • Menus
  • Handling
  • Portability
  • LCD
  • Stabilization
  • Manual Focus
  • Manual Exposure
  • Miscellaneous Controls
  • Audio Controls
  • Editing
  • Compression
  • Media
  • Resolution & Frame Rates
  • Still Features
  • Lens & Imaging System
  • LCD
  • Connectivity
  • Battery
  • Media
  • Still Features
  • Other Features
  • Panasonic HDC-SD20 Comparison
  • Canon Vixia HF S100 Comparison
  • COMP 3
  • Conclusion
  • Photo Gallery

Introduction

For those looking for even more of a budget option, there's also the Canon HF200, which is identical to the HF20 except it records solely to SD/SDHC cards and doesn't contain any internal memory.

Update: The Vixia HF20 was ultimately selected as our 2009 runner-up for Mid-Range Camcorder of the Year. To see why we selected it and read about our other 2009 awards, check out the 2009 CamcorderInfo.com Select Awards.

Front

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Back

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Left

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Top

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Bottom

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

In the Box

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Color

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Our color tests didn't reveal anything too unusual with the Canon HF20. It scored a decent 4.18 color error with a saturation of 91.48%. This is an average score and it's a bit lower than the elite numbers we got from the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Canon HF S100. Looking at the color error map below, you can see the HF20 did very well with dark blues and purples, but faired poorer with reds, pinks and some greens. More on how we test color.

The Canon HF20 produced a very pleasing image at 3000 lux. Lines were sharp and colors were very well defined. Whereas the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 showed a warm, yellow tone in its image, the Canon HF20 had a cooler, bluish hue. We must say, the HF20 captured very pristine text and extra-fine detail—often rivaling the image quality seen on the more expensive Canon HF S100.

The Canon HF20 has a number of preset Image Effects—Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, and Soft Skin Detail. Each of these does a decent job adding an extra element to the video image. If that's not enough for you, there's also a customization setting that lets you create your own effect by adjusting color depth, brightness, contrast, and sharpness. Canon doesn't offer much room for experimentation, however, as each setting only has a full adjustment range of +/-1.

The Canon HF20 showed a very similar overall image to its big brother, the Canon HF S100. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 also had a nice image, although lines didn't pop nearly as much as we saw on the two canons. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 was a notch below the rest, with blurry text, soft lines, and plenty of artifacting. The color accuracy of all four camcorders were good, with the VPC-HD2000 and Canon HF S100 leading the way.

In the color chip close-ups above, you can see the differences between the Canon HF20 and the rest of the camcorders we tested. All the camcorders show a slightly darker image than the 'ideal' color, but this is normal because camcorder manufacturers tend to oversaturate the video image in order to produce more vivid colors.

Overall, the Canon HF20 had decent color accuracy in bright light and it's video image looked very sharp. Other camcorders in this group measured more accurate colors, but the differences weren't that significant. Worth notable mention is how well the HF20's bright light image compares to the more expensive HF S100. Both camcorders put up very similar results in our bright light testing.

{{comparison_bars title="Color Score Comparison", attribute="Color Score", xLabel="Color Score"}}

Low Light Color

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 did better with low light color accuracy than it did with sensitivity and noise. It put up average numbers, 5.87 color error and 62.84% saturation, and still produced a sharp, crisp image in low light. Its image at 60 lux was a bit darker than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-SD20, but roughly on par with the Canon HF S100. More on how we test low light color.

The color error map above shows that there really isn't any color spectrum the Canon HF20 did particularly bad with. The camcorder appeared to work best with browns and skin tones under low light, but everything else showed a relatively equivalent amount of inaccuracy. Another number to take note of is the HF20's drop from 91.48% saturation at bright light to 62.84% under low light.

The best low light performer from this set is the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. It produced very accurate colors (2.84 color error) and recorded an excellent low light sensitivity. The Canon HF S100 produced very similar colors in low light to the HF20, and the Panasonic HDC-SD20, once again, showed us a blurry image and weak colors in this test.

{{comparison_bars title="Low Light Color Score Comparison", attribute="Low Light Color Score", xLabel="Low Light Color Score"}}

White Balance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Canon offers its usual set of white balance presets on the HF20: auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, and fluorescent H. This is a good deal of presets, especially in comparison to the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and most Sony camcorders, and it should be enough for most users to play around with. There is also a manual white balance setting that is incredibly easy to use—just point the camcorder at a white or neutral image and select the custom WB option. The camcorder things for a moment and then calibrates the colors accordingly. More on how we test white balance.

Noise

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 registered a high level of noise, averaging roughly 0.93% in our bright light testing. Canon usually has high noise levels on its HD camcorders and the HF S100 showed us similar numbers. Keep in mind, however, that in bright light this noise can be difficult to notice. It's really not until you start recording in low or moderate light situations that it becomes a problem. Also, the high noise levels on the HF20 seem to be directly related to the fact that its image is so darn sharp. The impeccable detail and high resolution appears to boost the level of noise. More on how we test noise.

Looking at the crops above you can see the level of detail we're talking about. Take a glance at the numbers running down the left side of each frame and notice how much easier they are to read on both Canon camcorders as compared to the Panasonic and Sanyo models. The Canons also show higher levels of contrast, which gives their images more pop. All these things factor into the higher noise levels present on the Canon HF20 and HF S100. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 finds a happy medium—it has a relatively detailed image with rather low noise levels. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 has the blurriest image, but it also recorded the least amount of noise. This is mainly because everything in its frame is so soft and the image captures a low amount of detail.

We score this section based on the noise levels we measure in the video image. So, even though the Canon HF20 showed us a great picture, the Panasonic HDC-SD20 wins this round (it measured 0.4175% noise).

{{comparison_bars title="Noise Score Comparison", attribute="Noise Score", xLabel="Noise Score"}}

Low Light Sensitivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 is not an elite low light performer and its poor sensitivity score reflects this. The HF20 required 22 lux of light to reach 50 IRE—an amount that is double what the Canon HF11 needed last year to reach the same level. It seems that with the HF20's boost in video resolution and detail came a significant decrease in low light capability. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means you should steer clear of the HF20 if you're planning on doing the bulk of your shooting after dark. More on how we test low light sensitivity.

The Canon HF20 wasn't the worst low light camcorder that we tested in this batch—that award goes to the Panasonic HDC-SD20—but it definitely couldn't compete with the terrific performance of the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. The Canon HF S100 also fared quite a bit better than its little brother in this test. Keep in mind, the Canon HF20 does have a small video light and a few special low light modes (we do our testing in auto mode), so there are workarounds for this poor low light performance.

{{comparison_bars title="Low Light Sensitivity Comparison", attribute="Low Light Sensitivity Score", xLabel="Low Light Sensitivity Score"}}

Low Light Noise

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The high noise levels we measured on the Canon HF20 at bright light got much worse when we turned the lights down. The camcorder registered an average of 2.53% noise, which is significantly higher than the other models we tested in this set. Here, in low light, the noise began to severely distort the image—making the high level of detail and sharp image on the HF20 less of a benefit. More on how we test low light noise.

The Panasonic HDC-SD20 once again recorded the lowest level of noise amongst the camcorders we tested. This doesn't mean its low light image was all that good—the SD20 showed lots of artifacting, blur, and washed-out colors. Overall, the Canon HF S100 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000 both had good combinations of low noise levels and strong image quality.

{{comparison_bars title="Low Light Noise Score Comparison", attribute="Low Light Noise Score", xLabel="Low Light Noise Score"}}

Low Light Color

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 did better with low light color accuracy than it did with sensitivity and noise. It put up average numbers, 5.87 color error and 62.84% saturation, and still produced a sharp, crisp image in low light. Its image at 60 lux was a bit darker than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-SD20, but roughly on par with the Canon HF S100. More on how we test low light color.

The color error map above shows that there really isn't any color spectrum the Canon HF20 did particularly bad with. The camcorder appeared to work best with browns and skin tones under low light, but everything else showed a relatively equivalent amount of inaccuracy. Another number to take note of is the HF20's drop from 91.48% saturation at bright light to 62.84% under low light.

The best low light performer from this set is the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. It produced very accurate colors (2.84 color error) and recorded an excellent low light sensitivity. The Canon HF S100 produced very similar colors in low light to the HF20, and the Panasonic HDC-SD20, once again, showed us a blurry image and weak colors in this test.

{{comparison_bars title="Low Light Color Score Comparison", attribute="Low Light Color Score", xLabel="Low Light Color Score"}}

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

More on how we test motion.

See below for a full discussion of the available resolution and frame rate options for the {{product.model}}

Video Sharpness

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 has the best video resolution we've ever recorded on a consumer camcorder and its scores are comparable to some of the professional models we've tested (like the Sony HDR-FX1000 and Canon XL H1A). The camcorder measured an approximate video resolution of 800 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) horizontal and 900 lw/ph vertical. This is a huge bump up from the 675 lw/ph horizontal and 600 lw/ph vertical recorded by last year's Canon HF11. The HF20 isn't alone with this increase in performance, it seems most manufacturers are really starting to improve the video resolution capabilities on new camcorders this year.

One surprising note from our testing was the disparity between the Canon HF20 performance and the Canon HF S100. Both camcorders had identical horizontal resolutions (800 lw/ph), but the HF S100 ran into some early trouble with the vertical lines on our resolution chart and recorded a significantly lower vertical resolution. This disparity is strange because the HF S100 has a roughly 50% higher effective pixel count than the HF20 (6.01-megapixels vs. 3.89-megapixels). Still, pixel counts are only one aspect for determining video resolution, and other things like processing and lens quality also come into play.

The lower vertical resolution on the HF S100 is not a fluke—we noticed it in all our video testing and you can even see a difference in the close-ups we pulled for our noise comparisons. The HF20 clearly shows finer detail near the bottom of the vertical trumpet in those frames. More on how we test video sharpness.

{{comparison_bars title="Video Sharpness Score Comparison", attribute="Video Sharpness Score", xLabel="Video Sharpness Score"}}

Testing Samples

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Auto Mode

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

For many people, auto mode is the only way to use a camcorder, and even the most experienced users among us will end up doing a significant bulk of their shooting in auto mode. The Canon HF20 is certainly designed with automatic performance in mind. True, you can adjust shutter speed and aperture, but most of the time you'll be too busy trying to frame your shot to worry about those kinds of things.

There is a dedicated auto mode on the HF20, but it's called Dual Shot mode and is labeled with two green icons of a camcorder and a camera. We find this naming scheme to be a bit confusing and it could pose a difficulty for first-time users looking for the camcorder's simple auto mode. Anyway, switching the mode dial to Dual Shot puts the HF20 into an entirely automated control—allowing you to focus on the shooting.

The HF20 has two autofocus modes: instant and and normal. Instant AF, a feature that is unique to Canon, makes use of a secondary autofocus sensor on the front of the camcorder in an attempt to provide a quicker, snap-like focus. When switching between subjects, the focus will shift quickly all at once, rather than in a smooth, gradual process. If you prefer the look of traditional auto focus, simply set the mode to normal. Both autofocus modes work very well, albeit offering fairly different aesthetics.

Let's not forget about face detection, which has become so commonplace on camcorders that it's starting to lose its allure. Of course, that would be saying it had allure to begin with. Canon claims the HF20 can detect up to 35 faces automatically, with 9 detection frames being displayed at one time. In our tests with the camcorder, we could never get it to detect more than a few faces at a time, and we found it running into difficulty with turned heads or partially concealed facades. Once detected, however, the camcorder did lock onto faces quite well, and the HF20 did a good job with exposing and focusing them correctly.

Exposure and white balance both handled well in auto mode. The HF20 did a good job with gradual exposure transitions and its multiple white balance presets offered a decent range of control. The camcorder also features a backlight setting that can be manually engaged if your dealing with strong light behind your subject.

In the camcorder's menu is an auto slow shutter option that can be turned on or off. With auto slow shutter turned off, the HF20 will never drop to a shutter speed lower than 1/60 of a second. With the setting on, the camcorder may go as low as 1/30 of a second, depending on the lighting conditions you're shooting under. We recommend keeping the setting turned off, unless you don't mind choppy look produced by a slow shutter (all of our testing was done with this feature turned off).

Low Light Modes
The Canon HF20 doesn't include any special low light modes, but it does have a Night scene mode as well as a small video light located to the right of the lens, just below the flash. The Night scene mode doesn't do anything too special. It simply allows the shutter to drop to speeds as low as 1/2 a second to boost the amount of light picked up by the camcorder.

Scene Modes
The HF20 has your usual set of scene modes: Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks. With each mode, the camcorder attempts to automatically configure settings in order to best represent the 'scene' being filmed. The usefulness of these modes entirely depends on your shooting style, but they're generally good for beginners or people who are still getting used to their camcorder.

The iAuto mode button is difficult to find, but when you do find it the option for turning on the mode looks like this.

Other Auto Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

High noise levels.

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 has some problems with menu layout and design. On one hand, we love the way many of the menus look—they're sleek and easy to navigate. Unfortunately, Canon didn't take the same care with organization. Settings are spread out amongst three different menus, each of which contain a seemingly random collection of options and features. This makes finding specific items difficult and tedious, especially if you're new to the camcorder.

Pressing the function button on the left side of the LCD brings up a short column of menu options, all of which deal with image quality and adjustment (i.e. exposure mode, white balance, digital effects, etc.). This column of options doesn't take up the whole screen, so you can easily adjust settings while still looking at your framed image. These settings are quick and easy to access, but they only represent a fraction of the HF20's features.

More options are located under the menu tab, which is the last option in the function menu. Selecting this brings up a full-screen menu that features an additional 7 separate pages of settings. Here you'll find all the camcorder's administrative and display controls (like date/time settings and LCD brightness), as well as three tabs of camcorder controls. The problem is, many of these camcorder controls are very important (like image stabilization, frame rate selection, and auto slow shutter), and it seems like Canon is burying them inside its multiple-layered menu structure. We must say, however, that this full-screen menu is designed very well and has a simple, clean aesthetic.

Ah, but there's also a third collection of options under yet another menu. Pressing up or down on the navigation joystick brings up the 'joystick guide' menu, which is a collection of 8 settings, all of which directly effect the shooting settings on the camcorder. Here's where you'll find things like manual focus, audio level control, and exposure adjustment. The problem is, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what settings are located in the joystick menu and what are placed in the function menu. Why are face detection and pre-record in the joystick guide? Why isn't exposure adjustment located with aperture and shutter speed control? It is confusing organization on Canon's part.

Handling

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The HF20 is slimmer and lighter than last year's Canon HF11, so the two camcorders don't offer the exact same handling experience. That being said, the two models still offer a very similar design and most casual users probably wouldn't notice much of a difference. Overall, we like the balance and feel of the HF20, but it has its fair share of handling difficulties. The design of the right side is a bit clumpy, with its base being thicker than its top. This makes the camcorder feel a bit awkward in your palm and means you have to keep a tighter hold with your fingertips. There also isn't much grip on the top of the camcorder, which makes it easy for your fingers to slip while you are shooting. The hand strap feels good, however, and it is large and comfortable.

Along with holding the camcorder in your right hand, you're going to be spending a good deal of time using the joystick control with your left hand. The joystick isn't perfect—it's no good for making precise adjustments and it's too small—but it has a good design and it feels better than the joystick on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. The Canon HF20 does not have a lens ring or control dial, which is one of the significant upgrades featured on the Canon HF S100. A joystick, no matter how well designed it is, will never offer the smooth feel of a ring or dial.

For the most part, we like the button layout and organization of the Canon HF20. The camcorder is sparse and simple, featuring only a smattering of buttons on its body. In fact, we could have done with a few more buttons (additional VCR controls), but we like the simplicity so we can't really complain.

The port placement on the HF20 isn't a strong point of the camcorder. The USB and HDMI ports are located on the right side, exactly where your palm rests when you grip the device. This means you're in for an uncomfortable ride if you ever want to connect the HF20 to a computer or television while you're shooting hand-held. More importantly, the hand strap is completely in the way when you try to connect cables to these ports—a minor nuisance, perhaps, but definitely worth mentioning.

These dedicated buttons give you quick access to aperture and shutter speed controls.

Portability

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

At roughly 400g (including the supplied battery), the Canon HF20 is a fairly small camcorder for its class. It is slightly lighter and slimmer than last year's Canon HF11 (which also featured 32GB of internal flash memory). Its traditional boxy design is unfit for pocket transportation, but you could easily stuff the HF20 in your purse or small handbag. The camcorder's 32GB of internal memory definitely enhances the portability of the device. If you're in a hurry, there's no need to seek SD/SDHC cards at the last minute, nor do you have to worry about running out of storage space on a short vacation. The camcorder, of course, doesn't offer the record times of larger, internal hard drive-based models, but 32GB of memory is enough to capture just under 3 hours of footage at the highest quality setting.

Both the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-SD20 are significantly lighter than the HF20, but in total volume they all take up about the same amount of space. The upright design of the VPC-HD2000 may appear more portable, but it really is not—its large, thick lens makes the camcorder very difficult to fit in your pocket. Another perk of the Canon HF20 is the fact that all its ports are located on the body of the camcorder, which means you don't have to bring along a bulky docking station (a requirement of the Sanyo VPC-HD2000) whenever you want to connect to a computer or television.

LCD

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The HF20 has a relatively standard 2.7-inch, 211,000-pixel LCD screen. The screen should be large enough for most users and its rotating swivel design allows for easy shooting at odd angles. The screen offers a whopping 45 brightness increments and features a greyscale bar along the bottom so you can calibrate the brightness to the lighting situation you're shooting under. There's also an LCD dimmer mode that can be engaged to save power.

The HF20 does not include an electronic viewfinder, which really isn't at all surprising. None of the camcorders we're using as comparisons throughout this review feature viewfinders and Canon only includes them on its tape and DVD-based consumer camcorders. As for other manufacturers, both Sony and Panasonic feature electronic viewfinders on their high-end, flagship HD models.

Stabilization

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 is equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS). Despite this, the HF20 didn't do well in our stabilization testing. With our low shake test, the camcorder reduced just 5% of the shake. In our high shake test, the camcorder limited the shake by 9%. These numbers are simply not good, and the Panasonic HDC-SD20 managed much better results. The Canon HF S100 also had a more effective OIS. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000, however, was actually worse than the HF20 in this test (it also uses a digital stabilization system instead of OIS). More on how we test stabilization.

Manual Focus

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Manual focus is available on the camcorder and it is grouped with a number of other manual controls under the joystick guide. Pressing up or down on the navigation joystick brings up a column of menu options (called the joystick guide) on the right side of the LCD screen. Selecting focus from this list brings up two small icons in the lower right corner of the screen.

To adjust focus manually, you must move the joystick to the left (for close images) or right (for far images) until you achieve the desired focus. This system is bad for a number of reasons. First, the camcorder gives you no idea as to what the adjusted focal lengths are (there's no numerical display). Second, you have to do all your adjustment with the puny navigation joystick, which doesn't provide the smoothest, or most accurate, control. The Canon HF S100, big brother to the HF20, includes a sleek little control dial on the front of the camcorder that makes manual focusing a more pleasing experience.

Canon didn't forget to include its focus assist feature on the HF20, however. With this setting engaged, as soon as you begin a manual focus the camcorder digitally zooms in so you can get a better look at the area you're trying to crisp-up. This is the same focus assist feature we saw last year on the Canon HF11.

The adjustment dial makes accurate focus adjustments easy.

Manual Exposure

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Exposure adjustment is also located in the joystick guide. Here Canon decided to give us numbers so we know how much we've boosted or lowered the exposure levels. The HF20 allows for 23 steps of exposure adjustment in a range of increments going from -11 to +11. Using the camcorder in any setting other than Programmed AE mode may result in fewer exposure adjustment increments being available.

The manual exposure controls are only found on the Contour app, not on the camcorder itself.

Miscellaneous Controls

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Zoom
Zoom on the HF20 is controlled using a flat toggle on the top of the camcorder that is easily accessible with your index finger. The VCR playback buttons beneath the LCD screen can also be used for zooming in case you're shooting at an odd angle or you like controlling the camcorder with two hands. While you're zooming, a small bar appears on the upper left of the LCD that lets you know how much zoom you've performed and how much magnification you have left. Unfortunately, Canon chose not to include any actual on-screen numbers in the zoom display, so recreating an exact zoom distance isn't possible (unless you use a tape measure).

An excellent touch on the HF20 is the inclusion of three constant zoom speed settings along with variable speed control. Using the slowest zoom speed setting, it takes roughly 22 seconds to go from wide angle to a full 15x zoom. With the fastest speed setting, the same zoom takes roughly 6 seconds. The variable speed control allows for a wide range of speeds, but it all depends on the delicate pressure applied by your fingertip.

Aperture
Aperture can be controlled in Aperture-Priority mode (labeled as Av on the menu). In this mode, aperture is tied to shutter, so it isn't offering complete manual exposure control. You can select apertures ranging from f/1.8 to f/8.0 and the camcorder will adjust shutter speed and gain settings automatically.

The aperture adjustment process is simple, well-designed, and the navigation joystick poses no problems when making selections. A small dial with f-stop numbers appears at the bottom of the LCD that lets you know what setting is being selected—a design that is much easier to understand than the bare-bones display on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000.

Shutter Speed
Shutter-Priority mode (labeled as Tv) is shutter speed's equivalent to the Aperture-Priority mode we discussed above. In it, you can manually set the HF20's shutter speed at a range of 1/8 to 1/1000 of a second—with the camcorder automatically adjusting the aperture in conjunction. The system uses the same dial display as Aperture-Priority mode, which makes things easy to read and adjust.

Many camcorders don't allow you to select a shutter speed below 1/30 of a second, but the Canon HF20 offers two very slow shutter options (1/8 and 1/15 of a second). We like this inclusion by Canon as manual control over slow shutters is a must-have feature for student filmmakers or professional videographers. The shutter on the HF20 can go all the way down to 1/2 of a second, but this option only exists on the Night scene mode and it cannot be selected manually.

When the HF20 is set to 24p mode, a different set of manual shutter speeds become available. This is a result of the shutter matching the different frame rate. For a complete list of shutter speeds available on the Canon HF20, see the shutter speed table above.

Gain
There is no manual gain control on the Canon HF20. If you want gain control, the Canon HF S100 offers limited gain adjustment (you can set the auto gain limit) and the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 allows you to select ISO options for video. Panasonic is the only manufacturer that offers full gain control on consumer camcorders (and it's only available on certain models).

Color & Image Controls
In the function menu, the HF20 has a selection called Image Effects, which includes four preset options as well as a custom setting. The custom setting gives you manual control over color depth, sharpness, contrast, and brightness in an effort to fine-tune your image. This custom option is a great idea, but Canon only allows for a control range of +/- 1. Canon must increase the available range of adjustment before the customization tool is a truly useful feature.

The x.v. Color feature lets the camcorder record in the xvYCC expanded color gamut. Footage recorded using this setting will only look different if you play it back on a television that supports xvYCC, otherwise the colors will look the same as ever.

Onscreen Markers

There aren't many extra manual controls on the HF20. The only one to talk about is onscreen markers that help you frame your image. Lines appear onscreen to help frame the image. Can be set to appear as one line across the middle of the screen with a marker in the center, or as a grid of four intersecting lines. Both markers can be either white or grey.

Audio Controls

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 covers the most important audio feature for compact camcorders—a 1/8-inch mini microphone input. The mic input is well placed on the back of the camcorder, although its plastic port cover is a bit obtrusive for connecting lots of cables. Other audio features on the camcorder include a headphone jack (shared with the AV port), audio level control and display, microphone attenuator, and wind screen. This is a rather hefty set of audio controls and it is more than most users will ever need. The audio level control is particularly useful, although Canon doesn't include any hard numbers with the control. This means you don't know how much you're raising or lowering the audio levels in actual decibels, but maybe you don't really ever need this kind of information on a consumer camcorder.

The HF20 also has a hot accessory shoe that can be used to connect external microphones. Keep in mind, however, that the shoe is Canon's proprietary mini design, which means it'll only work with specific products. All the camcorders we've used as comparisons throughout this review have some interesting audio features. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 offers external microphone audio control as well as headphone and mic jacks. The Panasonic HDC-SD20, while not including mic or headphone jacks, has the most extensive audio level control system of the bunch. The Canon HF S100 has essentially identically audio controls to the HF20.

The built-in microphone on the HF20 is located just below the lens on the front of the camcorder. The placement is good, it's out of the way from wandering fingers and noisy straps, and its location should pick up sound quite accurately. The microphone records Dolby Digital 2 channel audio and the levels can be controlled using the manual adjustment feature on the joystick guide.

Editing

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

AVCHD camcorders come with a standard warning—the recorded footage can be very difficult to work with and edit on a computer. Now, if you're just doing some minor editing, the AVCHD video probably won't cause you much trouble. Be forewarned, however, all but the most robust computers will run into problems when working extensively with AVCHD.

The Canon HF20 comes bundled with Pixela ImageMixer 3SE as well as a Digital Video Solution Disk. The Video Solution Disk includes drivers and some software to help your computer and camcorder function together (the software is compatible with both Mac and PC). The Pixela software is a basic editing system that allows you to add titles and transitions or trim and split your footage. The program also assists with transferring footage from the camcorder to your computer—something that can only be accomplished with the aid of software (you can't drag and drop the video files). Of course, the Canon HF20 also works smoothly with consumer and professional editing software alike. We had no trouble importing video files using both iMovie and Final Cut Express..

Lastly, according to Canon, the HF20 comes with a music CD. We didn't get copies of these disks with our review model, so we can't give you our thoughts on Canon's taste in music. We assume they're meant for adding background music to your videos during editing or for use with the camcorder's playback features (which allow you to add music). And, if nothing else, you can always add them to your record collection.

Compression

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 records HD video using the AVCHD codec. Last year, when we wrote about the Canon HF11, AVCHD was just beginning to be the standard compression for HD camcorders that record to nonlinear media (i.e. not tape). Now, AVCHD has solidified itself as the primary compression method for most HD camcorders. The codec still has its faults, however. Video files are large and full of information, which makes them very difficult to work with unless you have an extremely robust computer.

AVCHD has a maximum bitrate of 24Mbps and most high-end HD camcorders are now capable of recording at that level, including the Canon HF20. Sony is a significant exception, however, as it's top-of-the-line HDR-XR520V peaks at a bitrate of 16Mbps. The Canon HF20 has 5 video quality options: MXP (24Mbps), FXP (17Mbps), XP+ (12Mbps), SP (7Mbps), and LP (5Mbps). Only MXP and FXP record a full 1920 x 1080 HD image, with each of the other settings recording at 1440 x 1080. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various high definition compression types.

Media

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 comes with 32 GB of internal flash memory, which is enough to record just under three hours of footage at the highest quality. This is definitely enough space to start with, although you'll probably want to expand the storage space by purchasing a couple of SD/SDHC memory cards. You should also ask yourself how much that 32 GB of internal memory is worth (in dollars). The Canon HF200 is identical to the HF20 in design except it doesn't include any internal memory. It's also about $150 bucks cheaper. So, if you have a bunch of SD/SDHC memory cards lying around, maybe you should check out the HF200 instead.

Below you'll see a chart showing the maximum record times using the various quality settings on the Canon HF20. If you want more internal memory, you're best off going for a camcorder that records to a built-in hard drive. Canon didn't release any new hard drive camcorders this year, so the HG21 is still the largest option (120 GB). The new HDR-XR520V from Sony, however, has double the capacity (240 GB), which is probably enough space to capture all the way up to your toddler's high school graduation. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Resolution & Frame Rates

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The HF20, as with all of Canon's HD camcorders, can record using 24p and 30p formats as well as the regular 60i. The 24p and 30p modes are identical to what you'd find on the Canon HF11 or HF S100 (really any HD camcorder from Canon). The two modes are not natively progressive, which means they are actually recorded as 60i streams, with Canon implementing a pulldown system to give the footage the look of 24p and 30p footage. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000, on the other hand, is the first consumer camcorder to record true 1080/60p footage, which means its 30p mode is natively progressive (the camcorder uses a progressive CMOS sensor).

Still Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

With the new camcorders that came out in 2009 there seemed to be a push to improve the still image capabilities amongst HD models. The Canon HF20 definitely reflects this, although it can't take photos at the resolution of, say, the Sanyo VPC-HD2000, Canon HF S100, Samsung HMX-R10, JVC GZ-X900, or the Sony HDR-XR520V. Still, the little HF20 packs in 3.31 megapixels to its still photos and has a maximum image size of 2304 x 1296. It also has a number of still features, including a built-in flash and extra shutter speed options that aren't available in video mode. There's also a self-timer option, but it can only be set to have a 10-second trigger.

You can take photos with the HF20 in any of the camcorder's three shooting modes: photo mode, movie mode, and dual shot mode. Dual shot mode isn't aptly named, as it is essentially an easy or auto mode—not something that is relegated for simultaneous video/photo capturing. Photo mode is where you have the most control over your still images. Here you can select from a range of image sizes, the largest being 2304 x 1296 and the smallest going down to 640 x 480. You can also choose to take photos in the 4:3 aspect ratio using the 2100 x 1575 and 1600 x 1200 settings.

In photo mode you can select light metering modes with choices of evaluative, center-weighted average, and spot. There are 4 shooting modes as well—single, continuous, hi-speed continuous, and auto exposure bracketing. The two continuous modes will repeatedly snap photos for as long as you hold down the shutter button (hi-speed continuous simply goes faster). Auto exposure bracketing, a feature often found digital cameras, can be a useful tool. It takes three photos when you press down the shutter, automatically pushing the exposure up and down one stop to give you a range of light levels.

You can also take photos while you're in regular old movie mode. Of course, you don't have access to all the special controls (like continuous shooting and flash) and photo sizes are limited to 2304 x 1296 or 848 x 480. You can, however, take photos while you are recording, which is something we like. There is also the option of capturing still images from videos in playback mode. Here, your photo will be limited to only one size option, 1920 x 1080.

The Canon HF20 didn't produce very accurate colors in our still image testing. Its still color error of 5.36 is worse than the numbers it put up in our video color test. The camcorder did measure 104.9% saturation in its still images, which is a bit higher than what we saw in our video testing. Considering all the still image capabilities on the HF20, this is a disappointing score.

The photos captured by the HF20 are quite vivid, which probably has something to do with its low color accuracy. Blues were particularly quite deep and yellows appeared to pop more so than usual. Looking at the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 you can see a strong difference between the two camcorders. The Sanyo has a much cooler tone here, with a blueish hue in its still image. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 has the weakest still image features in this set of camcorders—it can only take photos in one size (1920 x 1080).

Even in its still photos, the HF20 continued to show high levels of noise. In our still image testing, we measured approximately 1.15% noise, a score that is close to, but actually higher than what we measured in the HF20's bright light video test. This isn't a terrible amount of noise, and it certainly wasn't too noticeable in images shot under bright light, but it is significantly higher than the noise levels we measured on both the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-SD20.

At best, the Canon HF20 measured a still image resolution of 1565 lw/ph horizontal and 1514 lw/ph vertical. The horizontal resolution had approximately 2.6% undersharpening, and the vertical measurement registered roughly 2.7% undersharpening. For a camcorder that takes still images at a maximum size of 2304 x 1296, these are decent resolution scores. The fact that the image is undersharpened is also a strong point and it means you should have a good deal of flexibility if you want to edit the images in Photoshop later. Camcorders like the Canon HF S100 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000, however, put up far better still resolution measurements—mainly because they have nearly double the effective pixel count of the HF20.

Lens & Imaging System

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The lens on the Canon HF20 has a 15x optical zoom and a maximum aperture of f/1.8 (with the lens at its widest angle). We measured the wide angle of the lens at 51 degrees, which is slightly above average for a consumer camcorder. The camera has a 1/4-inch CMOS sensor, which is smaller than the ones present in both the Canon HF11 and HF S100—as well as the Sanyo VPC-HD2000.

The camcorder has a 15x optical zoom, which is good for a compact HD camcorder. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Canon HF S100 both have 10x optical zooms, The Canon HF11 and Sony HDR-XR520V have 12x, and the Panasonic HDC-SD20 sports a 16x zoom lens. JVC has a few models, such as the GZ-HD320, that feature a 20x optical zoom. Of course, we can't forget about digital zoom, which can go up to 300x on the Canon HF20. Using digital zoom severely ruins video quality, so we don't recommend even turning the feature on.

LCD

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The HF20 has a relatively standard 2.7-inch, 211,000-pixel LCD screen. The screen should be large enough for most users and its rotating swivel design allows for easy shooting at odd angles. The screen offers a whopping 45 brightness increments and features a greyscale bar along the bottom so you can calibrate the brightness to the lighting situation you're shooting under. There's also an LCD dimmer mode that can be engaged to save power.

The HF20 does not include an electronic viewfinder, which really isn't at all surprising. None of the camcorders we're using as comparisons throughout this review feature viewfinders and Canon only includes them on its tape and DVD-based consumer camcorders. As for other manufacturers, both Sony and Panasonic feature electronic viewfinders on their high-end, flagship HD models.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

For a compact camcorder, the HF20 has a lot of connectivity options, although some of the ports are inadequately placed. On the back of the camcorder, to the left of the battery pack, are the microphone jack, component-out, and DC-input. Each port is protected well by plastic, tethered coverings, but the covers don't do the best job of getting out of the way. If you have a lot of cables connected to the HF20, things begin to feel somewhat cluttered.

Making your way around to the right side of the camcorder, you'll find the USB and HDMI ports just around the corner from the battery pack. These ports are also well protected by a covering, but their positioning is terrible. The ports live exactly where your palm rests when you grip the camcorder, which means it is a very uncomfortable experience if you want to hold the HF20 while it is connected to a television or computer (although, this probably isn't something that will come up too often). Canon offers a similar uncomfortable port placement on the HF S100.

Inside the LCD cavity you'll find the AV-output, which also doubles as the headphone jack. You must go through the camcorder's menu to switch the functionality of the port. To the left of the AV port is the camcorder's SD/SDHC card slot. The memory card slot is protected by a flip-down hatch that works quite well and feels sturdy.

The HF20 also has a hot accessory shoe on the top of the camcorder. The shoe uses Canon's 'mini advanced' proprietary design, which means it is only compatible with Canon's own accessories and won't work with regular equipment.

Battery

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 uses a BP-809 rechargeable battery pack, which loads in an open compartment on the back side of the camcorder. Since the battery compartment isn't concealed, you have the option of purchasing larger, longer-lasting batteries if you desire. In our battery life test, the HF20 ran out of juice in just under 98 minutes (1 hour and 38 minutes).

This 98 minute performance isn't anything grand, but it's average for a compact HD camcorder. It is slightly lower than the 108-minute performance by the Canon HF11 (which ships with the same battery) and it's essentially identical to what we timed on the Canon HF S100. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 offered nearly 15 extra minutes of recording time with its supplied battery, but it utilizes an enclosed battery compartment, which means you're at a loss if you wan to upgrade to a larger battery.

Media

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Canon HF20 comes with 32 GB of internal flash memory, which is enough to record just under three hours of footage at the highest quality. This is definitely enough space to start with, although you'll probably want to expand the storage space by purchasing a couple of SD/SDHC memory cards. You should also ask yourself how much that 32 GB of internal memory is worth (in dollars). The Canon HF200 is identical to the HF20 in design except it doesn't include any internal memory. It's also about $150 bucks cheaper. So, if you have a bunch of SD/SDHC memory cards lying around, maybe you should check out the HF200 instead.

Below you'll see a chart showing the maximum record times using the various quality settings on the Canon HF20. If you want more internal memory, you're best off going for a camcorder that records to a built-in hard drive. Canon didn't release any new hard drive camcorders this year, so the HG21 is still the largest option (120 GB). The new HDR-XR520V from Sony, however, has double the capacity (240 GB), which is probably enough space to capture all the way up to your toddler's high school graduation. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Still Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

With the new camcorders that came out in 2009 there seemed to be a push to improve the still image capabilities amongst HD models. The Canon HF20 definitely reflects this, although it can't take photos at the resolution of, say, the Sanyo VPC-HD2000, Canon HF S100, Samsung HMX-R10, JVC GZ-X900, or the Sony HDR-XR520V. Still, the little HF20 packs in 3.31 megapixels to its still photos and has a maximum image size of 2304 x 1296. It also has a number of still features, including a built-in flash and extra shutter speed options that aren't available in video mode. There's also a self-timer option, but it can only be set to have a 10-second trigger.

You can take photos with the HF20 in any of the camcorder's three shooting modes: photo mode, movie mode, and dual shot mode. Dual shot mode isn't aptly named, as it is essentially an easy or auto mode—not something that is relegated for simultaneous video/photo capturing. Photo mode is where you have the most control over your still images. Here you can select from a range of image sizes, the largest being 2304 x 1296 and the smallest going down to 640 x 480. You can also choose to take photos in the 4:3 aspect ratio using the 2100 x 1575 and 1600 x 1200 settings.

In photo mode you can select light metering modes with choices of evaluative, center-weighted average, and spot. There are 4 shooting modes as well—single, continuous, hi-speed continuous, and auto exposure bracketing. The two continuous modes will repeatedly snap photos for as long as you hold down the shutter button (hi-speed continuous simply goes faster). Auto exposure bracketing, a feature often found digital cameras, can be a useful tool. It takes three photos when you press down the shutter, automatically pushing the exposure up and down one stop to give you a range of light levels.

You can also take photos while you're in regular old movie mode. Of course, you don't have access to all the special controls (like continuous shooting and flash) and photo sizes are limited to 2304 x 1296 or 848 x 480. You can, however, take photos while you are recording, which is something we like. There is also the option of capturing still images from videos in playback mode. Here, your photo will be limited to only one size option, 1920 x 1080.

The Canon HF20 didn't produce very accurate colors in our still image testing. Its still color error of 5.36 is worse than the numbers it put up in our video color test. The camcorder did measure 104.9% saturation in its still images, which is a bit higher than what we saw in our video testing. Considering all the still image capabilities on the HF20, this is a disappointing score.

The photos captured by the HF20 are quite vivid, which probably has something to do with its low color accuracy. Blues were particularly quite deep and yellows appeared to pop more so than usual. Looking at the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 you can see a strong difference between the two camcorders. The Sanyo has a much cooler tone here, with a blueish hue in its still image. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 has the weakest still image features in this set of camcorders—it can only take photos in one size (1920 x 1080).

Even in its still photos, the HF20 continued to show high levels of noise. In our still image testing, we measured approximately 1.15% noise, a score that is close to, but actually higher than what we measured in the HF20's bright light video test. This isn't a terrible amount of noise, and it certainly wasn't too noticeable in images shot under bright light, but it is significantly higher than the noise levels we measured on both the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-SD20.

At best, the Canon HF20 measured a still image resolution of 1565 lw/ph horizontal and 1514 lw/ph vertical. The horizontal resolution had approximately 2.6% undersharpening, and the vertical measurement registered roughly 2.7% undersharpening. For a camcorder that takes still images at a maximum size of 2304 x 1296, these are decent resolution scores. The fact that the image is undersharpened is also a strong point and it means you should have a good deal of flexibility if you want to edit the images in Photoshop later. Camcorders like the Canon HF S100 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000, however, put up far better still resolution measurements—mainly because they have nearly double the effective pixel count of the HF20.

Other Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Video Snapshot

Video Snapshot is a gimmicky new feature on the HF20 that isn't all that useful. The setting, which is activated by pressing the Video Snap button inside the LCD cavity, allows you to take video clips of exactly 4-seconds in length. Once you push the record button, a blue line will make its way around the edge of the LCD screen. Once the line makes it all the way around the screen, the camcorder will automatically stop recording—giving you a 4-second clip of video. This can be useful if you want to collect a series of, dare we say it, 'video snapshots'or clips that all have the same 4-second length.

Canon makes a big deal about being able to add background music to your video snap clips in playback mode. Sound interesting? Well, you can actually add music in playback mode to any clip you've recorded with the HF20. This means you don't have to use the video snap feature if you want to make a little in-camera music video of your recent vacation.

Video Light

You turn on the video light by using the joystick guide menu. The light on the HF20 is tiny, so don't expect it to provide all that much illumination. It will still help you out when you're filming in the dark, however, although your subject shouldn't be farther than a few feet away to get good results. Also, based on the HF20's poor low light performance, it's a darned good thing Canon included a built-in video light on this model.

Digital Effects

Ah, digital effects. How wonderfully exciting they can be at first and how quickly we tire of them. Canon keeps things simple here, it offers a fader, wipe, black & white, and art on the HF20.

Quick Start

Quick start is one of those features that sounds good, but doesn't really do much of anything. With the setting engaged the HF20 goes into standby mode when you close the LCD screen rather than powering down. Now, when you open the LCD, the camcorder immediately turns on and is ready to record (it still takes about 1 second for the LCD to startup). The thing is, the camcorder only takes about 2 seconds to boot up from a powered-down state. This means quick start mode only saves you around 1 second of time, while still draining your battery with the camcorder in standby.

Pre-Record

Here's an interesting new feature. When using pre-record, the HF20 continually stores three seconds of footage in the camcorder's buffer memory. This means, as soon as you press the record button you've already recorded three seconds of video. Pre-record is a good feature to have if you're trying to capture lots of action or if you really don't want to miss a single magical moment of your life—the setting does eat up battery power, however, so you might want to invest in some spares if you plan on using the feature a lot.

Panasonic HDC-SD20 Comparison

Being the first consumer camcorder to offer native 1080/60p video recording, the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 is full of surprises. It wowed us with excellent overall video performance, and its achievements in our low light testing have so far been unmatched by any other consumer camcorder. With an approximate street price of around $600 to top it all off, the VPC-HD2000 sounds like a steal. Of course, the camcorder also has an upright, pistol-grip design, and many of the features may be too quirky to win over traditional camcorder enthusiasts. It doesn't have optical image stabilization, includes no internal memory, and its navigation joystick is second-rate. Still, it is a good camcorder—and if you're basing solely on video performance, the VPC-HD2000 is hands-down better than the Canon HF20.

In our performance testing, the VPC-HD2000 beat out the Canon HF20 in every category—except video resolution. The VPC-HD2000 did particularly well with low light performance, which is where the HF20 performed very poorly.

Canon Vixia HF S100 Comparison

Since the Panasonic HDC-SD20 is far cheaper than the rest of the camcorders in this batch (MSRP $549), it's not much of a surprise that it couldn't perform on the same level as the competition. The only performance area where the HDC-SD20 excelled was with noise, but this is only because the camcorder records at such a low video resolution. The HDC-SD20 is cheaper than the Canon HF20, however, so if you're looking for a budget option it may be worth your while to check it out.

COMP 3

The HF S100 is Canon's new top-of-the-line HD camcorder. Compared to the HF20, it features a larger sensor, a higher effective pixel count, a control dial for making manual adjustments, and a significantly bulkier frame. It also costs $1099 ($200 more than the HF20), and that is without any internal flash memory. To get 32GB of internal flash memory, you'll have to spring for the Canon HF S10 (MSRP $1299). In our tests, the Canon HF S100 definitely had a better video performance than the Canon HF20, especially in low light. Plus, it has more manual controls and a smooth control dial for making adjustments. The HF S100, however, didn't blow us away like we expected it would. You'll have to wait for the full-length review of this power-house camcorder before we can give you our final opinion.

Conclusion

Since it is $300 cheaper than last year's Canon HF11, we didn't expect the HF20 to put up the kind of numbers we saw from its award-winning sibling. What did shock us, however, was how steep of a downgrade the HF20 really is. Sure, it's smaller and lighter than the HF11, but it simply doesn't have the video performance to keep up with the intense pace set by Canon. Does the $899 price tag make-up for this loss in quality? Well, it depends. If you plan on using the HF20 to shoot in the dark, it simply won't deliver the goods. It measured a terrible low light sensitivity and the noise levels in our tests were way too high. The fact that the HF20 performed so poorly in low light is extremely disappointing.

The Canon HF20 also had too many handling issues to get a free pass from us. We found the menus to be confusing and the lack of a clearly labeled 'Easy' mode to be disorienting for first-time users. The system for adjusting many of the manual controls were also poorly designed.

Still, there's a lot to like about the HF20. In bright light, it measured an incredibly-high video resolution and its color accuracy wasn't half-bad either. The camcorder features a decent set of manual controls, offers all the necessary ports and connectivity options (including a mic and headphone jack), and is a fairly portable device. It's 32GB of internal flash memory and inclusion of 24p and 30p frame rates also deserve strong praise.

Final judgment on the HF20 really comes down to how much you value low light performance. If you're going to do all your shooting outside, with the occasional well-lit indoor event, the Canon HF20 will probably suit you well. Otherwise, you're money would be better spent elsewhere.

{{photo_gallery "Front Photo", "Left Photo", "Left Open Photo", "Back Photo", "Right Photo", "Top Photo", "Bottom Photo", "Lens Photo", "Lens Photo 2", "3D Lens Photo", "Media Photo", "Easy Mode Photo", "Manual Controls Photo", "Zoom Photo", "Zoom Photo 2", "Ease of Use Photo", "Battery Photo", "LCD Photo 1", "LCD Photo 2", "EVF Photo 1", "EVF Photo 2", "Mic Photo", "Mic Photo 2", "Ports Photo 1", "Ports Photo 2", "Ports Photo 3", "Ports Photo 4", "Ports Photo 5", "Ports Photo 6", "Handling Photo 1", "Handling Photo 2", "Handling Photo 3", "Handling Photo 4", "Box Photo"}}

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

Checking our work.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.

Shoot us an email

Up next