Canon VIXIA HF G20 HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro and 32GB Internal Flash Memory

I needed a great cam with a good lens in low light. I shoot indoors a lot and I hate carrying the large light set up every freakn where I go. Im glad I invested the money into this camera. Sometimes, even with the light setup, boom lights and umbrellas, Id still get noise in my video. With the canon g20, I don't even need the umbrella lights! I shot a scene outside at night time with only an attached hot shoe light and the video was incredibly high quality. I had no noise at all! Clean crisp video even in the dark! Just make sure you set it to manual and play with the settings a bit. The auto mode sucks big time because it adds way to much AG ( Gain ) and the video looks washed out. Auto mode is only good if your re shooting in good light, like outside or in well lit areas. Turn off the slow shutter as well. It will blur your video in low light.Other wise the camera is well built. I like the option of the SD or internal hard drive to save video.This camera only shoots in 24p and 60i. It has 2 more optional settings of 30p and pf24, which are basically the same as 24p and 60i. 24p can be a bit blurry if you have a lot of high motion and low light, so Id advise using the 60i and just converting the video to 30p in Vegas or whatever video software you use. For those who didn't know, 60i is basically 30p, doubled. You cant convert it to 60i, you must go down to 30p. But 24p cannot be up scaled, only down scaled. But if your re not doing a lot of high motion in well lit areas, 24p is really great and will give you a really great film Hollywood look. Video quality is very good if you know what you are doing. Auto mode is best for daylight or well lit areas. Don't use it in low light!Also, the hot shoe on this camera is mini. So your standard mics and lights wont fit unless you buy an adapter. I found out later when I tried to attach my old light from my old camera.I was debating the canon m50 over this camera, and glad I bought this. The m50 is good, but there is a reason its $500 and this one is $1000, trust me.I never used the g10, but if you don't have the g10, get the g20. I was also debating getting the g30, but $1700 was something I did not want to spend on a camera right now. The g30 basically just has 1080p at 60fps and a few more added features. If that's something you just gotta have, then go for the g30. I don't need that for what Im doing. 30p is just fine and the quality is just as good. Ive heard the g20 is just a g10 fixed. So if your re on a budget, Im sure you can find some refurbished g10s online a few hundred cheaper than the g20.

Seems like a great camera with a lot of options. I say "seems" because I've had it less than a day. I like the layout of the buttons and the ease of switching between Manual and Auto modes. I have a HF M500 and these functions are done through the touch screen where the G20 has switches for that and also for Auto-focus and Manual focus.I shot some test video around the house and the pictures (video) is very good. I like the fact that you can adjust so many things such as zoom speed and the such. Some have complained about the touch screen. I suspect they are used to the touch screens on their phones. When you're shooting video however, a very sensitive touch screen could be a hassle. You could inadvertently change settings while you are shooting, possibly costing you a great shot. I'll stick with the deliberate effort needed to change screens and scroll, over the possibility of losing a shot.The Pixela software is horrible. Caused a registry repair to be triggered and there is some kind of problem with other parts of it. I had to uninstall it because my computer was acting so crazy. This is not my first issue with their software, I had problems with their software for my Canon 7D also. I run Win 7 Pro with 4 gigs of memory and three 1 terabyte hds. Save yourself the hassle and don't install it at all. You don't need it and it's interface is odd. No clear paths to copy videos from the camera to your computer.I will post updates as I go as I am shooting some beach video on Friday and will report back.Update : Aug. 29, 2014: Too cloudy to traipse the beach for a shoot. But one thing I've run into while learning use the camera is the memory card issue. If you are in the Auto mode, you can only record to the internal flash drive. If you want to record to and SD card in either slot A or B, you must be in the Manual mode. Why? It would be very helpful to use the SD cards instead of the built in memory. There may be a technical reason for this, but I believe Canon could make the changes with an update to its software. The manual on this camera seems quite complete and I'm learning a lot as I go. I have no use for the cinema modes, but they seem to be well liked in other reviews.Yet Another Update: Aug. 30th: I've played with the camera quite a bit now. Shot some test video and am very pleased. The videos are sharp and the colors are great in the automatic mode. I like that you can switch between Auto and Manual so easily. Great (manual) for focusing in trickier situations. If you are following the Rule of Thirds and your subject is offset from center, you can focus on them and the background is just that, background. One small pet peeve involves the manual mode again. I like to have the grid bars on the screen so I tell at a glance if the picture is level. Not available in Auto. Seems as if it would be easy enough to do this. A level picture looks better and it would save you some time in post.All in all I am very pleased with the camera. It has a good price point for what it does and how well it does it. If your needs are greater than what this camera can give you, you are going to have to step up substantially in price to get more features. Keep in mind while it's nice to have many setting options, most people will settle into a shooting pattern that doesn't use every feature most of the time.This camera has two zebra settings for exposure and a lot of other odds and ends, that once set, will not be touched again by most people. So much can be done in post with good editing software, that many "mistakes" can be corrected for later.Always shoot with your mind's eye on taking the best possible video you can with the standard settings and then all the rest is almost a bonus.For many people this camera is going to fulfill their needs and still give them the flexibility to experiment.Highly recommended.April 20015: After about 6 months of various levels of use, my biggest complaint is that the fold out screen is virtually useless in bright sunlight. I've bought various shades and hoods but have resorted to using a black towel over my head when shooting in bright sunlight. Otherwise, I like the camera even more than I did. I've sold a few videos and am quite impressed with using it in various conditions. I use Auto and Manual modes, never the Cinematic modes. That's just my style of shooting.

The picture didn’t fully match the product. It was missing the cover that goes over the front. Not a huge deal but if it’s not included it shouldn’t be in the picture.