The Canon HV20 is a favorite of many Mac Mediacast subscribers — the HV30 is a promising upgrade, with, most notably, a HDD-based system with no more mini-dv tape.

Couple that with HDMI out and a pretty good picture for a cam in its price range, and you’ve got a top camcorder pic for filmmakers on a budget. Here’s a more in-depth review:

Canon HV30 Camcorder Review – Canon HDV Camcorders:

The Canon HV30 ($999 MSRP) is the replacement model for the much celebrated HV20 . . .Canon has decided not to mess with a winning formula too much. The small list of upgrades includes a 30fps frame mode (in addition to 24p and 60i), a better zoom toggle, an improved LCD, and a black paint job. Canon also realize that tape-based (HDV) high definition camcorders are on their last legs. HDD and solid state memory are taking precedence, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this is the last time their consumer HDV line receives any significant upgrades. The real question is this: should you hunt for a cheap HV20, or for the slightly improved HV30, or ditch tape altogether and move onto non-linear media?

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