Moving to HD camera, HV40 vs HF M40

[rfjg]

Looking to finally make the leap to HD from SD (miniDV). I like Canon products and with the exception of my Sony Digital8(TRV-460), all my cameras for video and photos are Canons.

So, I’ve narrowed my search down to purchasing either a Canon HV40 or Canon HF M40. My main PC for editing is a quad-core cpu with 8gb ram running Windows 7 (64)pro and 4 hard disks with over 4.5TB in total storage, so I’m not to concerned about being able to edit either HDV or AVCHD formats. I use Premier Elements for editing and have every version except version 3

I'm leaning towards the HV40 because I like having tape as a backup of my video (I don’t reuse tape), but the HV line hasn’t been updated since 2009 and the HV40 is likely the end of road for consumer tape based camcorders.

The HF M40 with AVCHD seems to be decent camera base on the reviews I’ve read with better low-light sensitivity than the HV40 due to its newer sensor and “DIGIC DV III Image Processor”.

So, do I jump into the AVCHD future or embrace HDV as it fades into history?

If someone has HF M40, would be great if you could post about your experiences with it. I know many of you have HV20/30/40’s, are you still happy with them or are you looking to move to a tapeless format now?

Any comments or advice is appreciated. Thanks

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm not sure that tape-based HDV is really going away any time soon, rf. So don't let that influence your decision.

Beyond that, AVCHD really does seem to be the wave of the future, as long as you've got a machine capable of working with it (and you do). In fact, that's really the only liability. Particularly if you're going to edit it in a program (like Premiere Elements 10) that's been optimized to work with it.

So it's a coin toss. There is no wrong answer. They're both going to provide you the same level of quality product. So I might lean toward that AVCHD cam if I were you. But I'm sure you'll be thrilled with either.

[Chuck Engels]

I used to really love my HV40 but must admit that the ease of using a memory camcorder rather than tape has been great. I shoot 60% of my video with my Blackberry at 720p, 20% on my GE-DV1 at Full HD, and the other 20% on my HV40. Hate to admit it but the ease of using my phone or DV1 makes it worth any shortcomings, and there are few.

If I had my choice right now I would get a really good DSLR, and Canon has some really good equipment.
The quality is amazing and the ease of use is fantastic

[Paul LS]

For me, it depends on whether you use more photos or video in your movies. I have both a HDV tape based camcorder and an AVCHD memory card based camcorder and as Chuck says the ease of using a memory card compared to tape should not be overlooked. But... a year or so ago I took a "step back" and looked at the home videos I have produced over the last few years and realised that I use a mix of photos and video in my home movies but the majority of the movie is made up of photos. So I decided to go with a good stills camera that can take good video, I didn't want a DLSR because of the size and so instead went with the Panasonic GF2... a Micro Four Thirds camera that can take full HD video. So do not over look the DLSR option that Chuck mentions.

[momoffduty]

I love my HV20 & HV30. If I could get a new camera now it would be a Canon T3i.

[jackfalbey]

Interesting timing on this post, rfjg... I just upgraded my camera kit to full HD production last week. After thorough research and anxiously waiting almost 2 years for the price & tech to be right to move up from my trusty Sony PD170s (and some killer Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals) I went with a Panasonic DMC-GH2 interchangeable-lens Micro-Four-Thirds camera for my main cam and 2 Canon M40s for B & C roll. I haven't done much with them yet, but I can say that just playing around with the M40 it's low-light capability is nothing short of amazing for such a small cam. Canon got it right when they went back to an old drawing board and decreased the pixel count to improve light sensitivity. Keep in mind the Canon M4xx series have exactly the same sensor as in their pro-grade G10 and XA10 camcorders. I also love that it has internal memory and 2 SDHC card slots... redundancy is always a good thing. I don't have any samples to put up yet, but go to Vimeo and search M40 and you'll see some very high quality clips from this cam. B&H has it for $349 through December 31st; I highly recommend anyone looking for a new camcorder to get it! You won't be disappointed!

So, I guess that's a vote for the M40 here...

[rfjg]

Update!

After a lot of reseach and consideration, I got the HV40. (I use the B&H link from Muvipix store, so hopefully Muvipix got some commission)

I decided that I'd rather stick with tape now and get the HV40 while its still avaliable, it also helped that my extra battiers, charges, etc. from my old miniDV cameras are compatiable with the HV40.

The HF M40's was a great deal at $349, but by the time I decided to buy, they were sold out. Also wasn't so keen on the non-standard accessory shoe.

Thought about the t3i, not ready to make the jump into DSLR world yet, maybe someday.

Its an amazing differance from SD

[Bobby]

All I do is family stuff these days, but I love my HV30.

[Chuck Engels]

Excellent choice RF and you won't be sorry
Lots of people here with the same or similar model, plenty of support too