8.3 out of 10

Canon Vixia HG20

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from 17 sources in 3 countries

Great Deal: $1,285.98

User Score (265)

8.8
Expert Score (2)

8.5
Value for money (26)

9.6
Features (27)

9.0
Performance (27)

8.8
Overall quality (26)

9.3

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Pros & Cons

easy to use, good image quality, features, good sound, versatile

poor battery life

Score Distribution

Experts:

9-10		(1)
7-8		(1)
5-6		(0)
3-4		(0)
1-2		(0)

Users:

9-10		(172)
7-8		(65)
5-6		(14)
3-4		(6)
1-2		(8)

Expert Reviews

Camcorder Info

24 September 2008
Sony HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12 These Sony camcorders are identical except for the capacity. The SR12 sports a 120GB hard drive, while the SR11 has a 60GB capacity. We reviewed the SR12 and deemed it the best Sony we'd seen in some time. From overall performance to handling, it was a top notch camcorder. The front-mounted Cam Control dial made manual adjustments particularly easy. Read more
CNET

8.0/10

29 September 2008
Like its cousin, the flash-based HF11, Canon's Vixia HG20 delivers excellent HD video quality and performance albeit in a slightly larger, heavier package. However, you do get more storage space and a lower price. Read more
- Excellent video quality; 60GB hard drive; attractive, understated design.
- Wind filter not as dependable as previous Canon models; manual focus pretty useless.
etechreviews.net

1 January 2011
Canon Vixia HG20 is a great HD camcorder that is really easy to use and the looks too are pretty good. It has a lot in common with Vixia HF11 also by the same manufacturer but instead of using a internal flash memory, this camcorder is hard drive based. The performance is on par with Sony Handycam HDR-SR11 and in the end, it comes to whether you prefer hard disk or flash memory for storing the matter. Flash will cost you extra though. Read more
Reviewboard Magazine

29 June 2009
The Canon Vixia HG20 is an excellent HD camcorder that’s reasonably easy to operate out of the box and looks good, too. It’s almost identical to the company’s Vixia HF11, but rather than recording mainly to internal flash memory, it records to a hard drive. As for performance, it’s as good if not better than the Sony Handycam HDR-SR11. So in the end, it comes down to a preference for flash memory or hard-disk drive as your storage medium of choice. Read more
REVIEW STREAM

9.0/10

29 June 2009
It’s been a year and I haven’t really had any problems with it. Its really forward in the technology aspect, it has everything from excellent video quality to 60 GB of memory, etc, which really was a huge plus. Read more

User Reviews

Write your own review of Canon Vixia HG20

Best camcorder ever....

10/10

Reviewer: Ren, Amazon
27 December 2011
This camera is super amazing!!! It has great zoom, great storage, great video quality, and it has alot of different effects to work with!!! But I am disapointed in the ease of putting your videos onto your computer!!! When I download it to my computer only my pictures download, and when I drag the video files to my desk top, they do not play on Windows Media Player!!!! And the whole reason I asked for this camera is so I could make movies using Windows Movie Maker!!! Read more
"Very Pleased--excellent playback in HD"

9.0/10

Reviewer: Tech-user2010, CNET
13 December 2010
I like the product for its quality picture, functionality, and ease of use. The battery consumption is not higher either which was a prime selling factor for me. With little kids you must always be ready even for a miniute. The size weight and HD features were a plus as well and the fit was good for my wife and I. The ability to record to either SDflash card or the HDD is a nice feature as well for the price. Read more
- I have owned my HG20 now for 2.5 years and I am very well pleased with its performance overall. Image quality, functions and features are above competitors by far. Pic...
- Software is proprietary and is time consuming to learn for proper formating. You need additional HDD space when downloading and converting movies and burning them to d...
Good/Bad/Ugly

6.0/10

Reviewer: backdoc, Newegg
25 March 2009
(con't from "Cons").... But, you end up with the files stored on the mac in a lower quality than HD. That's fine for uploading to youtube or making a DVD. Read more
- Picture and video quality is good. Canon offers good phone support.
- Video management is quite difficult. My situation may not be like too many others. I'm not a Windows user. So, the included software is worthless to me. I use a Linux ...
Great HD camcorder

10/10

Reviewer: FJR, ABT Electronics
14 June 2009
Excellent camcorder. Love everything about it except the battery life. Read more
- Comfortable to Operate, Great Features, Great Picture Quality, Great Sound, Simple Controls, Versatile
- Poor Battery Life
Super Video Camera for the price!

10/10

Reviewer: Tiger Direct
20 June 2010
With a 60 GB hard drive, this camera lasted through 10 days at Disney. I charged the battery each night (the original bp 807) and brought with the bp 819 that I purchased separately. I recommend the bp 827 for longer life, even though it is spendy (get the Canon Brand). The biggest pet peaves of my old dvd camera (space and battery life) are solved! Also works with Mac or PC. Love it! Read more