Canon ups bitrate, adds storage in fall AVCHD camcorders

No, you're not experiencing déjà vu. The iVis camcorders Canon, Inc. announced on July 22 have been reannounced by Canon USA, plus one. There are a few differences this one. For one, we've got a review of the HF11 all ready for your perusal. For another, we here in the U.S. get an extra, more expensive hard-disk-based model than in Japan. And finally, we've got real American pricing and availability info for all.

The HF11 is a higher-end linemate for the popular HF10; it adds a higher bit-rate 24Mbps recording mode and an increase to 32GB built-in flash memory, up from 16GB. (I'm not convinced you really need either; you'll have to read my review to see why.)

The hard-disk-based HG20 has the same innards as the HF10/11 and gets a boost to the 12x zoom lens from the HF series. It also gets a bump to a 60GB hard disk--to hold all those large 24Mbps bitrate files--1,920x1,080 resolution, and the ability to record video to an SD card. Its sibling, the HG21, grows to 120GB as well, plus it has an eye-level viewfinder and the better (though same sized) LCD that's on the HF11. As for the basics, they all have the same 12x zoom lens, 3.3-megapixel sensor and produce 1,920x1,080 AVCHD video.

All are slated to ship in September. The HF11 is expected to cost $1,299, the HG21 $1,199 and the HG20 $949.