Image samples: Canon HG10

The HG10 produces sharp videos with vibrant colors. Like all 1080i AVCHD models, the video is interlaced (see inset), which is especially frustrating, given that the HG10 uses a full 1,920x1,080 sensor--that means it has to degrade the video to comply with the AVCHD format. (Frame grab from video.)

The HG10 produces good photos, suitable for relatively large prints. I do wish the choice between Canon's AiAF, which I find never finds the right subjects--here, it focused on the leaves rather than the flowers--and center focus wasn't buried in the menu system. Manual focus, which is far easier to get to, takes too long and requires the relatively unstable open-LCD stance instead of eye-level viewfinder body tuck.

The photos aren't quite as sharp as I'd like, but they're not too bad for a camcorder. As you can tell, the flash is also prone to producing red-eye, and even the red-eye reduction mode didn't help--at least for Hellspawn Squirrel.

Shots such as this taken with the HG10 are prone to purple fringing on the high-contrast edges.