Trialist and moderator of Digital Director, Mark W, has posted a ‘camera porn’ photo showing the lineup of his favourite cameras over the years, including the HG10 – it’s fascinating to see how styles and sizes have evolved:

Senu, another trialist and moderator on AV Forums, has posted a great summary of his experiences with the HG10. He’s really put it through it’s paces, comparing it with the HC1, FX1 and HV20, and testing it indoors with low lighting thanks to the terrible weather. Although the low light footage isn’t ideal, and the battery life is ‘so-so’, Senu admits that it’s difficult to find things to complain about (although he’s tried!): ‘I like it and would recommend it to anyone looking to buy an HDD camcorder for Hi-def as it is reasonable cost, great build quality and does what it promises.’ Senu also offers to provide footage for anyone wanting to play with it themselves, so let him know if you’re interested.

And over in Simply DV Forums, in a useful thread about HD cameras for beginners, trialist Ben has emphasised the importance of handling the HG10 before you make up your mind: ‘Don’t forget getting your hands on one – the HG10 feels superb (having had one on a trial) and has a great interface.’

If you have any quesitons or comments about the HG10 or HD/HDD cameras in general, visit these trialists in their forums – they can all be relied on to give you an independent, honest and experienced opinion.

However, he does emphasise that this depends on the player; check the thread for more advice and add your own.

And if you’re still struggling with software, kring has finished his mammoth review of the best software to use with the HG10 on AVS Forum. After outlining how to use each package and its advantages and disadvantages, he concludes that for the best capture, playback and editing, you can’t beat a combination of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate v11.1.1, Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 7.3, and Corel GuideMenu. Do you agree?

DrNippleNutz at AVS Forums is deliberating between the HF10 and HG10. Lekom’s advice is that the HG10′s bigger sensor means better picture quality, especially indoors and in low light. Kring agrees that he’s happy with the ‘fantastic picture’ on his HG10 and that ‘I do not see any benefits of the HF20 over the HG10′; read more here.

There are a number of recent threads on AV Forums about whether the HG10 is the best all-round HDD cam on the market. In Which HDV model?, RossC wants a cam for ‘typical family events/holidays’ and redsox_mark outlines the difference between the different Canon and Sony models. Tredders recommends the HG10 for the ‘stunning’ images.

In another thread, having found an HG10 at an excellent price, Danz1985 is torn between that and the HV20 – he asks for user experiences, so let him know which you would recommend.

And if you decide on the HG10, our trialist Senu has some excellent advice for thejollyboys, who asks for help with software and editing on his new camera. Thejollyboys concludes:

Word of mouth: it’s a wonderful thing. Any other forums or threads you’ve found helpful in your HDD/HD camera choice?

Flash memory is the big seller here; as Gizmodo emphasise in their coverage of the launch, it “allows consumers to experience a new level of performance, style and flexibility.” For the rest of the press release and more detailed information on the different cameras that are part of the VIXIA family, head on over to DVinfo forums and be sure to join in the excited discussion the news has generated.

In other news, G4TV have posted a mini-review of the HG10. G4TV claim “We’re the only ones that can help the Average Joe separate the slick gadgets from silicon crap,” so if you like neat no-nonsense bullet point reviews, go and read reviewer EMorton’s love for the Digic DV II Image Processor, and his opinion on the image stabilization.

Over on AV forums two more of our HG10 trialists, Senu and Lurcher, have started discussing their cameras. In the thread ‘Canon HG10 and standard resolution’ the original poster asks whether the HG10 can record in standard definition as well as high definition, to which Senu reports that the camera comes with software which should convert recordings to standard definition. He also promises a dedicated thread on his trialing experiences (weather and festive season permitting!), which we’re very much looking forward to reading.

In another thread, Ultrasub posts about his disappointment with the quality on standard definition HDD cameras, and Senu reiterates that the HD HG10 can give you a much better picture, but can’t record in standard if you want that option.

Are you a recent HD convert or are you still using standard and proud of it? Do you think you need both options? What are the biggest ways in which HD has impacted on your filmmaking? Head on over to the threads to read more and add your thoughts.

Camcorderinfo.com is a great place to start, with David Kender posting a thorough review which concludes that the HG10 ‘tops the competition in performance, portability, and handling’, and sparks an interesting debate about the overall value of HDD capability in the reader comments.

Over at CNET, Lori Grunin awards the HG10 a ‘very good’ 7.5 score thanks to the ‘sharp, well-exposed photos and HD videos’, although she has some reservations about the design. TrustedReviews are less cautious, awarding a stonking 9/10 for ‘an impressive piece of kit.’

However, don’t take their word for it – talk to the man on the (digital) street. Two lively forum threads can be found at Digital Director and Simply DV – both good places to browse the latest HG10 buzz.