Canon LEGRIA HV40

Ease of Use (5.25)

Because of its bulky size and complex menus, the HV40 is not as easy to use as most camcorders on the market. Yes, there is something to be said about the simplicity of recording to tape, but most people these days are probably just as comfortable working with non-linear media like memory cards or internal hard drives. Also, let's face it, the process of capturing footage from a tape to a computer is a lot more difficult than importing files from a memory card.

We give the HV40 kudos for having a dedicated Auto Mode and a thorough, well-written instruction manual—both of which are excellent for beginners. Unfortunately, the camcorder itself has no help function or information box inside the menu that tells you a fact or two about the setting you are about to adjust. Also, when using the HV40 in anything but Auto Mode, you're likely to run into some trouble and confusion. The camcorder features an awkward, out-dated menu design, which, thankfully, Canon has improved upon with its other 2009 models. Even for people who are familiar with consumer camcorders, the HV40's Joystick Menu is extremely confusing to both use and explain. The rest of the HV40's menus aren't quite as clunky as the Joystick guide, but none of them are easy to navigate or understand. Not to mention, the camcorder has far too many menus, which means many options are difficult to locate.

Handling (6.25)

The HV40 handles a lot differently than Canon's flash-memory camcorders, mainly because there's a MiniDV tape deck strapped to its right side. This changes the entire design and feel of the camcorder. Without any modern commodities like touchscreens, fancy LCD bezels, or gimmicky laser-touch systems, the camcorder feels a bit old-fashioned. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, as many people may prefer the HV40's bulky design and more traditional layout. Still, we really don't like the embedded 'membrane-buttons' located on the HV40's LCD panel. They are hard to push, unresponsive, and often need to be pinched or squeezed tightly to get them to work. This was one redesign we were ecstatic to see Canon fix on the HF S100, HF S10, and HF S11. Canon's HF S series also boasts a better hand strap, sleeker design, and more comfortable shape than the HV40.

The HV40 has an awkward shape and design.

Unfortunately, there are some other basic problems with the HV40 that Canon really should have paid attention to. For one, the camcorder's viewfinder doesn't extend or pivot—it is entirely stationary. This makes it very difficult and annoying to work with, particularly if you have a large battery pack loaded (a thick battery can block access to the viewfinder). This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the HV40 came with a stellar LCD. Instead, the camcorder has an unimpressive 2.7-inch screen with a paltry 211,000-pixel resolution. The HV40 definitely has the real estate for Canon to include a larger, more resolute screen—much like Sony does on its bulky HDR-XR520.

From the front it doesn't look much different from most camcorders, although it does have a bulky right side where the tape deck is.

Button placement and design is slightly problematic on the HV40. The camcorder doesn't have too many buttons, and most of them are conveniently located on the back of the camcorder (all within a thumbs reach). We found, however, that our thumb often bumped the navigation joystick while we were recording. This happened because the joystick and record button are right next to each other and our thumb fell more naturally onto the joystick than the record button. This wasn't a huge deal, but Canon does relegate a lot of controls to the joystick (it even has its own menu). So, you may find yourself accidentally adjusting some control on the HV40 because you pressed the joystick button inadvertently.

Most buttons can be accessed with your thumb on the back.

The joystick itself isn't great for adjusting manual controls, but it is definitely better than an LCD touchscreen or JVC's Laser Touch system. Canon's joysticks are also fairly well designed, and they are large enough to offer a decent amount of precision. There is a small dial near the front of the camcorder as well, but it can only be used to adjust focus. The dial isn't that great, mainly because it doesn't have enough surface area and is hard to grip, but also because Canon doesn't allow the dial to manipulate other controls besides focus.The Canon HF S series has a much better dial (larger and easier to use) that can be used to control a wide range of settings (exposure, focus, assist functions, audio levels, and gain limit). The Sony HDR-XR520 has an even better control dial, and the Panasonic HDC-HS300 and HS300 both have lens rings that can be used to set a variety of controls.

The dial up front can only adjust focus...		... while the joystick button is used to navigate menus and make other adjustments.

Stabilisation (0.54)

Even though the Canon HV40 is equipped with an optical image stabilisation system (OIS), the camcorder didn't do very well in our stabilisation testing. Yes, the camcorder's OIS does help stabilize shake in hand held shooting, but our results found that it did not work as effectively as other camcorders—particularly in our high shake test.. (More on how we test stabilisation.)
 

Canon HV40 Stabilisation Effectiveness

7% correction at low shake (above) 0% correction at high shake (below)

In our low shake test, the HV40 was able to reduce roughly 7% of the shake by using its OIS system. This isn't very good, especially when you consider the HV40 is so heavy and box-shaped (which should keep it more stable). In our high shake test, the HV40 didn't show any improvement with its OIS engaged. These poor numbers aren't that different from what we saw on the Canon HF S series. In comparison, the Sony HDR-XR520 had one of the best stabilisation systems we tested. The Panasonic HDC-HS300 also did quite well with this test.

The video above shows the HV40 with both stabilisation turned off and on. As you can see, it is difficult to notice any difference between the two images. We must say, however, that in real-life, hand held shooting with the camcorder we did notice a difference with OIS engaged. When we hooked the HV40 up to our shake rig, however, the camcorder had a lot of difficulty stabilizing the footage.

Stabilisation Score Comparison		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Canon HF S100
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Panasonic HDC-HS300
		Compare the Canon HV40 to the Sony HDR-XR520

Portability (3.14)

There's no doubt about it, tape-based camcorders are generally larger than other camcorders, and the HV40 is no exception. The HV40 weighs in at 615g, which is a bit heavier than the Sony HDR-XR520—and the XR520 has a 240GB internal hard drive on its right side. The HV40 is also significantly wider and taller than the HDR-XR520. So, this makes the HV40 one of the largest and heaviest consumer camcorders on the market. With many manufacturers trending towards light-weight, flash-memory models, the tape-based camcorders are only going to seem larger and bulkier in the years to come. With tape-based models you also have to remember to bring along numerous tapes when you go on a trip or to a video shoot. MiniDV tapes can only hold 60 minutes of HD video, which is a lot less than most memory cards or internal hard drives are capable of storing (a 16GB SDHC card can hold roughly 85 minutes of video on the Canon HF S100).

Depending on what you compare it to, however, the HV40 is still rather portable. It is more compact than any professional camcorder, and it weighs much less than a DSLR camera. It is also smaller than many MiniDV cameras from years past. You won't, by any means, be able to fit the HV40 in your pocket, so you'll have to carry it around in a small bag or using a shoulder strap (or in your hand). The Canon HF20 is far lighter and more compact than the HV40 and Canon's top-line models, the HF S series, are also significantly smaller than the HV40.

Weight & Size
Weight	615g (1.4 lbs.) including battery
Size	88 x 82 x 138mm (3.5 x 3.2 x 5.4 inches)

Battery Life (5.85)

The HV40 has good battery life with its provided BP-2L13 battery pack. The camcorder lasted for just under two hours in our test (1 hour, 57 minutes to be exact). This is around 20 minutes longer than the Canon HF S100 managed, and it is a bit longer than average for a consumer camcorder. (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

The HV40 can accommodate larger battery packs that should give the camcorder a longer record time. The problem is, if you insert too large of a battery, like the BP-2L24H, you may not be able to use the viewfinder on the back of the camcorder. Batteries that extend too far out block you from pressing your eye up against the viewfinder (or they make it very uncomfortable). This is one of the reasons we wish Canon had implemented a pivot or extension option on the HV40's viewfinder.

The HV40 with its provided battery pack.

LCD & Viewfinder (8.63)

The HV40 includes both an electronic viewfinder and an LCD screen, making it one of the few consumer camcorders manufactured by Canon that offers a viewfinder. Neither the viewfinder nor the LCD is worthy of much praise, however. The LCD is 2.7-inches in size, has a 211,000-pixel resolution, and features Canon's old LCD bezel design—the same design found on the Canon HF20 and HF200. The HF S100, S10, and S11 all feature a flat, glossy screen design, although their LCDs still have the same specs as the HV40.

The LCD is 2.7 inches in size and has terrible VCR buttons on the bottom of the panel.

We would have loved for Canon to include a larger LCD on the HV40, mainly because the camcorder is definitely big enough to accommodate one. The 2.7-inch size is OK, but it doesn't do anything to set the camcorder apart from the crowd. Brightness can be set manually on the LCD (with 44 increments of control), and you can also bump up the backlight of the screen by holding down the display button for two seconds.

The viewfinder cannot extend or pivot, which makes it tough to use.

We love that Canon put a viewfinder on the HV40, but, to be frank, the one Canon included is really bad. It cannot extend, pivot, rotate—nothing. The viewfinder is completely stationary, which makes it terribly difficult to use. Also, if you load the HV40 up with a larger battery pack, you may not even be able to press your eye against the viewfinder at all. The viewfinder is also made out of a hard, non-flexible plastic that is uncomfortable and doesn't provide a good seal around your eye. We understand that viewfinders are beginning to become a rarity on consumer camcorders, and it seems that Canon wants to make them as unfriendly to use as possible.

The viewfinder is 0.27-inches in size and features a paltry 123,000-pixel resolution. It also has a tiny dioptre adjustment slider on its left side. Unfortunately, you cannot use the viewfinder and LCD simultaneously on the HV40, since the only way to activate the viewfinder is to close the LCD.

Menus (1.15)

The HV40 has basically the same menu design as last year's HV30. This is very disappointing, especially when you consider Canon did so much renovating of its menu system for its other 2009 models. The HV40's menu looks and feels very outdated—it is slow to respond, has awkward icons, and is very confusing. The worst part is that options are spread out into three different menus: the Function Menu, the Main Menu, and the Joystick Menu. Let's cover the Function Menu first (shown below):

The Function menu in Tape Mode		The Function Menu in Card Mode

You access the Function Menu by pressing the Function button on the back of the camcorder. This menu is pretty easy to understand, although Canon did make it much better on its other models (like the HF20 and the HF S100). In the Function Menu you can do things like adjust white balance, set digital effects, or switch the HV40 to aperture-priority or shutter-priority mode. The big change Canon made to this menu on its other models was adding colour (to make it easier to read) and redesigning the aperture and shutter speed adjustment screens. If you select the last option on the Function Menu you come to the camcorder's Main Menu.

The Main Menu in Tape Mode.		The Main Menu in Card Mode.

The Main Menu simply doesn't look modern—especially compared to the sleek menus featured on Canon's other models. The Menu is transparent, which makes it harder to read the options, and it is slow to navigate through. For some reason, the menu simply doesn't respond that quickly when you press directions using the camcorder's joystick. I think we've made ourselves clear, but we like the menus on the Canon HF S100 and HF20 a lot better. In fact, we may even prefer the menus on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 over the HV40... and the Sanyo had terrible menus.

So, those are the two obvious menus on the HV40, but the camcorder also has a third menu—the Joystick Menu. This menu is very frustrating to use, but it houses some of the camcorder's most important controls (like exposure, backlight, and audio level adjustment). To access the menu, you push in on the joystick button, which brings up a small box on the LCD.

Here's where things get tricky. To cycle through the options on the Joystick Menu, you press down on the joystick. To select an option for adjustment sometimes you have to press up and sometimes you have to press left and right. For example, to set exposure levels you must press down until EXP appears at the top of the menu, then you press up on the joystick, then you press left/right to make adjustments. It is incredibly confusing to both explain and perform this procedure. It is ridiculous that Canon would put this many confusing controls into the hands of a 4-way directional joystick. Canon smartly redesigned this system on its other models, which feature a drop-down menu that appears when you press the joystick button.

The Joystick Menu is awfully confusing.		In Card Mode, the Joystick Menu is just as bad.

The HV40 has all three of these menus (Function, Main, and Joystick) in Tape Mode, Card Mode, and Playback Mode. This gives the camcorder far too many menus and too many spread out controls. To make things slightly more user-friendly, the HV40 includes a customisable button near the front of the camcorder. This button, however, can only be set to four different options: Focus Assist, Markers, Backlight, or Magnify.

Canon HV40 Comparisons
Canon HF S100	Panasonic HDC-HS300	Sony HDR-XR520