The HR10 shoots progressive HD at 1,920x1,080 resolution, which it then deconstructs to interlaced video (most software subsequently downconvert it to 1,440x1,080). You can also shoot 24p, which in conjunction with the film-gamma Cinema mode renders a more filmlike appearance. Video-quality options range from the highest-bitrate XP+ (12Mbps; 15 minutes single layer, 27 minute dual layer) to LP (5Mbps; 33 minutes single layer, 60 minutes dual layer) with a couple of intermediate stops in between the two. The still-photo sizes can get a little confusing, however. For instance, the LW (Large Wide) setting is actually smaller than the plain-old Large: 1,920x1,080 vs. 2,048x1,536. And like most camcorders that let you snap photos while in video-recording mode, those snapshots are limited to 1,920x1,080.
Video performance--autofocus and exposure--are pretty good. In sufficient light, the autofocus adjusts relatively quickly when panning from object to object thanks to the Instant AF, and the autoexposure corrects swiftly, as well. As expected, it's a bit slower in dim light, and the autofocus pulses slightly. The 2.7-inch wide-screen LCD, with its playback controls on the bezel, works well enough for manual focusing, though it's a bit small. The eye-level viewfinder struck me as a bit coarse at first, but I eventually got used to it. The audio comes through quite clearly, but the wind filter didn't seem quite as effective as with past models--perhaps because the microphone sits in the front of the camcorder, or the wind was simply stronger than usual.
Other operational aspects suffer from the DVD curse, however. Though there's no lag when starting and stopping recording, other disc-related tasks impose annoying overhead. For example, initializing a DVD-RW disc takes over a minute--17.7 seconds to bring up the initialization menu screen and another 44.8 seconds to format the disc--while a DVD-R takes about 40 seconds total, 20.1 seconds to prepare and 18.6 to format. Since each disc holds only about 15 minutes of best-quality video, it seems like a good idea to format a bunch of discs in advance. When you power on the camcorder with a prepared disc in it, you'll wait 20.5 seconds for it to spin up (at least with a DVD-RW) before you can record. At the other end of the shoot, it takes a while to finalize discs for playback. Though duration depends upon how much of the disc is empty, my test with a DVD-R holding 10 minutes of video (10 clips) took 4 minutes to finalize. All in all, it's not really a format you'd want to use for shooting children's plays or sports.
Like its siblings, however, the HR10's video looked quite good: sharp and saturated with reasonable contrast. (You can see some still photos and frame grabs here.) Its automatic white balance does tend to be a little cool, though, and as with many models highlights routinely blow out. Its low-light video looks better than usual for Canon, a bit muddy but with far less noise than we typically see. Plus the HR10's video looks mighty impressive on an HDTV connected via HDMI (the cable is optional).
If it weren't for the DVD/AVCHD double whammy, the HR10 might have more to recommend it. For now your best bet is to stick with one of Canon or Sony's tape-based HDV models, or at least avoid the DVD issue and opt for one of the hard-drive-based options.
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