The Canon HG21 Camcorder is the top model and can hold up to 45 hours of High Definition (HD) video on its 120GB hard drive. Meanwhile, the Canon HG10 camcorder is only equipped with a 40 GB hard disk drive that can hold up to 15 hours of video captured at 5 Mbps. On the other hand, the HG10 offers the ability to record using the AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition), but the HG21 does not. It is also possible to play the videos directly from the Canon HG10 on an HDTV or on a computer.
The HG21 has a Dual Recording system that allows videos to be saved directly to the hard drive. The user can also record and store the videos on SDHC memory cards for portability. But both camcorders feature Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Advanced Focus (AF) for HD applications.
The HG10 has a 24p cinema mode that allows video recording for a “film look” while the HG21 allows 25p cinema mode. And to make up for the HG10’s poor audio reception capability, the HG21 allows you to connect an external microphone for better monitoring of sound recording. The HG21 also has manual controls for sound recording and these include audio level control and microphone attenuation control. It also has audio level meters for perfect audio quality.
The HG10’s image sensor is a 2.7-inch CMOS sensor with RGB primary color filter, while the HG21 has an image processor known as DIGIC DV II to deliver superb HD movies. The HG21 captures movies at 24Mbps while the HG10 maxes out at 5Mbps. The HG21 also comes with PIXELA ImageMixer software for managing and editing HD video.