Canon Legria HF G30 / Canon Vixia HF G30

Take this product:

US (&worldwide): Canon VIXIA HF G30 HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro (Vixia name in the US)
FR: Canon Legria HF G30 Camescopes (Legria name in the EU)
UK: Canon Legria HF G30 High Definition Camcorder
DE: Canon Legria HF G30 HD Camcorder
RO: Cameră video Canon LEGRIA HF G30 | Extreme Digital magazin online
RO: Camera video Canon LEGRIA HF G30 – F64
RO: Canon Legria HF G30 AD8454B002AA Lista de preturi – cel mai mic pret

, which looks like this:

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When reading this review, please note the circumstances I use the product:

I am at a conference, I need to do multiple things at once (photo + video + pay attention to what is happening at the event), thus I film / photograph / record audio on auto, I don’t stay in front of the machine all that much, so I need to have some freedom.
I tend not to care for my products a lot, and I am a bit clumsy.
I push products to their extreme, I force things, I push things, I drop things. Thus, I look for products who are more prone to resisting to my (unwanted) powers).
I have quite some experience in event recording, on these areas: photography / video / audio. See some reviews I made here.
The current review will probably amaze you on how little emphasis I put on the quality of the product itself. The thing is, I know little of my equipment, and I know even little-er on other similar equipment. So, while I can tell you my equipment is good or not, I can’t make evaluations such as “it’s the best in his class”, or “this is a best buy”. Despite my experience with documenting events, I’m a beginner in hardware testing. So, take this review as it was meant to be – in no way to save you from reading an actual review from a reputable web site about the product. You should do this! Instead, my review is focused on giving you some feed-back you might get in other places.
If you think it is impossible to read a detailed review about a video camera, after using it lots of times for almost an year, without any other comments about the recording quality, other than “it’s OK”, you are wrong. This is that kind of a review!

A video I made about the product:

Issues I talk about in the video::

(Note: see the comment below, this is a false assertion!)) The biggest problem I have with the camera – it’s very easy to get to the lens while you have the camera in the bag; it has two different lens covers, and they both come off easily. I couldn’t find any filters to protect the lens. The only protection for the lens are two different lens convers (you can only pick one of them).
The battery is kept from falling by a small piece of plastic, which I broke.
The digital screen looks flimsy enough to consider that if I ever drop the camera with the screen open, it might break.
Also, I couldn’t find any bags to protect the camera (see these searches – Canon G30 bag & canon g30 bag – Free Shipping – DX), so I improvised a bit.
A functionality problem of the camera is the on/off/view videos button, because the off option is right in the middle, and it puts a constant stress on me – “perhaps I forgot the camera open, on either “on” or “view videos”, instead of setting it right in the middle (“off”). Very poorly made button. It just leaves you to think – have I done everything right? Is it all OK? Is it on? Is it off? It’s a constant tension. (if you forget the camera on, it will drain the battery in your bag, and you might reach your event only to find that you have no battery on your camera; it happened to me once, but the tension is still there)
I mention in the video the yellow jack should be black. Perhaps it’s a video standard to make A/V out yellow, but to me it’s not a good solution.
It’s useful to have an adapter such as this: 1/4” Screws Adapter Kit for Camera Flash Hot Shoe Mount – Black – Free Shipping – DealExtreme or this: RJ Camera MSA Canon Camcorder Mini Hot Shoe Adapter to Universal Shoe Adapter (Black)
I like a lot the zoom buttons, they’re very nice.
A thing which I haven’t mentioned in the video is the button which switches from Auto – Manual – Cinema modes. I always leave this on Auto, but the button can be accidentally pushed (it’s right on the top of the camera), and sometimes it goes to Cinema. Well, in cinema the resolution of the video is not at it’s maximum, so this is a small problem. It happened to me twice – the button to be accidentally pushed. You can see on the screen this, but I also take photos at the event, and I don’t pay much attention to this.
Also, it is helpful to have a procedure with things to check prior to filming, and when you are at the filming spot.

A comment I received on YouTube from Geoff Dean:

I have been using A Hoya 58mm UV lens filter, basically it is an inexpensive clear lens which screws directly in front of your camera lens giving it full protection and the really good part is that the flower cover will still fit over it perfectly; so if the worst case scenario happens and the flower cover comes away your actual camera lens is fully protected. If the UV lens should get damaged then it will be easy and cheap to replace but obviously if the Camera lens was damaged then that would be very expensive. I too have the same camera and like yourself have found that when you buy almost any product the companies are never too helpful with bag’s or cases and the worst things are batteries as they put a code within the units so as you have to buy only the Canon brands and instead of charging something like £30 and still make a profit they decide as they now have the full monopoly over you to charge you anything up to £180 I have seen. However the Camera is a really good one and has a great deal of options. Hope you manage to get good use of it.

Some photos with the product:
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Some real video reviews, which, unlinke mine, who doesn’t focus on the main features, nor does it analyze the shooting options: