==Summary==
The Canon Vixia HF R20 offers many of the features found in a larger, more expensive camcorder, but is small and light enough not to be a burden. While the higher-end Vixia models provide some serious upgrades for the enthusiast for a significant price, the casual point-and-shoot crowd will find plenty to love about the Vixia HF R20 and only one thing to hate. The R20 shoots clear, vivid video with only minor weakness in low light, image stabilization and motion. The .mts file format will be alien to most users and may require time-consuming file conversion on additional (not the included) software to retain full HD quality for viewing on common devices.

==Construction==
Weighing only 9.5 oz. and measuring 2.4" x 2.4" x 4.8", the Canon Vixia is just small enough to it in a large pocket and light enough to pack in a backpack without weighing you down. The overall construction feels a little cheap simply due to the light weight and this will also make it harder to shoot steady video. The lens is noticeably smaller than those found on the more expensive Vixia models, but still vastly superior to the majority of cheap point and shoot video cameras that have been flooding the market.

The touchscreen measures 3", which should be big enough for most, but I'd have liked at least 3.5" and capacitive instead of pressure-sensitive response. Aesthetically the R20 is quite attractive and comfortable to grip. The buttons, ports and slots are all laid out efficiently and ergonomomically. Hdmi, composite and audio ports and two slots for SD/SDHX/SDXC cards round out the package.

==Video Quality==
The Canon Vixia HF R20 provides an Auto shoot mode as well as scene modes for more specific environments. In auto mode it only takes a few frames for the camcorder to adjust from shooting indoors to outdoors. The image stabilizer (dynamic/standard(default)/off) works great overall, except for close-ups. The lens provides a very clear image with only minor distortion and provides a 20x optical zoom (28x advanced zoom). Low light performance is only okay.

Frames rates of 24p, 30p and 60i are available. Five bit rate qualities are available, the two highest shoot in 1920x1080 resolution while the 3 lower ones shoot in 1440 x 1080. The following bitrates can be selected: MXP-24Mbps, FXP-17Mbps, XP-12Mbps, SP-7Mbps, LP-5Mbps. The default shooting mode is SP with 60i frame rate. You can shoot 2hr 20min in deault SP, 1hr in FXP or 40 min in MXP using the internal 8GB. Keepn in mind that higher quality bitrates may not save onto lower speed SD cards. Maximum shooting time is 12 hours. Pictures are saved at either 2 (1920x1080) or 2.4 megapixels depending on aspect ratio.

==Ease Of Use==
Most owners should be able to dive right into using their R20 for shooting home videos. The buttons are (for the most part) clearly labeled as to their function(s) and logically laid out so you can find things intuitively. Both composite and hdmi (mini-hdmi to hdmi) cables are included as well as 8GB of internal memory. The only times I had to look at the manual were to figure out the Vid Snap button (sets camcorder to shoot for 2/4/8 sec at a time) and look up how to get at some of the more advanced settings (touch "Func" on the touchscreen when NOT in Auto mode). A minor complaint is the inability to shoot stil pictures WHILE you're filming video.

The major complaint I have for the R20 is the file format that every video is saved in: .mts. It took me a while to find adequate software to convert the .mts files into .avi and even longer to convert a few short videos (on my last generation computer). I suspect most people don't have software on their computers already that will convert or even play MTS video files. I've been a long time user of Pixela software for my photos, but video software is a joke (the video browser disc required me to uninstall what i had installed only minutes before from the image transfer disc). The included video converter will not convert the MTS files without reducing the resolution significantly! Thankfully the pictures save as .jpg files. I ended up removing the included software from my computer and simply drag and drop the files from the Canon onto my desktop.