Over ten years ago I bought Sony's legendary TRV-900. It was a consumer camera so good and so ahead of its time that it remained on the market for four years - an eternity in the consumer electronics industry.

Canon has a similar product in their HV series HDV camcorders. They released such an outstanding camera two years ago with the HV20 that the two new models since (the HV30 and now the HV40) are really just small refinements of a mature and well designed product.

**NEW FEATURES**
So let's get one thing out of the way up front: There really isn't much of a difference between this camera and last year's HV30 (which was a small upgrade on the superb HV20). As an HV20 owner, I felt right at home when this arrived and I powered it up. Video quality is about the same, they look pretty much the same, and overall performance is the same too.

What is different is the addition of true 24P recording which offers a more film-like frame rate over the standard 30 frames per second. It should be noted that prior versions of this camera (as well as Canon's AVCHD models) also shoot 24P but that mode requires additional software to get to "true" 24P video when editing. You'll want to check to ensure that your editing software supports true 24P footage as it's not a configuration that is on many consumer cameras.

**AVCHD OR HDV?***
If you're reading this it's likely that you're in the market for a new camcorder. It's also likely that you're confused over the multitude of different formats currently available: hard disk, flash memory, tape, etc. etc.

Despite the many recording mediums, the current crop of consumer cameras can be delineated into two camps: AVCHD (the hard disk and flash based cameras) and HDV (tape based).

HDV cameras have two advantages over their AVCHD counterparts. The first, while not as compelling a reason as a year ago, is compatibility. HDV was the first consumer HD format and is almost universally supported by just about every video editing software package released over the last three to four years. In addition the HV40 can also shoot in the older standard definition DV format, a format so old that even software and hardware from ten years ago can work with the footage.

Another factor to consider is the firewire port. Want to record directly to your PC or Mac? Or perhaps do a live broadcast to UStream or Stickam? HDV cameras like the HV40 stream compressed video in realtime over Firewire, something the AVCHD cameras don't do.

Still, Canon's AVCHD cameras are now recording at a higher bitrate and with a more advanced video compression algorithm that makes for better image quality. Canon's flash based cameras, like the outstanding VIXIA HFS100, are mostly solid state and lack the complex (and delicate) machinery of a tape-based camcorder like the HV40.

**CONCLUSION**
Canon's HV20 was a very mature product right at launch and that maturity continues in this iteration. Still, there's nothing so compelling in the HV40 that makes it a necessary upgrade for HV30 or HV20 owners. For first time buyers, if you're able to pick up an older model at a lower price you won't be making much of a sacrifice in terms of features. It's a great camera, just not any greater than the prior versions!

For most consumers HDV cameras are old technology. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the HV40 is the last tape-based camcorder Canon releases to market. AVCHD has matured to the point that I am now recommending that to friends over HDV based cameras. AVCHD's lack of moving parts combined with the very low cost of flash memory makes it tough to recommend the bulkier mechanical alternatives like the HV40.

If, however, you're using an older computer or need to stream video live the HV40 is one of the best (if not the best) HDV consumer cameras on the market.