Canon HG10 ($1,299)

After being involved in countless shoots for XLR8R TV, I’ve come to trust and love our Canon HV20. In standard resolution or HD, the HV20 has beautiful color and excellent features, so I was super-excited to learn of the introduction of its hard-drive-based sister-in-law, the Canon HG10. With an internal 40GB drive, the HG10 eliminates the need for tape, giving you 5.5 hours of top-quality HD recording or 11.5 hours at standard quality. If you need more time than that between data dumps, you’ve got one too many nights out (or in our case, stoned interviews) recorded anyway. No one really wants to see that much of you and your friends’ “antics,” believe me. Anyway, moving on… another great feature of the HG10 is the 24p shutter mode, which has fewer frames per second than your standard TV soap-opera, giving your shots a lovely, cinematic look. The size is excellent too; the absence of the tape mechanism really shaves off some of the bulk, making this a true hand-held. When you’re done shooting, plug your camera into your computer via USB. HD video is recorded to the hard drive of the HG10 in the AVCHD video compression codec, which is still new to the scene, so check your video editing software for compatibility. Updated versions of Final Cut Pro and iMovie will support it on an Intel-based Mac.

So for this Xmas, will someone please get me this camera? The crew of XLR8R TV will thank you to no end, and make sure to keep you in the loop with stoners everywhere.

More Days of Christmas
Day 1: Rhino Box Sets
Day 2: Death In June Brown Book
Day 3: Selk’Bags
Day 4: Hangar One Raspberry Vodka
Day 5: Mishka Keep Watch Eyeball Hat
Day 6: GRN Apple Tree Hoodie and Nixon Watch
Day 8: Gee Vaucher Artwork
Day 9: Kid Robot Smoker’s Delight Bundle
Day 10: Eco-Friendly Bags from Colette
Day 11: XLR8R Subscription
Day 12: Ableton Live