Using an NTSC HV20 in Europe

[TrooperFarva]

I plan to get my father an HV20 for his birthday at the end of the month. He's been interested in creating movie shorts for a while now, so I want to get him something that'll take great quality footage, but is also small and simple enough to use on vacations and such. Anyway, next month, he's going to Ireland and Spain for 2 weeks, to see family. My questions are this. Is the charger that comes with the HV20 like a laptop charger in that it will take anything from 100VAC to 250VAC, 50Hz to 60Hz? So he just needs an adapter to physically plug in the power cord, but nothing that changes the power to 60Hz and 120VAC? Or will he need a power converter? Also, with the accessories included with the HV20, will he be able to connect the HV20 to a TV over there? Or will the NTSC/PAL issue prevent that? Is there some way around that? Thanks guys.

[Fletch78]

I'm not sure if you meant that by saying "charger", but the HV20 doesn't come with a charger itself. The battery is being charged when on the HV20 itself and the latter being connected to a power source. The "Compact Power Adapter" from my european HV20 states that the input can be in a range from 100 to 240V, 50/60Hz. So I suppose it's a universal adapter for any country.

As for the tv connection, the television must be a multisystem one, which accepts NTSC as well. It was a price raising extra on CRT televisions, but as far as I know, most modern LCD tvs do support multisystem. If your father can't find a multisystem tv, the footage from his HV20 will appear in black & white.

[Peter Galbavy]

The power adapter that comes with the HV20 is the "standard" Canon 570 unit which is global. Only thing you need to have is a way of plugging the cable into the wall. Because my NTSC HV20 is permanently in the UK I have used one of my many spare "Phillips" style cables, but you will probably want one of the cheap US to EU/UK units - as the UK/Eire have a different connector to the rest of Europe.

There is an external charger, the "CB-2LWE" which is not the same as the "CB-2LW". The former has an external changeable cable, just like the power adapter, while the latter has a built in fold-out US power plug. If your father expects to be doing a lot of filming, then an external charger and a spare battery is the way to go. If you get the CB-2LWE then you can use it anywhere (with the right cable) and you don't need to carry the similar sized power-adapter for the camera.