Canon VIXIA HF10 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 16 GB Internal Flash Memory and 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Canon
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List Price: Our Price: $299.00 You Save: $800.99 (73%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF10 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 16 GB Internal Flash Memory and 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Excellent Family Camcorder
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't let the few negative reviews out there fool you, this camcorder is amazing for family recording.
Pros:
- Just the right level of storage built into the camcorder, with room to grow in the SDHC card. Do you really want to come back from a vacation with 8 hours of video? Really? Cause I think 30 minutes into reviewing your footage you will be kicking yourself. I could be wrong, but I don't think so...
- This thing is tiny, about the size of a can of coke. Its so small in fact, all camcorder bags we looked at were cavernous in comparison to it. We ended up purchasing a Lowepro SLR Lens case to hold it. Fits like a glove.
- In bright to moderate light, the video quality is just amazing. It really is. Sharp as can be and the 12x optical zoom really grabs picture detail. HD really shines on this recorder.
- I was expecting poor stills, but they are actually pretty good. Not as good as a $300 camera, but so good I would think twice about bringing a regular still camera on a vacation.
- I have seen some complain about the ergonomics. I just don't get it. Pulling the hand strap tight so that the top of the strap rests directly below your knuckles, situates the camera so that it rests on the fleshy part of your palm, your thumb naturally lands on the record button and your index finger lands on the Zoom rocker. Perfect!
- It's dead silent. When you record in a silent room, you record silence. There is no click of a hard drive or purr of a tape unit.
Cons:
- Get the large capacity battery. Just get it. Don't debate, just buy it. Its not really an option.
- In low light you get some picture noise. It picks up available light very well, but also introduces noise. A Sony recorder is green in low-light, so pick your poison.
- On a Mac, there is really no way to nicely disconnect the device. I just eject the internal and SDHC mounted drives and pull the plug. No problems yet, but you do get the warning telling you not to do that...
- No travel charger. I picked one up, but this is an option because you can use the power adapter and charge via the recorder.
- Image stabilizer is just okay. At full 12x zoom, you really have to work to be still and pan slowly. The device is very light, so there is not much mass to keep it steady.
Notes:
- On the Mac OS, I found iMovie to work pretty well. It makes intermediate files which are about 5 times larger than the raw AVCHD files. To save hard drive space, I backup the raw files to DVD and delete the intermediate files when I have finished my edited home movie
- Interestingly enough, if you copy the video to the SDHC card and plug that chip into a PS3, you can browse your RAW footage directly on your HDTV. (I know many of you don't have a PS3, but if you do, its a huge Bonus). Instant reviewing of content!
- If you buy Toast 9 and buy the HD plug-in, you can create a Blu-Ray video disk. This allows you to put 20 minutes of HD Video on a REGULAR DVDR. If you put this disk in your PS3, it will allow you to watch your footage with DVD Menus. This uses the RAW footage, so you get very sharp video. This ONLY works on a PS3!!! As an added bonus, if you put this DVDR into your Mac and launch iMovie, iMovie will actually act as if that DVDR is a camcorder and prompts you to import the video as if you were pulling from the camera. Pretty Swanky if you ask me.
Overall, my opinion is that this is the best consumer grade HD Camcorder currently on the market.
Customer Review: Beautiful looking video for the money! Some caveats...
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros: Sharp video quality, full HD, no moving parts!, records to SD cards, sound quality is good, simple and intuitive.
Cons: POOR battery life, AVCHD is quirky, editing your video requires a lot of expensive hardware.
Summary: I love this camcorder. It is a top performed in my opinion, especially for a price tag under $600 including a carrying case [...]. Great bargain.
The video quality is very good. It is as sharp as you could possibly expect for the small footprint of the camera and the low sticker price. For home movies, I couldn't really ask for anything more. Make absolutely sure your shooter has a steady hand though, because the more the camera moves the more artifacts and glitchy digitalisms you'll see in your video (a product of the AVCHD file architecture which I don't have time to go into here). In any case, I'm very pleased with the video quality. Sound quality is good, though subjects are hard to hear in noisy environments. This complaint, however, is about how microphones work in general, not this particular camcorder.
If you're like me - a geek looking to do every geeky thing with every gadget he has - you're going to be very interested in editing your video. This is where the camera gets more tricky because of its video format (the following should hold true of all camcorders recording in AVCHD). You CANNOT edit AVCHD natively on Mac. I'm using Final Cut Express and it first must be converted to either ProRes or AIC format before editing can take place. This conversion drastically inflates the size of your files. Your editing size is about 40gb per hour, give or take 10gb depending on the nature of your video. Therefore, full HD editing requires a FAST hard drive, preferably Firewire 800 if you can swing it. This said, however, my videos come out in outstanding quality and the extra cash to make all of this happen is money well spent.
I'm a big fan of flash based products in general because, in my experience, having hard drives in particular but moving parts in general is an invitation for unwanted problems. So long as your HF10 doesn't experience a long drop or hard impact, it should continue to work for a very long time. It uses SDHC cards, which are relatively cheap and take up a lot less space than HDV tapes!
Technical observations: the camera starts quickly, but takes about 5 seconds to think before allowing you to record. Sound is generally good. Included battery will only yield 60-70 minutes, but for 125 bucks you can get one that lasts over four hours (if you need it). Menu system is easy to use. I don't really know my way around manual settings so I can't comment there. The autofocus, however, is amazing.
All in all, a great camcorder if you want to take the HD plunge. I highly recommend this product, especially at the new lower price since this year's model is set to replace it. You should, however, do your homework before making this purchase! Happy shooting.
Customer Review: Excellent HD Camcorder. Happy with Canon!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been researching HD camcorders for the past month. Debating weather to go with a Sony HD camcorder or the Canon HF 10. I usually go for Sony on electronics. I have a digital camera from them and it is the best one I have ever owned.
I just wanted a camcorder for just everyday shooting for fun. Such as possible YouTube, kids in my family, etc. I am also going on a trip to DisneyWorld in March and wanted a portable one for that. After reading about the types of camcorders available, I knew I would get a HD camcorder. It will become out dated in less time, and can have it for a least a few years. I also knew I didn't want to deal wiht buying tapes, dvds, etc.
After reading reviews, and watching reviews on YouTube, I decided to go with the HF 10. I didn't like the whole touch screen controls on the Sony, and that you have to hook it up to a dock to do everthing, such as charging, and uploading the videos. Also, the memory cards that they use tend to be more expensive then the SD cards the Canon uses. I campared the HF 10 with the HF 11 and decided the newer model did not have that much more to offer then the HF 10.
I recieved it yesterday, and I am so happy. It is the perfect size, and so easy to use. I didnt' even look at the instruction manuel. The controls are easy to learn. In minutes I had the settings configured, and was shooting. I have a SD slot on my Mac so I don't even have to hook up the camera to the computer. Works great with iMovie. I am so happy I didn't have to deal with the software that it came with and could just use my Mac programs. I haven't used the software that came with it, so I don't know how it is. The clips I shot came out great, and I had it posted to my webpage in minutes. This camcorder works great with a Mac. Definitly recommended for Mac users.
I haven't got a chance to use all the shooting settings, I just use the easy setting, and it seems to work great in a lot of different conditions. But, it does have nice choices for different settings. I am looking forward to trying the Fireworks setting in Disney.
It comes with cables to hook up to your TV, and a USB cable to connect to your computer. However, it does not come with an HDMI cable. I purchased it seperatly. The only bad thing about the HF 10 is it comes with the standard charger that you hook up directly to the camcorder. I purchased the wall charger seperatly, so I can just take out the battery and charge it. Most of the stuff that the camera came with I just left in the box, and bought the accessories I wanted. That it the only downside, it added about an additional $60 to the total price. I also think the battery could have a longer life, but that can be purchased seperatly. If you don't need the upgrades that they made to the HF 11, the HF 10 is definitly recommended. But if you have the extra money then go with the HF 11 since it is basically the same camcorder.
Customer Review: Top Quality From Canon, As Usual
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a Canon pro-sumer user for years. First with the XL-1, then the XL-2 and now Canon has done it again with the VIXIA HF10. Though the HF10 isn't really marketed as a pro-sumer camera, (for that distinction, at the least, I feel you need to have interchangeable lenses) this camera is far and away the best in its class.
I needed a solid performing video camera for everyday use and for when using the XL-2 just isn't feasible. Imagine lugging an XL-2 with you for documentary footage that's meant to be unobtrusive. NOT! Point being, my substitute camera had to be able to hold its own against the superior quality and craftsmanship I've become accustomed to with the XL-2. And that's a pretty tall order, so I really scrutinized my options. My second requirement was that the camera be Flash Memory based. No tapes. I really wanted the ease and convenience of skipping the tedious capture process. Given my requirements and high expectations, the only other camera in the running was a Sony. But I've had issues with Sony before, and since I've been using Canon for years now, I've come to trust the name and reputation.
Well, the HF10 doesn't disappoint. The lens is top notch, video clarity is superb and form follows function in the design. Button placement is intuitive and the feature set is abundant. Actually, you'll probably forget half of what this camera does. But the key features most home users would want are seamless and work well. Night mode, full auto shooting, 3.1mp photos are also a bonus. And with this camera, digital still cameras and video cameras are finally at the tipping point of being merged into one. I never use Stabilized Zoom on any camera for fear of lost quality, so that's one feature that means little to me. But for a commercial camera, there's some nice pro-sumer type features too, like histogram display, 24p and 30p shooting modes, built in audio meter, and an accessory shoe for better mics, just to name a few. Incidentally, the built in lens cover is a nice touch.
Hi-def recording has arrived for the home user with this powerful little camera. But just be aware that you need a hi-def TV to actually watch your hi-def recordings. Meaning, the camera needs to be connected directly to your hi-def TV or burned to a hi-def DVD and played on a hi-def player. A lot op people I speak to about this camera seem lost on that fact, so just thought I'd mention it.
Overall, I really have no complaints. This camera lives up to my expectations and Canon's superb reputation. And I'm pretty picky when it comes to video cameras, so that's saying a lot. So whether you're a casual user, professional videograper or indie filmmaker, this is a great camera. Way to go Canon, you've done it again!!!
Customer Review: Amazing video quality, great usability, average software.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was waiting a long time for a camera capable of recording 1920x1080, good video quality, small size, no tapes, ...
This is it!
Much of it is derived from the HV and HG series, so it is not version 1.
The videos I have taken so far are at par with the quality I get from FIOS TV HD channels.
The only drawback is the sotware. It does not work well with vista. I can only retrieve the content from the camera, but not play, the software hangs. M2TS files play well with PowerDVD 8, so it is ok for now.
The software works ok on XP, but my XP PC does not have the horse power.
The camera itself plays the videos best when directly linked to the TV with HDMI. HDMI is much better that component cable.
The battery is not enough to shoot and fill the 16GB, so I bought the 819, but for now it does last as long as they say in the specs.
I would recommend to invest in the clear filter, because the worst damage you can do to the camera, is get a spec or a scratch on the lens. You can live with scratches and dings on the camera body, but guard that lens like your own eyes. You can zoom and see dust from 20 feet away, that is how detailed the video is, imagine a spec on the lens.
The usability of the camera is great. I am amazed how they managed to pack all of the connections and buttons on that little body. You need to hold the camera on you hands to appreciate how small and funtional it is.
Pictures online would not do.
The video quality is great, indoors and outdoors. Indoors, I was surprised how well the video looked with just a couple of 60Watt bulbs in the room. I found that the CINE mode makes the video better indoors where the sensor tends to show atrifacts due to the low light. But outdoors it does not do much. The 24p and 30p modes need a tripod and very slow panning of the camera, otherwise the video seems blurry. But it may be because of seetings that I have yet to try.
I always shoot in the FXP mode, 1920x1080, I do not see a reason to use the 1440x1080.
The files are AVCHD (*.m2ts), and the from what I read online is a blue-ray related format. I save the files to hard disk and when software gets better with AVCHD, they can be burned to DVDs and played by blu-ray players. So it is a kind of future-proof.
I would definatelly recommend this camera. Most of the negative reviews are focused on specific features, like bad sofware, etc. You have to judge on the big picture, and the picture is crystal clear, 1920x1080, brilliant colors, that makes 1080p TV I bought a few months ago, even more worth it.