Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this from Amazon about three weeks ago and can't say anything bad about it (except the price keeps dropping! oh, well, gotta buy it when ya' need it....). The AVCHD format is stellar, and this is using P2 as a reference. In fact, I've been using the company HVX200 but henceforth I'll probably use my personal HF100, which is super small and super light, with just enough manual controls to make it prosumer. The images are sharp and the audio rocks! I was surprised by the warmth of the built-in mic, and being enclosed it has a cardioid effect. Instead of buying the DM-100 as I planned, I bought a Rycote Gustbuster so I can use the built-in mic outdoors where it's usually windy in this area. The mic input and manual gain option are sweet, as I can run my wireless Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic or any compatible mic, and it'll even work with a mixer, as I have the Sound Devices MixPre (the mic attenuation option seems to invoke line input).
I have Final Cut Express 4 on my Macbook and Final Cut Pro 6 on a Mac Pro at my workplace. It's so simple to transfer the files right off the SD card to a hard drive and "log and transfer" in Final Cut. One small caveat with FCE4 is having to render, but that's not a big deal. I always use the Apple Pro Res 422 codec for ingesting and exporting.
A couple small items I find useful on the HF100 are the backlight button and spotlight. While the spotlight might be a bit harsh and blue, it's better than no light in dark places, and I can always adjust the white balance. I bought the miniscule CameraBright X1-ER for more light when I need it. I haven't decided yet what to put on the hotshoe, and I'm waiting for Canon to offer more goodies. Nevertheless, I'd be hesitant about putting too many attachments on the HF100 so I can keep it small. Even a tripod plate looks big on the camcorder.
The array of menu items is noteworthy, as almost any function can be finetuned. The controls under the screen are real handy and the joystick makes on-the-fly adjustments nifty.
Battery life is decent, about an hour, and I'll probably buy another one. I have a tendency to shoot a lot when there's action (I'm told you should edit while shooting, i.e., shoot only what you need), but with cheap SD cards (I have a 16gb), fast non-realtime transfers, lowcost 500gb SATA drives, and a stealthy HF100 that fits in my pocket, it's hard not to shoot a lot.
Customer Review: Super light and small and great picture quality outdoors
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first got this camcorder, I was amazed at how small and light it was. I've had it for almost two months now and every time I use it, I'm still amazed at how small and light it is. The picture quality is awesome on hdtv. However, I do agree that the colors are a little over-saturated and dynamic range is compressed. I haven't noticed the highlights but the midrange and shadows are little too dark. When watching directly out of the camcorder via hdmi to the tv, I wish that I could do some post processing right then. When filming indoors during the day that is lit by the windows, the picture still looks very good. Indoors at night shows a little noise but it hasn't bothered me so far. A friend of mine has the Sony SR12 and we also hooked it up to the same tv. The picture quality was either on par or slightly lower than this one. The Sony is bulkier and more expensive so I have no regrets going with the Canon.
One note about the audio is that when I film my son's soccer game during a windy day, the wind sounded much louder than it actually was in playback. I don't have a comparison point here since I didn't get to test the Sony.
Another annoying thing I noticed is that the startup time is not instant but standby mode consumes too much battery. Startup time was about 5-6 seconds so you might miss some moments if you're not prepared. It happened to me at Disney World. So, I just closed the screen to put the camcorder in standby so that I wouldn't miss the next opportunity but when that moment came, I noticed that the camcorder was very warm and the battery was slightly lower. Correct me if I'm wrong but the it shouldn't be warm in standby. Needless to say, I don't use standby for extended time any more after that.
I also bought the Canon HD-W37C 0.7x lens converter that I used quite a bit at Disney World. The picture was still very sharp but you do get a bit of barrel distortion on the edges. Also, you can't use the built-in flash with the converter. The main reason I bought this camcorder was because I needed more angle filming indoors but I guess I've found that it's useful even outdoors. I intend on using it on my Alaska cruise too.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with this purchase. It's so light and small, I have no problems taking it everywhere with me. The picture quality isn't perfect but it's great for a hobbyist like me.
Customer Review: Plain sailing with the HF100
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this as a wedding present and it got some immediate use as it was used to film both our wedding and subsequent honeymoon. The low lit church was not a problem although we could have benefited from an external microphone. The picture quality was magnificent and I was extremely happy with it! The honeymoon came next and we charged off to New York City for a week with two 16GB SDHC cards (Great Buy: Transcend 16GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD CLASS 6) with Compact Card Reader).
New York in all its glory on sunny days this camcorder just kept me happy. It was put to the test as well. Time Squre at night, views from the top of the Empire State Building, from ferries, during meals ... it was great and the resulting picture quality was outstanding even coverted to regular DVD instead of Blue Ray. Image stabilization was a major boon. At one stage we were on the ferry going to visit the Statue of Liberty and a dragon fly landed on my wife's purse. She zoomed right in it and the pictures we got afterward were quite stunning. From a distance shot to almost macro quality close-ups in the space of 60 seconds ... fantastic.
Even the stock battery has served us well - the upgraded batteries were out of stock everywhere when we purchased this camera (kind of a bummer) but we never had a problem with the original ... seriously how often do you really shoot hours a day even on holiday?
I figure when we upgrade to fanatical parents we'll get the the beefier battery.
The gotcha for me was the software that came with it -- it is basic and to be honest rather crappy but it gets the job done. The puzzler however was that I was having a hell of a time burning DVD's and it took a significant amount of time to realize that the software would not burn to DVD+R disks, only DVD-R! Once I had bought a punnet of these I was good to go and have not looked back since!
You'd be a fool to buy a standard definition camera in this day and age, just in terms of future proofing. This camera appears to be one of the best, if not the best currently available and I for one have absolutely no complaints at all!
Customer Review: Very impressed with the Canon HF100
Summary: 5 Stars
I guess I am somewhat of an expert having co-written a few books on high definition video so I did quite a bit of research before deciding on this camera. With a baby on the way I knew I wanted a HD video camera and I also wanted it to be solid state based. My last video camera was the Canon Optura Pi. Standard definition of course and tape based. I don't like tape. I don't like having them around, buying them, tape dropouts, jamming in the transport ($300 repair), or storing them. I like shooting video on the card, transferring the video to the computer and then putting the card back in the computer.
With adequate light the video quality of this camera is pretty amazing. I have viewed video from it on my 52XBR4 Sony LCD TV and it really is HD. Only when the lighting gets really bad does the apparent resolution go down and the noise increase. Still the picture remains very usable in all but the darkest conditions. Considering the fact that this is only a 1/3.2" CMOS sensor the picture quality is very good.
Despite what you may have heard about AVCHD compression is it quite editable with the right computer and software. I would say that if you have at least a 2.5GHz dual core you should be fine. I am editing with Sony Vegas Pro 8 and the editing experience is quite snappy.
At the maximum bit rate (16Mbps) the recordings are very clean with macroblocking only visible on really fast motion scenes or other difficult scenes like water waves. And even then it is minimal. I would like to check out the new HF11 with its 24Mbps data rate and see how much better it does than the HF100 on tough motion scenes. I just hate to have to pay the extra money for the built in memory, which I personally think is a waste. Why be locked into the rate that Canon charges for the memory when it's going down every day?
What would I change on this camera?
1. Make the zoom control a rocker.
2. Increase the max bit rate recording to 24Mbps like the HF11.
3. How about the next generation having a 1/2" single CMOS sensor and a larger lens to match for better low light sensitivity.
4. True 30p mode that doesn't use the 60i wrapper to store 30p video.
Customer Review: Get Adobe Premier Elements 7 or Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 to edit your Canon AVCHD files!
Summary: 5 Stars
While Adobe Premier Elements 7 is a big joke for the MP4 AVC/H.264 formats...it is a superstar with the AVCHD / .mts files this Canon HF10 generates.
Before I bought my own HF10 I was asked by a buddy to edit and burn some youth football footage from his newly acquired Canon HF10 with SDHC card. I was excited. Although I had no clue what an .mts file was Adobe PE 7 not only recognized it and imported it quickly...but I proceeded to edit both video and audio (together and separately)as well as burn to a regular DVD (not BluRay). My jaw just dropped and I said WOW!
I will add that while I am not a big fan of the GUI of Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 it also handles the AVCHD / .mts from the Canon HF10 just fine...and also handles those other MP4's just fine too.
The really important part is that while I have a nice amount of ram (4GB) my computer is nothing special at all. I am running Vista Basic on a Celeron 1.60Ghz processor (Dell Inspiron 530 desktop) with the 4GB of ram.
Now that I have purchased my OWN Canon HF10 AVCHD camcorder Adobe PE7 is my go-to program for this type of footage. Again, it handles the AVCHD / .mts file format flawlessly. Check out my other reviews for some other programs I have tried like Corel VideoStudio X2 and Magix - Movie Edit pro 14. If you are going to be working only with AVCHD, specifically from any of the Canon HF series camcorders that put .mts on sdhc flash cards...then I believe Adobe Premier Elements 7 is the best option.
Warning: If you are going to rely on ONE software solution for multiple formats other than AVCHD, Adobe PE7 is not the way to go! I use several little camera/camcorders other than the HF10. They all use the MP4 AVC/H.264 format...while the previous version of PE handled them fine, Adobe PE 7 HATES the MP4 format! You can't even add them to the time-line without it crashing! If you are looking for a single editing program to handle not only the AVCHD from the Canon HF10, HF11 or HF100 but other formats as well...specifically the MP4 AVC/H.264 format then I would go with Pinnacle Studio Plus 12. Like I said before, the interface and work flow is nothing like Adobe's but it works fin with the multiple formats.