Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Canon
|
List Price: Our Price: $584.00 You Save: $315.99 (35%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $250.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Just what I was wanting...
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, I love the size of the camera. Like it was mentioned, the comparison of a soda can is pretty good. It fits well in the hand, and the buttons are placed very well for easy access.
Also, I like how it does not have a hard drive built in (moving parts... if it falls, it could be a goner) and there's no tape to work with. Just record onto an SD card. You might want to invest in a larger card. The 16GB card I bought holds over two hours of video footage in FXP mode.
The camera still does shake and vibrate a little bit when in your hand, but I would expect this from anyone holding a camcorder. Again, without something to compare it to, I couldn't tell you if this is better or worse than others.
The resolution of FXP (HD) mode is wonderful. It looks great on an HD TV. The downer is, and perhaps this is true with all consumer HD camcorders, is that the picture quality is MUCH better in natural light outside than indoors. Good lighting indoors help a bunch, but you can notice the quality difference for sure.
Now for something that I can comment on a bit more: Editing. I use my Mac Pro, 3.0gHz quad core processor with 4GB RAM. Naturally, if you don't have a powerhouse computer, editing will be tiresome, or just not possible at all. I know that when I'm converting the video from the SD card to the computer via iMovie 08, all four processors are used at around 97% until it's completed. Unfortunately though, iMovie can't use the native video files from the SD card so it is converted to .mov, which is around twice as large. You'll need storage space on your computer. I have an extra 500GB drive just for large video that the camera will be making. iMovie 08 is a GREAT choice for this camcorder if you have the machine with good specs.
Overall, I'd recommend this more than the other like models out there, based on review and research.
Customer Review: Excellent Camera - Mac Ps3 Friendly
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi all, I've been using my friends HV20 for some time, and I just picked up my own Canon HF100. This camera is amazing. I'm not going to knock tapes, but I simply can't believe how easy this Flash Drive makes things. I've done some recordings around the backyard and house, then you just take the SDHC card out and pop it into the Ps3... they start playing and are simply gorgeous.
I'm using iMovie 08' and FCE 4.0 for editing on the Mac. I also brought these files into my PC using PowerDirector 7, that was no issue at all either. On the FCE 4.0 side... I was shooting video in the 1440x1080 mode, instead of 1920x1080... the reason for this is that FCE is 1440 by default. So, the clips are copied in, using Log and Transfer, at about 1 to 1 speed. And you can add them all to the timeline and preview them, without the need to render them, which is awesome.
I have much to learn, I'm not that good at FCE yet, at all. iMovie works just fine, but it's very limited. The HF100 also takes amazing still shots at 1920x1080 widescreen, they came out fantastic.
Hope this helps someone... don't be afraid of the AVCHD, I've had no issues at all using the Mac or the PC so far... oh, one more thing. My SDHC 16 meg card came with a USB adapter. So, I just plug that into my Mac and FCE and iMovie both think it's a camera... never need to actually hook the camera to the Mac. Before I even bring those files into the editor. I copy the whole directory, as is, to a Disk Image I created on the Desktop. Label the folder by date. That way, I have the full AVCHD files stored away for use later. When the disk image becomes 4.3 gig, I just burn a DVD of it, and put it away, or use a Dual Layer and make the disk image 8 gig... either way. You have the original untouched footage stored safely away.
Tom
Customer Review: EXCELLENT
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't speak to the tech side of the camera, in the end it's about, does it do what I need it to do at the price I'm willing to pay? After reading and reviewing 102 cameras (yes I did), I was more confused than ever. I finally I had to admit my short coming with this type of technology and consult a video/mac (I'm a MAC user) professional with no bias. After hearing what my needs are and I use MacBook Pro (with the Intel chip) he strongly recommended the Canon HF100. the reasons he gave:
Seamless with Mac computers and ALL PC based computers
Works very well will all editing software. (I'm using Final Cut Express)
No moving parts (were are sportsmen and want an HD that is durable (there is a higher risk with a tape drive or DVD camcorder of failure)
Removal of the 16gb SD(separate purchase $140.) Plug it in to a computer and download your video. While you continue to shoot by using a second chip (time saver)
Only 1 second between pushing the rec button and recording.
Lightweight (no hard drive)
The tech stuff and features are outstanding, however, what mattered is it going to perform for me. We took it out on our boat for the day with seas 3-4 ft. The Canon HF100 performed extremely well. The stability in relation to a lot of swells was great, the color (brilliance), longevity of the 16gb SD, the battery (BP-819 not included, Canon includes the BP-809) were also incredibly!
You can read all the tech stuff online and narrow it down based on specs. Sorry I can't help with that. What I can share with you is what happens after you buy it and whether or not it performs. This camera is the new standard. It will perform.
This camera is featured on the apple.com website, confirming its compatibility.
Customer Review: Loving it...
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't have any experience with any other camcorders so I can't give a real expert review but let me tell you this little baby is a lot of fun to use and gives great results. I mainly use it to record and share my musical performances with my family, and it's great to be able to show them my life in high def video.
The menus are very intuitive if you're experienced using Canon still cameras.
The internal microphone is total garbage; you need the DM-100 microphone to get good sound (and once you use that, the sound is great).
On a Mac, iMovie will - very slowly - pull your movies off the camera card and convert them to space-hogging AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec). If you need to convert straight from MTS files, the only program I found that can do that is called iSkysoft iMedia Converter - a very ugly program but it works very well (but you have to rename the files first to M2TS, then send them to iSkysoft). iSkysoft can convert the files to MP4 which is good for several reasons - one, you save a LOT of space, and two, if you don't want to add titles or otherwise edit the clip, you can trim it very quickly in MPEG Streamclip (a free program) and then send it on its merry way to YouTube, Vimeo, CD-R, iDVD, or whatever.
VoltaicHD is the other program that converts MTS but it doesn't work on my computer.
I found a web site one time that gave the proper Quicktime export instructions for a successful YouTube HD upload... look for that if you need it.
If you want to see some video samples, I have a lot of HF100, HD videos posted on YouTube under the name bluesdance (mostly of concerts).
If you buy this, don't forget a 16GB SD card. Or maybe by the time you read this, 32GB cards will go down in price...
YH
Customer Review: Great Quality, works awesome with Mac
Summary: 5 Stars
Camera is exceeded all my expectations. I wanted a small camera i can take everywhere that had "real" HD quality and this camera was perfect.
What really makes this camera great is how easy it is to transfer videos. i'm using a MacBook running final cut express. In final cut express, there is a feature called Log and Capture and it detects the card reader Transcend 16GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD CLASS 6) with Compact Card Reader. It list all the clips for you and all you have to do is add it to your queue. I'll never go back to tapes again. The one that kept me from editing my videos was having to sort through all the tapes.
Editing on a MacBook(2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB ram):for final cut express you'll need to record on lowest setting for your macbook to handle the editing, but it's still sharp and higher resolution than Standard Definition. On iMovie, it works even better. iMovie handles HD files great, i just don't use it because you can't edit on multiple tracks, but iMovie is perfect for quick home movie edits.
For the price, i prefer this better than canon vixia HF10 because you save $200 dollars and you can get a 16gb card and reader for less than $60. make sure you get the a SD card that is Class 6 so it can handle the HD.
Cons:
- Battery is short.. about an hour. Just get an extra battery and your good.
- Auto Stabilizer is so-so especially on zoom.. Just use a tripod or rest against a wall or table to stabilize yourself.
- on camera light is sucks as usual
The camera is great, regardless of the ridiculously cheap price.
Don't let the cheap price throw you off.