Great | Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

CANON vixia HF 100 | Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

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	• Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Canon Canon average customer review:based on 103 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great value at the current prices

The HF100 is a great deal right now. Compared to my old standard def miniDV (Canon ZR-30) camera, the hf100 is a hands down winner. One big area of improvement is the image quality in "room lighting". Under incandescent bulb lighting, the detail, color and sharpness are very good. There is still noise in low light, but it is much more reasonable.

The camera creates a new file on the SDHC card each time you press the record button. You can view and delete each "scene" in camera, allowing you to free up valuable space. Compared to tape, the non-linear nature of the videos is a big plus. No fast forwarding or rewinding required.

I have found the following downsides so far...

1) Battery life is just ok.
2) The built in video light is not that useful. It has a very blue tint to it, and is not very flattering to your subjects. An add-on light is still required if you are picky about this.
3) The built in microphone picks up the holders voice at a very high level. I find myself speaking much more gently when talking to my subjects.
4) There is no eye level viewfinder, just the lcd, which can be troublesome in very bright light.
5) The biggest issue for me is going to be the archiving of the raw files. Tape provides you with an instant archive that is missed. While you will save some money from not buying tapes, plan on spending some money on Hard Drives, or a Blu-Ray burner if you need more than just a burned dvd of your videos.

If you buy this camera, I'd recommend getting a second battery, a 16 or 32gb SD card (8gb = 1:05 hours at highest quality), and an SDHC card reader for your PC.

To sum up, this is a great product if you realize what you are getting into. High Def AVCHD video creates large files that require a powerful pc to edit. Archiving can be frustrating. With those caveats aside, the HF100 is hard to beat when compared to the competition, especially at the current price.

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Great

I've been using my camcorder for about a week now and I'm very pleased. I wasn't sure about getting this camcorder or getting one that supports xvycc or 5.1 sound.

The reason I chose to ignore xvycc is, in it's currently implemented form, requires 10 bits per pixel instead of 8. That means for a given amount of video, you need to store 25% more data. Generally speaking, the higher the bit transfer rate, the better the picture quality. More bits/second means more information per second which means a better picture. So I felt there would have to be a trade off between more colors and picture quality. I would prefer a sharper picture over more colors.

5.1 sound sounded interesting, but I don't think it would make much difference in home videos. if I were making real movies, then it would make sense.

In the end, I wanted as clear as possible picture quality and that's why I chose this camera.

The picture is stunning. I was amazed at how clear some of the scenes were. It looked like I was watching hi-def tv. The sound quality was excellent too. When I film in low light conditions, the picture doesn't look great, but looks pretty good. I don't think it's possible to have good quality low light filming on a consumer level camcorder. When I film in good lighting, like outdoors, the picture looks amazing.

I also love the way the video stores on memory cards. Outside of the lens cover, there are no moving parts. I have 2 ps3's and to view the video, all I have to do is plug the card into a usb port using an adapter that came with my transcend card and select the usb device on the ps3 menu and it plays perfectly. The camcorder is as small as a camera. I store mine in an old camera case I used for a digital camera.

I also place my files on a windows vista pc and using windows media center I can stream the video straight to my ps3's. It's very easy. I just copy the files to my shared video folder on my pc, go to my ps3, select the file and it plays. I also have the option of burning the contents straight to a dvd and sticking that in the ps3 and playing it. These are regular DVD's. Not blu-ray. You can store about 30 minutes per regular DVD or get a double layer DVD and store an hour.

The included pixela software isn't great, but it can do basic editing and it's good for reordering scenes or combining scenes. You don't have to use the software at all if you have a ps3 or another blu-ray player that can play avchd and just want to play the video as is. I highly recommend getting a ps3 with this camera. It makes playing so much easier with lots of options. I just bought one from sony style and got a $150 credit by applying for a credit card, so it only cost about $250 plus tax. Plus you can watch blu-ray movies and play games.

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CANON vixia HF 100

I highly recommend this camcorder but you need to be clear what you are ordering. I have used this for over a month and the videos are of high quality, something you would expect from Canon. The camcorder is very light and easy to use; in fact it has an Easy setting for those who don't want to use the many settings. It makes almost no sound. Canon has many options and some are quite involved. The standard battery that comes with it lasts about one and a half hrs., just keep it charged (takes about 2-3hrs to charge it). I use a 16SDHC flash card which can record for 1-2 hrs depending on the quality setting. This easily downloads directly to my computer through an sd port. The stills are very good, equal to 4-5 megapixel cameras if used correctly; they are also easily downloaded The Pixela Image Maker software is acceptable although there is better software on the market. You can view directly on a regular or HD TV using the camera through the appropriate connection. It comes with a small remote.
Now here is where you must be careful. To edit and store HD quality videos, you need a powerful computer with plenty of memory and the appropriate graphics card (check this before purchasing if you want to make HD DVDs on your computer). You can buy the optional Canon DW-100 to burn HD DVDs directly from the camcorder. Burning standard quality DVDs is no problem but then why buy HD? Of course you need an HD TV or computer screen to view it in HD as well as a HD DVD player if you don't want to directly connect the camera. Think about all of this carefully. The Canon model that makes standard videos on a flash card is a lot cheaper.
The instruction book is written in a condensed format so you will need to read it carefully probably several times. I got the HF 100 instead of the HF 10 because I didn't see the need for the built in functionality in addition to the flash card. Have fun but be prepared.

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WOW

What an amazing camera! My wife is pregnant right now and we got this camera to document our pregnancy and birth a so on. The second I saw the image quality I was blown away. We definitely have no regrets with our purchase, especially at that price. I was also really impressed with the audio quality. It operates super fast and quiet.

Almost There

I purchased this camera to record my Football Teams games with. The camera itself is very nice, I do not have one single complaint, and battery life is pretty good.

I do have a huge complaint with the crappy software that comes with this camera, it is junk. I have been searching high and low for some decent software, and it does not seem to exist. Some people recommend Pinnacle while some recommend others, the bottom line is for every good review of one software package, there is an offsetting bad review. This AVCHD format that all the camera manufactures are using has caught everyone off guard. I am able to suck the video down into iMovie, which is a junk program, and then share it with iDVD which is also junk, to then be able to burn a DVD that I can watch on an ordinary DVD player hooked up to a TV. If you want to just watch on your computer, then no problem, its when you want whatever you recorded in a DVD format you can watch on any old DVD player that things go to heck. It takes me about 2 hours to transfer a single football game from the camera to an actual usable DVD. So if you think hey, I am going to get this camera, and then burn some DVD's for my family or friends, you need to think again. I am as tech savvy as they come, and it is a serious PIA. This problem exists for all the camera's, so it is not a Canon or Sony problem it is all the AVCHD cameras that us this crazy format that none of the software makers have figured out what to do with yet. I use both PC and MAC and I found the MAC seems to do this smoother than my PC, but if you only have a PC, good luck is all I can say.

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Now that you've upgraded TV to an HDTV widescreen, doesn't it make sense to consider a Hi-Def Camcorder? The Canon VIXIA HF100 captures videos at 1920x1080 for true 1080i display. There are no tapes or discs to concern yourself with. It has an SD SDHC slot for video storage. So let your videos fill your new TV screen. Use the VIXIA from Canon. DIGIC DV II Image Processor SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization Instant AF (Auto Focus) 2.7 Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD Superb Shooting Control 24p Cinema Mode / 30p Progressive Mode Stunning Digital Photography Focusing System - Instant AF, Through the Lens/Manual Focusing Possible Auto and Manual exposure modes; Programmed AE - Auto, Program, Av, Tv, CINEMA, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks Recording Media - SD/SDHC Memory Card (not supplied) Audio - Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2 ch) HDMI Terminal Type C 480i/480p/1080I Format Supported Microphone Terminal - 3.5 mm Stereo Mini-jack Mini HDMI Terminal and Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe Dimensions (WxHxD) 2.9 x 2.5 x 5.1 in (73x64x129mm); Weight (not including lens and battery pack) 13.4 oz (380g)

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