Canon Vixia HF S30 FULL HD CMOS sensor - 32GB BLAC

• 32GB internal flash drive and 2 SDXC-compatible memory card slots


• Genuine Canon 10x HD video lens


• Canon 1/2.6-inch 8.59-megapixel full HD CMOS image sensor


• Canon DIGIC DV III image processor


• Dynamic SuperRange OIS corrects a full range of motion

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Best consumer camcorder I have ever seen. Reviewed by professional videographer.

I have owned a small wedding videography company for 5 years and after using the HFS10 for a week I am incredibly pleased with it. Please note the HFS10 is identical to the HFS100 except the HFS10 also comes with 32GB of internal flash memory.



If you want the smallest camcorder you can get without sacrificing video quality in any way than this is the camcorder for you. I am amazed at how small this thing is while still having a professional grade lens. This is the same Canon lens as on their GL2 which is probably the most popular entry level professional camcorder ever (which I have owned for a few years).



Pros:

1.) Professional camera lens with superb HD video quality (even in low light situations). I cannot express enough how amazing the pictures look.



2.) Accepts up to 32 GB of SDHC Flash memory

A.) Flash memory is instant. No waiting for tapes to wind or hard drives to spin. The camera goes from off to red light recording in less than 2 seconds.

B.) Flash memory helps keep the camera small.

C.) Flash memory protects data from being lost due to the camera being dropped or hit (a real problem with hard drive cameras).



3.) The still picture quality even with the built in flash is unbelievable for a camcorder. I feel like I am shooting with my Rebel XTi.



4.) I love the auto open and close lens cover. It only opens when you are actually shooting. If the camera is off or if you are reviewing it immediately closes.



5.) Menus are very easy to navigate.



Cons:

1.) Doesn't come with an HDMI cable. Since it doesn't take a normal sized HDMI cable I think there is no excuse for that.



2.) Doesn't come with a battery charger. You either have to spend $50 to get one or recharge batteries using the camcorder itself.



3.) No internal memory however it's $200 more for the HFS10 for only 32GB of internal storage and that is way too much. It should have only cost an extra $100. Unless you need to be able to record more than 2.5 hours of shooting without changing SDHC cards then get this camera because a 32GB class 6 SDHC card only costs $100.



4.) Only comes with the BP-809 battery which doesn't even last an hour. So you will need to buy the BP-827 which costs another $150. The BP-827 does stick out from the back just a slight bit but not even an inch and is totally not noticeable nor does it add any real weight.



5.) 10X optical zoom is a little slim for my liking. I am used to 20X.



This camcorder is basically a professional lens barrel with an LCD on the side which gives you the best picture quality possible while keeping the size incredibly small. I cannot encourage you enough to get this camcorder.More detail ...

Best consumer camcorder I have ever seen. Reviewed by professional videographer.

I have owned a small wedding videography company for 5 years and after using this camera for a week I am incredibly pleased with it. If you want the smallest camcorder you can get without sacrificing video quality in any way than this is the camcorder for you. I am amazed at how small this thing is while still having a professional grade lens. This is the same Canon lens as on their GL2 which is probably the most popular entry level professional camcorder ever (which I have owned for a few years).



Pros:

1.) Professional camera lens with superb HD video quality (even in low light situations). I cannot express enough how amazing the pictures look.



2.) 32 GB of internal Flash memory (This is the only difference from the HFS100)

A.) Flash memory is instant. No waiting for tapes to wind or hard drives to spin.

B.) Flash memory helps keep the camera small.

C.) Flash memory protects data from being lost due to the camera being dropped or hit (a real problem with hard drive cameras).



3.) The still picture quality even with the built in flash is unbelievable for a camcorder. I feel like I am shooting with my Rebel XTi.



4.) I love the auto open and close lens cover. It only opens when you are actually shooting. If the camera is off or if you are reviewing it immediately closes.



5.) Menus are very easy to navigate.



Cons:

1.) Doesn't come with an HDMI cable. Since it doesn't take a normal sized HDMI cable I think there is no excuse for that.



2.) Doesn't come with a battery charger. You either have to spend $50 to get one or recharge batteries using the camcorder itself.



3.) $200 more than the HFS100 for only 32GB of internal storage is way too much. Should have only cost an extra $100. Unless you need to be able to record more than 2.5 hours of shooting without changing SDHC cards then get the HFS100 because 32GB class 6 SDHC cards only cost $100.



4.) Only comes with the BP-809 battery which doesn't even last an hour. So you will need to buy the BP-827 which costs another $150. The BP-827 does stick out from the back just a slight bit but not even an inch and is totally not noticeable nor does it add any real weight.



5.) 10X optical zoom is a little slim for my liking. I am used to 20X.



This camcorder is basically a professional lens barrel with an LCD on the side which gives you the best picture quality possible while keeping the size incredibly small. I cannot encourage you enough to get this camcorder though I would advise the HFS100 over this to save a little money. Remember the HFS100 is the identical camcorder except it does not have internal memory.



Canon VIXIA HFS100 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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Have it luv it

The video quality is superb as is ease of use. Here are a few hints and things I noticed. The battery out of the box will not power-on the camera and needs some minutes of charge to even show 0%. You can operate the camera from the charger but the battery is not being charged says the manual.



There are two 1920x1080 picture quality modes: MXP at 24 mbps and FXP at 17 mbps -- and three at 1440x1080: XP+ SP and LP at 12 7 and 5 mbs respectively. I believe it defaults to LP out of the box which is 1440x1080 at 7 mbps. I suggest you select FXP to get true 1920x1080 resolution. Upping to 24 mbps might be a good idea only if you are going to do a lot of post editing -- I can't see an improvement over FXP. Recording times with a 16GB card are 1:25 2:05 2:50 4:45 and 6:05 respectively.



When the camera is OFF pressing the DISP button (on the camera body) will show battery capacity in minutes and percent. Pressing DISP when ON turns the LCD to max brightness. IOW you can set the LCD brightness for normal indoor use with the menu and instantly set it bright for outdoor use. Handy.



The CINE mode seems to digitally soften the image; there may some color change but I didn't notice it from the shots I took in a park. The PF30 and PF24 rates show a jerkiness when panning as you would expect from a lower frame rate. I think these rates are simulated because all recording is done at 60i. For example when I played back PF24 stepping one frame at a time I saw the same image for 3 steps then the next. (The "3 steps" varies with both PF24 and PF30.) OTOH PF24 is useful in low light situations as it permits the HF200 slow the shutter speed down to 1/6 sec.



Previous Canon users will find the menu system easy and familiar similar even to their still cameras. The joystick is "big" and has a positive definite feedback feel to it. Menu navigation seems easier and clearer than earlier Canons I've used. There is even a Large Font choice. Good!



The Power On button is deep in a groove that makes it unlikely to accidentally turn on. But with your right hand in the nice grip you have to use the left to press it On - my fingers don't reach. No loss you need the other hand to open the LCD panel anyway. The zoom lever on top is a middle finger control. The adjacent Photo button is for a trained index finger. Record at the back is thumb operated. You can also use an LCD panel button to Record.



The Quick Start feature means you can close the LCD to save power (runs at 1/3 normal) and be ready to shoot in about 1 sec after opening it. Note if you close the LCD panel while recording it will continue to record -- so slamming it shut does not stop the shot.



The still photo features are quite amazing. The resolution is 3 megapixels but a very good 3mp! You can shoot continuously at 3 or 5 frames/sec. And you can shoot at the same fast frame rates with flash! The flash is actually a high-power white LED not a xenon tube. There is a separate warm-white LED for video that works OK to 5-6 feet.



There are the usual auto white balance auto exposure instant focus features and so on that you can read about above. There's face detection for proper focus. They all work very well. I like the Vivid color setting for most all shooting - video and photo. It is a slight pump in saturation that helps if you mainly view using your laptop LCD. Instant AutoFocus is aptly named. There is a fairly large IAF sensor next to the lens for this purpose. The 15x zoom a first for me is fully useful all the way out. Impressive.



Battery life (BP-809) takes a definite second place to 16GB storage. I just checked and it indicates 100% 94 minutes. But you can of course buy larger batteries. (I use the smaller BP-808 battery from my FS100 SD video cam as a backup.) With the Quick Start feature (can be turned off) power is used between shots and this will generally use more juice that actual recording. Figure 3 to 5 times battery vs video: one hour of video needs 3+ hours of battery cap. Unless you buy a charger you must charge in the camera. Only one sample so far but it seemed to take a little more than an hour to charge from 0%.



The supplied Pixela software is minimal. You can combine up to 99 shots into an M3TS file. It can be played on video players like Popcorn Hour and the WD HD TV player. (I have both and strongly recommend the $99 WD over the $230 PCH. The PCH can connect to Internet servers its main claim to fame.) These players can also play the MTS format directly copied from the SD card but there is a 1-2 sec delay between each shot. Pixela lets you pick and chose shots trim a given shot and add titles and audio. I don't know how to get past the 99 shot limit with Pixela -- I made about 170 shots in the park yesterday.



All in all I luves it.

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