Canon VIXIA HF S10 HD Dual Flash Memory

Canon scores with a great product – But NO HDMI Cable!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Brace yourself for a very detailed review ahead.

Canon Vixia HFS10

What is in the Box:

Hardware:The camera, a power adapter, a remote with lithium ion battery, a component cable, a usb to mini usb cable, a regular stereo a/v cable, the bp-807 battery pack, and a hand strap for the camera.

Software: Pixela Version 2.1, Canon Digital Video Solution Disk Version 32, and a Music Data Disc (music that can be used as background music in Pixela).

Documentation: A full manual, a folded up sheet on software installation, manual for ImageMixer 3 Version 5, and the Warranty Card.

What SHOULD have been in the box and is not: A MINI HDMI to HDMI cable.

Some Initial Thoughts/Specs:

First Of ALL, I am really disappointed that a camera of this stature and price point does not include a MINI HDMI to HDMI cable. I mean that is probably the one thing we will all want with a high definition device and quite honestly I am disappointed that Canon would not throw it in the box. They give you a regular A/V cable and a proprietary connector to component video cable….what is the point – HD usually goes together with HDMI.

MEMORY: The Vixia has 32gb of on-board storage and can be upgraded with the addition of SDHC cards. A 32gb sdhc card by Sandisk (ultra ii) is about $100. A worthwhile upgrade for extra memory… I basically use the built in memory for video and the external SDHC card for still images.

Battery: It took a little over two hours to fully charge the battery after which I got about 1.5 hours of battery life. There are bigger battery packs available but my experience is based on the bp-807 pack that is included.

The testing platform for the camera will be with a Mac Pro running OS X 10.5.7, with all of the latest software offerings from Apple…no pro versions. iLife 09, etc.

The camera has a wheel (selection wheel) on the back which basically has three modes…as simple as can be. Mode 1 – dual shot – which means you can take video and shoot still images simultaneously. Mode 2 – movie mode – simple as can be..for movies only. Mode 3 – still mode – again simple…for still shots only.

The LCD is perfectly sized and hides various functions. A battery release slider, the slot for an extra SDHC card, a Video Snapshot/Print button, and a Display button for extra information on the screen.

There is a built in Flash for Still photography which pop’s up and offers red-eye reduction.

There is a hot-shoe on top that will allow for the addition of video lights, etc as per your need.

The right hand side of the camera has a door which, when opened, exposes the usb connector, the component connector, and the MINI HDMI connector.

I am a person with rather large hands and adjusting the strap made this camera FIT into my hand as perfectly as I could ask for….

Turn the camera on and its ready to go within seconds…of course the first time its powered on you will need to set the date, time, and your locale. After the initial setup you can be ready to shoot in about 1.2 seconds flat…with a fully charged battery.

The video shooting is up to 1080p with a full HD sensor….this is the best you can possibly get. The sensor is rated at 8 mega pixels and thus your images will also be at 8.0 mega pixels.

TESTS:

First test – Still shooting in Dual Mode (again dual means both video and stills at the same time).:

I am not a video buff but I love taking stills of the family and so off I went with my Vixia in hand. Like most geeks with gadget envy, I use first and read the manual later….ready – fire – aim. HA! Therefore I was very surprised that a little tiny flash popped out above the lens and automatically lit my subjects to avoid red eye. Then after it focused in on a couple of spots (green squares show this on the lcd screen) it took the shot. I was impressed in about 10 minutes flat and the fun kept getting better. Canon had something here….except that darn mini hdmi cable. I connected the camera to my mac via the mini usb-usb cable. Once connected, power up the camera and it will prompt you if you are connecting to a dvd burner or a computer/printer….select computer/printer and you are told to plug the power adapter in after which the camera creates thumbnails internally and mounts as a usb drive called Canon on the mac….there is also a NO NAME volume mounted which has the same information in it. (one quick note – you will need to go to play back mode to get the usb to work – which I am sure is obvious to most). The NO NAME volume is what shows up in iPhoto. The iPhoto feature is something that is important to me since I generally prefer not to use manufacturers software and want to use the software that I prefer. That being said, since iPhoto can see this camera so can Aperture or Lightroom…whichever you prefer.

The LCD on the camera should not be used to gauge the quality of the pictures this camera can take….those LCD’s are usually low res and do not do justice to a photograph….that being said the photo quality is excellent and can stand up next to any 8mp camera that is out there…including a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. How do I know this? Simple…I took a picture of some stuff in a white shoe box…with both cameras. I compared the histograms side by side and they were identical. Simply put the still image quality of the Vixia is on par with a Digital SLR. Did I mention that the camera has optical image stabilization for both still and video (its a blessing for me since I cant seem to keep still–haha)

Second Test – Video Shooting in Dual Mode.:

It is going to be tough to write this up in a short summary but here goes….

First of all – it works flawlessly on a MAC with iMovie – you simply connect the camera via usb and have the software import the videos..after which you can edit to your hearts content and burn off to a DVD in full HD quality.

It is very hard for me to gauge video quality since this is the first 1080p camera I have worked with. The lack of the hdmi cable makes it even harder since I have to export the test videos and then burn them to DVD before I can view them. If you use component the camera does give you the option of output at 1080i to your television.

I took short – 5-10 minute – video shots of my family both in bright day light and indoors under incandescent light bulbs. I do not have a video light and thus I had to depend on the lights in the home and of course day light out side. MAN was I surprised to see how this thing performed in low light conditions. The video looked as if there was a video light connected to it and that it was professionally shot. Thats impressive in and itself. The outdoor shoots were perfect and showed some mysteriously awesome levels of detail. I have never seen such clarity and detail coming out of a video camera.

Reality check: Low Light to me is a bedroom 10×10 or bigger with about 1-2 ceiling bulbs in a light fixture. I tried to use this in our back yard at night with a citronella candle (yes we have bugs) and the clarity went down a bit….but I did not really expect a hollywood night shot to come out of this. It was viewable and much better then my old video cams…but not spectacular. Just wanted to make that point.

Once the videos were shot I brought them into iMovie and since I did not want to edit I basically exported them out and burned them on to DVD’s. We played them back using a regular Philips up-converting dvd player at 1080p and they were PERFECT. I never thought I would see the quality that I saw. IMPRESSIVE.

Final Thoughts:

It is very hard for me to review such a great product with the detail that I want to give to it…it would simply lose its effectiveness in your purchasing decision. Once I had played with this camera for 2 weeks or so I decided it best to write about the things that would matter most. What you see above is what I consider important. My experiences are based on usage with a Apple computer but I have no doubt that this camera will far exceed your expectations on a PC as well. I have both types of computers but for my testing it was easier for me to use the MAC. I will be playing with the Canon software in the days ahead and post information as I see fit. I hope you find the review somewhat informative and I sincerely hope that you will ask any and all questions via the comments below.

My rating on this camera would have been 4.5/5 but will have to be 4/5 – Simply because it upsets me that a manufacturer such as Canon would leave out what I think is the most essential accessory. The Mini HDMI to HDMI Cable….did I mention that I was not happy about this. There is a lot of price gouging on HDMI cables as it is and this gives manufacturers another reason to sell high priced cables…luckily we have Amazon where we can find an after market cable. I have seen the Canon branded one for about $40.00. Thanks for reading…

Video and Sound quality exceptional
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m very picky when it comes to quality you could say that I check every pixel!!! Like almost all reviews it is true that the video quality is superb (played on my Sony XBR4 52 in. lcd). What amazed me also was the sound, I felt like I was there!!! I also like the pictures, I bet it could beat 70% of all digital camera’s on sale today (point and shoot), I can say that I can leave my digital camera at home and take this all in one. This will be a video camera that will keep it’s value for a long time. What disapointed me, it does not have a wide angle lens, you really have to backup to film someone that is near you. I was not impress with low light performance especially with this super chip inside, I found that my Panasonic CCD video camera did a better job. When zooming I find that the anti-shake could be better and I’m not a big shaker!! But these are faults that I can live with 100%, because of the video and sound quality it produces. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Best consumer camcorder I have ever seen. Reviewed by professional videographer.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
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

Great camcorder and much improved from the last iteration
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
By way of background I own a few other camcorders including the Canon HV20, the Canon HF10 and the Flip Mini. My shooting is primarily home video. I don’t use the still picture capabilities all that much although they are nice to have.

I have been working with the HFS10 for a little while now and have the following observations.

Positives:

1. Video – First and foremost the purpose of the unit is to take good looking video in Full HD or lower formats and pick-up good sound. I find the quality to be sharp with a lot of detail. I do see a little noise or features in low light type environments with a lot of movements but minor and you have to go looking for it. The camera more than makes up for it when you take it outside on a sunny day when the color and the detail is staggering.

2. Sound – Like its predecessor the HF10 I find the internal mic to be excellent and it picks up most audio in the scene including things you didn’t hear while shooting. Also I don’t hear any of the whirring or machine noise I sometimes heard in prior models. I own an external mic but for the amateur shooting I do the audio quality is great and its nice not to have to lug accessories around.

3. – A lot of attention has been focused on the dual memory and the higher recording capacity at 32GB. For me 32GB is more than enough before I archive so I don’t use external SD cards. What is nice is that the transfer to and from the camera seems to be a little faster than older models which to me means that the internal flash memory is faster.

4. Ease of use – There are a number of usability features that I really like. First and foremost this is a very easy to use camera since my 8 year old niece picks it up and takes excellent video with it. The improvement that I really value over the HF10 is the dual shot mode where you can take a picture while you are shooting video. While I prefer the picture quality of my dedicated camera to be able to do both at the same time and produce good looking pictures with a lot of detail is a very nice feature. The screen is clear and crisp.

What I don’t like:

1. Controls are still not as intuitive and easy to use particularly the controls on the screen but they are by no means difficult.

2. AVCHD is still difficult to work with compared to capture from a traditional tape based camera. I have figured out a workflow that works for me including saving to my NAS box and outputting on my PS3 but in my opinion is not consumer friendly enough for the non technically inclined user. Editing on both Macbook Pro and Windows using Pinnacle is time consuming since these files take long to work with and particularly to export using Full HD. This is not a Canon issue though since you will have these issues with just about any AVCHD camcorder.

All in all a great camcorder, highly recommended with a gentle warning to be sure to reseach an appropriate AVCHD workflow for you if you intend to shoot and watch Full HD type video.

Great little camera in Canon’s line, I highly recommend it!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been on the sidelines, waiting for the right camcorder to come along for many years. It was always not good enough in size or price or technology, etc. Finally, a camera comes along that makes me want to finally commit to owning instead of waiting.

The videos produced by this camera is truly fabulous. It’s sharp, contrasty, colorful and accurate. The camera is also function rich. Everything you need to take professional looking videos is here. Its small size makes it easy to handle and the built in stabilization and zoom adds to its functionality.

I also own the Canon HF20. That particular model has a 3.89 megapixel sensors vs. the 8.59 megapixel sensor on the HFS10. One key difference due to the sensor is the low light performance. I can’t comment on it quantitatively since I don’t have any way of measuring it; however, I can comment on it qualitatively. With my naked eyes I say the HFS10 is twice as bright as the HF20 when photographing low light situations; furthermore, the HF20 has similar low light capture abilities as my own eyes. So, for example, looking at the low light (not dark) corner of my room in the evening, the HF20 shows about the same amount of light as my naked eyes. The HFS10 is about twice as bright as the HF20.

Noise wise, I would say that the HFS10 is a little bit better than the HF20. Not by very much in very low light situations.

S. Seeberger’s review has a nice little list of pros and cons of the HFS10, in addition to

his I have a few more of my own to add.

Pros:

-Tapeless

-Small size

-Good macro lens focus

-Good low light capability

-Decent dynamic range

-Fantastic image in good light

-Decent snapshots like a lower-end P&S

-Face recognition keeps subjects in focus

-Instant focus makes focusing fast and painless

-Plug and play out of the box with Mac, software included for PC users

-1.7 times digital zoom works with very little loss of resolution

-You can re-program the lens knob to control other functions such as exposure and mic level, etc.

-High level of adjustments possible in the menus. Many of those will not be used by the average user

-Remote control allows you to control the camera by pointing at the sensor next to the LCD screen

Cons:

-Only a 10 times optical zoom

-No viewfinder

-No manual focus lens ring, but instead, the second best, a small focus knob next to the lens.

-Stock battery lasts under a hour and doesn’t fit the camera exactly (slightly too short)

-Snapshots not as sharp as I like

-The battery won’t charge in the camera with the attached power cable unless the camera is off

-You can’t transfer files from the camera to your computer unless the power cable is attached

-Mini HDMI cable not included. Have to purchase Canon’s expensive mini HDMI in order to watch HD playback on your HD TV

-No battery charger

-No GPS tagging

-Proprietary Mini “S” shoe so your stuck with Panasonic’s peripherals

-No touch screen. They could have made the screen much larger by going with a touch screen. Instead, valuable real estate is taken up by the the bezel as well as buttons

Why you need to buy this camera – a different perspective
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So many other great Amazon members have written excellent reviews of all of this camera’s key positives and negatives. I will instead ‘focus’ on something this camera has that truly sets it apart from others in this price range – its ability to help you learn key concepts to becoming a better videographer.

The HFS10, like any good consumer camcorder, features an excellent facial recognition system, lightening fast auto focus, built in lens cover, etc. But it also has enough manual control to give aspiring amateurs their first lessons in controlling image and audio quality manually.

The manual control set includes white balance, focus, audio, shutter speed, and aperture settings. These controls are not buried in a host of menus – they can be brought front and center when needed. Each component can be turned on separately, allowing you to learn one concept (white balance for example) while the camera still automatically handles focus and exposure.

Canon also included a microphone port – something which nearly every consumer camera is now abandoning. Thankfully Canon knows that good video requires good audio! One of the first steps to ‘upping the game’ is using external microphones to enhance and focus the sound coming into the camcorder.

The bottom line is that Canon has produced a camera that’s very easy to use right out of the box, yet also serves as a tremendous learning platform for aspiring hobbyists (or even future filmmakers) to learn about the key concepts of professional video production.

If you have a loved one showing some talent in video production and are looking to graduate them out of a Flip camera, this is the camera to consider. Along with a book on amateur video composition of course.

So far so good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m a pro videographer and have been for 6 years. I used to have the Sony PD-150 and the Sony TRV-950. I loved both of those cameras. They both shot really well in low light and were adjustable. They both broke, finally, after long years of use.

I didn’t want to spend a lot on a new camera right now. I just wanted something to tide me over until I buy a replacement big, expensive camera. I did a lot of research and this one seemed like the best one for the money.

I got it and have used it only a few times over the past few weeks. It seems really good. I really like not having to use tapes. It takes about the same time to capture the footage into Final Cut Pro, though. (You can’t just drag and drop.) But this is okay. The picture is great. It does pretty well in low light, but not as well as the PD-150 (a $3000 camera) or the TRV-950 (a $1700 camera – no longer available). Below a certain light level, it suddenly gets very grainy. Apart from that, though, the picture and sound and functionality are all excellent. I think I’m gonna like it. I’ll write more later as I learn more. So far I have to say it’s definitely worth the money.

AMAZING, But….
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this to use it in shooting some documentaries and some small production projects and CANON didn’t let me down on this one, the body is small and perfectly sized for extreme mobility, the HD output of this thing is amazing, the picture quality is solid and crisp and the colors are vivid.

It does get a little shaky when being used with walking or in motion, the image stabilizer system tries to correct with little success but that is perfectly expected if you’re using a small camera since it moves with what holds it of which in this case your hand. On a tripod, or a fixed ground, it definitely delivers though.

I hated the fact that CANON did not supply a MAC OS X software, it only came with a Windows version of the supplied software and another program CD that deals with picture transfer that you can install on windows or OS X.

The camera saves footage as .MTS files and its worth noting that these are highly compressed files that if you’re planning on using them for editing, you better be equipped with a solid performing machine, otherwise you have to re-encode them into another editing friendly format of which you might end up using ALOT of storage space for that matter. it is highly recommended to have ready an external Hard Disk to backup your footage regularly or even burn them on DVDs/Blu-Rays.

Prepare to fall in love with a camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The Vixia HFS10 is an upgrade for me, coming from the Canon VIXIA HG20 AVCHD 60 GB HDD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom. I’ve been enjoying the HG20 for a few months now, so being able to dig in to the new features on a 2009 model camera has been a real treat.

Right off the bat, the video image quality on the HFS10 is incredible. Hands down, the best I have ever used. Facial recognition is blazing fast and accurate, even when people are moving reasonably fast. Recording in low light indoors produces bright and clear results. Recording in very bright light outdoors produces a razor-sharp picture with virtually no halo effects or bleeding. This is where Canon really shows off the new Digic 3 processor.

The 10X optical zoom is smooth, and doesn’t lose focus easily when zooming in and out. However, at this price point, 10X is certainly on the lower end of the spectrum of what’s available. While that’s disappointing, the image stabilization definitely makes up for it. At full zoom, the image stabilization compensates for normal “jitters” exceedingly well.

On the still image side, the Digic 3 is able to bring some nice surprises, as well. The “real” pop-up flash works better than expected for indoor shots. For most point-and-shoot scenarios, the HFS10 will stomp all over Canon Elph cameras, and comes pretty close to what you’d expect from a PowerShot (albeit, at a different overall resolution).

Again, the image stabilization really shines with still pictures. But one thing I did notice, is that the HFS10 seems to do “strange things” with still images in low light. Things that should have halos (e.g. sunsets) don’t, even with different CP and UV filters.

Speaking of filters, the HFS10 has a 58mm lens barrel. So, you have tons and tons of filter options at every imaginable price point. Out of habit, I threw on a SUNPAK CF-7034 UV Ultra-Violet Filter that I had lying around my SLR gear bag along with a spare cap. Though I’m not real big on Tiffen glass, I also tried out a Tiffen 58MM Circular Polarizer, which produced really interesting results with some nature videos.

Anyone who has used a previous generation Vixia or Canon still camera will feel right at home with the menu system. The layout is basically the same, and functions are right where you’d expect them to be. For those not familiar with Canon cameras, getting used to the menu system is very easy.

The only thing that really took some adjustment was using the “time machine” feature that lets you go back and record something that happened three seconds in the past. It works flawlessly, but adjusting to the delay in the viewfinder was really difficult for me to get used to.

Also new for this year: logical port placement, and decent quality port protectors! The HDMI, USB, and component connectors are on the right side of the camera and have a sturdy plastic door to protect them, instead of the flimsy rubberized plugs on last year’s models (and they’re no longer behind the LCD!). Strangely, Canon has chosen to move the battery release behind the LCD, making it a bit awkward to switch out batteries.

The included Canon BP-807/808 battery consistently gives about 90 minutes of continuous use. I was happy to see that last year’s batteries are compatible, so I’ve been using a Canon BP-819, which gives just over 200 minutes. Although the BP-819 is a larger battery, it’s almost flush with the back of the camera when installed.

Of course, the included software is trash. I installed it for the sake of reviewing it, but really, if you’re looking to spend this kind of money on a camera, you owe it to yourself to spend another couple hundred on decent video editing software. As a Mac user, iMovie does a passable job, but takes forever to do its various conversions from AVCHD. I stepped up to Final Cut Express 4, which works perfectly with this camera. Of course, there are many options for Windows users as well.

The biggest shortcoming — and this is huge if you travel with a laptop — is that Canon still seems married to the idea that you can’t export pictures or video from the internal memory without plugging in to AC power. I can’t for the life of me figure out the logic behind this. If you have a fully charged BP-819 (or even an 807, for that matter!), that’s not nearly enough power to copy over some still pictures, in Canon’s estimation. Of course, you can save everything to SD and just pop the card out, or do camera-to-card-to-computer copies, but it’s ridiculous that you can’t import ANYTHING from the internal memory without being plugged in to a wall.

Were it not for that, I’d be comfortable overlooking the other minor imperfections and giving this a solid 5 stars. And, if you’re not planning on doing more than recording and watching your videos when you’re away from home, consider this a 5-star review. But if you’re planning on uploading a few videos and / or pictures while you’re on vacation (or something more professional, like mobile editing), don’t plan on doing it without access to AC power.

All things considered, though, if I was looking for a camera in this price range, The Vixia HFS10 is the first and only camera that would be on my list.

Excellent.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The camera is very simple to use with great output.

An HDMI cable is missing in the package but this is not a reason of not buying it.

When viewing the videos on HD TV, we all were excited to see the great picture.

Mostly Marvelous
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Read the description for the full list of features; these were the features which made an impression on me.

Pros:

Takes great pictures and video, especially good low-light performance and continuous-mode shots.

Flash and video light included, although with the usual caveats about flash photography.

Good image stabilization, even in a moving car, although shake becomes quite noticeable when fully zoomed in. In a moving car, that is. But most of the photos taken in that situation were quite clear, except of course those taken using the night mode preset.

In addition to the usual “canned” modes (sports, beach, etc.) there are tons of manual settings, such as shutter speed, zoom speed, etc.

Video snapshot mode lets you take photos while recording video – although this feels a little awkward due to button placement.

Large internal memory.

Clear, bright LCD display.

Cons:

User interface takes a little getting used to, especially when trying to do things like deleting multiple photos. Without reading the manual, that is.

Software transfers videos easily, but doesn’t have an option to transfer photos? I might have missed it.

Must be plugged in to power in order to transfer files. This can get annoying.

Location of photo button is not optimal (see photos). Feels a little cramped.

It’s strange that most settings are unavailable when in dual mode. There’s probably a logical reason for it, but it escapes me.

Sometimes has trouble focusing when zoomed in close.

Focal length is disappointing, even when fully zoomed out.

Location of HDMI, etc. ports is under the hand strap.

Bulky charger – brick-style, like a small laptop’s. No external battery charger.

Trivial: No HDMI cable (needs a mini-HDMI connection), no neck/shoulder strap or cover included.

Although the list of cons seems long, they are mostly trivial, except for the focal length issue. This camera takes sharp, hi-quality photos and video, even in low-light situations without use of flash or video light.

Good Camera – Useless Software
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The HFS10 camerea (in EU is Legria HFS10) is easy to use and provides excellent recordings (photos as well). It has some problem with autofocusing in low light environment, but it is a good camera.

However the bundled Pixela Imagemixer sotware is Useless:

I have serious sound problems (during editing videos, and the saved video as well)

Theres is no sotware support neither from Canon, nor Pixela.

There is no upgrade possibility for an enhanced Imagemixer version

The User Interface is extremely poor (for example Adjustin Volume)

If you want to save your videos, or edit them the camera is useless due to the sotware bundled.

Great, but add the wide angle converter lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great video camera for the money. It will fill up your big screen with pretty good quality video. I can’t comment about the stills because I use a digital camera for photos and never took a picture this camera. If you are planning to buy this one, I suggest getting an extra battery, the external battery charger, a couple of 32Gb cards and the wide angle converter lens. That’s what I did and I’m glad because every single item came in handy. Also, keep it on the MX quality video setting. Enjoy!

I Love both of my Canon Hfs10′s!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
When the camera’s arrived I was very excited to finally get to use them. So far the picture quality is excellent and pretty consistent… Great for Gorilla style shooting and the low light is decent as well. The manual focus takes getting use to but I expected it too be worse but it’s not bad…the only downside is you have to connect to a power source when putting video clips on a computer. Not really a big problem considering that I put my video clips on a beefy powermac…but I can see how it could be an issue for some people with different equipment.

Look up WOW in a thesaurus and find Canon VIXIA HFS10!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Easy enough for a novice yet top caliber expected by experienced shooters. I’ve been a loyal Canon user since I made my first film on the XL1. I since upgraded to the XL2 and also own a prior incarnation of this VIXIA HFS10 (the HF10.) Why have I been such a loyal Canon user? Because true quality brands are few and far between. Canon is reliably cutting edge, has a solid reputation, superior optics, and is considered amongst the very best in the indie filmmaking world. And the Canon VIXIA HFS10 doesn’t disappoint!

The Canon VIXIA HFS10 was all the rage at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) this year and I was itching to get my paws on one and test it in the field. I must say, this little powerhouse was well worth the wait! And the video clarity is stunning. The HFS10 has officially blurred the line between “pro-sumer” and standard consumer cams. And Canon packed a lot of punch into this tiny thing! The feature set is rich and too exhaustive to go into detail in the limited space of a review, but I’ll name a few of my faves:

>Top Quality Lens (as usual from Canon):

No matter the brand or price tag, what sets a great video camera apart from the rest is the lens. Think of a lens as the camera’s eye – it can only record what it sees, and if it doesn’t see well, then it doesn’t record well either. Most people put little thought into lens quality; if anything, they just want it to be small. But when it comes to top quality optics, modern thinking of smaller = better doesn’t apply. When was the last time you saw a telescope with a 3mm cell phone lens? No technology in the world has yet improved upon the tried and true mechanics behind focal length and quality glass lenses. Note I stipulated glass, not plastic. Plastic lenses are cheap and light for a reason. They have their place and applications, but if you’re shopping for a quality video camera that delivers stunning footage, then HD resolution alone isn’t enough. You need a quality glass lens and that’s exactly what the Canon VIXIA HFS10 delivers. Quality optics is what sets apart Canon’s pro-sumer XL series cameras, and the same holds true for the VIXIA HFS10, making it the top cam in its class. You simply won’t find a better HD video camera on the market. Though for me, coming from a filmmaking background, buying the optional wide angle converter is a must in order to give visual variety and versatility to my shots. It’s just a good idea for anyone really. Again, one of those options most believe they don’t need, but trust me, you’ll be glad you got one. The versatility and results speak for themselves.

>Image Stabilization:

I’ve never used image stabilization in any video camera I’ve owned. I’m of the mindset that electronic image stabilizers degrade image quality and I’ve never been willing to make the sacrifice. But the VIXIA HFS10 truly has broken that barrier for me. Nothing compensates for an experienced hand, but this stabilizer comes close and doesn’t sacrifice image quality. The secret seems to be in combining multiple technologies as opposed to most cams which rely solely on digital compensation, hence the degradation of image quality.

>32gb internal memory:

The basic difference between the VIXIA HFS10 and its predecessor, the HF10, is “more” – more memory capacity, more mega pixels; though it has a slightly shorter focal length of 10x as opposed to 12x on the HF10. A minor trade-off I guess. But with double the internal memory the VIXIA HFS10 makes shooting more convenient. As always, I recommend you get additional SD cards. Think of them as video tapes – you don’t just want one tape; and you’ll want more than one memory card. Obviously you’ll reuse the memory cards, but give yourself the flexibility of having at least one or two SD cards. Personally, I always buy the largest capacity available at the time of purchase. I never want my shooting to be constrained by available storage. And flash memory works similar to hard drive performance – the more free space you have, the faster and better they perform. For video, you generally want double the capacity you expect to use. A drive that’s packed full to capacity with data responds more sluggishly than one with plenty of available space. And memory has dropped significantly, so the expense isn’t what it used to be. So do yourself the favor of getting at least one SD card and max out your camera’s capability. You’ll be glad you did. Just be sure to get a extended life battery too!!

>8 mega pixels – Digital Cameras are Officially Obsolete:

The VIXIA HFS10 eliminates the need to own both a digital camera and a video camera. Why lug two different devices around? For a while now, I’ve been wishing someone would create a quality video camera that takes quality photos as well. I mean, they both work on essentially the same technology, and now that everything’s gone digital and storage capacity is cheap and plentiful, it’s really gotten to the point were there’s no excuse to not fuse the products together into one. I imagine manufacturers would rather sell you both items separately, and perhaps that justifies the higher price tag on the VIXIA HFS10. But at the end of the day, it’s well worth it to have one quality device that shoots superior HD video and 8mp pics too. It’s really the best of both worlds.

>Simultaneous Video/Photo Recording:

The VIXIA HFS10 improves on previous models by allowing higher mega pixel photo captures while shooting video. That’s right, shoot video AND pics at the exact same time!! Very cool little feature! You can also extract any frame of video as a digital image. Frame captures to pics has always been possible with any video editing software but now it’s easier than ever. And there are situations like sporting events or even weddings where shooting simultaneous pics and vids is just more convenient and less time consuming. Just be sure to get plenty of memory like I mentioned before. More SD cards = more versatility!

>Simple for everyday users. Versatile for discerning Indie Filmmakers:

The true test of any product’s user friendliness is apparent right out of the box — can you just pick it up and start using it, or is reading that big thick User Manual a prerequisite? Personally, I liken User Manuals to a dictionary – you don’t need to read every word in there, but every word needs to be defined in case you want to look up its meaning. Similarly, any electronic device should be easy to use out of the box with the User Manual being a reference tool only if you have questions or need more details. Every electronics device should be simple, straightforward and easy to use with no explanation required. The VIXIA HFS10 is simple enough for the everyday user and versatile enough for discerning indie filmmakers. Beginners can keep everything set to automatic and just point and shoot. While experienced pro-sumer users will be pleased with the level of control and feature rich capabilities of this cam. The VIXIA HFS10 is easy to use but complex enough to handle most any need. So go shoot a birthday party or your next independent film for Sundance!

>Form Follows Function:

The VIXIA HFS10 fits nicely into my hand with a good feel and fit. The buttons and controls are intuitively placed and simple to operate. The buttons feel solid, responsive and durable. Touch sensitive zoom controls will give you professional looking camera work. The onscreen menus are easy to navigate and understand. The joystick button has always been a personal fave on any device and this one makes menu navigation a snap. The video screen is crisp and clear from most any angle. I love the automatic lens cap! Not to mention the automatic video light and flash that pop open with the push of a button! Cool! And the stereo mics are placed on either side of the lens delivering truer separation. The mics are actually quite good for everyday use, though you’ll still want to plug in a boom or shotgun for more professional applications.

>Solid Entry Level Software:

Any serous filmmaker will want Final Cut or Premiere, but the good news is, the VIXIA HFS10 comes with great software for everyone else. Importing and editing video is a snap. And you can print digital pics right off the camera too. Truth is, for certain applications I find Canon’s software a simple alternative if I just want to post something fast to YouTube, do simple conversions or burn something to DVD. If you’re just starting out, the software is more than adequate and actually pretty versatile. It’s not necessary to spend extra money on editing software unless you have the need for a professional editing suite.

>The Latest Technology:

I officially equate video tapes to the now defunct 8-track or VCR. Anyone with a TiVO or DVR understands the tedium of a VCR by comparison. Well, the same now holds true for a video camera that uses tapes as opposed to flash memory or hard drives. The future is here with the VIXIA HFS10 and there’s no going back!

I’m very picky about my video cameras and expect a lot out of them. Once again, Canon has delivered a very impressive video product. I don’t mean to sound like a corporate crony because I’m not. But for me, their track record speaks for itself. I’m a loyal Canon customer because they’ve earned it and keep exceeding my expectations. If you’re in the market for a cutting edge HD cam, get the VIXIA HFS10. You’ll be glad you did.

Todavía aprendiendo a usar
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Escribo en español, ya que he visto pocos comentarios en esta lengua.

Tiempo de uso: menos de 1 mes

Buena cámara para filmar, aún con poca luz. Sólo hay que configurar adecuadamente.

Bastante intuitiva en el manejo, aunque una lectura del manual, es conveniente para conocer los detalles,

y sacar más provecho.

Excelente capacidad. 32 GB dá para filmar todo, sin preocuparse.

Negativos: Aún estoy en dudas con la calidad de las fotos. Se ven bien, pero los archivos parecen muy pequeños.

La necesidad de usar la fuente para poder conectarla al PC, parece sin sentido. Podría detectar el estado de la batería.

El estabilizador de imagen, es de calidad media. Cuando use el zoom, es mejor buscar un apoyo.

La batería original es pequeña, si comparado con la BP-819 (Recomiendo comprar junto)

Carrying case (Estuche): Fundamental. Comprar aparte termina siendo más caro que comprar en el site. Pagué 60U$S + tax, por una buena protección.

El software para guardar los filmes, es complicado. Preferiría copiar y pegar. No me deja seguro.

Final: Buen producto.

Canon VIXIA HFS10 HD is as close as you can get to professional camcorder in terms of video quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Canon VIXIA HFS10 is currently the top-of-the-line Canon consumer camcorder. It takes very good quality full HD video (one of the best among consumer level camcorders). The optical image stabilization is very useful and face detection is accurate. Autofocus is very fast and the menu system is intuitive. Low light capability is decent (but improved a lot by using the video light for video recording or internal flash for taking photos). The pre-recording mode is very useful for shooting sport, action, fireworks, child and other scenarios where it is often hard to predict when those Kodak moments will exactly be until it has happened/passed. It also has filter thread so you can install lens filter to enhance the video/image and to protect the lens. The LCD is very sharp and clear from wide viewing angle. It has a dual shooting mode where video recording and photo taking can be done without switching settings.

Taking photos with Canon VIXIA HFS10 is also very good. Image quality is very sharp with 8.59-megapixel CMOS image sensor that is also found in Canon DSLR. Taking photos in continuous mode is also very good (about 4 frames per second, comparable to DSLR cameras), however, the shutter response is nowhere near the DSLR (it’s slower than DSLR), and I’m used to the DSLR almost no-lag shutter response so I will continue to use my DSLR cameras most of the time. For point and shoot customers, they won’t notice the shutter lag (as it is the same if not better than most point and shoot camera) and they will probably be able to replace their point and shoot camera with this camcorder as it produces image quality better and sharper than most point and shoot cameras.

Pros:

1. Video quality (1920 X 1080 Full HD) comparable with many professional camcorder and is one of the best quality for consumer level

2. Image quality for photos are sharp and vivid (8 megapixel).

3. Zoom Covers super wide angle to semi-zoom (6.4mm to 64mm) before the 1.7x magnification.

4. Built in 32GB built-in flash memory

5. Very effective optical image stabilization (a combination of optical and image sensor stabilization)

6. Lens filter thread (I installed 58mm UV/Haze filter to reduce UV and also help protect the front glass element)

7. Autofocus is very fast and includes a very accurate face detection to keep people’s face in sharp focus

8. up to 24 hour recording in LP mode (with 64GB total memory, 32Gb built-in, and 32GB SD card)

9. Innovative Pre-record mode is available (and never miss critical shots anymore)

10. Video snapshot mode (shot short movie clips and blend with music tracks)

11. Almost instant on and record (stand-by to recording in less than 1 sec and from off in less than 2 sec)

12. Continuous mode for taking photos is very fast (though the shutter lag isn’t nearly as good as SLR cameras)

13. Record HD videos and take 6MP photo to memory card simultaneously

14. Small but bright video light and photo flash.

15. Built-in automatic lens cover

16. Wireless remote control included

17. Bright and clear 2.7 inch lcd screan (and the image is sharp)

18. Very easy to navigate the menu (even though there are so many options and settings available)

19. 24p cinema mode and 30p progressive mode included

20. pre-programmed video and photo mode (sunset, night, beach, spotlight, fireworks, etc)

21. Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and Program mode available (in addition to Auto setting)

22. Dual shot mode (capture video and photo without having to change setting)

Cons:

1. Only 10x optical zoom (not sure why Canon doesn’t make this top-of-the-line camcorder 20x or 30x optical zoom)

2. No seamless recording transition from one memory to the other memory

3. Included batteries only last about 75-90 minutes of recording time

4. Shutter response still not as fast as DSLR

5. Low light performance is average (improved if using the video light or internal flash)

6. A bit bulky compare to many other flash memory camcorders

7. Not the lightest camcorder but still lighter than DSLR cameras

8. 24Mbps recording mode has many restriction (require fast speed flash memory, and not all DVD player can playback)

9. No touch screen LCD

10. Non-standard accessory shoe terminal (better than none though. can use VL-5 video light or DM-100 microphone)

11. Must plug in ac adapter to transfer internal memory data to computer

12. No optical viewfinder

13. HDMI cable not included

14. Doesn’t come with external battery charger (use the camcorder to charge the battery instead)

15. Top-of-the-line price

In conclusion, Canon VIXIA HFS10 is targeted for those who are looking for a consumer camcorder with the best video quality with a lot of internal flash memory (32GB) that can also take photo with the best image quality and the largest megapixel to date for a canon camcorder (8MP). Basically, Canon Vixia HFS10 is currently the top-of-the-line Canon consumer level camcorder.

Also check out the following Canon camcorders that has comparable main feature (Full HD video and DIGIC DV III image processor) before deciding to buy Canon VIXIA HFS10 (and decide whether any of these camcorders will fit your needs therefore avoid paying the premium that Canon VIXIA HFS10 command):

- Canon VIXIA HFS100 (no internal flash memory, 10x optical zoom, 8.59-megapixel CMOS image sensor)

- Canon VIXIA HF20 (32GB internal flash memory, 15x optical zoom, only 3.89-megapixel CMOS image sensor)

- Canon VIXIA HF200 (no internal flash memory, 15x optical zoom, only 3.89-megapixel CMOS image sensor)

Sidarta Tanu

Canon VIXIA HFS10 vs. Canon HG10
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am a year long owner of the last generation Canon HG10 HD camcorder. I have used it to shoot high definition video of several events both indoors and outdoors, and it has performed admirably. It produces high quality DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, and it outputs HD directly to my 1080p HD television through component and HDMI connections (the camera only outputs and records up to 1080i though). So, I am going to review this new model, the HFS10, as a well pleased owner of the HG10.

When I received the new generation Canon Vixia HFS10 model, I immediately sat them side by side and looked at them, held them in opposite hands and fiddled with them. They seemed to weigh pretty much the same to me. I looked up their official weights on their product pages, and found that the HG10 weights 1.18 lbs and the HFS10 weights 1.10lbs. As you can see, they weight pretty much the same, with the HFS10 coming in less than a full ounce lighter.

In a side by side technical comparison, they are both AVCHD devices, they both use Canon HD CMOS sensors with genuine Canon 10x HD video lenses. Both of them are solidly constructed, and feel sturdy in your hand. They both offer a 2.7 inch LCD viewfinder/display, they both record in 1920×1080 resolutions and they both offer 24p frame rates with an optional “cinema” mode which enhances the affect. This is, theoretically, supposed to produce the highest quality video with the best detail and exposure. It doesn’t produce 1080p recording resolution though. It will still be encapsulated in a 1080i stream. From what I understand of products on the market right now, only certain models of Panasonic camcorders record in true 1080p24 mode, and even fewer at 60HZs. They both come with the same set of cords & cables (one USB, one component, one composite + standard audio, one DC power adapter) for viewing content on your TV straight of the camera. They both include software for authoring and basic editing of DVD/Blu-Ray discs and for backing up video and photos to a computer. They also both come with the same sad little battery with about an hour’s worth of juice in a maximum charge (upgrade to the larger capacity battery, it is worth it). They also both boast a range of nice features such as advanced image stabilization and different modes of recording (indoors, fireworks, low light, subject in motion, etc.), automatic focusing and exposure controls, etc. Finally, both cameras support: external microphone jacks, an automatic lens cover, built in camera flash, built in video light (the HFS10 hides both lights under a pop-up flap near the lens which engages automatically when needed), component/composite output, HDMI output (HDMI to mini HDMI cable not included), USB output and standard audio output (if you want digital audio, you will need to use HDMI as there are no separate digital audio out jacks for either model).

Other features:

INTERNAL STORAGE:

The HG10 uses a 40GB hard disk drive (HDD), the HFS10 uses 32GB of flash memory. As far as recording times are concerned (how long it takes to save a photo to memory, or for video to finish processing and save to memory) I see no real difference. However, start up and shut down times are VERY different. The HG10′s HDD meant that from the moment you turned it on, until it would respond to you and start recording or allow you to take a picture, was about 3-8 seconds, depending on how full the hard drive was. That has been my own experience with the camera, other people’s mileage may vary. In contrast, the HFS10′s flash memory means it is ready pretty much as soon as you turn it on. I was consistently able to turn it on and take a photo or start recording in just a little over a second when I tested it. When I shut down the HFS10 it pretty much just always shut down. When I shut down the HG10, if there was more than about 200MB of data on the hard drive, especially if I had just been recording video (and most especially if I had been recording video AND taking photos), then I would get a “please wait, processing tasks” message and have to wait a good few seconds or so before it finally shut down. As far as recording SPACE goes, when recording in the highest quality resolution, the 8GB difference means about 30 minutes less time to record on the HFS10 — this can be compensated for with a large enough SDHC memory card used as expansion memory. More on that below. On a final note, I never had it happen to me, but I have seen it widely reported that the HDD in the HG10 meant that it was more susceptible to loss of data due to a jarring/rapid motion, etc. You were also more likely to lose data if you dropped it — not that flash memory is all that more concrete resistant, but flash memory has no moving parts, so a fall is LESS likely to result in the memory being damaged.

OPTIONAL STORAGE:

The HG10 allows for miniSD card memory expansion, but it can only be used for photos. It doesn’t support the higher speed SDHC cards which the HFS10 supports, which allow for capturing video as well. So, in effect, you can double (or even surpass) the storage space of the HFS10 with a large enough SDHC memory card (which is why they call it a “dual flash memory device”), whereas with the HG10 all you can do is offload all photo storage to the card, to free up space on the HDD for video — and they don’t recommend using too large of a miniSD card either, the manual mentions 2BG as recommended. As an added bonus for the SDHC format, the HFS10 supports taking photos while also taking video, which is a nice touch, they call this “Simultaneous Photo Shooting” and it is pretty neat. If you use that feature, you don’t need to switch between photo and video modes, you can just press the “take photo” button while shooting video or while in video mode.

POWER ON/OFF & RECORDING MODES:

The HG10 powers on/off with a dial control on the back which you can easily thumb on/off. The HFS10 has a power button to the left side of the body of the camera. For recording modes, the HFS10 uses a handy dial to switch between video/camera, whereas the HG10 has a switch you have to flick which was much more onerous to manipulate. For all other recording modes, both cameras require that you use their function and menu options via the LCD to set the mode you wanted.

VIEWFINDER:

The HG10 has a standard eye piece viewfinder which you use by keeping the LCD display closed. You may use it as it is, or pull it out on an extending scope if you wish. The HFS10 does away with the standard eye piece viewfinder all together. Nobody really uses the eye piece these days anyway, and it was taking up valuable real estate. HOWEVER, there is one instance where I could anticipate wanting it — and that is when recording in a dark room with others around you — maybe for a child’s school play or some similar event. In that case, a bright LCD (almost 3 inches across in size!) would produce a glare that would be sure to irritate the people around you. Thankfully, Canon anticipated this, and has built in controls to allow you to dim the LCD brightness in the HFS10 model. It doesn’t allow you to dim it super dark, but it is better than nothing. You will probably irritate your fellow parents maybe 50% less when using the dimmer option.

DIGITAL CAMERA:

Both cameras sport digital cameras in addition to their digital video capabilities. The HG10 has an underpowered and low resolution 3.1 megapixel camera (which makes no sense when you consider how powerful its video recording resolution is!), and it shows in the shots I have taken with it. It takes worse photos than my standard Kodak “easy share” digital camera does. However, the HFS10 boasts a very nice 8.0 megapixel camera, and it works quite well and takes gorgeous high resolution photos. A word of warning though, the HFS10′s built in flash is extremely powerful and tends to white out the subjects if you are within 5 feet of them. Either use a plug-in (more advanced) flash, or take all photos in good lighting.

AC POWER:

I vastly prefer the AC power input of the HG10 over the HFS10. The HG10 has just a simple port in the back that you just plug into and you are done. With the HFS10, they have moved it to the upper left corner of the rear of the unit, and covered it with a rubber plug which you have to wrestle out of the way to get to the port. Additionally, the plug which comes with the AC power unit is bent at a right angle, so getting it in and out of that tiny area while also wrestling with the rubber plug is not pleasant at all. Hands down my least favorite part of the HFS10.

OUTPUTS & INPUTS:

Canon has made the outputs on the HFS10 much easier to access than they were on the HG10. My same complaint about the power cover on the HFS10 applies to the output cover on the HG10. They are all located under a hidden flap on the HG10 which snaps firmly into place, and it hard to get loose (and you don’t want to use too much force in fear of breaking it). The HFS10 does away with all of that nonsense, and simply provides a heavy duty pop-up flap right along the bottom edge of the right side where your hand goes when recording. You can easily access the HDMI/USB/Component output plugs on the HFS10. However, for some odd reason, if you need to use the standard left/right audio out (or want to use standard composite video as well), they have moved THAT plug to the rear of the HFS10 in the upper right corner, under another little rubber plug as irritating as the one covering the AC power in. It isn’t a major irritation, but it can be annoying if you want to do that. I went ahead and spent the money on a nice HDMI to mini HDMI cable, so that isn’t a major consideration for me.

ADVANCED ACCESSORY SHOE:

The HG10 sports an “advanced accessory shoe” [I have no idea why they call it a "shoe" and not a port or a plug] which you can access by gently prying loose a cover which snaps into place over it. You can add a dedicated (and brighter) video light, or a dedicated (and more professional) microphone using the accessory shoe. There are other options, but those are the two most common. The HFS10 also sports an “accessory shoe” — but it is a “mini” accessory shoe, which means all of your accessories you got for the standard sized shoe on an older model like the HG10, will not work in the HFS10 model.

REMOTE SENSOR:

The remote sensor for the HG10 is built into the front of the camera, right under the lens. The sensor on the HFS10 is on the side of the LCD which normally faces you when you record. This is a minor irritation at best, as the two instances where you would want to use the remote are when you are watching playback on your TV, and when you want to operate the camera remotely, which means you will have rotated the LCD 180 degrees anyway so you can see it from the recording side of the lens. But it does take some getting used to if you are used to the HG10.

Overall, the HFS10 is superior to the HG10 in many ways, and inferior in only a couple of minor ways. The “instant on” internal flash memory is a HUGE plus, as is the 8.0 megapixel camera. There are very few MAJOR differences between the two cameras. Most of the differences are cosmetic (except for the support of the SDHC cards, and the main memory differences). They both record in basically the same way, and in basically the same formats using basically the same technology. I would say that the HFS10 is a step up in most ways, but there is certainly nothing wrong with the HG10, especially where video is concerned. Overall, I found nothing to complain about the HFS10 in any serious discussion, so I highly recommend it.

Missing the mark…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Pros:

- Fantastic HD recordings in high light situations.

- Superb 8 Megapixel still images in photo mode, in high light situations.

- The ability to grab 6 Megapixel stills while recording an HD movie.

- Mini video light for those somewhat dark and close shots.

- Silent zooming… no noticeable motor noise.

- Great stereo recordings.

- Insanely close-up, fully focused, macro shots.

Cons:

- Poor low light performance (stills and video).

- MUST have power adapter connected when camera is attached to USB port.

- Menus and Functions are unavailable in Dual Shot mode.

- Sounds like a loose marble inside when the lens cover is closed.

- Mini video light appears bright, but is not powerful enough.

- Mini video light makes images and recordings appear with bluish tint.

- Self timer buried in menus and has to be turned on for every use.

- No stitching mode for still images.

- Camera is incapable of focusing in low light situations (stills and video).

- LCD display only rotates 270 degrees.

- Good luck finding a “correct” spare battery.

- Shoulder/neck strap not included.

- Flash blows out image when too close.

- Menu system is not intuitive and can be confusing.

- DC IN and AV OUT terminals located in a clumsy location.

- DC IN and AV OUT terminal covers awkward to work around.

- Remote does not allow switching between play and record modes.

- Raw .MTS movie files are not directly playable on a Mac (lack of a QuickTime codec).

- Non-removeable hand strap.

- Lack of image and movie editing and stitching software (for Mac).

- Somewhat slow playback processor.

- Focal length for wide angle shots, is way too close.

If you are looking for a basic camcorder to do HD recordings, this cam may be what you are looking for, but don’t count on it for much more than that.

Going by all the reviews and hype, I was excited about receiving my new S10. But after working with it for a while now, I can safely say that I am somewhat disappointed with this camcorder. It blatantly “misses-the-mark” on pricing and several key features. Many of the features it does offer are buried in the “Functions Menu”, are difficult to locate and just don’t work the way you would expect.

The biggest and worst problem I have with this camcorder is the focal length. In the fully zoomed out position, subjects are still far too close up for any type of useful shooting. This applies to still images and video. You are forced to step back about an extra 8 feet in order to get the same type of focal length that you would get with any standard digital camera. This causes MAJOR problems when shooting in close quarters, like a small room or within crowded surroundings.

The camera also has a major problem when using the flash. I have tried numerous settings, but the camera refuses to adjust the intensity of the flash. If you attempt to do any type of close up stills and you require the flash, this camera just won’t do what you need it to do. Close shots are consistently blown out, unless you are standing about 5 feet away from the subject.

I was forced to speak with 3 different people at Canon (First a Tech Support rep, next a supervisor and finally a Customer Relations rep), for a total of 1.5 hrs on the phone. Due to Canon’s inability to supply consumers with the proper information, via the Canon website, to make an informed decision on purchasing accessories for the new Vixia HF-S10, I purchased 2 incorrect batteries and was unable to return 1 of the them. The Customer Relations rep was finally able to correct my frustrations with this problem.

I am seriously disappointed with Canon for releasing a mainstream product, such as the S10 and NOT having the correct accessories in stock and available for use with this camcorder. On top of that, going by the website, all the accessories that are marked as “compatible”, are NOT truly compatible for this camcorder. Listen up Canon, just because an accessory, in this case a battery, may fit and power on a camcorder, does NOT mean that it is “compatible”. The batteries that I purchased and now are stuck with, do NOT properly fit in a Vixia HF-S10 (BP-808 and BP-809). The Canon website did not provide the appropriate information to make an informed decision about which battery to buy. Also, the battery that is correct and shipped with that camera (BP-807), is NOT EVEN AVAILABLE for purchase separately and from what I was told, it will never be available. If you need a spare battery, spend the extra bucks and purchase the BP-819. It fits the best out of all batteries offered and gives a higher mAh for extended recording times.

I could go on and on about the pitfalls of Canons latest and greatest endeavor into the consumer HD market. From my perspective, it appears that Canon rushed this product to the masses in order to get in on the HD ground floor marketplace and to keep paces with some of the other major HD camcorder manufacturers.

Bottom line: In my honest opinion, if you must have a Canon product and you are looking to jump into the HD realm, either wait for the next revision of this camera and let Canon iron out some of the issues or look elsewhere to fill your HD appetite.

Super Duper
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Love the quality, I wish the Image Stabilization did more. The audio quality is great too. The AVCHD format is a PITA, but hopefully it’ll become more mainstream. We’ve dropped it twice (one was from 2 ft onto concrete) and it still works fine (knock on wood).

Superbly ready to use Auto features out of the box that lets you gradually learn the advanced features at your pace. Rattles
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Superbly ready to use Auto features out of the box that lets you gradually learn the advanced features at your pace.

The lens cap rattle is actually normal and by design and only happens when the cap is closed and shaken vigorously.

Out of the box, it does its best to make you the best photographer, this is a great second camcorder for those ready to graduate to the next level or a good first version for those who appreciate features

One of the most compelling aspects we noticed, the auto features aren’t “mode centric”, in other words alot of consumer / prosumer cameras and camcorders have only FULL MANUAL mode forcing you to tune and experiment with every feature to get an acceptable shot, then they have pre configured auto Modes, such as “Portrait”, “Landscape” “Sport/Action” forcing the shot w/o options and Nikon owners know this very well.

But, the Canon enables you to mix which modes you’d like to manually set and which modes you’d like Auto or “Assist” to handle, this allows you to even manually focus the shot while the aperture, shutter and flash / light assist are handled for you. The combinations are literally limitless and most people probably won’t need as much complexity but once in a while you’d like to create an artistic silhouette or push the exposure and the Canon lets you do it easier than other imaging devices.

It has made our family of devout Nikon owners consider Canon, read on if you’d like more detail.

One superb piece of optical gear:

+ Fastest auto focus we’ve ever seen, focuses faster than a Nikon D60, D80 and our friends D90.

+ BMW solid case, the grip and sturdiness of the case is immediately evident.

+ GLARE PROOF LCD, standing in the early morning and late evening sun to our back, you can still read the LCD without glare.

+ Feels nearly like an SLR, Canon seemed to incorporate some solid features from their EOS and EOS Rebel’s, such as the simple to use menus that lay everything out like a wide buffet so the operator just has a few sub options to pick from. Nikon owners can relate to frustration of drilling down through trees of options to change a setting, the Samsung’s and this Canon has clear quick menus.

+ Machine gun shutter, the “High Speed Continuous” still mode was able to fire off 30 – 50 still frames in short order as if you’re filming a cartoon, and the LCD is sharper than most HDTV’s so you can accurately review and pick your blurry photo’s on spot.

BUT, AND HARD TO BELIEVE, there is a known rattle when the lens cap is closed and this happened within two hours of operation, we were afraid we’d broken it or received a defect but it turns out this is a known issue so in case you’re a tinkerer,…put your screwdrivers away because there’s nothing rattling lose behind the scenes.

The rattle noise is the sound of the semi circular lens cover lips slapping eacheother when shaken vigorously like a martini. Since it requires a few power cycles / openings and closes to loosen up then rattle, the owner reasonable assumes their new camcorder is defective then call Canon Tech Support to cuss while driving back to BestBuy for a refund.

When using the USB cable, our model still demands power before interfacing with the PC over the cable regardless of how well charged the battery is. The power brick isn’t annoying or oversized by anyone’s standard and this is mentioned just as point of note and doesn’t seem worth complaining about.

Everything else still redeems it for a five star rating, after our first two weeks with it, it still impresses this house of budding photographers and is giving us more reasons to keep our Nikons in their drawers.

Can I give it 6 stars?
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m blown away by this camera. It sounded pretty good in print, but it has exceeded my expectations. I’ve had it a little over a week. It just so happens that I have had a university commencement and a grandchild’s first solid food that I wanted on film–not to mention a pre-commencement barbecue, and “playing around” time.

The camera feels good in my hand. It’s not too large to fit in a purse, but not that small that you could accidentally touch the wrong button. The controls are logically placed and labeled and you could start shooting w/o reading the manual. The menus and functions (where they are and how to set them) are also logical, but do require a little familiarization with locations and terms (cine mode, AGC limit, AiAF frames) so you do need to read the manual (more on that below). There are a lot of options and choices but, while you’re deciding, the preset defaults work great.

When my battery finally charged, I had nothing to shoot. I was in the middle of a tropical downpour, so I couldn’t go anywhere. I stood in my porch and filmed the rain falling on the pool using all the default settings. The results were gorgeous even though the sky was a deep gray and there was little light. The camera maintained the “mood” lighting conditions but every part of the scene was recorded clearly. The soundtrack was clear and sharp and sounded like one of those meditation/white noise tapes that have rain, wind, and thunder.

The next day, we had the barbecue for my daughter’s friends and some of their parents in town for the graduation. The first part was bright and sunny, the second part rainy. I shot outdoors and the camera adjusted beautifully from bright sun to overcast and back again. No over or under exposure; I only had to hold it and it did the rest. Since we couldn’t trust the weather, I had arranged to eat indoors. The indoor shots were very surprising to someone who is used to shooting with a DSLR camera. I didn’t have to think about lighting or white balance at all. The camera adjusted to mixed lighting conditions. It adjusted automatically (and did an incredible job) on back-lit captures (no faces in shadows). I have no idea how–I had “face detection” turned off since there were so many people. It picked up sound clearly, even the baby hiccupping and background conversations. It all sounded less “noisy” on playback than it did in person.

The least ideal shooting conditions I’ve ever experienced where at the graduation in a sports arena. None of the photos taken with my regular DSLR could be rescued, even though I shot in RAW. It was too dark, and unevenly lit, and the lights were dimmed and colored for the most part and too high up to do much good. It didn’t help that all the gowns were black. Only the stage was well lit. The movie, however, came out pretty good. I am able to clearly make out my daughter in the crowd (the zoom responds quickly and smoothly and so does the auto focus), in the march, I can read the banner of her division and make out the colors of the different schools. Of all the people in my group who were taking movies, mine are the only useful ones and now I have to make copies for everybody. There is no detail in the deeper shadows, but I was able to capture detail from the upper third of bleachers all the way to the students sitting on the court well enough to identify faces. I didn’t think to use the photo option of the camera since I was depending on my usual camera. I might have captured some good still shots.

I was worried when I read some reviews that emphasized that quality is degraded in low light situations. No medium can capture the full spectrum and I prefer that my camera handle bright and normally lit situations well since that is where my subjects are more likely to be. Even so, this camera did amazingly well in a situation in which my subject was dimly and unevenly lit and, even in a very strange lighting mix, it kept skin colors pretty normal. There is an optional light you can purchase that attaches to the camera, but I doubt I would get much use out of it (or be permitted to use it in public events such as a graduation).

Image stabilization is my new best friend, and I’m getting the hang of “face detection.” I loved the way the two options worked when filming my grandson eating. The movie came out adorable (of course!), the color balance (again) was perfect in mixed lighting conditions; the audio captured every slurp and comment; the image was steady even though it was hand-held (and I was talking and laughing as I filmed) and the camera knew to focus on the baby’s face, not on my daughter’s hand going back and forth.

I’m still experimenting with options. I still haven’t decided whether I will need flash memory (32 GB is quite a bit) and, if so, when to use each one. The movies look and sound great on my HDTV with a “mini” HDMI cable (not included in the box).The still photos I’ve taken look great and haven’t required post processing. Since I am used to RAW workflow, I will probably use stills only as a backup. But it’s one tremendous backup from what I have seen and I was happy to see the histogram display.

All in all, I VERY HIGHLY recommend this camera.

There are some things I would like to criticize, but they are not related to the performance of the camera:

1. The batteries don’t last very long and shooting while watching how your “remaining time” counter dwindles is no fun. When you order your camera, order at least one (preferably two) extra batteries.

2. This is a biggie. The camera does not come with a battery charger. You are supposed to recharge your battery by plugging your camera to the wall. Not only does that stop your shooting right there, but you are risking your camera to power spikes or surges whether at home or traveling. I’d rather risk a charger and keep the camera safe. This is another thing to order at the same time you order the camera.

3. Minor inconvenience. The manual is in 3 languages. The sum of the 3 sections makes for a manual 3/4″ thick. Not exactly something you can tuck in a small camera bag pocket. I would have preferred to receive three 1/4″ manuals. Other than the size, however, it’s one of the better manuals I’ve seen.

Wow!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For those of us who started shooting video with the old 1/2″ open reel systems in the early 70′s, this was worth waiting for. Wow!

Rich Moore. Sacramento, Ca.

Very good camera as well as camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use this camera to produce YouTube videos. I use them to promote books that I have written. This camera does a very good job. It allows you to attach an external mic, which is very important for the lav mic that I use. You can also buy cannon attachments that fit to the top of the camera and allow them more direct access to the camera than other third party add-ons. It is also a very advanced digital camera. I am quite happy using it in place of my digital camera when I take it outside.

Exceptional camcorder for amateur and home video use; powerful and flexible enough for semi-professional productions
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Canon folks have really outdone themselves with their latest, top-of-the-line, HD flash memory camcorder. It’s about the size of a Coke can, and fits easily in the hand, but it performs at a very high level. The images it makes are really quite lovely, thanks to the high quality 10x telephoto lens, the unprecedented in this class 1/2.6in., 8.59 megapixel sensor, and Canon’s very powerful image processor. Whether played directly on an HD television, using a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable (like this one that I have), or converted for editing using Roxio Toast 10 Titanium or Final Cut Express 4 (for Mac users), the images it produces (at 1080i) are really quite nuanced and lovely. What makes this even more handy is that it can also take quite impressive 8 megapixel still photos, which means you can finally leave the camera at home and bring only one recording device.

This is a very nice step up from the previous “generation” Vixia camcorders. I have the HF10 and I love it – it makes beautiful video, allows me a great deal of flexibility with my image capture (shutter speed, focus, aperture, etc.) – but what Canon added with the HFS10 are several new features that certainly make it more convenient for amateur and home-video users, but that also make it even more usable for independent and professional work. Altogether, this is a very fine dual function prosumer camcorder/still camera.

For the home video enthusiasts, there are several powerful new functions that help the HFS10 deliver excellent imagery with very little tweaking. The face recognition software is revolutionary – not only does it detect faces and aim to keep them in focus when you have it turned on, but it also can tell the difference between faces, so that you can follow focus on a particular face in a crowd. Say you are capturing a child in a theme park, the HFS10 will stay on your child as he or she moves close or far away among many others. There is the instant autofocus feature, that helps make images stay constantly in focus rather than, as with older camcorders, look like the camcorder is constantly hunting for the right focus around whatever objects happen to be near the middle of the frame. The real clincher for the home video and amateur user (and what makes this decisively better for casual use than the HF10 and most other camcorders I’ve seen) is that finally with this camcorder you can leave the still camera at home. Most camcorders capture photos, but most don’t capture photos at anywhere near the quality of even an inexpensive digital camera. With this one you can capture high quality photos, with a wide range of adjustments possible, right on the same memory card you capture your video on. I used to carry my Nikon Coolpix in my pocket and my VIXIA HF10 on my shoulder. Now I can leave the camera home, since this gives me comparable quality – especially given the superior lens – and I can capture then shoot as I please, no reaching into the pocket to switch gears.

For the semi-professional or more advanced user, the noticeable improvements include the bigger lens (if you look at this carefully you’ll see that roughly the front half of the camcorder is devoted to the 10x telephoto lens), the 1/2.6″ sensor, the ability to shoot at a very high 24Mbps quality (which appears to me to eliminate the jolty look that I occasionally detected on my HF10 when I moved the camcorder quickly while shooting), and of course the 24p recording and “Cinema Mode” (that makes automatic adjustments to give a film-style contrast and range). The microphone is better on this one than the HF10, especially due to a greater separation between left and right inputs that gives a more genuine stereo recording capacity. It still allows both a stereo mini-plug external microphone and/or Canon’s proprietary hot shoe mike – which is very handy for reducing noise outdoors and focusing the sound for semi-professional indoors shooting.

All video on this camcorder is captured in the new AVCHD format, which is an HD playback format that allows you to record very high quality footage using a relatively small amount of memory. While you can play it back directly through the camcorder on an HD television, or burn it using Canon’s own dvd burner, if you plan to edit your footage it will need to be converted first (there are a few programs on PCs that will edit AVCHD files directly, but they require high processor speeds and a lot of RAM – since what they are basically doing is converting on the fly). On a Mac, I’ve found the best solutions to be iMovie ’08 or ’09, Final Cut Express 4, or Apple Final Cut Studio 2, which all convert the files into high quality quicktime files that can be edited directly. An alternative solution is to convert the files using the Roxio Toast 10 Titanium, which also gives a high quality output that can then be worked with using whatever editing program you like.

Anyhow, this is an excellent little camcorder that has the convenience of a consumer camcorder but with features that are superior to that of most professional camcorders just a few years ago. It is ideal for vacations and home movies, and would be a nice supplement on professional productions or even as a stand-alone solution for small scale independent documentary or feature filmmaking. I’m very impressed and very happy with this camcorder.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE This camera!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The detail on this camera is FANTASTIC!!! By far the best video camera for a decent price!! We have a newborn baby and use this thing all the time and when we play back videos for family and friends they just can’t believe and how crystal clear the picture is!

First Impression
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I exchanged a Sony HDR 500v for this camcorder after getting a loud hissing sound from the sony. That gave me a chance to actually play with the sony a little bit before returning it. In a few words if you are familiar with manual controls in photography, you’ll love the Vixia (which is my case). If you need something simpler, point-and-shoot-kind-of devise, go with the sony. I’m a professional photographer who does video for fun and I absolutely like the amount of manual controls this camera offers. (The sony didn’t even have a sound level meter that you could turn on! A must if you use a second mic.)

It also has this ‘springy’ on-screen-menu that allows you to change your recording settings in as little as two steps. Very very helpful, again for the person who likes manual controls.

Another feature which I really like is the fact that they placed the remote control sensor on the LCD viewer, which allows you to use the remote control to actually record from any position as long as you have a direct view of the LCD screen. The sony has the remote sensor in the front which forces you to be in front of the camera if you want to activate the recording (almost impossible when you are anywhere but in front of the camera). For example if you mount your camera on a monopod when you need to get a shot over a crowd of people, and your fingers cant reach the record button because it is too high, with the sony is impossible to use the remote to do this because the sensor is in front of the camera even if you have very long arms you still are going to have a hard time making it record. Both Canon and Sony removed the LANC input on these new cameras so there is no way to operate them remotely with wired LANC controls. So in the canon as long as you have the LCD facing you then you can use the remote control to start/stop recording.

And one more little thing which I think is great is the ability to turn the recording light off. (The red light you see in the front of cameras) This is great because some people get uncomfortable when they know they are being recorded. When they think the camera is off they act natural and thus you get better expressions in your video.

Capture every detail…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to go back and look at the videos that we made of our children hitting their milestones (crawling, walking, etc.). As we began to watch, we both realized that the video from our old camera (which was high-end when we bought it) looked terrible! It was shaky, dim, and the sound quality was very poor. This was a wake-up call that helped us realize that even though our old one technically still worked, we really needed a new video camera.

Our children are 2 & 3 now, and I want to get the highest quality video of them that I can. After looking at our old videos, we realized just how fast time flies and how important it is to not only record the birthdays, etc. but to record them just being themselves on ordinary days.

As far as consumer HD video cameras are concerned, I believe that the Canon Vixia HFS10 is the best of the bunch and now that I’ve been using it a while, let me break it down some of the features that really stand out:

Double image stabilizer:

Many cameras have one stabilizing mechanism, this camera has two – it not only compensates for shakiness (i.e. in a car, or too much coffee), it also compensates for the slow rocking that your body does naturally. I cannot stress enough how great this feature works! My wife has a tendency to walk as she’s filming, which typically yields footage that makes me feel a little sea-sick when watching the videos. The double stabilizer made a HUGE DIFFERENCE and really minimized the movement. This made the videos much more enjoyable to watch.

Face Detection:

This is an incredible feature. The camera follows faces within the frame. So, when your child runs up to you or runs from side to side, the camera isn’t hunting-and-pecking to get a focus… it stays with them. Amazingly, this also works for multiple people and the frame as well. The other day I was shooting my kids in their car seats after a baseball game and sure enough the camera picked up and followed both of their faces, even though my son was 3 feet behind my daughter. To check how well it worked, I watched the video later and sure enough, BOTH of them stayed in sharp focus the entire time.

3 second pre-recording:

The camera has a feature that records three seconds of video BEFORE you press record. At first this is hard to grasp until you realize that it’s simply recording all the time when it’s on. Last weekend my wife and I took our kids to a friend’s birthday party and I brought the camera along. When the birthday cake was brought to the little girl’s highchair we all grabbed our cameras to start recording once everyone began singing.

Before any of us had a chance to hit record, the little girl grabbed some cake from the side and shoved it in her mouth. We all hit record as soon as we could, and of course it was too late… but not so! Sure enough, when I played the video back to the little girl’s dad, the camera had caught almost everything! You’ve got to love modern technology!

A note on battery life:

In regards to the other commenter’s opinions regarding battery-life, let me share mine. In my experience, the battery life stated by the instruction manual is accurate. At the highest resolution setting, the manual states that the maximum recording time is 95 minutes but the typical recording time is 60 minutes. From my use, the 60 minutes is dead on. For me, this is plenty of time (and 3 times the battery life I got from my tape-based video camera). Even if I was to record an entire piano recital, it still would cover the entire event.

Let me conclude with what is arguably the most important consideration when choosing a video camera. This is where THIS camera and its high-quality Canon lens really shines:

The picture quality of the videos from this camera are so beautiful, so full of detail that it looks like a moving photograph. You can see the hairs on your children’s head, the texture from their sweater, the grains of sand stuck to their toes, the water drops landing on their face from the sprinklers…

Jaw-dropping.

Canon dominates Sony
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was on the fence between this and the top of the line Sony with 240gb hard drive. This was clearly the better choice. Yes, the Sony can store tons more footage, but I’ll never really need that much space. The benefit of having a solid state memory storage vs. the moving parts of a spinning hard drive is much better. It is faster and is much less likely to break. Best consumer camera I have handled by far. This also has 1080p/30 which the Sony does not. The video snap shot feature is a must as well. The interface is very user friendly and easy to learn very quickly. Just like their photography, Canon came out on top with this.

Quality Camera, Five Stars!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My rating is five stars to start. My only previous experience with digital video is the clips I used to take on my point-and-shoots and a one-week test of the Canon FS100.

This camera is hefty, but not too heavy, and very “cute” (yes, I’m a girl!). Immediately easy to use after charging the battery. It doesn’t show fingerprints right away, but keep a cloth nearby. I first took a video of my house and immediately plugged it in to see the results. My television is not HD, but the results were clear, picturesque, and made me want to go out and do some more filming. The colors popped. Imagine what it would look like with an HD?

During zooming, it took a little time to focus when I zoomed–a second longer than I’d like–but from what I’ve seen with my friends’ lesser quality Panasonics and Sanyos, this focuses ten times quicker than theirs. I would have been seriously frustrated had I not had this Canon.

Oh, taking still photos. I’m not a fan of the combo camera-film. It’s convenient at times, but I have my SLR for that. The photos, though are great quality. I had no complaints about the quality of photo–but still won’t use that feature much since I prefer taking pictures with a real camera.

The software was easy to use and I was able to save the film into a usable video format. I have one in mp4 and another in mpeg4 (same thing?). It worked, and that’s my only concern. As far as battery, I was able to stop and start video taping during a 5-hour day trip, but I definitely needed to plug in the charger as soon as I got home. Serious videographers should get an extra battery. I use a Sandisk flash card, but I *LOVE* the included flash memory. To other buyers of this camera, I wouldn’t rush out to buy a flash card *just yet*. Having 32GB is plenty for the first few days of shooting (in my opinion). I used the flash card for the few pics I took.

Cons? It’s bigger than I would imagine a top quality flash video camera would be.

Outstanding camera for serious videographers!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Since there have been so many long reviews posted already, I will try to keep mine short and sweet. I’ll just highlight some of the things that stand out to me and make a few comments.

Verdict: If you can afford it, probably the best (certainly one of the best) consumer HD video cam on the market today.

Features:

- Outstanding lens

- 8.59-megapixel CMOS image sensor!

- Quality build

- Excellent picture quality

- Good auto-focus system is fast and accurate

- Optical image stabilization

- Reliability and easy transfer of flash based system.

- Decent 32 GB of internal flash memory

- Good menu system is easy to use and understand

- Built-in mic port

- Superb feature set – lots of bells and whistles (serious amateuers rejoice!)

- Near pro-level capabilities and lots of manual control

- Good macro capabilities

- Excellent remote control capabilities (can control from many angles)

Gripes:

– No optical viewfinder (sadly, becoming the norm)

– No separate battery charger included (but more the norm these days, alas)

– No HDMI cable (ditto)

– Expensive (but you get what you pay for)

– Batteries- you will need to carry several

– Must be on A/C power to transfer (but can use SD card as alternative)

Overall, an outstanding camera that is fun to use and yields great results. The latest in a long line of outstanding consumer video cameras from Canon. If you are serious about video, this is your camera. I am giving it 5 stars because, even though it’s not perfect, it’s the best I’ve ever seen.

Serous videographers will love this camera. Five stars!

========================================================

P.S.

My two cents worth – if you are an average joe looking to make family movies, you should still consider the standard def models. They have far more zoom range and are much easier to hand-hold and shoot. They produce great results, there’s lots of low cost and good editing software, their resolution is great for DVD’s, and the tapes are easy to use and store. You really need a tripod with HD cams, and editing is much harder and more difficult. The picture quality on the better std def cameras is excellent, not HD, but plenty good. And you can save a ton of money. I still use my std def cams for lots of family stuff.

Love it, love it, love it!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Although a little pricey it is worth the extra money when considering a Flash Hard drive and memory card slotted device over a typical internal hard drive. The reason is the capability on this camera is second to none regarding over all picture quality. There is a little latency when panning about quickly but the image catches up quickly as well when you stablize your shot/frame. The still images are incredibly surprising in both color and clarity and switching between the two, almost seemless. It has the ability to use a combination of the internal hard drive and the SD memory card slot where you can save your still images to one storage device and your video to the other and visa-versa or everything onto the same storage device. This is an excellent multi-purpose camera and since it is all Flash memory, it’s a snap to upload to your computer for editing/viewing etc. without having a bunch of mini DVDs around. It is palm sized but packs a lot of quality for such a small consumer camera. You will not be disappointed!

Great Video, poor battery
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The videos you shoot are simply awesome. I played video from the camera to a Phillips 42″ 1080P LCD TV and picture is unbelievable. Very crisp, clear and bright colors. It is equal to or possibly a bit better than HD programming over the air.

The pictures shot in the still mode are also very good and I was impressed. Pictures do look like they were shot from a nice digital camera and not from a video camera. Now pictures shot while recording video, have a bit more noise and not as crisp, but are still good.

The flash memory is great. Instant access, no moving parts, which should allow this camera to be trouble-free for many years. Hey, it’s a Canon!

A nice feature is that it has a built-in 1.7X digital tele-converter which does not affect video quality. With the small optical zoom of 10X, the digital tele-converter does give the zooom a little more oomph.

OK, you know it had to come….here are the bad points I found. Besides for battery life, all are very minor:

The manual is big and bulky. If you must include other languages besides English, that’s fine if you need to. But do it with different manuals. To include 3 languages in one book, makes for a quite a thick and cumberson manual for no real reason.

The controls are a bit of a challenge to master for me and the menu takes a little getting used to, but this camera has many capabilities and some nice manual features.

The 10x zoom is a bit small in my opinion, but the tele-converter helps offset this a little.

The worst thing about this camera and what others are also saying, is the mediocre battery life. Expect to pay for another battery, probably one with at least double the juice of the one that is packaged with this camera.

Remember, the format is AVCHD and software that can use this format is still limited, but there are more coming out all the time. Expect to pay another $100 or so for these although Amazon has some great deals if you keep watch. The software included with the HF S10 works, but it’s nothing real special.

Also, make sure your computer requirements are above the minimum for trouble free viewing/editing. I built my computer with an Intel Quad Core 9650, 8GB 1066mhz RAM and a GTX 260 PCI-E Video card with 896MB RAM and I have absolutely no problem of a slowdown or anything else. Also make sure you have plenty of Hard Drive space as AVCHD uses alot of space.

As far as SDHC card, I would advise class 6 or higher. Class 4 will work, but longer write/read times. I learned the hard that not all memory card readers will read SDHC or possibly not over an 8gb card even though you may have an SD slot and it will read other SD cards.

Overall, this is an awesome camera and I have only had it a few days and maybe once I learn the features and how to have it sip the battery life (if it can), I will like it that much better. If you are looking for a great HD Video camera that has a great picture and sound, you need not look further. I have read the reviews of many different cameras and played with a few and have no regrets in getting this one.

ADDITIONAL: I have now had this camera for awhile and the only changes I’d make to my above statement is that battery life is better now that I concentrate on shooting photos only or video only. I was earlier shooting both videos and photos, switching back and forth as well as playing back what was shot. This used the battery up quite quickly. In concentrating in shooting only and not as much playback, battery life is much better. Also, I highly recommend buying the the next size up battery pack (BP-819) as it seems to last twice as long and Amazon has the best deal on it hands down.

Worth the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera is worth every pennny. Combined with PowerDirector 8 Ultra you can make some awesome movies. To make HD or Blu-Ray movies you need a fast software. Very light weight. Great quality camera and video. Rated number one in Consumer Reports Mag.

Awesome Product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great camera, not so good for low light performance, need a very fast machine to edit avchd video.

Canon vs Samsung HD camcorder
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m a huge picture taker and have really been doing more and more video especially HD. I thought it would be great to review this Canon compared to the Samsung I got a year ago Samsung SC-HMX20C 8GB High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom which is almost the same.

First off, the Canon is a bit bulkier looking and not as streamlined like the Samsung. Visually the Samsung is designed much better and nicer. The canon has a lot of buttons and knobs everywhere on the camera where the Samsung has them pretty much on the back of it. Canon has those rubber flip ports to put the AC plug and the HDMI and usb are under a plastic flap on the side under the hand strap. The Samsung has a little door that slides up for the usb and component on the side with the LCD screen but to use the HDMI you have to put the camera on the docking cradle that can also be used for charging and usb/component.

The Canon has an external battery that can be upgraded to an extended output where as the Samsung has a built in battery. The battery lasted longer in the Samsung for recording and also unused storage. Canon takes longer to charge up too.

The lens on the Canon is huge and the auto lens cover is a bit cheap and make a rattle noise when you shake the camera a little. Its probably the cheapest thing on the camera. Holding the camera, the Canon is light weight and feels comfortable where as the Samsung is a bit heavier and the placement of the zoom is a bit more difficult to work. The Samsung seems to be geared for smaller hands where as the Canon fits perfectly in my hands. I did feel that the Canon felt a little cheaper, maybe it is because of the lighter weight?

The canon uses a knob to select video or photo where the Samsung has a button that u press. Canon has an 8mp camera built in and Samsung 4mp but the Canon wins in quality of still photos, they were really good, vibrant and sharp. The Canon comes with 32gb of internal memory where the Samsung is only 8. They both handle 1080 HD but the overall picture quality was better on the Canon. Both have a slot for an additional SD memory card.

Samsung has a great touch screen LCD 2.7 inch and is sharp, the canon also has a 2.7 inch but no touch screen but uses a few buttons and one of those up down left right knob/buttons, bummer that there isn’t a touch screen, so you have to scroll thru menus to select and get around which takes longer. Sharpness of screen on Canon was better but looked a bit blue in color where the Samsung was better tone wise but visibly softer.

Canon has a lot of other features like 24p cinema mode settings and a hot shoe to add accessories like a video light, mic. You can also get converter lenses for it. The Canon also has the capability of taking still snapshots while recording video with no pause, Samsung can’t. The startup of the Canon was a bit faster. The power button on the Canon is a button but its in a weird spot on the top of the camera on the other side of the rest of the buttons where the Samsung has all the buttons in one general area on the back.

The zoom, both optical and digital are better on the Canon. Both have 10x optical, Canon can do 200x digital, Samsung 100x. My favorite part… image stabilization… the Canon wins hands down even at max 200x zoom was solid! I was super impressed that an image stabilizer on a video camera finally works like it should. The Samsung image stabilization is horrible and i mean bad! Even using software to fix the motion didn’t help.

Included in the box for the Canon is manual, software disc, battery, ac adapter, remote, stereo, usb cable and component cable. Samsung – docking cradle, manual, software, ac adapter, remote, usb, component, stereo cables. pretty much the same stuff…no HDMI or neck straps.

My final opinion is that the Canon is a much better camera but at a huge price tag. The Samsung is really good but minor flaws makes it fall short but the price for the Samsung is less than half the price of the Canon so if price is a factor get the Samsung but if you want the best video and features then get the Canon. (Samsung is replacing the HMX20 model soon with a newer version)

Typical of Canon, Their Equipment Just Gets Better and Better
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
First I need to disclose that I am a huge Canon fan, so keep that in mind when reading this review. I love Canon printers, digital cameras, and camcorders. Once in a while I will get a Panasonic digital camera or camcorder, which are also great, but usually its Canon.

This is my fourth Canon camcorder. The first was an ancient Hi-8, the second was an older DV-tape camera, the third was the HG10 hard-drive HD Camcorder. I also have an older Panasonic hard drive camcorder (640×480).

I also should note that I am not a digital video guru and not suited to telling the minute differences in video quality between different camcorders of the same resolution. I’m just your average early adopter.

I have to shoot much more video and photos to get a better sense of the A/V quality, but here are my first impressions…I will add more later.

In my early tests, the video on the default setting (1080i), is as good or better than the HG10, as is the sound. It is extremely easy to operate, especially if you have previous experience with digital cameras and camcorders.

Controls and menus are well-placed, except for perhaps the zoom switch, which is difficult to operate while holding the camera because of its tiny size (its slightly smaller than the HG10, but feels even smaller).

Like any high-resolution digital camcorder, it takes a very steady hand to work the HFS10 without a tripod, even with stabilization on. This is a problem for me as I have shaky hands.

What really interests me in this camera is the features. First off, I love that I finally have a camcorder which shoots on on SD Cards – its fantastic. It even recorded video fine on my non-standard 150x 4GB SD card, which some devices don’t support. Of course, you are free to shoot on the built-in memory as well, but you will need a cable to get that out of the camera.

But what really blew my mind is when I took my SD card out of the camera and put it into my 1080p Panasonic Viera HDTV – it identified and played back the video (and photos) instantly and beautifully in 1080i! YES!

I was really surprised this worked, as the TV is Panasonic, this is a VERY new feature, and it didn’t like the AVC files from my Canon HG10 for some reason.

Previously, in order to play back HG10 video in HD on my HDTV, I would either need to hook the camera up to the set, or burn a special AVC-on-DVD disc with special software, and play it back on my PS3, which I never bothered doing.

The test 8MP photos from this camcorder were not as good as the same shots taken with my 8MP Canon & Panasonic digital cameras. The flash shutter speed seemed a little slow and I got some flash/blur (again I have shaky hands – I will do more testing). However, well lit scenes were of perfectly good digital camera quality.

I was, like other reviewers, very disappointed that the camera did not come with the special HDMI cable. I used the component-out for testing, which worked fine, except no digital audio obviously.

The small black chassis is very well engineered and definitely shows a step up in workmanship from the HG10. Menus also seemed faster, easier to navigate, and easier to understand than the HG10.

The unit has a pop-up flash that is quite powerful despite my flash/blur issue. The slide-out mini accessory shoe is appreciated over the HG10′s pop-out-and-lose shoe panel (the new shoe also seems to have connectors of some sort).

Speaking of pop-off-and lose, this camcorder has an automatic lens cover like a point-and-shoot digital camera, which I just love. I hate lens caps with a passion – they’re awkward and you tend to leave the lens exposed much more than with an auto (and as a result wind up having to clean the lens more often).

Like the HG10, this unit has a 10x zoom. This is not an issue for me as trying hold a camcorder still at even moderate zoom is a challenge.

I will post more info after I have had a day or two with the camcorder.

Between the still camera features, SD card utilization, Panasonic Viera playback support, and automatic lens cover, this camcorder is already a winner in my book, and very typical of Canon’s commitment to improving its products every release.

UPDATE

I just noticed that this camcorder does not have an electronic viewfinder, only the LCD panel. Not that big a deal to me but worth noting. Especially since it takes great stills, it would be nice to be able to pop off a still without opening the LCD.

I have tested the video files with Pinnacle Studio Plus 11, which is the software I use for editing AVCHD files – was able to edit, add effects, and convert to DiVx, no problems.

great quality
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
works great but needs light to produce a great picture. once camera pans the hd quality is significantly compromised. I consider it top in its class