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
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.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. 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 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)
Batteriesyou 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!
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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.
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