Canon FS21 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Internal Memory & 48x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL

First off, let's be clear, this is a standard definition camera. Even thought Cannon's high-definition camcorders (HF) series are within about $100 of the price of this camera, I decided to stay with standard definition (for now) for the following reasons:

1. I wanted ease of transfer and an easy ability to edit and burn DVD's of my videos without having to upgrade my whole set up to handle the HD recording format.

2. Video editing times for HD video are ridiculously, painflully long. I have a quad core with 8 GB of ram and the time to compile a video project was crazy. I simply think the HD video has outpaced current home computing power. Maybe in another couple years computers will catch up.

3. Most of the software that I've tried that have the capability of editing and burning hi-def video are very unstable. Again, I just think that the home editing technology hasn't caught up withthe video technology yet. there seems to be a lot of compatibility issues with the MPEG4-AVC / H.264 high definition media format.

So I decided to stick with a standard definition camera (for now). I chose this camera because:

1. Dual flash drive memory format. I'm so sick of dealing with direct to DVD or DV video cameras, and all of the issues of transfering and converting that information to the computer. I wanted something that got recorded directly to solid state...no more read errors or disc errors. This fits the bill wonderfully! Video gets recorded directly to camera's internal memory, plug it into the computer and it downloads quickly and painlessly to and MPEG format. No more dealing with .VOB DVD files! Two thumbs up here.

2. Cannon optical zoom. Very good zoom. Maintains quality throughout the zoom range. Prior to this camera, the most zoom I ever had in a cam corder was 10 time optical. Having this much zoom is a big bonus.

3. Built in light and mike jack. Although the built in video light isn't tremendously powerful, it is better than no light at all. And I love the external mike jack. I can record performaces of friends bands with an audio line out directly from the PA console. Makes for super sound quality in otherwise difficult audio conditions. Most cameras at this price point don't have either option.

4. Cannon name. I've always gone back and forth between Cannon, Nikon, and Panasonic for camera/video products. Althought this is a generalization, Cannon always seems to have the most accurate colors. Especially in the blues...Cannon seems to have the "bluest" blues and the competitors always seem to have a purplish tint to their blues.

My experience has been good. I confess I have been a bit disappointed with the video quality, but i have to keep reminding myself this is a standard definition camera. It looks as good if not slightly better than my past video cameras. I was hoping the video quality would be significantly better, but perhaps that was just an unrealistic expectation on my part.

I've had no problems with the included softare. Everything installed easy as pie and began downloading test videos without any error. The resulting files downloaded to the computer are MPeg files, which are able to be played by a host of media players (Windows Media Player, Real Player, VLC Media player, etc.) as well as the bundled software. I e-mailed some files to family and they were able to open in WMP by double clicking on the attachment. I'm so happy with the ease of downloading, sharing, and editing files that I wish I bought a camera like this years ago.

I will say that the included video editing software is OK, but if you want to do anything other than the most basic trimming and joining of clips for burning to a DVD, you will need third party software. I could get by with what's included, by as I've gotten better and more practice at creating and editing home movies, I'm enjoying a lot of the flashy feature of my third party video editing software. But for basic DVD creation, the software is adequate.

Finally, the camera is very compact and lightweight. No more big camera bags to lug around. I can fit this in my jacket pocket. Overall very happy with this camrea. I was looking for something that was much more user friendly than my past error-riddled cameras, and I found it.

I've been very disappointed with my Canon FS21. The drivers are still not up on their web site and I have not been able to find any articles. Specifically, it has just been a huge chore to download the video files (pictures work just fine) to my Vista machine. I do some IT work, so I set up an XP machine and thought I'd be done with it, but it is still a hassle.

Working with the software is most of my problem. There are several editing programs (video and audio) that came with the camcorder. That means I keep having to try the various programs when I tweak something to try to get it to work. I really with there was one program and then more importantly some help on the Canon (or the software vendor's) web site.

The picture for the videos is not as good as I expected either. I knew that its weakness was in low light from other reviews, but it is pretty unusable if it is even kind of dark (there is a little light, but it isn't enough to overcome the weaknesses). Also, it is just kind of pixelated in its highest def. I bought a Canon FS21 in December for $300 less that is just a better camcorder.

Amazon was great, I needed it right away and paid for the improved shipping and it came when it was supposed to.

My final complaint is that I went to the Canon web site and made a review just like this one (back then I gave it 2 stars overall) and they took it down. I promise I didn't swear or anything! That disappointed me a lot because I had used their site to choose it and I guess now I know why I ended up bummed about my purchase and their support of it.

Buy Canon FS21 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Internal Memory & 48x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL Now

Bought this Canon FS21 over a year ago to make videos from my deer blind. Bought it because of the Consumer Reports ratings (#1). Read reviews on web and most stated difficulties transfering videos to home computers. I should have paid attention to the reviews on editing videos and transfering to home computer. To this day, have not been able to achieve either. The software that comes with the camera is a total piece of @@@@@. Again, I should have paid more attention to the reviews. Totaly dissatisfied with this camera and feel really stupid for buying it.

Read Best Reviews of Canon FS21 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder w/16GB Internal Memory & 48x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL Here

I got this camera in an emergency for my disney family vacation. Not sure until i recieved this puppy. Once I saw it out of the box. I was impressed with size and ease of use. video quality is good. but photo quality is not that great unless u have a very good light. all in acceptable. I did not do a big research yet with software and all.But copied all the vidoes to my sdhc card and downloaded to usb drive and uploaded to youtube with no problem.

I hope this helps

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I have used the Canon FS21 to record several soccer matches and a family gathering since I purchased it several weeks ago. I have not been disappointed with any aspect of this camera. The manual was quickly read, and if I were to be honest with myself I would have to admit that there are features on this camera that I have not yet used or understand. However, that has not prevented me from creating several very satisfactory DVDs of high school soccer tournaments.