Fujifilm Finepix J38 12MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD

I was looking for a camera to replace my Canon G9. I love Canon products, and my G9 has served me well. However, I mainly shoot with a big DSLR, and use the G9 only occasionally for quick snapshots. I haven't really taken advantage of its many features in a long time, so I'd rather pass it along to someone who can get better use out of it. I wanted something inexpensive for myself, that would fit in my pocket, start up quickly, focus accurately and produce sharp images with fairly correct white balance, with little (if any) input from me. Also wanted something that would shoot a quick, basic video on occasion. This may not sound like a lot, but it's hard to find cameras in this price range that will do all of that.

The J38 fits the bill perfectly. It is a beautiful little device, seems to be built rather well and starts up in just a second. Focus is faster in low light than my G9, and while the images might be a little noisier in low light, they're still clear enough to work with happily up to 8x10. Indoor shots turn out beautifully, with good white balance and no magenta or cyan color casts. It does seem to have a mind of its' own while taking macro shots in low light, but I have yet to see a $100 point-and-shoot that does this flawlessly anyway. In daylight, macro shots are much easier! Also, it doesn't ALWAYS get the white balance right, but this is a common issue with digital cameras across the board. Simply metering off a lighter object (when possible) seems to solve this.

Video quality isn't on par with say, the new Sony CyberShot cameras, but they also cost $50-$100 more. For the price, I wasn't expecting much as far as video is concerned. The size is small, at 640x480, but it's smooth and sharp, with clear (mono) sound. I don't need more than this though, so I am happy.

The menus took some getting used to, especially after using Canons for years. Canon is known for their easy menu navigation. The J38's menu system could use some tweaking, but it works! The buttons on the outside of the camera are tiny, so this might not be a great camera for bigger hands. (Even my long nails get in the way). However, everything feels sturdy and nicely finished.

If you are looking for a sleek, simple digital camera that gives great results, this may just be the camera for you. Yes, it has some drawbacks, but overall it's an excellent camera for the money.

After owning this camera for a month, this is my second and final review of this camera. Of course, this camera has a lot of options. Not to mention, the 2.7 inch screen is pretty big for this size camera. Some bigger cameras do not have as big of a screen. It has a great picture when focusing. The picture is not as vivid as other cameras, but it is still takes sharp photos.

Features One feature I noticed is taken photos can be zoomed in on. After taking a picture, press the zoom button and it will zoom in on the picture. The photo can also be looked at in 360 degree angle. Also, the software can allow users to improve images of uploaded photos. This feature is called "Auto Adjust". For example, I took a few pictures, which were kind of dark. Well, clicking on "Auto Adjust" will show the taken image and an improved image. The improve image will be a little lighter and clearer than the original.

Shooting Options The shooting options are practically idiot proof. The SR Auto does everything for the user. The camera adjusts by which type of scene the user is in. Now, I did notice the SR Auto is not as effective in darker settings. Therefore, I decided to put the camera on Auto in a pitch black setting. I pressed the shutter and had a clear and bright picture, as if I took the pictures with lights on. This is no lie. This is due to the superb flash of the camera.

The face detection is good. I tested it. If the camera sees a face, it will put a green square around the face. Heck, it will even put one around a face on a TV screen.

Another cool shooting option is the automatic shooting mode. Just press down on the clock icon on the bottom of the menu button. Choose the duration of when you want the picture taken. It will be either 10 seconds or 2 seconds. Then, press the shutter lightly and the camera will countdown and take and automatic picture of a subject. This can only be done once. Therefore, if you want to take another automatic picture, just repeat the steps.

Battery Life The battery life is great for this camera, as well. The battery life indicator shows three bars as fully charged. At a football game, I was continuously taking pictures and turning the camera on and off. I left the football game with two bars left. That was pretty good. I cannot say that about the Kodak camera, which I previously had.

Movie Mode The videos on the Movie Mode show very clear. Not to mention, the audio is very good on playback, as well. Some reviewers on this website and others have said the camera cannot zoom, while recording videos. Well, it can zoom, but not optical. If you zoom in from afar on the optical zoom, the picture will be pixeled up. Therefore, it is only good for zooming in on items or people that are closer.

Downloading videos For those who are planning to download videos onto YouTube, be warned! It is not easy. I am only speaking for someone who owns a PC. With this camera, I found by using Internet Explorer, YouTube would only accept a small amount of shooting time from this camera, which is usually two minutes and under. If the user makes a video, which was longer, an unloading error would come on. This was weird. I tried to find solutions to this problem. I actually saw on YouTube, an internet program called Mozilla Firefox was supposed to be the solution, so I downloaded it.

Now, YouTube downloads my videos with extended time. It is weird, but I guess FireFox is more compatible with the FujiFilm format. Despite this, the videos do take a lot of time to download, though. For this camera, it takes YouTube 30 minutes to download a 10 minute video. That is craaaazy! I got to find out how to get a faster way of downloading. Disregard if you are not a YouTube user. The videos will still show on the software, which it came with. That takes virtually no time. The other two previously purchased cameras I had did not have this problem. Everything uploaded rather quickly.

The verdict After having this camera for over a month, I can honestly say this is a good buy. Not to mention, the price is continuoulsy going down on this camera. With all the features this camera has, a buyer will feel as if they have a steal of a camera.

Buy Fujifilm Finepix J38 12MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD Now

I unpacked this awesome little camera a few hours ago, and have been putting it through some paces. Overall, I'm impressed.

I'll start with the good. The portability is top-notch. To give perspective, its about a 1/3" shorter and twice as thick as my classic iPod, and roughly the same, dainty weight. The screen, while beautiful, will absorb fingerprints, so a cleansing cloth is a must if you're nitpicky. There are a grand total of eleven buttons on the camera, all of them about as ergonomically pleasing as you can get with a rectangle.

Now on still shots, it's been my experience that Fuji products tend to jack up the ISO on Auto mode. The J38 is no different. This will result in some noise, in any camera, but unless you go looking for it, there's no real glaring problem here. The pictures will look fine if you feel like having them printed out, and don't go over them with a magnifying lens. The Scene Recognition Auto a setting that decides what the shot should be taken as is good in theory but so far has been iffy indoors. I've gotten a few unwanted flashes with my pictures that I considered well lit.

Luckily, for all those snobs who want the finest Finepix, the manual mode is pretty deep, considering the point-and-shoot type of camera this is. You can change the ISO (100 will produce excellent photos in decent light), the exp. compensation, and the White Balance, along with turning the face recognition on or off. The results of tinkering will usually be obvious from the screen, so this will help ease newbies into exploring the camera's true capabilities. (A note: the macro mode is adequate but not mindblowing, and there is no super-macro mode)

Oh yeah, the screen. You're stuck with it, because there's no viewfinder to be found on this model, but for me that's a moot point. This type of camera is the kind you hold out in front of you and snap a picture. But the screen's only real drawback is the speed as which it "draws" your picture to be. There's just a hint of lag, nothing bad at all, but it will go blurry with fast movement, and at the moment I'm not sure if this affects the focus. I doubt it would.

Video is more than I was expecting. The quality is a smidge above your average professional Youtube video, and stays in pretty good focus as you move. I have a feeling really fast movement might become a blur, but so far it's been on the ball with recording. Oh, while the zoom doesn't work while recording (bummer), the built-in microphone seemed to pick up things rather well. I fussed with the buttons while recording, and the clicks and taps on the camera body were picked up a little too good: keep a firm, unmoving grip and you should be good to go.

Internal memory is severely lacking. Like, three 12MP pictures and it's full. Be sure to pick up a decent SD card, and you won't have any problems. My 2-gig card can hold over six hundred pictures, or over thirty minutes of footage, and the higher memory SDs are pretty cheap.

I'm totally happy with my purchase. For 100 dollars, I got a camera that needs considerably less of a babying through than my others. That said, it will take a degree of time for a newbie to get the best pictures out of the camera, so an optimistic outlook is needed. For those who are in a hurry to snap something good, or the semi-veteran who doesn't feel like lugging around his bigger camera, this is a great point-and-shoot with some (eventually) foolproof features.

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I decided to purchase this camera at the last minute because I was going on a trip. I am totally pleased with my purchase! The camera is small and very portable! It takes great pictures in any light and is easy to operate! I didn't look at the directions once to set up or use the camera. I charged the battery once I got it, and so far so good! I recommend this camera for the budget consumer looking for a good camera for the price.

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I don't want to take my Nikon D-40 out all the time. I tried the Nikon S-230 (same price and size) and took it back next day. All I ask out of a $100 or so camera is that it at least be as good as my cell phone. Got this one a good old Wal Mart. Compared the same pictures I took quickly around the house with the little Nikon and this was noticeably better and I did not have the anti-shake option on.

The menu system on this is the most user friendly of anything I tried. I have not tried the video option nor care as I have a small HD camera.

Canon PowerShot D20 Shock & Waterproof GPS Digital Camera with 32GB Card + Case + Battery + Tri

Admittedly, our family is rough on cameras. It's the main reason we purchased this camera because of the reviews stating its durability, shock resistance, and ability to stand up to beach use.

Our first use in Hawaii on the beach left us worried, though. We used it to take pictures underwater and it worked fine. However, after we turned it off and back on again, the screen was fogged up and stuck in underwater mode none of the menu buttons would work. It wasn't until two days later when we tried taking more photos, that the menu worked again and the screen was clear.

This camera doesn't take very sharp photos and action shots must be timed perfectly. We've used other Canon cameras in the past and have been very satisfied, but this one didn't measure up to our expectations.

The package of items it comes with are okay.

I have probably spent 20 hours searching the internet for the best value on Waterproof and dustproof camera's. After selecting the Cannon D20 I was impressed with how well it filmed both in and out of water while snorkling in the Red Sea! The photo mode is good and takes great pictures if your just trying to capture basic home use photo's. If you are looking for more features, better zoom and smaller size you better stick with another camera and just avoid the water. Overall, great buy. seller was quick and kit was as described!

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It's a great camera. We took it to Grand Cayman and it took great underwater pictures.

The backup battery is a little weak.

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Bought this camera for a 2 week honeymoon to Mexico and it is amazing. Not having to worry about a camera getting too hot in the sun or sand on the lens is the first thing that was great. But the underwater photos.....amazing. First few days I took underwater photos in the pool only and the pictures were clear and colors very vibrant. Then I took it on a 4 hour snorkeling excursion and it performed the same. The pictures are amazing. Friends thought I took pictures thru a fish tank thats how clear they were. this camera allowed me to capture every moment I wanted of the honeymoon. And the outdoor or indoor photos also come out great. I went back and forth before purchasing between several cameras including the panasonic lumix ts3/ts4 and I am thrilled I stuck with a cannon. I'm a cannon user for life.

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camera is good, but Battery charger is missing in the kit.Canon PowerShot D20 Shock & Waterproof GPS Digital Camera with 32GB Card + Case + Battery + Tripod + Float Strap + Accessory Kit

JVC GR-SXM740U Super VHS-C Camcorder with 3.5 LCD

The sound on this camcorder is good. My 12 year old son was able

to make a very understandable commentary on his video shoot.

The video is very good, even on standard "SP" mode-not S-VHS.

I was able to use zoom to follow a cat outdoors at 30+ feet and

on playback on a 48" RPTV I could see each of his whiskers

very clearly. The controls are not in the most ideal position.

The camera has good balance. I feel this a good family use

camera with a lot of features to keep it up to date.

Hi,

We dropped ours and would like to purchase a broken one so hopefully we can repair ours. If you have a JVC GR-SXM740U Super VHS-C Camcorder with 3.5 LCD by JVC that you would like to sell cheap please contact me. Thanks,

cricketbags@hotmail.com

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Carl DC-100 Personal Rotary Trimmer with Swing Out Ruler Arm.

I have purchased Carl brand trimmers for years. I do a lot of scrapbooking and this is the only trimmer that has stood the test of time. I had to get a new one only because I carelessly left it on the floor when it fell and it ended up under the chair leg when I sat down. Bummer!

So, when I was searching for another one, I came across this listing that stated that this one had a "swing out ruler arm." My only complaint with my last one is that it didn't have one of these. Well, much to my dismay, the write-up given on this listing is for a different model of Carl trimmer. THE DC-100 DOES NOT HAVE A SWING-OUT RULER ARM. I still gave the item 4 stars because I do love this trimmer, and I did keep it. I'm just bummed that Carl hasn't made this trimmer with a swing-out ruler.

I hope others read this before buying, since you will not get what the item title and description states. (BTW...this company has the same write-up on their website for this trimmer.)

Had this for awhile, but the design has one fatal flaw that I can't understand: The blue thing that holds the cutting blade has this plastic lever that constantly bangs into the paper you are trying to cut, bending/ruining your paper and stubbing your finger painfully as the cutting action comes to a complete stop because this blade lever thing keeps hitting the edge of your paper. Why this obnoxious design flaw wasn't caught up front is inexcuseable.

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I just ordered a new cutter to replace one that broke (it was dropped onto a hard floor). I've had it for a few years and it has worked very well for school projects and trimming photos. I think the confusion over the "swing arm" title stems from the design of other cutters where the arm is only hinged on one end and is able to swing up and out of the way completely. I have an older cutter (different brand) that does this. It allows a larger piece of paper to be placed on the base and partially cut. I have been satisfied with the Carl DC 100 for almost all my projects.

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I'm confused about another reviewer's comment about no "swing out arm." I still use the DC-100 model that I received in 2004, and ordered another for a co-worker in 2008. The length of my ruler does lift up for me to place my paper, then sets back down. A different co-worker just used mine and has asked me to order one for him becuase he liked it so much. If this listing is in fact for the DC-100, I would expect to receive the very same cutter.

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The quality and cut of the blades is excellent. The convenience of this trimmer's small size is greatly appreciated. The only thing I would recommend is a little sturdier design. I cracked mine when it fell off my desk; however, a little packaging tape fixed the issue and I was back in business. Overall great trimmer!

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RCA CC9370 AutoShot Compact Digital Camcorder

I've really just started out with this camera, so my rating at the moment is based on the ease of use. It's incredibly easy to get up and running in no time at all. All the controls are easy to reach and understand, and the video quality is very good. The only problems I've had was the first time I attempted to hook it up to my computer through the FireWire. It took Windows ME a long time to "install" the camera, but once it did, it took next to nothing to download the video in Windows Moviemaker. I'll be exploring other software soon. I'll update this review when I'm more familiar with the camera, but for beginners like me, I think this is a great choice.

I recently purchased this camcorder for my wife, who will be taking it back to Canada when she visits her parents for a month. We've been trying it out, and have been extremely impressed by the ease of use, not to mention the excellent video/audio quality. The menu system is easy to get used to however, if you're anything like me, you'll probably be fumbling with it to get to the effects you wish to use it doesn't seem that there is any way to switch between them quickly. As well, the digital still (photoshot) function of this camcorder is wonderful who needs a digital camera? (Okay, so that comment will probably get me into some hot water).

The only gripe about this camcorder is that it is next to impossible to find extra/replacement batteries as the included battery only lasts for one hour (if that...), I decided to pick up an extended life battery unfortunately, the RCA.... website did not have anything listed! However, I did find one site ...which does carry both the standard and extended life battery, although you pay a premium for both of them (I expect that this will change, as this camcorder is a great product).

Great zoom functions, too. I love it!

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It is easy to pay a lot more for a comcorder but hard to see why you would want to. This little camcorder is light and compact, has controls that fall readily to hand, and has every feature I can imagine the general user wanting. The LCD viewfinder is bright and startlingly clear, and the image recorded is excellent -light years beyond older VCR images.

It is best to read the instruction book carefully before getting started. A half-hour or so spent doing so will make everytihing else simplicity itself. One thing it took me a little while to figure out is that the important automatic features (focus, aperture, image stabilization) can all be made to work in the "Manual" mode, and the handy automatic use of random transitional effects between scenes (fade in out, etc) works ONLY in the Manual mode.

Everything else is pretty intuitive. Have only had this item a month or so, so can't speak to reliabilty, but so far am more than pleased with this camcorder.

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As stated in an earlier review, you will have virtually no luck finding batteries under the RCA listing. However this camera is able to use all batteries compatible with the JVC DVL500U. (I believe that this camera is actually built by them.)

Haven't had it long enough to make any detailed comments. So far so good. I have been succesful transferring files/videos via 1394 to a PC running Sonic Fusion Video Factory. However, I did not have success using Ulead Video Studio that wasa bundled with my 1394 I/O card. (I believe that this is a problem with the Ulead software, not the camera however.)

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I bought this camera yesterday and everything with this camera is great. Considering price and feature. I haven't found anything I really don't like. I haven't tried to connect to my PC or anything but feel confident that it should go smoothly. My only complaint is finding a battery, like many other people. I final found a few sites but the best place is Radio Shack. Just ask for a 7.2v li-ion. They run around ...for a 3 hr battery. JVC batteries work as well.

Samsung CCTV SOD-14C Color 2 Way Water Resistant Audio Camera

This camera was bought to add to my observation system. It is a good camera for the price. The quality is commensurate with the price and it is useful in keeping track of my property.

Supereyes B003+ 2.0MP 0.1~300X Handheld USB Digital Microscope Endoscope Loupe Otoscope Magnifier w

In reading about this product before purchase, it was not entirely clear whether it had a continuous zoom capablity. The answer is Yes, it does have continuously variable magnification, although not in the same manner as the zoom on a digital camera. By simply turning the focus knob, one can adjust the focal distance from infinity to approximately 6 millimeters. At the infinity focus setting, the field of view is roughly the same as a simple hand-held digital camera, and the image across the room is fairly good. As you rotate the focus barrel, the field of view continuously decreases as does the focal distance. You can stop at any point in the rotation and find the focus point for that particular setting. At the opposite end of the focus rotation, the focal distance is roughly 6mm (1/4")and maximum magnification is reached. The effective magnification you get is dependent on the size of computer screen you have. At maximum magnification, a 1.00 millimeter gradation (included with the unit as a calibration tool) measured about 150 mm on a laptop screen, for a magnification factor of 150X. The same image on a 23" monitor would be pretty close to the stated 300X magnification capability.

As with all microscopes, the depth of focus gets smaller as the magnification increases. At maximum magnification, the depth of focus is extremely shallow, which means it is very touchy to focus the microscope (and stay in focus). The included tripod stand is not really satisfactory at high mag. since there is no focus knob, just a gripper through which you must slide the body to adjust focus. The plastic tripod is too flexible to provide a repeatable height as you try to make tiny adjustments to the microscope position. I've seen a knob-adjustable stand on EBay which was purpose-built for the Super-eyes Digital microscopes, but I have not yet tried it out to see how stable it is. It is reasonably priced, so I'll probably order one to try it out. At lower magnifications, the tripod stand is fairly OK, such as taking a macro photo of a stamp, or looking at a bug.

The software that comes with the microscope is OK, but very basic and not particularly intuitive. I'm still playing with it to understand its capabilities, but it does at least have a rudimentary on-screen measurement capability, and comes with a little plastic strip with a calibration scale printed on it. Of course, calibration is magnification-dependant, so if you change the mag (focus), you must re-calibrate. I have not yet played with the video capability of the software. The instruction manual is written in pigeon-English and not very useful. It does not even describe how to install the software on your computer (you have to copy over a folder from the disk to your desktop and start Supereyes.exe from that folder.)

There is a thumbwheel illumination controller which is spliced into the USB cable. It works well to control the level of illumination given by the 4 integrated LEDs. The issue with the thumbwheel is that it is located only ~10 inches from where the cable enters the microscope body, so with the rickety lightweight tripod stand, you have to be really careful not to disturb the positioning of the microscope when you want to change the illumination. On the other hand, the camera software has an auto-brightness function, so changing the illumination is not often required.

In the photos of this microscope, the pencil-shaped body looks like metal and it is; apparently anodized aluminum. The unit is very sturdy and the focus barrel moves very smoothly through its range. There is no strain relief for the USB cable where it exits the body, so you will probably want to take care to not bend the cable very often.

The camera sensor is a CMOS chip, not a CCD chip as in most digital cameras, so the color rendition is not quite as clean as your typical digital camera. However, for its intended function, price, and compactness, it serves the purpose well enough. I have read that some other digital microscope manufacturers fudge the actual resolution of the sensor by claiming the extrapolated image size. I do not believe that is the case, here. It appears that the actual sensor resolution is 1600x1200, or 1.9 megapixels, although I have not dug very deeply to verify that.

In summary, it is a nice little microscope with adequate software and a poor stand. If you could buy it with a sturdy knob-adjustable stand, I'd recommend that.

Using it for school projects. Amazing clarity picture. Software was a little tricky. Downloaded newest software and everything works great.

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This thing is a great close up camera.

It has an incredible focus range.

Easy to use without any effort to set it up on my computer.

Like the assortment of attachments.

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I bought DrMeter's microscope but didn't work on my mac.

Therefore, I return the item and bought suspereye's microscope which is absolutely the same product with this.

I was worried.

But! this time, it worked on my mac.

Mac recognized the usb microscope right after I plugged in.

I used photo booth to use the microscope.

You can have a bunch of attachments depends on how you want to use.

I like one I can see inside ear.

Very small like a pen, you can adjust the light as well.

But the software was not recognized by mac.

Actually it is fine because you can used photo booth.

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USB has malfunctioned and no longer properly stays connected. I have only used it moderately for less than 3 months. It's a shame because it was a handy device while it worked.

Panasonic VDR-D210 DVD Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

This is a very nice 'palm'corder. I've put it through its paces the past couple of days. It does use more than just the Panasonic mini-disks . . I'm using Maxell. Their website says it will also use Sony and TDK disks. Of course, you can't play the mini-disk on an outside DVD player until you "finalize" the disk while still in the camera...just like if you were using a regular DVD Recorder. Then it played on both of my DVD players just fine. It pays to take an hour or so and read the book, which was very clear. The movies are clear and bright. I'm particularly looking forward to reducing the hand shakiness on zoom with the OIS. It did not have the capability of using a USB cable to go to a computer, or have a video light, but if I wanted those features, I would have bought the higher-end model. I'm very satisfied. Can now pass down my older 8mm camcorder to one of my children!

This is an awesome camcorder, especially for a first time user. It is very easy to use. The picture quality is awesome. I just got it so I'm still playing around with it. It also takes still pics, which is a good feature if something really cute happens and your camera is not handy, but I try not to waste my disc space on pics since I already have a digital camera. The only thing I do not like about the camcorder is you can't delete pictures or video from the disc once you taken them (like you can with a digital camera)or record over them. Once it's on the dvd it's there for good. Now if there is another dvd like a dvdrw that you can do this on, I don't know. I will look into it.

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This is my first DVD camcorder and I am very pleased with its ease of use and quality of pictures! This is for the basic recording for family, vacations, kids sporting events! Not alot of extra frills on this one, which I find very user freindly; since in the past I've had alot of extra options on my camcorder I never utilized-except accidently!All you do is insert a DVD and push record(I found Sony DVD-R are the best).Its easy to use and you get a quality, clear picture and sound-image stabilization is a must as it eliviates the blurrs from shaking hands. The price is right,its small and compact,easy to use.The screen is also large enough to actually see what you are recording and the buttons are all secure so no accidental recording will take place.

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Sure this camera was good for 4 months and about 12 uses. Then when we used it the last time, the battery died. The camera shut down and we were never able to power it back up again, even plugged directly into the wall itself, bypassing the battery. I called Panasonic and they gave me some verification number and an address to get it fixed, they also said they'd send me some papers which I never recieved. I sent it to the service center and they just called me and told me that they need a flat rate of $211 before they even touch it! I only paid $198 for it. I am so mad, I cannot afford to give them $211! I am at a loss here. Why do these companies make junk! I will NEVER BUY PANASONIC AGAIN!

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This item replaces a 14 year old camcorder. I was amazed at the ease of operation and the playback feature with sound just blew me away. Most of my camcorder use features my fantastic grandchildren and I look forward to many happy and memorable events to come.

Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS 12.1 MP Wi-Fi Enabled CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom 24mm Wi

I have just finished taking my new Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS camera through a lengthy shakedown cruise. I have learned a number of things about it and will share my findings as clearly as I can.

You should know that I have far more digital cameras than one person should own. My experience with them over the years has given me some degree of confidence in what I say about the Canon ELPH 330HS. This is my second Canon camera. I also own a Canon PowerShot SX230 HS which is similar in several ways.

I am an avid amateur travel photographer and my remarks are influenced by using my cameras extensively for that purpose.

I hope the following observations will help you make a decision about the Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS.

Pros:

* The camera is quite small and a true pocket dweller.

* Mine is silver in color and it looks great.

* It takes excellent pictures with the AUTO setting, but there are many options for those who think they can do better manually.

* It has an extensive of list of shooting modes for every situation.

* It has face recognition along with blink and smile shooting features.

* The low light capacity of the camera is outstanding.

* 12.1 megapixels put a lot of detail in the pictures.

* The 10x optical zoom is plenty and the anti-shake feature keeps them crisp.

* The image stabilization feature works very well and it is automatic.

* Close-up shots are beautiful.

* The WiFi feature is outstanding technology and that makes this camera special.

* I use the WiFi in my ELPH 330 HS for wirelessly transferring photos to both iOS devices and PC computers. That is amazing.

* The camera stores images on SD memory cards so pictures can be shared with a computer that way too.

* Using the WiFi one can also upload photos directly to social networks or email.

* I used the free Apple app Camera Window to connect with my iPod 5g and it worked better than the Canon suggestions found in the DVD instruction manual.

* Paring with a PC computer is a bit tricky, but it can be done by ordinary mortals.

* The display window on the camera is large and bright.

* The 330HS movies are excellent and there are a number of shooting options available.

* There is even full HD video in stereo sound available.

* The fit and finish are very good and that means this is a solid high quality camera.

Cons:

* Setting up the WiFi feature is not all that easy even though some of it is automatic.

* WiFi photo transfer is somewhat slow, but no problem.

* The camera controls are not made for large fingers.

* I miss the manual shooting mode wheel--poking around on screen based options is too slow to be useful if scenes, locations and objects change rapidly.

* The instruction manual on the provided DVD is confusing for setting up WiFi.

* The Hybrid movie feature is strange and seems to have limited purpose.

* I have yet to determine what the body of this camera is made of. It seems very light in weight which suggests plastic, but maybe aluminum.

* One can get bogged down and confused by the myriad of options available and it is difficult to find the way back out of unwanted settings. There is a way to re-set everything just in case.

That is about all of the first impression information I can offer. I plan to carry my new ELPH 330 HS to Europe later in the spring and hope to take advantage of the WiFi features for sending photos back home to friends and relatives while I am traveling abroad.

UPDATE:

I have just returned from two weeks in Great Britain and almost 700 photos taken with my Canon ELPH 330 HS and I was very satisfied with the how it performed. This little camera did everything I asked of it. Transferring all of those pictures to my iPad and to my Windows 7 laptop via WiFi was a perfect addition to the many other features. I am even more impressed with this camera after putting it to a very rigorous test. I bumped the camera around a lot on our trip and without a case on it. I even dropped it once and it kept on ticking. As a travel camera it is the best of the bunch as far as I am concerned.

UPDATED MAY 7, 2013:

I just have to chime in again on this post after almost 2 months of usage. I have bumped this camera rating to 4 of 5 stars (from 3/5). The more and more we use this camera, the more we are impressed with the pictures that it takes. We've really been pushing the camera in its macro shots, different focus points, etc. and we have been increasingly more impressed. One thing you can't get hung up on is looking at the photos on the back of the camera. They always look really dark and under exposed, but by the time you get them on a computer or go to do any processing, it really has produced a great looking picture. The 10x zoom has been very handy for us as well.

I still think my below gripes are valid (and I've left them unchanged) and the low light action isn't as good as I'd hoped, but still works just as good as our phones if not better in low light.

Do I think that a very good camera phone like the S4 or iphone 5 would match this still "all around" (indoors and outdoors)??? Perhaps the S4 given the pixel density, but I think that the color reproduction on this camera would still be better than the phones. We've taken thousands of pictures with it by now and most of them come out pretty spectacular. That said, the S4 does have some unique camera modes that this camera just can't handle.

Overall, we like this camera and use it frequently.

______________________________

We just received this camera last night and we took about 200 photos in varying light conditions as well as a few videos. Our hope was to get a camera that would be better in low light than our Samsung GS3 and GS2 phones. We were also looking for something to be able to hand to someone to take a picture of us, as handing someone your phone usually ends up with blurry pictures and/or potential for a dropped phone! (or if they run off with your life!) Our phones take pictures indoors that usually result in blurry pictures of our daughter and dog, we hoped that a dedicated point and shoot would remedy this issues for us. The last P/S we owned was purchased 5+ years ago and its just too slow to take any quality pictures anymore....so we finally wanted to upgrade. Finally, we HAVE to have a good WiFi connection and features with this camera so we can easily move and share photos. That's the biggest reason why we don't whip out our DSLR very often because of the hassle of transferring cards and photos manually....its a hassle.

So, let's get started. There definitely are goods and "mehs" with this camera, hence the "it's okay" rating of 3 stars.

#1. Low Light photography ---> This was one of our biggest concerns in a new camera. I would say that this camera is barely above the quality of our cell phones. The megapixel count is higher, but the overall noise in the photos are about equivalent. We tried the auto modes as well as manually adjusting the ISO and metering. Nothing seemed to improve the situation over the "auto" mode. There was less blurring with the 330HS over our phones in similar photos, but overall this problem was not fixed by purchasing this camera. Disappointing to say the least. However, the shutter speed and timing is quite fast for a point and shoot. It is on par with our phones for speed of taking photos. I would say though that the burst modes on our phones are superior to this camera.

#2. Normal light photography (indoors and outdoors) ---> I found that this camera did a very good job with color reproduction in normal light conditions or outdoor photography. The colors were less blued and yellowed than from our phones. Like most cameras, if it can't perform here, it might as well not be sold. So I wasn't "impressed" by this to say the least.

#3. Video capture at 1080 -----> I thought this too was adequate. I could not tell a difference between our phones (which do a really good job with video) and the 330HS. The 330HS does have better video stabilization and obviously a zoom, which are nice touches that will keep us using this camera for videos for sure. We also have a Canon video camcorder HD and the quality exceeds that camcorder in my opinion with handling less favorable light conditions. The stereo sound is also good from the 330HS on video recording.

#4. Flash -----> It appears to us that the flash is not "even". The bottom of our photos appear brighter than the tops. We will see if this is just the LED bulb reaching some sort of usable state and I'll report back.

#5. Menu system ----> Its nice there are physical buttons on this camera and the menus seem fairly intuitive once you figure out the modes. The manual really has nothing in there about the menus and structures. The manual is pretty much completely written for WiFi connections.....speaking of which....

#6. WiFi connectivity (part 1 connect to phone) ----> This was, as mentioned above a big reason why we got this camera. The Canon Camera Window app is supposed to connect easily to the camera as long as they are both on the same WiFi network. The advantage of the 330HS over the 320HS is that the 330HS is able to create its own "Access Point" so you can connect the phone directly to the camera when there is no WiFi network to share. So...connecting the Android GS3 phone through the same WiFi network does not ever connect. ###EDIT: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WIFI NETWORK SSID IS BROADCASTING! AFTER I DID THIS, IT CONNECTED INSTANTLY VIA THE ANDROID CANON CAMERA WINDOW APP.#### Creating an access point with the camera itself and connecting the phone to it does work and works pretty well. Photo transfer is surprisingly quick when this mode connects successfully.

#7 WiFi connectivity (part 2 connect to web services like Facebook and Twitterz) ----> Once you get the camera, connect it to a computer and install the CD that comes with it. You can't seem to download this software anywhere, so it'll be interesting to see what those with ultrabooks and computers without disc drives will do for this.....I imagine they will get the link up soon. After you connect the system and make a Canon iMAGE Gateway account (free), then you can use the utility to add webservices to your camera. The application you want to use is IMAGE TRANSFER UTILITY to set these things up. It'll connect to your camera and it will allow you to add the webservices. This process is entirely NOT INTUITIVE. I doubt that less savvy folks would be able to get through this....then again, less savvy folks probably don't use all the online sharing services. Once you get this all completed though, the image sharing to Facebook works quickly and the pictures show up in your timeline or whereever you appoint them to go. The Twitter posting just posts a link to your image on Canon iMAGE Gateway, does not put it in your feed. There is no access to Google+, which I think is a really big omission as that network is the one I like best and hopefully they will add this feature in the future.

#8 WiFi connectivity (part 3 stability of connection) ---> I thought I'd put this in a separate category. There doesn't seem to be a way to keep the camera connected to the internet if you wanted to move a few pictures in a short amount of time. Every single time the camera has to go through the SSID and password to connect back to the network. This takes probably about 30-60 seconds to complete. Sure that doesn't sound that slow, but when you are trying to share something and are used to an instant 2 taps to make it happen. This can feel like an eternity.

Wrap-up (and I will update this if we keep the camera longer than a week):

I was hoping that this camera would have wowed me considering that its 2013 and the camera tech is now pretty amazing, but instead its just "meh". I think that this camera is adequate for someone looking for a basic point and shoot that doesn't have a high end phone like the GS3, iphone5, LG Optimus Pro, HTC One, etc. If you have one of those phones, you will probably be a little frustrated with this device. We most likely will keep this camera just to have something to hand to someone to take a photo of us, since we rarely do that with our phones. Unfortunately though, I think that the touted features of this device like the WiFi connections (90% of the manual is dedicated to this) need some work. It seems frustrating that Canon would not learn more from the current phones on the market and emulate those same features and ease of use. So I will continue to use my phone and other devices for instant connections and use this for handing to people to take photos of us, I guess. Time will tell, I will update this post the more we use it. The good news is that some of these gripes can be fixed by software updates and app updates, but will Canon care to fix them???? They better if they want to stay relevant.

Buy Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS 12.1 MP Wi-Fi Enabled CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom 24mm Wi Now

I want to use my DSLR whenever possible, but it is often not practical to take with me as a "walkabout" camera due to its size and the need to carry additional often bulky equipment. A point-and-click camera is something I still use often and can carry with me at any time with barely a second thought.

I'd previously owned several Canon point-and-click models most recently a Powershot A2000 that I've taken almost 10,000 photos with so far and is still going strong. It is getting a little long in the tooth now though, with just a CCD sensor rather than a CMOS, and fairly limited operation and speed due to the old Digic 3 processor, (rather than the Digic 5 in this ELPH 330 model.) The Digic 5 processor is noticeably quicker than my old Digic 3 based camera and of course it has to do a lot more as well both due to shooting in much higher resolutions, but also because the camera has a lot more automated features. The fact that this camera had the Digic 5 processor was a big selling point to me. It offers a huge improvement over previous iterations of the chip, (I won't detail them here but Canon's website provides this information if anyone is interested.)

When I received this camera, the first thing that struck me was how tiny it is especially bearing in mind the fact it has a 10x optical zoom that is required to extend out so significantly and retract back into the main body. How Canon has achieved this is beyond me, but I'm glad they did.

Anyone who has ever used a previous Canon digital camera will be right at home using this new model. The auto mode is fantastic I never thought I'd say that about a compact camera and it takes great photos in a variety of environments I've tested it in, (at night under artificial light with and without the flash; outside on a sunny day and outside after snowfall; indoors during the day, outside in close to darkness, etc.) To be honest, I'm fairly experienced when it comes to photography I know my way around f-stops, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, etc. as I own a DSLR, but for use as a "walkabout" camera, I'll probably only somewhat rarely take this camera out of "Auto" mode. The pictures are so wonderfully focused, clear and full of color. The semi-auto and manual modes are still there, (with the omission of the old "landscape" mode although there is an "infinity" mode now that appears to be a similar thing.) There is a Program (P) mode too which I've always found incredibly useful and my default mode to use with other Canon point-and-shoot models that mode allows the camera to handle the aperture and shutter and gives control to the user to set other factors of the photo namely the ISO, flash mode, exposure compensation and white-balance. The camera does still retain a "Portrait" mode too, which is useful for taking photos of people up close and allows the camera to blur the background a little using a large aperture (i.e. small f-stop) automatically.

This camera has built in wireless connectivity, but, to be honest I probably will never use this capability. I prefer to copy my images to my computer and edit/crop them in Paintshop Pro prior to uploading them anywhere.

Insofar as video recording goes, I was very impressed by the quality both of the picture and the sound. I briefly tried full 1080p recording, and was quite astounded by the quality once I downloaded the video to my computer. However, for my purposes the 720p resolution is good enough, (and a much smaller file size to work with and edit.) As with all point-and-click cameras you can audibly hear the camera zooming in and out on the recording if you decide to do so. It's not too imposing though so it's no big deal. Most of the video I'll ever take with this camera will be wide-angle anyway, so I'll probably never touch the zoom lever while recording anyway.

The 12.1mp CMOS blows away all the 16mp CCD cameras I've seen and used. I know a lot of people believe that a digital camera's specification all but ends at the megapixel level, with the more the better, but this is a false belief. A camera with a good CMOS sensor is FAR better than a cheaper (but perhaps more megapixel) CCD based camera.

I'm trying to think of negatives to balance my review, but am struggling. I'd like Canon to stop ripping off their customers with the price of additional "official" batteries. True, there are cheap clones at less than 20% of the price of a Canon brand, but if the reviews on them are anything to go by, they should be used with caution and may invalidate you camera warranty if they cause damage. Ah... I just thought of a negative thing about the camera itself -the buttons on the back are flat and almost flush with camera body. This can make them a little harder to press than with previous camera models which had raised or rounded buttons. Sorry, that's the biggest negative I can think of. This is a terrific camera.

P.S. The camera comes with a decent little "Getting Started" manual. However, there is a much more comprehensive and detailed manual available (for free) from the Canon USA website, and also on the disc supplied with the camera. Amazon doesn't allow web-links in their reviews, so I'll post the link to download the full manual as a comment on this review instead, (which does seem to be allowed by Amazon.) Anyone considering buying this camera also may wish to download the manual to ensure the ELPH 330 is the model for you, or to familiarize themselves with operating it while you wait for Amazon to deliver it.

Read Best Reviews of Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS 12.1 MP Wi-Fi Enabled CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom 24mm Wi Here

I bought the ELPH 330 to replace a Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 that was 'appropriated' by a family member. I quite liked the 310, and the other ELPH models that we've owned previously (SD100, SD200, SD400). To give this review some context, I also have a Canon PowerShot S5, a GoPro Hero, and various film cameras dating back to an Olympus OM-1 and a Rollei 35. While Canons may not always be the 'best' cameras on the market, I've become used to the Canon menu system, and my collection of accessories are compatible with my previous ELPHs. So I assumed the ELPH 330 would be a satisfying addition to my photographic arsenal.

Alas, I was sadly disappointed. What's wrong with it? In a word, the user interface. It has regressed significantly compared to the 310. The biggest shortcoming is the all-important '5-way' controller (the up, down, left, right, and the central FUNC/SET buttons). On the 310, the 5-way was slightly raised above the body of the camera, making it possible to position one's thumb on the desired portion of the controller by touch alone. On the 330, the buttons are completely flush with the body. This may sound like a small detail, but I've found this design change makes it much harder to operate the 330. I've found it tricky to register my thumb over the 5-way without looking, and I don't have terribly big hands. The tiny FUNC/SET button in the center of the cluster is actually recessed just a bit, which is terrible from an ergonomic perspective. One needs a tiny thumb to reliably click on the FUNC/SET button. In the short time I've had the 330, I've accidentally activated the wrong button numerous times.

The second failing of the 330's UI is the bizarre slide switch. Canon has taken what was a great step forward on the 310 UI and totally trashed it on the 330. On the 310, the slide switch selected between AUTO or MANUAL modes of operation. The former was great for taking quick'n easy point-and-shoot tourist snapshots. When the photographer wanted more 'creative control', a simple flip of the switch put the camera into manual mode. User could then choose from a large variety (too many) of special shooting modes (portrait, nighttime, backlit, sports...), adjust ISO, override shutter speed, etc. This arrangement was extremely versatile and I've come to love it.

On the ELPH 330, the slide switch now activates a glitzy new Canon feature: photos plus a Movie Digest. When you slide the switch to the 'up' position, the camera takes a still photo in Auto mode AND a 3-second movie clip captured immediately before every still photo is taken. It then composes a daily sequence of these clips, all concatenated together. So if you were to shoot 60 pictures on a given day, you'll end up with 60 still photos, plus a 3-minute long movie containing the 'live action' as you composed each shot. With the switch 'down', the Movie Digest feature is turned off and the camera operates in whatever mode is chosen from the Record Mode menu (not necessarily Auto mode).

The side effects of this fancy Digest feature are non-trivial. First, the camera goes dormant for a few seconds after the shutter is pushed, while the captured movie clip is compressed and concatenated onto the daily movie file. During this interval, the green 'camera busy' light is flashing. This means you can't take another photo until the movie processing is completed. No rapid-fire picture taking when in Digest mode. Perhaps more important is the potential impact on battery life. When the 330 is in this mode, it's capturing video continuously. It doesn't know when you're going to trip the shutter, so it constantly records video into an internal 3-second buffer memory, which is then saved to the SD card after each click of the shutter. I haven't yet measured the impact on battery life but continuous video capture and storage will surely shorten run time.

Fortunately, the ELPH 330 still has both Automatic and Manual picture modes, but you now have to make a trip down into the menu system to select one or the other. The slide switch, which occupies a fair bit of the limited real estate on the back of the camera, is totally wasted (unless one becomes enamoured with the Movie Digest mode). I'm astounded that Canon would deem this feature so important that it qualified for 'top billing' with a dedicated mode switch. Perhaps there is a big demand for this feature in Japan, but I can do without it.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the improvements in the 330. The longer telephoto (10x, vs 8x in the 310) is a small but welcome enhancement. Likewise, the wide angle is a little wider (24 vs 28mm). I haven't yet mastered the WiFi features. Canon's user manual describing them meets their usual standard for convoluted & confusing documentation.

Occasionally, the orientation sensor (sensing landscape vs portrait) messes up and misclassifies the orientation of a picture. This may be a defect with the sensor in my unit, or could be a design issue that affects all ELPH 330 units.

Frankly, I'm undecided whether to keep the ELPH 330 or not. I'm tempted to carefully place a tiny dollop of hot-melt glue on the FUNC/SET button. That might partly alleviate the ergonomic shortcomings of the 5-way controller. But there's no way to make the stupid Movie Digest slide switch useful and achieve the versatile functionality found in the ELPH 310.

Want Canon PowerShot ELPH 330 HS 12.1 MP Wi-Fi Enabled CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom 24mm Wi Discount?

I used a Canon Power Shot A1000 IS for almost five years and love Canon quality. What I love about this new Canon is how user friendly it is. So simple, and I very quickly was able to load the software, register on line and send pictures to my computer, on line social media and iPhone with the Wi-Fi ability. Going from picture to movie mode is the push of a button. Has great options for an amateur photographer like me. You can also purchase a tripod separately. Can't wait for our next vacation or holiday event to really have fun with it. Want to get a compatible printer to use it to the fullest!! Still picture and movie quality is really good. If you are looking for an easy to use, technology minded camera, I recommend this one without hesitation.

Canon XF100 Professional Camcorder with 10x HD Video lens, Compact Flash (CF) Recording

Having had an XA10 briefly before buying the XF100 I was able to make some direct comparisons.

Bottom line is that the XF100 offers more hard BUTTONS, a huge advantage to any semi-pro user or above, because digging through the menu on site is tedious and time consuming. The codec is also MPEG2 50mbs 4:2:2 color, which means the color accuracy is MUCH better than the XA10 and editing will be much faster and easier to render. It actually meets minimum broadcast specs for the BBC which is pretty amazing for the price range. A more flexible but finicky image. At each shoot, you'll be spending a little more time getting white balance, lighting and picture settings just right vs the XA10's simpler use.

OUT OF THE BOX SHOOTING: No, don't do that. You'll want to do 2 things right away. Google "Custom Picture Profiles" and use the ones called XF1MOJO, HI-GAIN and TRUVID to start. They alter many different aspects of the picture to allow for great looking footage. If you don't do this, you're likely to get grainy footage even in good light and night shots will be unusable. You'll also want to set the LCD screen to BRIGHT if you want to see in in the sunlight while shooting.

LOW LIGHT/NIGHT SHOTS: Use a custom picture profile setup for this and most importantly DO NOT go above 9db GAIN. Auto mode will rocket up to 24db instantly and produce one of the grainiest pictures you can imagine. Keep it below 9 and you'll be pleased. I hooked my camera up to our HDTV and lowered the light while toying with different settings, this was very effective for me to learn what worked and how in that setting.

EDITING: Using both XA10 footage (H264) and XF100 (MPEG2), Adobe CS6, W7x64 still lagged badly and took roughly 2-3x as long for any renders using an 8 core system. The XF100 footage flowed easily and smoothly and rendered faster than realtime in HD on my system while the the H264 not only took longer but caused some odd glitches in Adobe from time to time.

SMALL POINTS: The build quality feels more solid than the XA10, which is also pretty good. The XF100 is very light and while that's nice, it also means you'll be relying on the image stabilization a bit more, which for the most part works well. Full size HDMI out. New firmware (which you probably won't need is out so make sure yours is up to date, do this 1st as it erases all presets). It adds some useful features and is worth doing at canon's website.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE: 60p in 1080 mode, as it is, you can get there but only in 1280x720, which is still a pretty good resolution, no other camera in the class offers it either at the present time. How about a wireless remote that doesn't require pressing TWO buttons to use, I couldn't believe it, absolutely useless in the field, buying a LANC remote for this need is pretty much required due to this. More Custom Picture Profiles would have been nice, they offer three hard presets, which I've yet to find a use for. SDcard options, currently no internal memory and you must buy the pricey Compact Flash Memory. The x400 Transcend works fine BTW, it's the cheapest so far. Adapters for SD cards don't work so don't bother.

WHY STILL GET AN XA10? If you're in need of XLR audio and don't want to step up to the XF100, I guess it makes sense. For my money, I'd just get the Vixia for $700 less and you'll have almost the same thing minus the inputs. If you are an AUTO type of shooter, the XA10 will please you, but if you need to adjust lots of settings, it WILL be a little frustrating. The OUT OF THE BOX experience with the XA10 is pretty good, the presets it offers are very usable and produced excellent quality with little fiddling, while the XF100 will require more setup and fine tuning.

I've spent only a week with each camera at this point so keep that in mind as you consider what I had to say about these cameras. Overall, they're both excellent, but just serve different needs. I make a living with my cameras, so what's important to me might not matter much to others.

UPDATE: Dec 7 2012: After a few months using the camera and shooting a half dozen commercial shoots with it, I can say it's produced very nice footage. Outdoor shoots on sunny days I've been able to go full auto and get outstanding results with absolutely beautiful color reproduction. Low light still requires the settings above but have also been very very good. Auto focus works fine but I've had a few instances where it wanders, can't fault the camera really but manual focus with the MAG button makes this a breeze in the field (thank you Canon).

I've since gotten a x600 card to go with x400s and they work together but you have make sure to set them up properly in the menu and that they have "green" lights on both or it won't automatically start recording on the 2nd card when you need it Pay attention the first time and you'll know what I mean and avoid losing any shots. I've learned the x600 is really only necessary for overcranking as I've had not a single error with any of the x400s @ 1920x1080 30fps, at double the price it's something to consider.

AUDIO: I use a non XLR Rode mic 99% of the time but the onboard audio is usable in a pinch under the right conditions. XLR is the way to go so if you're getting new gear look into it.

Finally, I picked up a 2nd battery, a larger Wasabi and it's been fantastic, I know some people said they didn't get accurate remaining times, but I had no problems at all and at a fraction of the price of Canon batteries, you just can't beat them. No little lights on the back of the battery but other than that you get a lot more juice for your money.

I spent about four months comparing the Canon XF100 to the Canon 7D, and several Sony video cameras. I used mutiple lens on the Canon 7d...testing for depth of field, low light comparisons, etc. For the Indy movie we are shooting now, the Canon XF100 became the perfect choice. Ease of use, 2-3 hours of battery use, double slots for the compact flash cards (one for backup), great low light, the ability to continue a shot for more than 12 minutes (Canon7d), the ability to chose MF or AF, and no need to purchase all the peripherals that you need when you use a DLSR for video. If you can find this camera, its incredible and easy to use. The only drawback is the editing. If you have a 32 bit Windows platform, you will have to upgrade to a new computer for 64 bit if you plan on editing with Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid, or the earlier versions of Final Cut Pro. FCPro X at this time is not set up for the Canon XF series.

Buy Canon XF100 Professional Camcorder with 10x HD Video lens, Compact Flash (CF) Recording Now

If you're looking to step into the beginnings of a professional level video camera, the XF100 will do the job. Among the features I like best are: 4:2:2 color space, XLR audio inputs, and a versatile zoom lens. These are just a few, there are many more. To provide a thorough review of the XF100, I made this video, which includes an un-boxing, a look at the features, and a short, actual test of the camera. I immediately noticed an improvement in my productions including my video blog and YouTube material, not to mention material submitted to professional news organizations. For a high-quality stream of this review, see my blog, which is mentioned in my Amazon profile, or can be found through my website. The higher quality version was far too large to load here.

Read Best Reviews of Canon XF100 Professional Camcorder with 10x HD Video lens, Compact Flash (CF) Recording Here

I was looking for a camcorder to improve upon the image and sound quality that I got from my Canon VIXIA HFS10, and after a lot of research I decided on this one. I haven't been disappointed.

For me the most important feature was the dual XLR inputs, because for documentary shooting, where the voices of my subjects are critical, I can't rely on the onboard microphone. I need at least to add a shotgun on top, or on a boom pole if I have someone else to operate it. Additionally, it helps to have a wireless lavaliere set up and the ability to record both inputs to different channels, and control their levels independently. All that's possible, and quite easy, with this camcorder.

The image quality, also, is a serious step up. I can get good shots indoors as long as it's not dark, and excellent quality during the daytime and at night in a well-lit street. This will record up to 50Mbps, using Canon's XF Codec, which can be edited without difficulty and without the need for conversion using Adobe's Premiere Pro CS6 but should be usable in almost any up-to-date semi-professional editing program.

It records onto compact flash cards, and can hold up to two at once. It can be set to record sequentially, so that as soon as the one card is full it will begin recording to the other without any time lag. You can also remove and replace the card that's not currently recording even with the camera on, so you could keep recording for as long as you like. I use the SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash 32GB Memory Cards, and they work great. It also holds an optional SD card for recording photos and for storing customized camera settings, that can be selected from the menu.

The battery this comes with shoots for about 3 hours, but you can pick up an additional battery that will keep it running for over 8 hours. They've done a good job with providing custom buttons for commonly used functions, and there are ten additional buttons that can be customized to a wide range of additional functions that you'd otherwise have to access through the menu. You can set the focus wheel to manual focus, zoom, or iris and adjust its sensitivity levels to fit your needs. I set one of the custom buttons to the peak function, which shows me where I have sharp edges and helps me when I'm focusing manually.

There's an eyepiece for those who prefer to shoot that way but the LCD screen contains the menu features, and can be rotated in all directions. There's a removable microphone mount on top I found that my shotgun mike didn't fit in there snuggly, so I went to the hardware store and bought three rubber o-rings to place on my mike. Now it fits in there nicely.

I've been shooting with this for a couple of months now, and have gotten great results. There's a lot more that I could say about it, but most of what you need to know is available lots of other places. I wish it had better image quality in very low light situations, but it's better at that than any camera in its price and feature range that I've come across. Like I said I think it's ideal for the low-end and independent documentary filmmaker and other similar uses, such as commercial videos and weddings. Because it is light and has a smaller profile it would also be quite useful on a higher level production when shooting needs to be somewhat discreet and not call attention to itself or scream that a movie's being made. It's worked great for my needs as a low-end independent documentary filmmaker. I've been very happy with it.

Want Canon XF100 Professional Camcorder with 10x HD Video lens, Compact Flash (CF) Recording Discount?

Bottom line. Its a three thousand dollar camera with 422 and 1920x1080. Makes a fantastic cheap second camera next to my 5d. XLR imputs. Thinking about purchasing another. Its maybe too light, but that isnt necessarily a bad thing. Shoots very well in low light situations. I just shot a video in a one room school house with no electricity at dusk and was able to get the shots without using the infrared. Ya it was a little bit grainy, but I got the shots and I got paid. Ya you can find things to complain about it, but its a three thousand dollar camera. Simple plug in to work with FCP7.

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