hovers.org » Canon camcorders http://www.hovers.org Independent reviews Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:12:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Canon Vixia HF S21 http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s21/ http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s21/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:52:12 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=706 Canon Vixia HF S21 features a 64GB of built-in flash memory, two memory card slots should that be not enough, an improved LCD, automatic lens cover and much, much more goodies.

Canon Vixia HF S21 pros:

Canon Vixia HF S21
+ 64GB internal memory
+ 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD
+ Outstanding sharpness
+ Very good low light sensitivity
+ 8-megapixel still photos
+ Plenty of manual controls

Canon Vixia HF S21 cons:

- Merely 10x optical zoom
- Noise levels a bit too high
- No standard definition recording


The design:
Canon Vixia HF S21 measures 3 x 5.8 x 2.9 inches and weighs 16.6 oz. The front of the Canon camcorder features the 10x optical zoom lens, autofocus sensor and the control dial with a custom key. The right side of the Canon Vixia HF S21 houses the auto/manual mode switch, the built-in speaker, wrist strap, and the hand strap. The back houses the DC-input, electronic viewfinder, start/stop record button and the battery pack. The left side features the 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, and plenty of buttons and ports in the LCD chamber. The top of the camcorder is home to the zoom toggle, photo shutter button, pop-up flash and Canon proprietary mini hot shoe. The bottom of the Canon Vixia HF S21 houses only the battery release switch and the tripod mount.

Canon Vixia HF S21
Performance:
The Canon Vixia HF S21 uses the AVCHD compression and has five quality options. The maximum is 1920 x 1080 in 24Mbps. In this quality you can store up to 355 minutes (almost 6 hours) of videos in the built-in memory so there is really no need for the memory cards yet it is nice to have that option. The camcorder has a lot more manual controls than the competition, and the improved LCD screen has implemented plenty of automatic controls which makers the camcorder very good tool for both beginners and professionals.



Video quality:
The color accuracy in the Canon Vixia HF S21 is good, yet a bit worse than in some other Canon camcorders released last year, such as Canon Vixia HF S10, or Canon FS200. The noise levels are good, but again other camcorders may do a better job in this respect. On the other hand the Canon Vixia HF S21 has a lot more color controls than most other camcorders. The motion recorded by this Canon camcorder is really outstanding. Moreover, the videos are always very sharp. Low light video performance is disappointing although it is better than in some of the recent Canon camcorders. Fortunately, when you use an alternate frame rate you can improve the overall low light video quality.

Still photo quality:
The camcorder can take up to 8 megapixel  (3264 x 2456) still photos in the still mode or up to 3264 x 1840 while recording a video. Thanks to the pop-up flash you can also take photos in low light with this camcorder. The color accuracy and sharpness are very good, yet as with the videos the camcorder may produce a little too much noise in still photos.

Selected Canon Vixia HF S21 features and specifications:

  • Standard Definition or High Definition

High Definition

  • Television System

NTSC

  • Video Recording system

MPEG4-AVC / H.264

  • Image Sensor

1/2.6-inch CMOS, RGB Primary Color Filter

  • Total Pixels

Approx. 8.59 Megapixels

  • Effective Pixels

Video: Approx. 6.01 Megapixels (3264 x 1840) Photo: 16:9 Approx. 6.01 Megapixels (3264 x 1840); 4:3 Approx. 8.02 Megapixels (3264 x 2456)

  • Lens

Zoom Ratio 10x Optical/200x Digital Focal Length f-6.4-64mm (35mm equivalent 43.5-435mm) Zoom Speed Variable / 3 Fixed Zoom Speeds Max. F/Stop f/1.8-3.0

  • Focusing System

Instant AF, Face Priority AF, TTL (through the lens)

  • Manual Exposure

Yes
Other recently reviewed camcorders:
Samsung HMX-H10, Canon Vixia HF S10, Canon FS200, Sony HDR-CX500V, JVC Everio GZ-HM200, JVC Picsio GC-FM1, Sony HDR-TG5V.

]]> http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s21/feed/ 0 Canon Vixia HF S10 http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s10/ http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s10/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:22:26 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=390 Canon Vixia HF S10 is one of the best High definition camcorders released by Canon this year. It is very comfortable to use, offers good capacity, image stabilization and most importantly great video quality.

Canon Vixia HF S10 pros:Canon Vixia HF S10 thumb
+ 32GB of built in memory
+ Excellent sharpness
+ Plenty of color modes
+ Good still photo mode
+ Simultaneous video and photo mode
+ Good playback mode
+ 2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid widescreen color LCD

Canon Vixia HF S10 cons:
- No viewfinder
- Slightly too high noise
- Low light performance worse than in competing camcorders
- Inconvenient port location
- Poor battery life


The design:
Canon Vixia HF S10 measures 2.8 x 2.7 x 5.4in. And weighs 15.9 oz. On the front of the camcorder you can see the f/1.8 lens with 10x zoom and below it the AF sensor. The right side of the Canon Vixia HF S10 houses the hand strap and the microphone jack, whereas the left side features the 2.7-inch LCD chamber with plenty of controls and the SDHC memory card slot. The back of the camcorder houses the mode dial, record on/off button, battery pack and the DC power port. On the top of the Canon Vixia HF S10 there’s the zoom toggle and with it the proprietary accessory shoe and the pop up flash. Also the power on/off button and the photo button are on the top of the camcorder. The bottom is quite plain and houses only the tripod mount.

Canon Vixia HF S10

Performance:
The camcorder can record videos in two frame rates: 24p and 30p which is up to the latest standards. Not only does it make the videos smooth, but it also improves the overall image quality in poor light. The Canon Vixia HF S10 records the videos using the AVCHD codec so the files tend to be quite large. The camcorder is capable of recording almost three hours of videos in 1920 x 1080 at 24 Mbps on the built-in memory.
The large mode dial is perfect for manual adjustments, but quite surprisingly the easy mode is rather hard to find in the menus. The Canon Vixia HF S10 has plenty of features such as focus assist, image stabilization, zebra striping and auto gain control making recording videos not only pleasant, but also quite easy.



Video quality:
In bright light the Canon Vixia HF S10 has very good color which should be enough for less professional users. You can try to achieve even better results with the several color modes. The images are full of detail and very sharp although somewhat too noisy. The motion produced by the Canon Vixia HF S10 is smooth and sharp and there is little artifacting. In poor light the Canon Vixia HF S10 produces a lot of noise and the color error is a bit worse than in the competition so if you are planning on shooting plenty do low light videos have a look at the Canon FS200, or the Sony HDR-CX500V.

Still photo quality:
The Canon Vixia HF S10 is capable of taking up to 8 megapixel still photos. The photo quality is more than decent with the accurate colors, plenty of detail and good sharpness. Only the noise is sometimes an issue, but the Canon Vixia HF S10 can easily substitute a digital camera on a day to day basis.


Selected Canon Vixia HF S10 features and specifications:

  • Standard Definition or High Definition

High Definition

  • Television System

NTSC

  • Video Recording system

MPEG4-AVC / H.264

  • Image Sensor

1/2.6-inch CMOS, RGB Prmary Color Filter

  • Total Pixels

Approx. 8.59 Megapixels

  • Effective Pixels

Video: Approx. 6.01 Megapixels
(3264 x 1840) / Still Image: 16:9: Approx. 6.01 Megapixels
(3264 x 1840), 4:3 Approx. 8.02 Megapixels (3264 x 2456)

  • Maximum recording time

32GB internal Flash drive
FXP (17 Mbps) 4 hours 10 minutes – Allows 1920 x 1080 Full HD Recording
MXP (24 Mbps) 2 hours 55 minutes – Allows 1920 x 1080 Full HD Recording

  • Lens

Zoom Ratio 10x Optical/200x Digital
Focal Length f=6.4- 64mm (35mm equivalent: 43.5 – 435mm)
Zoom Speed Variable / 3 Fixed Zoom Speeds
Max. F/Stop f/1.8-3.0

  • Focusing System

Instant AF, Face Priority AF, TTL (through the lens)

  • Manual Exposure

Yes

  • Programmed AE

AUTO, P, Av, Tv, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach,Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks

  • Max Shutter Speed

Movie: 1/2000, Still image: 1/500

  • Minimum Focusing Distance

10mm (wide) / 1m (tele)

  • White Balance

Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Manual

  • Frame Rate

60i, 24p Progressive (records at 60i), 30p Progressive (records at 60i)

  • Minimum Illumination

0.3 lx (Night mode)

  • Image Stabilization

SuperRange Optical (lens shift)

  • Filter Diameter

58mm

  • Flash

Built-in

  • Recording Media

Internal Flash Drive (32GB) or SDHC Memory Card

  • USB Terminal

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

  • Video Terminal

component (output), composite (output)

  • Audio

Dolby Digital 2 channels (AC-3 2 ch)

  • Accessory Shoe

mini Advanced

  • Supplied Video Editing Software

Pixela ImageMixer 3SE

  • HDMI Terminal

HDMI Mini Connector (output), CEC and x.v. Color

  • Microphone Terminal

3.5 mm stereo mini-jack

  • AV Mini Terminal/Headphone Terminal

3.5 mm 4 pole mini-jack

Other recently reviewed camcorders:

Canon Vixia HF S11, JVC Everio GZ-HM400, Sony HDR-TG5V, JVC Picsio GC-FM1, JVC Everio GZ-HM200, Sony HDR-CX500V, Canon FS200

]]> http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s10/feed/ 0 Canon FS200 http://www.hovers.org/canon-fs200/ http://www.hovers.org/canon-fs200/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:31:55 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=330 Canon FS200 is a new standard definition camcorder which packs 37x optical zoom in a very small and stylish body. The camcorder is an extremely strong performer offering outstanding image quality and plenty of features.

Canon FS200 pros:

+ 37x optical zoomCanon FS200 thumb
+ Good saturation and color accuracy
+ Low noise levels
+ Available in red, blue and silver
+ Plenty of manual controls
+ Good still photo mode
+ Stylish and durable design

Canon FS200 cons:

- Color accuracy in low light worse than in bright light
- No built-in memory
- Old-fashioned menu design
- Too much noise in still photos


The design:
Canon FS200 measures 5.8 x 5.6 x 12.2 cm and weighs 220 grams. The front of the camcorder is dominated by the 37x optical zoom Canon video lens below which you can find the 2-channel microphone and next to it the video light. The right side of the Canon FS200 houses the access lamp, DC-input and the hand strap, whereas the left side features the 2.7-inch LCD chamber with almost all the controls and the built-in speaker and a USB port. The back houses the start/stop record button right in the middle of a large mode dial. The top features the photo shutter button, power button as well as the zoom toggle. The bottom is home to the tripod mount and the battery compartment.

Canon FS200

Performance:
The Canon FS200 has three quality settings, but bear in mind that it is only a standard definition camcorder. The videos are recorded using the MPEG-2 compression, yet they are saved as .MOD files so you have to make use of the included software to edit, to convert it. Since the camcorder lacks any internal memory you will also have to buy SD/SDHC memory cards. A 16GB memory card will allow you to record up to 220 minutes of videos in the best quality setting. You can use plenty of manual settings so you can tamper with anything but aperture and gain.



Video quality:
The Canon FS200 has a very good color accuracy in bright light. It’s a nice thing that it has a few image effect presets, but it lacks any manual color settings. The saturation in bright light is good as is the noise level. The motion produced by this Canon camcorder is good, although not as good as in some high definition camcorders such as Sony HDR-CX500, or JVC Everio GZ-HM200. Sharpness of the videos recorded with Canon FS200 is about average for standard definition camcorders.
In low light the Canon FS200 performs quite well. The color accuracy and saturation suffers a bit, but they are still good. The noise remains low and the low light sensitivity is better than in other camcorders in this price range.

Still photo quality:
The Canon FS200 does not offer too many manual settings for the still photos. Although the image quality is generally very goos the images are hardly useable as their maximum size is 1024 x 768 so any new cell phone might take better photos.

Selected Canon FS200 features and specifications:
Still Image Format
JPEG
Digital Video Format
MPEG-2
White Balance Presets
Tungsten light, daylight
White Balance
Custom, automatic, presets
Exposure Modes
Program, automatic, shutter-priority
Max Shutter Speed
1/2000 sec
Image Stabilizer
Electronic
Shooting Programs
Spotlight, portrait mode, night mode, fireworks, sports mode, sunset, beach, snow
Shooting Modes
Digital photo mode
Recording Speed
SP, LP, XP
Digital Zoom
2000 x
Analog Video Format
NTSC
Min Illumination
1.3 lux
Optical Sensor Size
1/6″
Optical Sensor Type
CCD
Color Support
Color
Media Type
Flash card
Camcorder Effective Video Resolution
450 Kpix
Camcorder Sensor Resolution
680 Kpix
Widescreen Video Capture
Yes
Battery
Supported Battery Details
1 x Canon BP-808 Li-ion rechargeable battery ( included )
Supported Battery
Canon BP-808
Microphone
Microphone Operation Mode
Stereo
Type
Microphone – built-in
Software
Software
Drivers & Utilities, PIXELA Image Mixer
Miscellaneous
Cables Included
USB cable ¦ A/V cable
Included Accessories
Wrist strap
Lens System
Zoom Adjustment
Motorized drive
Optical Zoom
37 x
Lens Aperture
F/2.0-5.2
Auto Focus
TTL contrast detection
Focus Adjustment
Automatic
Focal Length
2.6 mm – 96.2 mm
Type
Zoom lens – 2.6 mm – 96.2 mm – f/2.0-5.2
Min Focus Range
0.4 in
Additional Features
Additional Features
Direct print, USB 2.0 compatibility, PictBridge support, Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording
Digital Still Camera Function
Yes
Low Lux / Night Mode
Yes
Display
Display Format
123,000 pixels
Display Form Factor
Rotating
Type
LCD display – TFT active matrix – 2.7″ – color
Price $299

Other recently reviewed camcorders:

Panasonic HDC-TM300, Canon Vixia HF S11, JVC Everio GZ-HM400, Sony HDR-TG5V, JVC Picsio GC-FM1, JVC Everio GZ-HM200, Sony HDR-CX500V

]]> http://www.hovers.org/canon-fs200/feed/ 0 Canon Vixia HF S11 http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s11/ http://www.hovers.org/canon-vixia-hf-s11/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:59:58 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=110 Canon Vixia HF S11 is a new sibling of Canon Vixia HF S10 and as the two are closely related there are not many differences between them. The newer camcorder features improved optical image stabilization and 64GB of built0in flash memory. Unfortunately, it still has rather poor low light performance, but how does it do overall? Read on to find out.

Canon Vixia HF S11 pros:
+ 2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid widescreen color LCD
+ Appealing design
+ Outstanding sharpness Canon HF S11 lens
+ 30p and 24p frame rates available
+ 64GB of built-in flash memory
+ Excellent new custom control dial
+ Abundance of manual controls
+ Good quality 8-megapixel still photos

Canon Vixia HF S11 cons:
- No optical viewfinder
- High noise levels
- Usually rather poor low light performance
- Inconvenient port location

The design:

Canon HF S11 measures 70 x 69 x 136 mm and weighs 450 grams. It seems a lot but the camcorder feels comfortable at hand. The front of the Canon camcorder features the 10x zoom lens and below it the AutoFocus sensor. On the right side there is the hand strap behind which you can see the door covering the HDMI-out, USB and component-out ports. Also microphone and mic jack can be found on the right side of the Canon HF S11. The left side features the LCD chamber with plenty of controls and SDHC card slot, battery release switch and the comfy joystick. The back of the Canon camcorder houses the mode dial, DC power port, the battery pack and record on/off button. On the top of Canon HF S11 is the pop-up flash for still photos, mini accessory shoe, zoom toggle and photo shutter release button. The bottom of the camcorder houses only the tripod mount.

Canon HF S11

Performance:

The Canon HF S11 has five different bit-rates with the highest being 24Mbps and all the videos are recorded using the AVCHD codec. This makes the videos compatible with practically any editing software, but it also means that the files are rather large. Surprisingly the easy mode on the Canon HF S11 is not too easy to find and generally all the menus could be a bit easier. The custom control dial allows you to make very precise manual focus.

Image quality:

Canon HF S11 produces quite accurate colors in good lighting conditions, yet it cannot compete with Panasonic HDC-TM300. Fortunately, the Canon camcorder has several color modes which you can use to influence the Canon HF S11’s performance. Although the image is always very sharp and detailed it is also too noisy. The camcorder has two frame rates: 24p and 30p which is always a good thing. Additionally, the motion is always smooth and sharp. In low light the camcorder produces a lot of noise and color error a bit worse than the competition.

Canon HF S11 LCD

Still photos:

The Canon HF S11 can easily substitute a dedicated digital camera. The 8-megapixel still photos that come out of the camcorder are sharp and have accurate colors. You get plenty of features and options to play with and the only issue with the still photos is the highish noise.

Selected Canon HF S11 features and specifications:
Digital Video
Standard Definition or High Definition
High Definition
Television System
NTSC

  • Video Recording system

MPEG4-AVC / H.264

  • Image Sensor

1/2.6-inch CMOS, RGB Primary Color Filter

  • Total Pixels

Approx. 8.59 Megapixels

  • Effective Pixels

Video: Approx. 6.01 Megapixels (3264 x 1840)
Still Image: 16:9 Approx. 6.01 Megapixels (3264 x 1840)
4:3 Approx. 8.02 Megapixels (3264 x 2456)

  • Lens

Zoom Ratio 10x Optical/200x Digital
Focal Length f-6.4-64mm (35mm equivalent 43.5-435mm)

  • Zoom Speed Variable / 3 Fixed Zoom Speeds

Max. F/Stop f/1.8-3.0

  • Focusing System

Instant AF, Face Priority AF, TTL (through the lens)

  • Manual Exposure

Yes

  • Programmed AE

AUTO, P, Av, Tv, Cine*, Portrait, Sports, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Night Scene, Low Light, Spotlight, Fireworks

  • Max Shutter Speed

Movie: 1/2000, Still image: 1/500

  • Minimum Focusing Distance

10mm (wide) / 1m (tele)

  • White Balance

Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Manual

  • Frame Rate

60i, 24p Progressive (records at 60i), 30p Progressive (records at 60i)

  • Minimum Illumination

0.3 lx (Low light mode)

  • Image Stabilization

Dynamic SuperRange Optical (lens shift) / Standard SuperRange Optical (lens shift)

  • Filter Diameter

58mm

  • LCD Screen

2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid widescreen color LCD (Approx. 211,000 dots)

  • Flash

Electronic

  • Recording Media

Internal Flash Drive (64GB) or SDHC Memory Card **
USB Terminal
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

  • Video Terminal

component (output), composite (output)

  • Audio

Dolby Digital 2 channels (AC-3 2ch)
Accessory Shoe
mini Advanced

  • Supplied Video Editing Software

Pixela ImageMixer 3SE
HDMI Terminal
HDMI Mini Connector (output), CEC and x.v. Color supported

  • Microphone Terminal

3.5 mm stereo mini-jack
AV Mini Terminal/Headphone Terminal
3.5 mm 4 pole mini-jack (video/audio output only)

Other recently reviewed camcorders:
Panasonic HDC-TM300

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