Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Digital camera Review: AVCHD Is Hard To Work With
Summary: 5 Stars
One thing that was left out in all the reviews is that if you want to edit the AVCHD clips you've recorded, you'll need a high-powered PC or MAC. The specs called for in the supplied software indicate that the user must have a Pentium D processor at minimum to edit clips. My PC was four years old with a Pentium 4 HD processor, and it was not able to play back the video clips smoothly enough for me to even edit them. I have an Nvidia GeForce 7600 video card with 512Mb of RAM and also 4Gb of RAM on the motherboard.
Also, the software only burns to DVD-R disks and my PC had only DVD+R capability, so I had to buy a new writer to burn the AVCHD DVD's which did play in HD on my Sony PS3. As far as MAC's go, there is no way to burn a DVD in full 1080i high-def on a MAC...even with Final Cut Pro. Yes, it will import the AVCHD files and you can edit them, but you cannot actually burn the edited movie in full 1080i high-def onto a DVD without having to use a 3rd party piece of software.
I visited the local Apple store and after 2 hours of them playing with it, they produced a DVD for me to take home to play on my PS3...and guess what, the PS3 would not even recognize the disk!
Don't get me wrong, this camera takes beautiful, full 1080i high-def video, but once you've downloaded the files to your computer, it's almost impossible to burn those AVCHD files back onto a DVD for playback in full 1080i high-def unless you've got a Blu-Ray disk player such as the Sony PS3. The people at the Apple store indicated that Final Cut Express would import the AVCHD files, but would then convert them into an intermediate codec which ends up downgrading the clips to less than full 1080i high-def.
They told me to actually burn the edited movie onto a DVD in full 1080i high-def, I'd have to buy Roxio's Toast 9! Is amazed me that even their $1000 Final Cut Pro required the purchase of an $80 piece of software to complete the process!
The AVCHD format is the future, but I'm afraid there's just too little in the way of a simple workflow to actually be able to import, edit, and then burn these AVCHD format movies onto a DVD for playback in full 1080i high-def on ones HD TV set. I have spent a month researching this, and decided that I was just not willing to upgrade to an entirely new computer with an Intel Duo Quad Processor to work with the AVCHD files that these cameras produce.
The new Sony Vegas 8 Platinum will burn the AVCHD files to a DVD, but again, check out the required hardware specs on Sony's website and you'll see that the minimum requirements for hardware are probably much more than what you have unless you bought your PC within the last year.
Based upon all of this, I finally decided to return the camera and wait until this newly adopted AVCHD format is easier to work with. By the way, for most of us, a Blu-Ray disk writer and the BD blank media are just too expensive to buy. Most people will most likely want to burn high-definition DVD's instead, that will play in full 1080i high-def; 30 minutes on a single layer DVD and 60 minutes on a dual layer DVD.
You will see that virtually all of the software currently available; including Adobe's just released Premier Elements 4.0 will NOT burn AVCHD files onto a DVD! In fact, it does not even support AVCHD files created by Canon HD camcorders that are in the AVCHD format! And Sony's Vegas 8.0 Platinum also does not support Canon's AVCHD files.
It's all way to difficult for the average consumer. Pretty much your only option to see your movies in full 1080i high-def will be to attach the camcorder via an HDMI cable (not included) to your HDTV. This will allow you to watch your raw un-edited footage directly from your camcorder. However, the HDMI cable you'll need costs about $40-$50! And don't think you can use a standard HDMI cable...no, it takes a special one which has a MINI-HDMI at one end and a standard HDMI to plug on the other!
WOW...what a pain. The marketing information is very flowery in its description, but the reality is far different. Do your research and you will that the products out there for editing these AVCHD movies simply fail to mention anything about actually BURNING the results onto a standard DVD for playback in high-def on a regular DVD home player. Why? Because you cannot! You MUST own a Sony PS3 to do this!
In short, "buyer beware" on any HD Camcorder which records in the AVCHD format. And as a topper, each camera manufacturer who supports AVCHD format does so in their own way, so the editing software that will import AVCHD files from one brand of camcorder MAY NOT import is from another.
Even the Pixela SE software that Canon supplies (which is bare bones, but does work) will ONLY work with files from these "HF" series camcorders from Canon! Oh, by the way, the Instruction Manual for using the Pixela SE software that Canon includes with the camera IS NOT available for download on Canon's website, but rather, one must buy the camera first and it's included on a CD which you'll find in the box! Only the Installation Instructions are posted on Canon's website! Why you ask? Well once you see the manual you'll find out that the hardware requirements probably exceed what you own, rendering the software almost unusable.
Again, let me repeat...this is a fabulous camcorder and the HD video is spectacular! It's the bigger issue of "what do I do with the files on the SD card now that I've shot the video?" that will stop you in your tracks.
Digital camera Review: AVCHD is no problem for Sony Vegas 8.0 Pro and Dual 2Ghz
Summary: 5 Stars
If you've been doing research, you know that most people say that AVCHD is a nightmare to edit and render. Not so! You need Sony Vegas 8.0 Pro and a fairly new computer. Editing and rendering is slower than with HDV, but it's not a nightmare at all. Can't afford Sony Vegas 8.0 Pro? At least download the trial version to see what you're missing.
If you want to speed it up, shoot in XP+ instead of FXP--rendering takes 1/2 the time.
1) Shoot in 30p. Looks amazing and no deinterlacing required in post to be viewed on the web.
2) Do not use the software that came with the camera, Pixela Image Mixer. It wants to change the files to M2TS which, for some reason, turn out all garbled in Sony Vegas. Remove the card from the camera and put it in a card reader and transfer the MTS files directly to your computer.
3) Drag and drop an MTS file into Vegas
4) Edit
5) Render (if you shoot in 30p, then render in 30.000 frame rate (do not render in 29.970--it will give you a jittery video))
For Youtube rendering: There is a general consensus as to the settings that are best:
Search Youtube for:
"how to make your videos high quality using sony vegas"
Digital camera Review: AVCHD isn't ready for primetime yet
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this camera as a replacement for my JVC GR-DVM70. I loved the idea of recording to solid state memory, and creating videos in high definition since I have two high definition tv sets.
What I have learned is, the video format AVCHD is just not supported yet. I purchased a game console to view the videos and that works well, but since I am the only one who has the game console I am the only person who can view my movies. :(.
The software that comes with the camera is bare bones. It will not allow you to convert AVCHD to standard DVD except directly from the camera. The problem is, the video on the camera is not edited hence if you choose to do this, the dvd will have all the junk that you taped that you don't want to see. The software has edit capability, but it is not intuitive. And I edited a 30 minute movie to remove some footage, and it took 3 hours for the software to save the small edited file! Supposedly you can save the file back to the camera and then save the file from the camera to dvd. I tried this, but canceled the operation because of the time constraint. It takes 5 to 6 hours to do this for a 30 minute video.
The camera does not have an auto fade, the specs are wrong. It has semi-auto fade. While video taping, you need to press the joy stick to tell the camera to fade out when the pause button is pressed. Pressing the joystick while recording makes the camera shake and ruins the video. Another pet peeve is that the date and time can not be retained on the final video. And the stabilizer isn't very good once you zoom out to about 10X and beyond. And it has no view finder, for those bright sunny days. Also it insists on being plugged into the wall outlet when you hook it up to your PC.
The movies that this camera takes which I play on the ps3 in HD look no better than the video that my 8 year old JVC took. Go figure. No motor noise on the movies from the HF100 however.
The nice things about the camera are it's size, it is very portable and it records directly to solid state SDHC. It does a decent job of recording in low light. The still images it takes are decent.
I will take the gamble and continue to make my AVCHD movies and store them. Hopefully editors and blue ray players will be developed and be affordable so that I can share my movies one day.
Digital camera Review: AWFUL software, no support
Summary: 1 Stars
Although the machine is well made, I cannot believe how bad the Pixela ImageMixer 3 software is that is included. I have now spent about 8 hours trying to export a video I made to my external DVD drive and all I keep getting is an obscure error message. There is no help built into the program, no online help and no help on the Canon site. I have registered for the software (which it says you must do for support) but there is still no support phone number or email. Canon should be embarrassed to have such bad software with their camcorder, it makes it unusable and a nightmare.Digital camera Review: Almost Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
Small size, great quality of stills and video. The biggest issue I have is that when you want to import the footage into a Mac, it imports in real time - i.e. if you have 60 minutes of footage, it'll take 60 minutes to get the footage off the SD card and onto your hard drive.