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: Almost There
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this camera to record my Football Teams games with. The camera itself is very nice, I do not have one single complaint, and battery life is pretty good.
I do have a huge complaint with the crappy software that comes with this camera, it is junk. I have been searching high and low for some decent software, and it does not seem to exist. Some people recommend Pinnacle while some recommend others, the bottom line is for every good review of one software package, there is an offsetting bad review. This AVCHD format that all the camera manufactures are using has caught everyone off guard. I am able to suck the video down into iMovie, which is a junk program, and then share it with iDVD which is also junk, to then be able to burn a DVD that I can watch on an ordinary DVD player hooked up to a TV. If you want to just watch on your computer, then no problem, its when you want whatever you recorded in a DVD format you can watch on any old DVD player that things go to heck. It takes me about 2 hours to transfer a single football game from the camera to an actual usable DVD. So if you think hey, I am going to get this camera, and then burn some DVD's for my family or friends, you need to think again. I am as tech savvy as they come, and it is a serious PIA. This problem exists for all the camera's, so it is not a Canon or Sony problem it is all the AVCHD cameras that us this crazy format that none of the software makers have figured out what to do with yet. I use both PC and MAC and I found the MAC seems to do this smoother than my PC, but if you only have a PC, good luck is all I can say.
Digital camera Review: Almost perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my first HD camcoder and first Canon brand after working with SD Panasonic. I am very happy with this camcorder, it is very easy to operate, the footage is excellent quality, it is small and easy to handle. I took 1 star off because of few things I think could be improved
1. It takes long time to switch between capturing photo and video. It often takes 15-20 seconds, which sometimes leads to lost opportunities.
2. The bundled battery lasts only about an hour and the supplied charger doesn't allow to charge it outside of camcorder.
3. I wish the captured photograhs had higher resolution, but even this way, I am very happy with them.
4. I wish there is a software for Linux to import and play (not necessarily edit) the footage. As of now the only way to import is to directly copy the .mts files and I haven't found a way how to play them on Linux (I used SageTV and HD 100 media extender to play them on TV with excellent results)
Digital camera Review: Almost perfect, except for full HD (FXP) mode
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought HF100 from Amazon based on the review. Also bought the Transcend 16GB SDHC Class 6 for HF100.
I don't want to repeat all the good comments about HF100 which I agree with them all. I'm really upset by one big problem I discovered, not sure whether it's because I have a bad copy of HF100 or else.
In short, HF100 works great when you do not pan-shoot, or only do very slow motion pan-shoot, otherwise in FXP mode at 30P frame rate, the video becomes very "jerky", "jumpy" and make me feel motion-sick watching the video. The problem become less visible when you shoot in XP+ mode at 30P frame rate. This means although H100 is design to support Full HD, it's really not capable of handling Full HD when at least doing pan shoot.
I'm thinking about return it to Amazon, but trying to get some feedbacks from other users before I do so.
Digital camera Review: Amazing HD Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband did a great deal of research (including Amazon customer reviews) before we purchased the Canon Vixia HF100 cameraCanon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. We are delighted with the camera. We also purchased 8 GB and 16 GB SDHC (class 6) memory cards Transcend 8GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD Class 6)and an extra battery. There are some things we did not understand before we purchased the camera that we now know -- and I will share with you.
(1)In order to edit your HD movies, you MUST have a powerful computer (we tried it on our "pretty good" computer and it did not work). When replacing our old desktop computer, we used the requirements called out for expensive video editing software. We got a Dell Inspiron 530 with Core 2 Quad, 3GB Ram, 256 NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT video card, 500 GB hard drive (bigger would be better), 48XCDRW/DVD drive, 16XDVD+/-RW drive (maybe should have gotten dual drive and maybe Blu Ray?), SoundBlaster Audigy audio.
(2)The 16GB card holds about 2 hours of recording.
(3)You can make High Definition movies using your powerful computer, a REGULAR DVD burner on DVD-R discs, USING THE SOFTWARE THAT CAME WITH THE CAMERA. Most people who will use this camera have no need for the expensive video editing software that does fancy things. With the software that comes with the camera you can delete scenes, clip scenes, split scenes and add titles. Just follow the steps in the manual included on the software disc. There is a small learning curve. I had a little trouble with adding transitions, but don't care. I have not tried adding extra audio.
(4)You can also burn regular (not HD) DVDs (about 30 minutes per DVD) and export movies in the format for a website or YouTube (instructions in manual).
(5)To view your High Definition movies, you must have a Blu Ray player THAT CAN VIEW AVCHD FORMAT. (Not all Blu Ray players support AVCHD.) We purchased the Panasonic BD30 Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player. It is a great player that pairs perfectly with this camera. You can put the SDHC memory cards directly into the player or burn your own, edited HD movies and play them in the player. This player will also play the ones you burn as regular DVDs.
(6)We burned 25 minutes of High Definition video (3.47 GB) onto a DVD. There was room left, so we believe a regular DVD will hold 1/2 hour of HD (4+ GB). (The Panasonic player can play dual layer discs, so a dual layer burner on your computer, and dual layer discs might get you a full hour.)
*Note: Regarding the Panasonic Player, you can make a CD of your JPEG photos from other cameras and play them. That is "CD", not "DVD". The important thing is to NOT include anything but JPEG (no movie clips), or the player will not read the disc.
Digital camera Review: Amazing Product
Summary: 4 Stars
The Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory Hi-Def Camera is excellent. It'll be the only camera you want to use. Especially if you are on a tight budget. Plus living in a small apartment, space and size is a factor so I had to get something small enough to stow away without any hassle. Instead of tape, you shoot directly to a memory card (best is the SD 16GB card that'll last for 2hrs of video recording). The HF100 shoots great in low light and the audio is quite good and even better with the shotgun mic. In adddition, also got the wide-angle telephoto lens that worked perfect shooting a live stage show. The only drawback is you'll need a quad-core processor on your pc to edit the footage as it takes a long time to render hi-def. (A one hour live performance took about 3hours to transcode on my dual core desktop). Plus you'll need a blu-ray or a hd burner to make cd's. The good part is that the camera comes with basic imaging software to make mpegs, edit pictures and burn movies. With a little patience, you can make some nice DVDs. The HF100 also takes very nice stills but for that I use the Nikon Coolpix S550. So, if you're looking for a good hi-def camera at a good price, the Canon Vixia HF100 is perfect for someone on the go.