Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I guess I am somewhat of an expert having co-written a few books on high definition video so I did quite a bit of research before deciding on this camera. With a baby on the way I knew I wanted a HD video camera and I also wanted it to be solid state based. My last video camera was the Canon Optura Pi. Standard definition of course and tape based. I don't like tape. I don't like having them around, buying them, tape dropouts, jamming in the transport ($300 repair), or storing them. I like shooting video on the card, transferring the video to the computer and then putting the card back in the computer.

With adequate light the video quality of this camera is pretty amazing. I have viewed video from it on my 52XBR4 Sony LCD TV and it really is HD. Only when the lighting gets really bad does the apparent resolution go down and the noise increase. Still the picture remains very usable in all but the darkest conditions. Considering the fact that this is only a 1/3.2" CMOS sensor the picture quality is very good.

Despite what you may have heard about AVCHD compression is it quite editable with the right computer and software. I would say that if you have at least a 2.5GHz dual core you should be fine. I am editing with Sony Vegas Pro 8 and the editing experience is quite snappy.

At the maximum bit rate (16Mbps) the recordings are very clean with macroblocking only visible on really fast motion scenes or other difficult scenes like water waves. And even then it is minimal. I would like to check out the new HF11 with its 24Mbps data rate and see how much better it does than the HF100 on tough motion scenes. I just hate to have to pay the extra money for the built in memory, which I personally think is a waste. Why be locked into the rate that Canon charges for the memory when it's going down every day?

What would I change on this camera?
1. Make the zoom control a rocker.
2. Increase the max bit rate recording to 24Mbps like the HF11.
3. How about the next generation having a 1/2" single CMOS sensor and a larger lens to match for better low light sensitivity.
4. True 30p mode that doesn't use the 60i wrapper to store 30p video.

Nice quality and color purity. No focus hunting.

This is a first real full HD, unlike fake anisotropic 1440x1080 for previous models.

24p and 30p are impractical ones, video is recorded in 60i anyway. I'd rather see fully progressive 30 fps video instead. Making field deinterlace (even-odd-even-odd) makes nice 60fps footage with half vertical resolution. I'm downscaling the horizontal res twice as well with lanczos sharp resizer. That gives 960x540 ultra sharp very live (60 fps) progressive video.

Battery life is a drawback, you'd better buy extra BP819 off eBay. Note, this battery doesn't have a chip thus can't show charge time left indicator.

Besides battery and "fake" 30p it is a perfect camera.

Pros - Very quiet, quality is amazing on my big plasma. Pleasantly surprised with audio quality and zoom stabilization.

Cons - Night quality is okay, could be better, but does have built in light to help a little. Not sure why the USB requires a Canon Specific 'Universal" adapter. Can be frustrating if you intend to show your vacation footage to family and forgot to bring the Canon plug. The USB plugs from your Canon Elf won't help you, neither will the other 10 plugs from all your other 'Universal' devices. If you forget the VIXIA cord, your footage is held hostage.

Got this camcorder to video kids sports..not a pro at all. Works great. Easy to use, turn it on and go. We dont use all the manual features, probably never will. But the picture on our 42 inch HD tv is awesome...which is all we want. Very happy. Decided on this model because it only uses flash disks..no hard drive to break down, or extra weight, or more battery use. Negatives....because it is so small, which is one of the reasons we bought it, it is difficult to hold still when using. But we use a tripod to video sports anyway. And the bundled software to use to download to your pc sucks big time. Difficult to use, not intuitive at all. I'll probably buy a different application. And all I want to do is download and store it..I dont even want to edit..except to delete some stuff, which I do right on a camera anyway.

This was a gamble that paid off. It is the first flash-based camera I have ever had. Some reviews said that it was difficult to use with a Mac. In fact, this camera is easier to use than my previous Canon HV20, takes a great picture, and is easily edited with both iMovie 08 (blah) or Final Cut Express. I can bring it into iMovie 08 or FCE, save, and edit it in iMovie HD , as sometimes I find FCE too complicated.

The only real con I have with it is the fact I cannot re-upload to the flash card, and since I sold my HV20, I have no miniDV camera to upload to. I sometimes do shows to put on local community tv, and it needs to be on miniDV. The sound from wind is a little worse than with the HV20, but I usually tape indoors.

The pros include small size, no tapes to lug around, 12X zoom, superior sound from forward facing mikes, the ability to use sd cards from my photo camera, and an easy button. Often I find the easy button gets better shots than when I do the work of setting focus etc. I absolutely love the integration with Apple's FCE, as I can pull up log and transfer, and choose what clips I want to transfer over to my computer. And watching something on a high-def tv from the hdmi connection on the camera is a joy.