Canon VIXIA HF S10 AVCHD Camcorder Review
Many camcorders that you might know of use tape, usually the MiniDV standard. Within the last few years, camcorders using hard drives or flash memory have been popping up. Canon has been a pioneer in this area, and today we're taking a look at one of their latest flagship flash models, the VIXIA HF S10. How is the quality compared to MiniDV? Read on to find out.
The VIXIA HF S10 is Canon's flagship flash memory camcorder, and utilizing the AVCHD format with up to 24Mbps bit rate you can capture stunning high resolution footage. The HF S10 has an 8.59 Megapixel CMOS sensor and the latest Canon DIGIC DV III image processor. Best of all, the HF S10 has 32GB of internal storage and can take an additional 32GB SDHC card for extra storage.
The HF S10 also has a 10x HD video lens with a built-in 1.7x digital teleconverter, which provides extended telephoto range for those hard to get shots. This particular model records up to 1920 x 1080 resolution video, and up to 60 frames a second.
The camcorder also has some advanced features, including color bars, manual gain, zebra stripe functionality, and a 3.5mm mic input for using a high-quality shotgun microphone. On the right hand side of the camcorder under a flip-up lid are USB, miniHDMI, and component video ports for connecting the HF S10 to a HDTV or computer.
On the top is a decent sized zoom rocker and a non-standard "Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe Terminal". We would have liked if Canon stuck with the regular hotshoe that can be used to mount LED lights (such as Litepanels) and higher-end shotgun microphones (not the DM-100 Canon offers). One unique feature about the HF S10 is the Video Snapshots feature, 4-second clips that you can lay on top of ten music tracks that Canon provides for a highlight reel of a vacation or family event. Not sure if I'd use this, but if you want an easy way to capture moments and share them, this is perfect for you.
In our tests, we found video quality to be excellent (24Mbps mode) and sharp with saturated colors. While the camera did focus fairly quickly on macro shots, outdoor shots had some purple fringing on high-contrast edges. Battery life was fairly average, and even though it charges quickly, we recommend purchasing an extra battery.
Find the Canon VIXIA HF S10 on Amazon.com today for $1249.99.
Pros
- Excellent, saturated video.
- Built-in 32GB memory.
- Advanced "prosumer" features included.
Cons
- Proprietary hotshoe.
- No optical viewfinder.
Entries(RSS)
I love the HF S10 but need a to down load the memory to a portable hard drive, the DVD recorded that Canon offers can not recode enough data on sd DVDs to be useful.