Canon VIXIA HF S100

When Canon released the Canon HF S100 they stated it was “easy and convenient to share HD video,” and they were right. The connections such as the HDMI port make it easy to hook up to other technological components and upload videos to your computer. Overall the S100 has excellent image quality, accurate capture, vibrant color, a compact design, and an easy to use style. There are drawbacks to this early version of the VIXIA HF S series. It has a relatively short battery life, limited software, disappointing low- light performance, sound/ audio, and for some it is uncomfortable to hold.

Canon VIXIA HF S100

Features

The S100 series comes with Canon’s exclusive 8.59 Megapixel CMOS image sensor and DIGIC DV III processor. It is light weight, compact, and has convenient flash memory. It can be used with laptops, MP3 players, PDA’s, and cell phones. This model will record up to 6 hours of video with the SDHC memory card. It also has an extended recording space option if needed. You can record at a rate of 24Mbps in AVCHD format for high quality images. To add to the rest of the features it has the 10x HD video lens, face detection, optical image stabilization, and other options.

It is necessary to be more specific on some of the top features we have listed above. The memory of the Canon HF S100 can be up to 32GB with the removable SDHC memory card. When using the 24Mbps and 32GB memory card it is possible to obtain 2 hours and 55 minutes of video. If you use the LP mode at 5Mbps you can increase your recording time to 12 hours and 15 minutes. The S100 does not have dual memory, which means there is no internal memory, just external. To obtain 1920×1080 resolution with your S100 you need a Class 4 or higher memory card.

The lens of any camera is important to ensure you obtain the best shots, no matter where you are in the room. Canon S100 Camcorder comes with the 10x HD video lens providing you with the distance you need for recording a child playing on a soccer field or on stage. There are four zoom speeds: three pre-set and one variable speed. The setup allows for a smooth, professional appearing zoom shot. The lens is coated with Super Spectra Coating to reduce flair and ghosting. The lens’ aspheric structure decreases aberration and helps resolution be clear and sharp. The S100 has a built in 1.7x Tele-converter to increase the telephoto range it has, offering the 200x digital zoom.

The image stabilization mentioned above is worth delving into. You may remember photographs or videos you took ten or twenty years ago. You were angry because you were not able to catch the blurred video you made until it was too late. A small shake of your hand could instantly throw the image into a blurred mess. Luckily with Canon those days are over. The image stabilization holds the camera steady for small movements, such as a shaking hand. You also have the replay option to ensure you have clear video as you tape. The added editing features on the camera will help you cut out the significant bobbles made. Any slight motion or vibration of the camera will be stabilized by the optical image stabilization feature.

Actual user review:
“I have shot with all types of cameras for many years, my last camera was a Sony FX1. This camera out performs the Sony, the images are beautiful. AVCHD has been a bear to figure out but I found a workable option using FCP. look up finalcutprotips for the work flow tip. I was going to give the camera 4 stars but I realized this camera is a consumer grade camera shooting better than most pro grade cameras so I really can’t knock some of it’s short comings, such as the mini shoe connection which I had to buy an adapter for, stupid idea, manual focus is not that easy to work with, which will be up to me to get a handle on and no native 24p but It has a great feature set that is so easy to work with that I have to give it 5 stars. Buy it.” – J.Rough (USA)

Specifications

Specifications regarding the Canon HF S100 include manual exposure settings for the focusing system. You have Instant AF, Face Priority AF, and TTL. There are also programmed AE’s like auto, P, Av, Tv, Portrait, Sports, Night, etc. The minimum focusing distance is 10mm wide and 1m telephoto with a max shutter speed of 1/2000 for movies and 1/500 still image.

There are USB, Video, and Microphone terminals to help increase its usability. The USB and Video terminals make it easy to hook up the camera to other components and share the video. The microphone terminal allows for an external device to be added for better sound quality and noise reduction when needed.

Price

Canon’s VIXIA HF S100 series is $1099.99 at suggested retail. The features and specifications of the camcorder account for the high price. If you take the occasional video and are not looking for professional recordings this is not the camera for you. The HF S100 presents a professional, clean, and sharp image of the moments you wish to record. While there are newer models on the market with dual memory, if you can only afford the Canon HF S100 you are getting a great camera.

Actual User Reviews:

• “Short and sweet. The Vixia HF s100 is, hands down, the best investment I have made in a long time. I purchased this camera to make the move to HD without spending a fortune in these lousy economic times. I had considered much more expensive cameras but an idie film project came my way that needed to be shot in HD and quickly. This camera does not disappoint. There are certain things that separate a camera like this from a pro camera but this one tends to blur the lines. First the cons. Lack of manual controls. If Canon would make the focus assist dial have a greater range it would solve this problem quickly (firmware update – Canon, are you listening?) Second would be the lens size – although this is the largest in it’s class from what I understand. The glass, though, is perfect. Third would be the over abundance of special bells and whistles. Obviously, they’ve taken the best of both consumer and pro needs and desires and put them into one small package (it fits in a large pocket – very easy to tote around but not very impressive to an actor on the set!) The low light performance is something that some have complained about. For a film maker it’s not a deal breaker because we can control light for the most part but if you plan on shooting in low light – expect some graininess especially under low lit tungsten. Although, the Vixia has special settings for most situations that seem to work very well. I filmed 4th of July Fireworks the other night and it looked stunning on a 60 inch HD TV. Sold my DVX’s and all the accessories and now it’s just me and the Vixia. Very happy indeed.” – R.S.Smith (NY,USA)

• “I’m 61 years old and have had 3 previous video camcorders. This Canon Vixia HFS100 is the best! Absolutely gorgeous video at 30p – have not used the cinema feature yet. I was all hung up on how to “transfer and store” the videos and also had a hard time deciding between Hard Disk and Flash Memory. Well, the 16GB Transcend HDSD cards hold 90 minutes and only cost about $35. Pop those babies into my Panasonic Blu-Ray player (SD slot) and the Hi-Def images on my 61″ Samsung are truly unbelievable. No need to mess with transferring to the PC hard drive (but I DO, so as to back up and avert disaster). Just pop in the SDHC card and use the Blu-Ray remote to play, pause, skip, freeze, etc. Now be aware of the small size of the HFS100. It is small and light. Easy to carry almost anywhere. But holding it steady may be a chore. Maybe a mini-tripod would help, or find a wall, bench, rock, etc to help steady it. yes, it has the image stabilization which helps, but a tripod for telephoto shots would be a big plus. The ’smart’ LIon battery also tells you how much time is left on the battery and it seems very accurate. It is a GREAT product!” – J.E.Heiner (IL,USA)

• “I purchased the Vixia HF S100 to practice my videography and editing on a Macbook Pro. I spent countless hours researching consumer, prosumer, and professional camcorders before making my decision. After using this camera I can say with certainty, if you have $1000 to spend on a camcorder, this is the one! The footage has a professional quality to it. It rivals footage from professional 3CCD/CMOS cameras. It’s not quite up there with cameras in the $3K or $4K range, but it’s close. Here is a tip – set your max gain (low light compensation) to 0 or 6 db. Anything over than that and your blacks will be washed out. There are enough manual features to accommodate the budding auteur. Or, set it to one of the many pre-programmed modes and get great looking video for any occasion without much effort. The cinema mode is one of the effects that you have to see; I recorded the downtown Atlanta skyline while driving on a bright day, and I was amazed when I played back the footage. It looks as if each building was painted with pastels. Almost surreal. I’m sure some of you out there have been warned to stay away from the AVCHD format. I myself was curious how this was going to preform when editing the video. So far, I haven’t had any issues. My review would be one-sided if I didn’t mention the shortcomings of this camera. First, Canon accessories are expensive! You will want the external mic (DM-100), long-life batteries, and possibly lens adapters. All of these things seem overpriced in my opinion. But, I justify it by telling myself the HF S100 is such a good deal at $1K, I’ll spend some money on accessories. Second, the optical image stabilization doesn’t blow me away. I like to implement a good number of moving shots. These take a very steady hand with this camera. It is very sensitive to shake and jitter. I contribute this minor flaw to how light this camera is. In fact, some of the shake can be compensated for by adding weight to the camera (a collapsed tripod works well). And last, the LCD screen is small. Manual focus can be tricky, but you can choose between several zebra striping or peaking options for focus assist. That being said, the joystick on the LCD screen is easy to control. Still, I’m hoping Canon will give us at least a 3″ LCD in the next iteration of this otherwise great camcorder. All-in-all, this a worthy camcorder with nice features and an output that should even satisfy discriminating videographers. I truly believe that this is the most camcorder you can get for the price.” – S.Whaley (GA,USA)

• “Bought the HFS100 to upgrade to HD and the quality of the video is spectacular. Shot 5+ hours in Borneo in some tough conditions and every frame looks like a Discovery HD program. This camera is relatively expensive but worth it if you want true HD in your home videos.” – W.Hunt (LV,USA)

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