Canon VIXIA HF100 (just bought one!)

Randall_Oelerich

Randall_Oelerich

Veteran
I just ordered a Canon VIXIA HF100, pretty excited. Not exactly a Canon XHA1, but this little "burrito" is a full HD camcorder, size of a can of soda pop, full high definition (1920x1080i), holds two hours of 1920x1080 on the built in 16GB of solid state flash memory (no tape, no drive), has manual/auto white balance, lots of other goodies, etc. Seems like a nice little burritor HD camcorder for experimenting with short films. If anybody else buys one or uses one let me know, exchange tips, etc. Got it for $635 on Amazon, free shipping, hard to go wrong at that price.
 
So out of the box it can not even record, i..e a buyer has to first go buy a memory card? Shame on Canon if that is the case. I know when I bought the XHA1 I could not believe Canon cheaped out and did not include a $4 firewire cable to transfer tape footage to a PC, unreal. I guess I will have to buy a couple of 16GB SDHD cards then if nothing comes with the HF100; you are right though, I think I mistook the built in 16GB with the HF10, but I sure hope some sort of memory card comes with the HF100 or I am surely going to complain to Canon. Thanks for the heads up. Off to newegg i guess to buy a couple of cards.

Back from amazon, just shelled out another $106 for two 16GB cards. I guess I would have been better off just buying the HF10 with 16GB built in mem!

Rippie said:
if you bought the HF100..and not the HF10, you dont have an internal memory like you mention.
Click to expand...
 
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cancel that order mate! you can get those cards much cheaper than amazon. go to newegg.com
or meritline.com
 
I think they are about the same at newegg, factoring in shipping at newegg, free shipping at amazon. Roughly $50 for 16GB SDSH cards either place. Plus Canon recommends Transcend cards; I bought the cheapest SD cards before for a Zoom digital recorder and the cards had errors recording frequently so I do not want to buy too cheap. But yeah I like newegg. Amazon purchase was partly done because of the simplicy, a few easy mouse clicks and it was done.

Z1Scottie said:
cancel that order mate! you can get those cards much cheaper than amazon. go to newegg.com
or meritline.com
Click to expand...
 
Dude you'd be wasting your money with an HF10.
Extra..what 100-150 bux? for a built in card when you can buy more externals for 26bux for 8gigs.

And why would anyone want to have to plug the camera into a computer directly to dump the files. Much easier taking the card, putting it in a 5 dollar reader.

The HF10 doesnt make any sense to me what so ever.
 
I think that the 16 GB of memory Canon included in the HF10 served 2 purposes:
1. To provide consumers with an easy, out-of-the-box shooting experience. If you're a consumer, and the last camcorder you bought used 8mm tape, then you're going to have no idea what kind of SD card to get, how big, etc. It's easier to open it up, plug it in, turn it on, and press record.
2. Also, that 16 GB can be great for anyone in a pinch who doesn't have an SD card in. Sort of an intermidate recording medium.

Just my 2 cents. :)
 
I think its pretty easy to find out what kind of card to buy.
It says it right on canons page.

And personally i think not having a card available is like forgetting to put gas in your car.
Gotta be a little responsiblity in thinking.

Seems totally goofy to me to buy on newegg right now
HF100- $650
HF10- $819

Getting close to a 200 dollar difference, when just 30 mins ago I bought
2x 8 gig cards on newegg for 45 bux.

Remember, there is ZERO differences between the cameras other than that, and the color.

Just my 2 extra cents ;)
 
Okay then I am not crazy, I am not imagining it, I could not either find much of a difference between the HF10 and HF100. I am okay now with the HF100; I am used to remembering to use a mem card, taking it out and using a card reader, etc. because I do lots of digital SLR photography. I ordered two 16GB SDSH cards (Transcend brand) so I should be good to go, each card holds almost two hours of full HD footage, enough for playing with short films.
 
Just got it today. Yeah, same as HF10 except HF100 has no built in memory. Even the user manual has on it "VIXIA HF10 VIXIA HF100" so they must be identical other than the memory. I have to say, in less than 30 minutes I pretty much figure out how all the controls work, without even reading the user manual; looks to be pretty easy to work. Small, fricken small. You could hide it in a mitten while filming!
 
What do you mean by "Not exactly a Canon XHA1"? In my experience (and I used both) the HF 100 is much better than the HXA1. Not ergonomically, but the image quality is much better.
 
so can you pop out the sdhc card, edit it in pinnacle, export the file back to the camera then play it back via HDMI or Component in HD on a LCd tv?
 
I don't know the answer. Intuitively, it seems this would be possible provided what you export to the camera is a Canon-compliant AVCHD file like the camera itself would create.

Anyone tried this?
 
princigalli said:
What do you mean by "Not exactly a Canon XHA1"? In my experience (and I used both) the HF 100 is much better than the HXA1. Not ergonomically, but the image quality is much better.
Click to expand...


Wow that is unbelievable... But surely the colors are better on the XHA1 right? It is a three chip camera!
 
OK you have the camera, where is the Vimeo?



Randall_Oelerich said:
So out of the box it can not even record, i..e a buyer has to first go buy a memory card? Shame on Canon if that is the case. I know when I bought the XHA1 I could not believe Canon cheaped out and did not include a $4 firewire cable to transfer tape footage to a PC, unreal.
Click to expand...

many printers are coming w/o a USB cable, so it isn't too much of a surprise that any company would skimp when they think they'll make more money on it. BUT since the XHA1 has a hefty price tag, it is pennies on the dollar to include the FW cable.

(on the flip side, all my Western Digital ext. Hard Drives came w/ AC adapter, FW 800, FW 800 to 400, & USB)

but honestly, is it that cheap of Canon not to include a memory card? what PHD (Press-Here-Dummy) still camera comes w/ a memory card? I know many have built in memory for about 4 pictures, but a video camera that you have to insert media before you record doesn't seem like Canon is being a big jerk, imho
 
So nobody on this thread has posted the most important part, how is it shooting with these small Canons? Are you happy with the performance? I am contemplating one to take on a trip to France. I don't think I want to hassle with carrying and trying to look like a tourist with the HPX170 so I am contemplating an HF10/100 or something like it.

1. Do either of the models include a mic jack? Lens threads so you can put a wide angle on it?
2. Manual audio levels possible?
3. Manual focus and white balance?
4. For more professional users, what is your workflow to get the AVCHD footage into a usable editing format into FCP? Can you transcode AVCHD to DVCProHD or ProRes422 formats? Does it take forever to transcode?
5. Do these cameras shoot true 24pN footage or is it some kind of "fake" 24p mode?

Has anyone posted any samples or short films they have shot with either camcorder?

Dan
 
1. Yes, Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Yes, however to bypass the autogain that the camera employs you have to either set the camera to spotlight mode, or use the HV20 trick illustrated by Barry Green. http://dvxuser.com/jason/hv20/

4. I use FCP, use log and transfer and encode to Prores. It doesn't take very long, it's a fairly quick process.

5. It does shoot real 24P, but it requires a reverse pulldown. You can use cinematools to do this, but I use a different program, JES Deinterlacer. Nice thing about this is you can set it up to run as a droplet. I'll capture my stuff in Final Cut, select all the clips and drop them on JES and it will automatically do a reverse pulldown on the clips. I just find it easier and quicker than setting up to reverse pulldown each clip in cinematools.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jeschot/home.html#DEI

My HF10 footage on vimeo:

http://www.vimeo.com/2595391
http://www.vimeo.com/2178171
http://www.vimeo.com/1271346
http://www.vimeo.com/1245459
http://www.vimeo.com/2598660
http://www.vimeo.com/1168206
http://www.vimeo.com/1098962
http://www.vimeo.com/1034401

The best part about this camera besides the picture quality is the size. I shoot more now because I take it everywhere. When I had a DVX when not shooting jobs I left it in the pelican case. Now with the HF10 I won't think twice and just throw it in my jacket pocket. Beat it up, use it, and it even takes alright stills too. This is a great travel camera and it's good enough to shoot shorts on as well. You need a mic shoe attachment for this, but it's a pretty nice little cam and does rival the prosumer cams in image quality. Picture is VERY sharp.

Isaac
 
I've been looking between the HF10 and HF11. I like the 24mb/s mode but hear it doesn't really improve image quality at all if any. How is the 24p on the HF10? I also heard the 24p is better on the HF11. I want a good personal cam but have something I could potentially use for shots that I wouldn't dare shoot with a more expensive cam.

I downloaded some footage from the HF10 and I can't make head or tails of it. It's an .mts file. I have a mac, FCP6.
 
Thank you so much for the info Isaac. I heard there are supposed to be new models introduced at CES in January but it is good to know that there are so many professional sorts of options on these little Canons.

I will be getting whatever the most current model is in the Spring or perhaps an HF10/11 on closeout.

Your exeprience is a big help. Thanks!

Dan
 
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