Canon VIXIA HD Camcorder Digital Field Guide [Paperback]

Lonzell Watson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470392363 | ISBN-13: 978-0470392362 | Publication Date: May 11, 2009 | Edition: 1

The exciting world of HD video is in your hands

Your Canon VIXIA HD camcorder delivers crisp video and still images with eye-catching, brilliant colors, enabling you to create amazing video works of art. To help you get all that your camcorder has to offer, this convenient, portable guide shows you how to use the various modes, settings, and features, but that's not all. It also provides an overview of videography fundamentals, then takes you into the field with advice on using sound and light to their best advantage, editing your footage, choosing useful accessories, and more.

• Master the settings for VIXIA HD camcorder models HF10, HF11, HF100, HG10, HG20, and HG21, as well as HV20, HV30, and HR10.

• Experiment with exposure settings, white balance, image effects, zoom speed, and audio recording levels

• Learn more about developing a story, manipulating depth of field, composing shots, and protecting yourself with releases

• Transfer and edit your footage with iMovie® '09 or Pixela ImageMixer

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lonzell Watson is an Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Professional and the author of Final Cut Pro 6 For Digital Video Editors Only. His work as a videographer, writer, director, and producer has included national commercials and television programs for PBS, Fox Sports, the Outdoor Channel, and C-SPAN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470392363
• ISBN-13: 978-0470392362
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #625,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lonzell Watson has been fascinated with technology ever since he disassembled his first Commodore 64 computer in grade school and then attempted to put it back together. He went on to work a 100-mile paper route for an entire year, just to buy his first Apple computer, and he has been writing about technology ever since. After paying his way through college by creating his first mobile computer service and repair company named CompuClean, Lonzell went on to work as an IT consultant for clients including the J. Peterman Company, Time Warner Communications, and Verizon Wireless.

Lonzell is the award-winning author of Teach Yourself Visually iPad, for which he won the 2010 International Award of Excellence from the Society for Technical Communication. This work also earned Lonzell the Distinguished Technical Communication award and Best of Show 2010 from the STC. Lonzell was also presented the Award of Excellence for Teach Yourself Visually iPhoto '09 in 2009. He is the author of other popular titles, including Teach Yourself Visually iPad 2, My Samsung Galaxy Tab, My HTC EVO 3D, the Canon VIXIA HD Digital Field Guide, Final Cut Pro 6 for Digital Video Editor's Only, and Teach Yourself Visually Digital Video.

Currently, Lonzell is the owner of Creative Intelligence LLC, an instructional design and technical writing company (creativeintel.com), whose courseware is being used to train the CIA, FBI, NASA, and all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. He holds a master's degree in Instructional Design and Development, and teaches Digital Asset Creation to graduate students at Bellevue University. Lonzell is a frequent contributor to StudioMonthly.com, and an author for Lynda.com. Lonzell's writing has been syndicated, with hundreds of published tutorials and tips that help demystify consumer electronics and software.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice colorful book, but nothing exceptional, April 21, 2010

By 

MW (Miramar, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon VIXIA HD Camcorder Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I bought this book to go with my HF S100. As compared to the owner's manual, which several reviewers have done, it is definitely more colorful and of better quality. That should be no surprise to anyone who has a Canon manual; they're clearly low-cost publications that are basic at best.

Things to note about this book:

1. Very high quality; easy to read; well laid out.
2. Since it covers a number of different VIXIA models, you'll find a lot of "wasted" pages. If it was, for example, tailored to only my model, it would probably have about a third less pages. Then again, it wouldn't be as marketable to such a large audience and would not sell as well. I spend a lot of time flipping pages trying to find the section pertinent to my particular model.
3. You'll still need your Canon manual. I wanted to check how to format the SD card inside my camera, and when I finally found mention of this within the book, it told me to refer to the manual that came with the camera. Huh?
4. A lot of information within the book pertains to shooting video in general (shot composition, types of microphones, etc) and not how to use the VIXIA specifically. I would prefer to have it only focused on the technical aspects of my camcorder in greater detail, but maybe that's just me.
5. I would have liked to have seen more information explaing the various settings that are available for video resolution and frames per second, with the pros and cons for each.

Lastly, although the book is very well designed and colorful, I find myself taking the manual that came with my camcorder with me on trips/outings and leaving this book at home. Although the manual is very basic with no color photos, it does include the answer to most every "how to" or "what's that button for?" question I come up with, whereas this book doesn't. Plus, it only gives me information for MY camcorder model. The manual is also much smaller and therefore easier to travel with. I feel much safer having it with me to use as a practical "go-to" guide as opposed to this "field guide."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, June 19, 2009

By 

K. M. Steinberg (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon VIXIA HD Camcorder Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I bought this book for my HG20, and it delivers. This Guide should be shipped with the camera, because what good is knowing that a camera has a certain function if you don't know how to apply it to everyday shooting? This book does a great job showing you why and when you would use your camera's features. It also explains what the camera can't do very well, and gives you solutions. This book is also quite comprehensive on the functions of the cameras. My instruction manual is in the trash.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for Vixia owners, June 29, 2009

By 

David Navarro Jr. "Topeka Design" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon VIXIA HD Camcorder Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I talked my local library into ordering this book and I am certainly glad I did. The book is very informative, gave me great information I didn't know, and useful information on subjects I thought I already new well.

The information on lighting and manual settings for my HF11 were especially helpful. My only complaint is that for a given setting, the author does not cover the differences between the different camera UIs. So a little extra searching on my part to find the where the settings were on my camera was necessary.