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89 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Quick review from a professional still photographer, By
This review is from: Canon VIXIA HF S20 Full HD Camcorder w/32GB Flash Memory & Pro Manual Control (Electronics)
I am a professional photographer that needed a camcorder for our first baby on the way. I wanted a camcorder that produced outstanding full 1080P HD video, good optical stabilizer and ease of use. Canon delivers. I was blown away by the quality of the video shot in full auto mode. The colors, vibrance and razor sharp focus completely convinced me that my hard earned cash was well spent. The dynamic stabilizer is amazing. At wide angle, I shot a video one handed while walking my dog. Usually this results in severe motion sickness. Reviewing the video was incredible- very smooth, no jarring. At full telephoto (10x) some movement was noticeable....until you press the Powered IS button located on the bottom left of the LCD. I call it my virtual tri-pod. The Powered IS locks down the image. Completely acceptable, but more, amazing how well it works.The LCD panel is gorgeous. It's a mini HD monitor. It's a touch panel that works. You can control everything from exposure, focus, aperature, shutter speed, video gain, and more. What's really cool is the Touch and Track feature. Say you have someone or something (works on objects too) that you want to keep in focus and property expose- just touch the person or thing on the LCD and a box forms around it. It's so sensitive you can touch someone's eye and the camera puts focus priority on the eye, vs the nose. This even works with my dog. Really impressed by that. As for ease of use, the Auto mode is exactly that. Turn it on, point it and record. The camera is very intelligent and almost always selects the best settings for your subject. This is perfect for someone that doesnt really know a ton about photography/videography but wants to be able to capture life's precious moments. For more advanced users, there are various settings that will give you hours of fun playing with. It has a pop-up video light which works well in a pinch. The hot shoe allows for more sophisticated lights and mics. One gripe I do have is the battery performance. True, the LCD eats power, but come on, the standard battery only lasts 40-50 mins tops. Canon should include a larger capacity battery. Canon should also include a wall charger so when you shell out more money for a bigger battery, you can charge that while still using your beautiful camcorder. So, to sum up, you will not be disapointed with the quality and ease of use of this camera. Make sure you get a bigger battery and getting a Hoya filter to protect your HD lens is a great idea. Comments
Tracked by 4 customers
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Showing 1-10 of 13 posts in this discussion
Initial post:
May 2, 2010 4:51:53 AM PDT
J. Ford says:
Your idea for a Hoya filter is a really good idea. I don't know much about it other than it would be a great way to protect the lens from dirt, wind, sand, etc. I was looking on the Hoya website and notice they specify sizes by measurement in millimeters. Would you tell me what size this camcorder would utilize. I've been looking to get this camcorder as well and am hoping to make the purchase in the coming days. I appreciated your review too. Helped solidify my decision to get this great camcorder. Thanks.
In reply to an earlier post on
May 2, 2010 12:43:58 PM PDT
Last edited by the author on May 2, 2010 12:50:13 PM PDT
Andrew Clapp says:
Hoya 58mm UV (Ultra Violet) Multi Coated Glass Filter
Thank you for your kind words. The Vixia HF S20 takes a 58mm filter. My older brother has used Hoya for years and years and they really hold up. The one I purchased with the camera is included in this reply. It really looks like it belongs on the camera. You are correct that the #1 reason I bought the filter was for lens protection. The added benefit of the UV helps keep blue skies nice and blue, among other benefits. You may want to also purchase a rocket blower to clean off the filter, dust will obviously get onto the filter and you will want something that blows it off rather than use a cleaning cloth first which can put fine line scratches on the coating. I am extremely precise with my gear- it costs a lot of money, and I want to keep it new. I have posted several video examples on Youtube under my account Agent45061. Andy
In reply to an earlier post on
May 2, 2010 6:41:25 PM PDT
J. Ford says:
Hey Andy, thanks for the response. I took a look at your channel and the videos are great. Really demonstrates the quality of the camera. That hummingbird video was really cool, looked like something out of a nature documentary. I had a couple questions if you don't mind. One of the cool things is in some of your videos the subject is in focus while the background is out of focus. Did you use manual controls to perform that or was it part of the camcorder's automatic tracking feature. I also wanted to ask you what the difference is between the PF30 vs. 60i. I think it has something to do with the amount of horizontal lines produced for the video but not exactly sure beyond that. My last question is what encoding methods do you use before putting your videos up online? I'll likely be uploading some of my videos up on YouTube or Vimeo and just wanted to pick the brain of a professional. Thanks again.
In reply to an earlier post on
May 3, 2010 10:47:54 AM PDT
Andrew Clapp says:
The blurred out background is a natural occurance anytime you focus on a subject closer than the background. The level of "blurriness" or "bokeh" is determined by the lens, focal length (zoom 2X, 10X ect) and aperature setting. The hummingbird video was shot very close to 10X optical zoom, causing the trees in the background to appear very blurry. If I had zoomed all the way to wide angle, 1X, the trees would not be very blurry. There is a much more technical explanation for all of this which if you really were interested you can research it on the net. Basically the Vixia has a large aperature lens which creates very nice "bokeh" backgrounds when zoomed in tight to an object in focus. The hummingbird video was shot simply by touching on the bird as it arrived and a box formed around it ensuring tack sharp focus. When the bird left, you can see the camera focus on the trees.
PF30 vs 60i - I am still researching this myself. Bascially in 60i the camera is still shooting at 30 frames per second but recording 2 duplicate images at the same time and then interlacing it, hence, 60 "i". What does this mean? 60i gives your footage the classic camcorder feel, and allows for recording very fast movement, sports, action shots. The other modes, especially 24F, a real bonus on this camera allows more of a "film" look by recording 24 frames per second. I'm still experimenting with various frame rate modes. Encoding methods- the hummingbird video was uploaded directly from the AVCHD file, no conversion, no editing, just the raw file. The other videos were rendered using Adobe Premier Elements 7 and saved to the H.264 full HD format. (Blu-Ray). One day I'll spend the money on a really nice video editing program, but for now it's just a hobby. Hope that answers your questions.
Posted on
May 29, 2010 5:28:45 AM PDT
Saketh says:
Hi Andy
your review is very helpful, but this camcorder is too expensive for me do you recommend any HD camcorder in $500 range I'm not a professional photographer, looking for something works great in auto mode Thanks for any help
In reply to an earlier post on
Jun 2, 2010 9:25:27 AM PDT
Andrew Clapp says:
The Canon HF M30 may be your best option. It has most of the same features, but the CMOS chip (video processor brain) is lower quality. You probably wouldnt notice any quality difference in real life appications.
Canon VIXIA HF M30 HD Dual Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom
In reply to an earlier post on
Jun 13, 2010 12:59:16 PM PDT
JackS says:
Also get a screen protector before using it. They really work and stay on the screen well.
In reply to an earlier post on
Jun 13, 2010 1:08:23 PM PDT
Last edited by the author on Jun 13, 2010 1:09:12 PM PDT
JackS says:
@Saketh: If you don't mind spending around $650 you can get a comparable Panasonic TM300 on ebay. Or for around $500 the best bet is the Sony CX-150. The CX-110 has no flash drive memory. For the money the 150 is better. But it doesn't have a viewfinder for battery conservation and sunny day use. If a view finder is a must then the TM300 is as good as you're going to get for under $700. That was a $1,000 camcorder in January.
They both have superior OIS (optical image stabilization) to the Canon and Canon's are usually over priced. A lot of advertising ;-).
Posted on
Jun 19, 2010 9:22:52 AM PDT
De Costanzo Roberto says:
Hello, I am Roberto from Italy, I wanted to know if I buy a canon s20 hf on http://Amazon.com I can use the camera in Italy? Or are there technical differences in the registration system? Thanks
In reply to an earlier post on
Jun 23, 2010 9:27:58 PM PDT
Andrew Clapp says:
Check to see if you are on a PAL system or NTSC. Pretty sure all of Europe is PAL. Order the PAL version of the HFS20.
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Canon VIXIA HF S20 Full HD Camcorder w/32GB Flash Memory & Pro Manual Control
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