I bought the VIXIA HF S30 Camcorder about a month ago to take with me on a trip to Orlando Disney World and Universal Studios. I loaded it with 2 x 32GB SD cards and the optional 5.1 microphone. I also bought the optional battery charger and took it with me instead of the power supply that comes with it. Of course, and optional battery the BP-819 was a must have since the bundled one, the BP-808, won't last for any useful shoot. My total investment was about $1,300 for this package which is a lot. Putting the cost aside, I am happy with this purchase and I think I got what I was looking for. Here is a rundown from my experience:
1. Canon needs to learn from Apple how to make user friendly interfaces to their products. I have been buying canon cameras and camcorders for a long time and they all come with thick manuals (211 pages) in small print and a ton of instructions. I spent the two weeks before the trip trying to learn how to use this camcorder. In the end I was able to get most of what I needed to do. Of course, you could set the camera to auto mode and it would take care of itself, but that's not what you want to do with this camera. You want to have control and that's what you pay for.
2. The touch screen is great. Contrary to the CNET review that I watched before purchasing, you don't need to use the scroll bar on the right edge. You just run your finger up or down anywhere on the screen and it will scroll. The screen is very clear and the text and messages are helpful. The images are vivid and the screen will be your reference most of the time except in bright daylight.
3. One of the best features of the camera is the viewfinder. First you will need it in bright sunlight. More importantly, I used it when recording in dark locations such as in theaters when you don't want your camera to be the only source of light in a room.
4. The BP-819 battery was more than enough for my purpose. I would leave early in the morning and come back after midnight and watch some of the recorded videos before I set it to recharge overnight. I never needed the original battery that I used as a backup. It doesn't add much weight and it sits flush with the viewfinder. Recommended for sure.
5. The 5.1 microphone was fun to have and added dimensions to the recorded sound. However, it added volume and its rabbit skin cover made the camera look more like a production type than a hobbyist one. When listening through the earphones, the recorded sound was amazing. Clear, directional, and full of details. There is definitely a tradeoff here: compactness vs. the sound quality.
6. The bundled software includes useful tools. However, there is a conflict between the Pixela software included on 2 CDs. When I tried to install the Transfer Utility, I got a message saying you already have VideoBrowser installed and you need to uninstall it to continue. After going back and forth between these two applications, I ended up installing the VideoBrowser alone which I used yesterday to transfer my recorded videos to my PC. It did a good job transferring everything. I now need to learn about editing and transferring to disc although I intend to use Adobe Premiere for editing.
7. When connecting the Component video cable, or the RCA cable to your TV, you cannot close the camera screen. I guess this is because the remote control sensor is on the screen. This remote control has very limited playback functions: Play and Pause only. No fast forward or rewind, although these are available manually on the touch screen - Duh!
8. The bottom line: This camcorder produces vivid HD images in bright light. It does record in very dark places but you need to adjust its settings and do some experimenting. Having Disney's Electrical Parade recorded in HD and 5.1 surround sound is worth all the investment. The camera is powerful, compact, lightweight, and full of features. No tapes, disks, or hard drives to worry about. Absolutely commendable.