Canon HF100 Review
August 15, 2008 by admin
I spent a very long time researching small SD based high def cameras and ended up choosing the Vixia HF100. This after owning a Panasonic SD3 (now replaced by the SD9 
My motivation for choosing this camera over the competition was Canon’s very wise decision to include a standard microphone input (and manual audio controls). Why other manufacturers are removing this feature from consumer camcorders baffles me since good audio is such an important part of making good video! Canon also includes a mini hot shoe on the top of the device, and there’s already a mini shotgun mic available
In many ways the HF100 is not much different from its competition. It’s about soda can sized (although not as tiny as the new Panasonic SD9), has no view finder, and records video onto SDHC flash memory. Flash memory is so cheap right now that spending the extra money for the HF10 (with the on board storage) really isn’t worth it.
VIDEO QUALITY & OPTIONS
Excellent and consistent with other cameras in its class. Color quality is rich and perhaps a little over-saturated (as most consumer cameras are) but there are settings to wind back the saturation a bit (like switching into cinema mode). Artifacts are minimal but remember that AVCHD is a highly compressed video format. Those looking for the absolute best quality in a consumer camera will want to look at an HDV tape based solution. There are settings for manual white balancing as well.
Low light performance is so-so.. Gets a bit grainy but you can make adjustments to compensate both in frame rate and shutter/aperture settings. There’s also a mini-video light that can be turned on but it won’t have room-filling range to it.
The camera has multiple video quality options but you’ll want to select the highest quality as it’s not on by default. I am getting about an hour of video on an 8 gig SD card in the highest quality mode.
The camera also includes three frame rate options: 60i, 30p, and 24p. All of these are processed at 60i so you’ll need an editor that can remove the pulldown for true 24P.
BATTERY LIFE
Like every other camera in its class, the included battery is pretty lousy. It charges quickly but you’ll only get about an hour or so of recording time. Canon does make an extended battery which I plan on purchasing soon.
CONNECTIVITY & EDITING
I am a Mac guy so those of you using Windows will have to comment below on your success with it. On the Mac side both iMovie’08
If you’re coming from the HDV tape-based world, capturing video from an AVCHD camera takes a little longer than you’ll be used to. I’ve found multiplying the original video length times two is usually about the length of time it takes to capture with iMovie on my Mac Pro (I haven’t timed Final Cut’s conversion yet but will update this review soon). I’m sure this will improve over time as computers and software get faster, but don’t expect instant gratification when you’re ready to bring some video over to edit.
CONCLUSION
I bought this camera to supplement some of the work I do shooting HDV video on a ‘prosumer’ Sony HDV camera. If you’re serious about producing HD video you might still want to consider an HDV tape based camcorder like the Canon HV20 or HV30
If, however, you’re in the market for a small flash based camera look no further. The inclusion of a mic port along with the multitude of shooting options make this a great choice for beginners and enthusiasts alike.
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