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Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | 
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| Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $899.99
Buy New: $529.00
You Save: $370.99 (41%)
New (29) Used (1) from $519.00
Rating:  172 reviews
Sales Rank: 14
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Monitor Size: 270
Includes Software: Yes
Optical Zoom: 12
Digital Zoom: 200
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 57
Minimum Focal Length: 4.8
Maximum Resolution: 2070000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 5.1 x 2.9 x 2.5
nv:Size: 1/3.2-inch
Image Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Movie Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Storage Media: SD/SDHC Memory Card
Compressed Format: DPOF
Compressed Format: DCF Exif 2.2
Movie File Format: MPEG-4
Movie File Format: AVCHD (HD)
Optical Zoom: 12x
Digital Zoom: 200x
Focal Length: f=4.8-57.6 mm
LCD Monitor: 2.7-inches
LCD Pixels: 211,000 pixels
LCD Coverage: 100%
Maximum Aperture: f 1.8 - 3.0
White Balance Control: Auto
White Balance Control: Daylight
White Balance Control: Cloudy
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: HF100
Model: HF100
UPC: 013803092004
EAN: 0013803092004
ASIN: B00114162K
Availability: Pre-Order (0-0 Business Days)
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| Features:
| • | Capture high-definition video to flash memory | | • | 12x optical zoom; SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer | | • | 24p Cinema Mode; 30p Progressive Mode | | • | 2.7-inch widescreen Multi-Angle Vivid LCD | | • | Simultaneous photo capture |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Now that you've upgraded your TV to an HDTV widescreen, doesn't it make sense to consider a Hi-Def Camcorder? The Canon VIXIA HF100 captures videos at 1920x1080 for true 1080i display. There are no tapes or discs to concern yourself with. It has an SD SDHC slot for video storage. So let your videos fill your new TV screen. Use the VIXIA from Canon. DIGIC DV II Image Processor SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization Instant AF (Auto Focus) 2.7 Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD Superb Shooting Control 24p Cinema Mode / 30p Progressive Mode Stunning Digital Photography Focusing System - Instant AF, Through the Lens/Manual Focusing Possible Auto and Manual exposure modes; Programmed AE - Auto, Program, Av, Tv, CINEMA, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks Recording Media - SD/SDHC Memory Card (not supplied) Audio - Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2 ch) HDMI Terminal Type C 480i/480p/1080I Format Supported Microphone Terminal - 3.5 mm Stereo Mini-jack Mini HDMI Terminal and Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe Dimensions (WxHxD) 2.9 x 2.5 x 5.1 in (73x64x129mm); Weight (not including lens and battery pack) 13.4 oz (380g)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 167 more reviews...
 Excellent AVCHD Camcorder January 5, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having deliberated over different HD camcorders and HD camcorder formats, I decided upon and purchased the Canon HF100 a couple of weeks ago, and, with one exception, am absolutely delighted with the video performance of this camcorder. It small, lightweight and very easy to use (particularly in "Easy" mode). Shot taken outdoors in bright light are absolutely stunning, and look fantastic on a HD television. Watching home video is like watching the discovery channel; it is simply that good. The exception would be low light performance, which I found very disappointing. In a well lit room, it is barely acceptable, but in a dimly lit room, there is a considerable amount of noise and motion artifacts. I haven't had it long enough to determine whether there are settings that might improve the low light performance, but it is not much better (and in some cases worse) than my standard definition camcorder in low light.
But for outdoor shots in bright light, it is amazing.
The SD card format is extremely easy to use, and I have not even had to use the mini-HDMI cable I bought. You can watch video instantly simply by taking the card out (I am using the Transcend SDHC 16 GB card and card reader sold on Amazon for $40 as a package, and it works great), and inserting the card in my PS3, which instantly reads and plays the AVCHD video. I have also used the included software in my 3 year old computer to transfer video and burn standard DVDs for playback in Blu-ray players (including the PS3), which is also very easy and works great. The image quality is the same as playing back directly from the card. I don't have much experience with video editing software, nor the time to spend editing lots of video, but the included software gets the job done and is very easy to use.
All in all, a great product and highly recommended. I wish that the low light performance was better, but from what I have read, most consumer level HD camcorders have the same problem (including the Sony).
 Good cam overall January 5, 2009
I used the HF100 with a 16GB Class 6 HCSD. Generally speaking, the color is very good, HD quality video is very clear, the pictures are very nice, all of which you may read from other reviewers. I just want to point out a couple of things which may be improved over time:
1) It takes "quite a long time" (5 - 10 seconds?) to start or to change between video mode and camera mode. This is annoying.
2) The small size of the camcorder has its side effect as well: harder to hold steady
3) When used in camera mode, the fastest speed I could get is 1/120s. Not too good in a very bright environment. I do not know if you can make it higher.
At least for someone like me, I think this is a pretty fantastic machine. January 5, 2009
I don't exactly know what people's qualms are about AVCHD. I have used miniDV hd camera's fairly extensively (a friend of mine loves them), but I really can't understand why people like them more.
There are a few really nice features about this camera. First, and I think most importantly, it has absolutely no moving parts (except the zoom lens). Anything that moves, like a motor to power a little spinning tape, for example, is pretty likely to break. I don't buy new cameras very often, so this is a pretty major concern for me.
The complaints that most people have with this camera, from what I've read in these reviews seem to stem from buying cheapy, crappy memory cards. It even says in the comprehensive manual that it is a bad idea to use anything lower than a class 4 memory card, because it might not be able to write all the information fast enough. I bought a 16gb Kingston SDHC for about $40, and have had superb quality.
The microphone that is built in is pretty good too. It offers some nice, stereo sound that is good for amateur film makers (though nothing will replace my nice little condenser mic).
The built in filters do a fairly nice job when working with different lighting, though I sort of wish this task was automatic.
The still camera offers some pretty good quality, but there are some problems. For example, if I want to take a picture, I have to switch to photo mode, press the record button, have the onscreen error that says I cannot record in photo mode, then press the picture button. I'm surprised that made it past product testing. I never much liked still photography, so I don't really care, and I don't usually use a video camera for stills anyway. This might just be my cam, though.
The included software is useless. I have not successfully been able to import anything with it. Actually, though, there really is no point. I have used this with Windows XP and Windows Vista, and I could simply plug it in and view my video files.
Another nice feature is that it seems to integrate pretty well into Sony Vegas 9.0b, and I am assuming Vegas 8 as well. This may not matter to some people, but I know in my Panasonic DVD Ram camera, it was a pain to comvert everything to mpg before I could edit it.
The only real complaint I have about this cam is the battery life. It doesn't seem fair that this gets the same battery as my DVD Ram camera, but it doesnt have to power any moving parts. I get about 79 minutes of power, then it shuts off. If I am not using any power to spin a disk or a hard drive, why don't I have more to use?
In the end, this is a very good camera, that I feel really does the job, especially for home movies or amateur film making. I really like it, and have found myself playing with it more than any of my other cameras.
 Not Mac friendly January 2, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This camera is not friendly with Mac computers. It does not work with IMovie 08 and does not come with any Mac software for video editing. It also has no Firewire port to use with a Mac. The camera itself is easy to operate does a good job as long as you do not need editing software. The USB port does work but Mac's can not use the Canon file format.
Get Adobe Premier Elements 7 or Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 to edit your Canon AVCHD files! January 2, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
While Adobe Premier Elements 7 is a big joke for the MP4 AVC/H.264 formats...it is a superstar with the AVCHD / .mts files this Canon HF10 generates.
Before I bought my own HF10 I was asked by a buddy to edit and burn some youth football footage from his newly acquired Canon HF10 with SDHC card. I was excited. Although I had no clue what an .mts file was Adobe PE 7 not only recognized it and imported it quickly...but I proceeded to edit both video and audio (together and separately)as well as burn to a regular DVD (not BluRay). My jaw just dropped and I said WOW!
I will add that while I am not a big fan of the GUI of Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 it also handles the AVCHD / .mts from the Canon HF10 just fine...and also handles those other MP4's just fine too.
The really important part is that while I have a nice amount of ram (4GB) my computer is nothing special at all. I am running Vista Basic on a Celeron 1.60Ghz processor (Dell Inspiron 530 desktop) with the 4GB of ram.
Now that I have purchased my OWN Canon HF10 AVCHD camcorder Adobe PE7 is my go-to program for this type of footage. Again, it handles the AVCHD / .mts file format flawlessly. Check out my other reviews for some other programs I have tried like Corel VideoStudio X2 and Magix - Movie Edit pro 14. If you are going to be working only with AVCHD, specifically from any of the Canon HF series camcorders that put .mts on sdhc flash cards...then I believe Adobe Premier Elements 7 is the best option.
Warning: If you are going to rely on ONE software solution for multiple formats other than AVCHD, Adobe PE7 is not the way to go! I use several little camera/camcorders other than the HF10. They all use the MP4 AVC/H.264 format...while the previous version of PE handled them fine, Adobe PE 7 HATES the MP4 format! You can't even add them to the time-line without it crashing! If you are looking for a single editing program to handle not only the AVCHD from the Canon HF10, HF11 or HF100 but other formats as well...specifically the MP4 AVC/H.264 format then I would go with Pinnacle Studio Plus 12. Like I said before, the interface and work flow is nothing like Adobe's but it works fin with the multiple formats.
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