Canon HF10 Review

[Bruce Foreman]

Cinetactics screen hoodie 30. From www.cinetactics.com

More solid than the hoodman product and I can push it far enough towards the cam body to use the joystick, and when necessary I can shove part of it up just enough so I can press the function button to get menus.

[Pablo Korona]

shoots 29.97 in 24P mode?!!?

Terrible. This is my biggest gripe with this camera.

[Chris Hurd]

Huh? Name one single consumer AVCHD camcorder that doesn't do it that way.

[Michael Ray]

does the software included with the canon HF10/100 allow you to transcode or export the video files to usable formats for the PC ..... FCP works like a charm I've found but on the PC side I'm having trouble .... I'm using a loaner that did not come with software so I have no way of checking my self and cannot find a definitive answer on the web ...


thank you in advance

[Dave Rosky]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Huh? Name one single consumer AVCHD camcorder that doesn't do it that way.

Chris, if you're referring to 24P in 60i, the Panasonic SD consumer cams (SD9 for sure, and probably SD5 as well) don't do it that way. The 24P files are true 24P and don't require inverse pulldown.

[Chris Hurd]

Thanks for the clarification, Dave. Apparently the pro-oriented HSC1U also. I've learned something today!

[Dave Rosky]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Thanks for the clarification, Dave. Apparently the pro-oriented HSC1U also. I've learned something today!

Actually, I was incorrect about the SD5 - I remembered the SD5 does not even have a 24P mode, that was added in the SD9.

It's a shame Canon doesn't do this as well. It's a good idea for the cameras to add pulldown for playback through the video port, but there's no reason for pulldown in the file - it just adds extra steps to the editing flow.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Dave Rosky

Another observation: In addition to not having zebra stripes, the LCD display is very high contrast (at least to me) and there's no adjustment for it other than the brightness of the backlight - highlights look clipped on the LCD even when they're not really clipped in the video. I think they do that so that the LCD is more visible in bright lighting (outdoors), ...

Questions:

Since there is no VF -- can you really see the image and menus when you are in bright sunlight?

There are, on another thread, reports that the Canon color in AWB or in any of the Fixed Settings WB not only is not accurate -- it is very erratic. Some claim the sky can go magenta. Do you see this? Especially do find you can trust the many Fixed settings.

One of the disadvantages of zebra is it covers highlites (100IRE) and so you can't see the actual amount of detail remaining in the highlight. So not having a zebra isn't a killer for me. Early clipping in the LCD sounds like it doesn't let you see remaining detail either. So, in a way it works like zebra.

Thus, if you adjust exposure using the white clipping as though it were zebra and adjust so only tiny areas clip -- when you view the video do you get better highlights? It sounds as though you do. Which is nice.

Have you checked if the Canon's max IRE is 100 or 105 to 110?

What about deep shadow areas? Do they look in the LCD darker than they actually are?

[Pete Bauer]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

Questions:

Since there is no VF -- can you really see the image and menus when you are in bright sunlight?

Yes, you can. I'd much prefer a viewfinder for bright outdoor situations, but although a bit washed out, I was able to see the viewfinder well enough in direct sunlight to get the job done.

I haven't shot enough with the camera to generalize about color rendition, but it handled a space shuttle launch very nicely in default auto. No special settings. I'll eventually post that video when I get some free time, (maybe!) later next week, along with a time lapse of the rollback of the launch pad's Rotating Service Structure the night before launch, although that one did suffer a bit from classic autofocus hunting.

BTW, this is one of those situations where it was not possible for me to bring the "big iron" and my choice was between no shot at all and an inexpensive, limited-adjustment, highly compressed pocket cam. HDNet won't be beating a path to my door for that footage, but it is mine and I'll always have it. Glad that little camera fit in my flight suit pocket!

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Pete Bauer

this is one of those situations where it was not possible for me to bring the "big iron" ...

Can't squeeze very much gear into a T-38 Talon, eh?

[Bruce Foreman]

Pete: I hope you can post that footage somewhere and soon. I would love to see it.

Steve: About no VF...This is my biggest complaint about this camera (and yet I have a second HF100 coming in today so I don't get stuck shooting B roll with a SD MiniDV again). Although kicking up the brightness of the screen (a button under the fold out LCD alternates between normal and bright) lets me kinda see the image in bright sunlight and daylight, I need to use a "hood" to properly evaluate exposure and focus when setting up a scene.

I use either the Cinetactics Screen Hoodie in the picture in a previous post, or the Hoodman 300 with magnifier and with either I use the normal setting on the LCD and shield the hood as best I can, getting face as close as presbyopia (difficulty focusing close up) and trifocals will let me.

It is workable that way, in fairness the VF on the HV20 being so tiny and non tiltable was not signifcantly better for me and I wound up using the LCD and a hood on that one.

[Pete Bauer]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Can't squeeze very much gear into a T-38 Talon, eh?

Nope. The great cameras that the XLs are, they just don't fit in your pocket, either.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

Pete: I hope you can post that footage somewhere and soon. I would love to see it.

I use either the Cinetactics Screen Hoodie in the picture in a previous post, or the Hoodman 300 with magnifier and with either I use the normal setting on the LCD and shield the hood as best I can, getting face as close as presbyopia (difficulty focusing close up) and trifocals will let me.

It is workable that way, in fairness the VF on the HV20 being so tiny and non tiltable was not signifcantly better for me and I wound up using the LCD and a hood on that one.

Amazing how "home" camcorders that used to have 2/3-inch CRTs are now have VFs so tiny they are nearly unuseable -- so maybe their loss is not a real loss. The Sony SR has a tiltable VF -- but the menu system doesn't show in the VF!!!!

Moreover, without a proper eyecup, those of us with glasses have a hard time blocking light from entering.

The hoods may work, but you've got to remove the hood to close the LCD.

PS: To work with my varifocals I really need at least a 3-inch LCD. Don't the Japanese understand the word BOOMERS?

[Ken Ross]

Steve, at least with the SR you do have a choice between a VF and an LCD. Couple that with the fact that the LCD on the Sony is the largest and highest resolution availalbe, and you have the best of what is currently availalbe in the consumer world.

[Dave Rosky]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

What about deep shadow areas? Do they look in the LCD darker than they actually are?

I don't own one, but my impression from using one was that the contrast seemed to be stretched on both ends, so dark shadows (no relation to the 1960's soap opera) might tend to look completely black. To be fair, lots of other consumer camcorders pump up the contrast in the LCD, including my current Panasonic SD DV camera, which has a much more natural image in the viewfinder than on the LCD.

I suppose the method you suggest for judging exposure would work, especially after you have a feel for how much the display tends to clip, but it may be harder to use in bright sunlight than zebra stripes.