Baby steps with the Canon HF-S200
 

shot in automatic at 24mbps, no color correction, edited in AIC with Final Cut express 4.0. Exported as h.264 at 1280x720.

Was that shot in 60i, 24p or 30p?

I would like to see 30p.

Dave

David, this was shot in Automatic , I think by default it is 60i.
I'll try to post 30p in few days.

Robert,

Given that this model has no view finder, how well can you see the LCD outdoors in the sun?

Bill, the LCD is very good and has 4 times the resolution of my former Canon XHA!, that helps a lot. I also bought for $20 the Canon LCD hood and it works better than the Hoodman I use with my HV30.
I like a dedicated viewfinder but , overall, I can work around that with the HFS200 as it is and I am getting use to it. I live in San Diego and I will be travelling with the camera for several months in Mexico, another sunny place and I have no worry about using the camera under very bright light.

Thanks for the info, Robert.

I've had my eye on this camera for a while, my one concern being the lack of a viewfinder. But I've also been noting the viewfinders on the newer small cameras are getting pretty low res/coarse, so maybe not a big loss.

I recently did a shoot down in Boynton Beach, Florida (east coast)(on the beach)(morning shot) and both the LCD screen on the HDR-HC9 with hood, and separate monitor with hood, were good only for framing the shot - I ended up putting the exposure on auto, which I almost never do, but if you can't see squat, what do you do? Fortunately, it came out very usable.

But honestly, most of my shooting is indoors, so it's a minority issue for me.

Bill, there is really no comparison between those new LCDs and the old ones.
Off course there will be no problem shooting indoor but you will be surprise at the visibility of the LCD while shooting outdoor.
This being said, it is a change of habits so give the camera a chance at first, you need to start working differently, this also apply to the touch screen. For the first hour I was mad at it, but now I would never go back to joystick menu.

The Canon Hood screen i a must. Very well made and even if not always useful for run and gun, you will love it when you can use it.

Perhaps, but you understand why I ask.

Possibly changing brands, I understand the need to learn new controls. It didn't even occurr to me that it might not be necessary. Given the length of my upgrade cycles, even sticking with Sony I know things have changed.

Also, your former XH-A1. What did you replace it with, if you don't mind my asking? Your profile shows it as current.

Bill, I have updated my profile. I sold my XHA1 and I am selling my HV30 kit. At this point in time I will explore how far I can go with the HF-s200. In all honesty I am starting to think that it may be my replacement for the A1, I have a lot of learning with the 200 to do, but the manual controls are quite versatile.

The low light indoor are good enough and for interviews I use my Cool Lights 600.
The audio is also pretty good. The fact is that with my XHA1 I have been using 90% of the time my wireless G2 and the last 10% my Rode NTG2.
I have already tested the sound with the G2 on the HF-s200 and for me it is the same. The little Canon DM-100 is pretty good and should be good for most of my run and gun needs.

I will be traveling extensively for the next few months, so this little kit will do, but I am quite sure that it may prove a viable replacement for my XHA1 , and when a bigger camera is needed.. well I can rent a kit for less than 200$ a day and pass the cost to my client.
I don't know for sure, I still have to explore the HF-s200 but frankly so far I am impress.
We live in interesting time and the camera revolution has already happen, in my case my own "paradigm" is changing.

Hey Robert do you do event filming? Would you try this camera as a cya cam? I currently have a XHA1 and am using my T2i more and more and would like to exchange my XHA1 for a solid state camera which would also operate as the audio camera. My XHA1 is prob worth 2g's and would like purchase the next camera with the money from the camera only. Thanks Robert.

Monday, I don't do events, the closest thing I do would be Yoga Classes. And I would certainly used the HF-s200 as a replacement for my XHA1. Of course the client may feel more confident when you get there with a bigger cam.
I recently sold my XHA1 with extra battery, filter and Kata CC193 for $2000. I sold through Craiglist local and the camera sold in 24 hours, so that may give you an idea of the resale value.

Thanks for your input Robert. I'm not concerned about the camera size on my jobs. My last job the teenagers were like where is the video guy not knowing it was me with my HDSLR "/

Nice video.

My HF-S200 arrived on Friday, but I haven't had a chance to take it out and test it because of bad weather.

I had considered getting an HF-S21, but figured I could live without the viewfinder and the 64GB of onboard memory. I prefer to work with removable media anyway.

Absolutely love the bigger, brighter LCD display, and the touch-based menu system isn't too bad. One thing that's also great is the dual SD card slots. If the cards ever have to be changed while shooting, the entire camera doesn't have to be removed from the tripod, as was the case with the HF-S100.

Robert, I'm thinking about replacing the xh-a1 as well. So tired of lugging the extra weight and dealing with tape. What SDHC cards are you using? I'm looking for to use 2 x 16g cards. True, clients might look at the camera size and wonder what kind of "toy" you might be using. To put their minds at ease, I'm getting a mattebox and rails.

Ian, I have been using 2 8gb, class 6 from Transcend. I will get 2 16gb , class 10 (Transcend). They sell for less $50 each (Amazon), I will go for class 10, not that it is needed but the difference in cost with class 6 is just few $$$.