Canon FS100 Camcorder Review

by Kaitlyn Chantry
Published on Nov 7, 2008 5:00 PM

 
Intro Performance
Format Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features
 Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Conclusion & Comparisons Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Still Features (6.0)
In short, the Canon FS100 has a lot of features in still photo mode, but they don't make up for the fact that the resolution is quite low and the quality is mediocre, at best. You'll also have to share limited memory space with your video, as everything recorded on the FS100 is stored on removable SD/SDHC memory cards. Keep all of these things in mind as we explain all the features below.

There are three options for still sizes: L (1152 x 864), LW (1152 x 648), and S (640 x 480). Each can be compressed in three qualities: Super Fine, Fine, or Normal quality. Like video, all stills are saved to SD or SDHC memory cards. In order to shoot stills, the camcorder must be in Photo Record mode, which is separate from Video Record mode. There is no Dual Record mode like you find on camcorders from Sony and some others.

In Photo Mode, you have access to all applicable manual controls that you find in Video mode, including focus, exposure, white balance, shutter speed, and others. The 37x optical zoom is also available, but not Canon's new Advanced Zoom. The camcorder offers shooting modes of Single shot, Continuous, Hi-speed, and Auto Exposure Bracketing. You'll find a 10-second timer, as well, to help you get in those big group shots.

The Function Menu contains the following items, which are the ones you need close at hand while shooting:

Photo Function Menu
Image Modes Program AE, Shutter-Prio, Scene Modes
White Balance Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Set (Manual)
Image Effect Off, Vivid, Neutral, Soft Skin Detail
Digital Effect D. Effect Off, Black and White, Sepia
Shooting Modes Single, Continuous, Hispeed Continuous, Auto Exposure Bracketing
Image Quality LW, L, S
Menu (Opens to Admin Menu)


The Function Menu in Still Photo Mode


The Admin menu has all of the other options for operation. It contains the following:

Administrative Photo Menu
Camera Setup Self Timer, Zoom Speed, Focus Priority, Auto Slow Shutter, Review
Memory Operations Card Info, Initialize
Display Setup Brightness, TV Screen, Markers, Language, Demo Mode
System Setup Battery Info, WL. Remote, Beep, Power Save, Quick Start, IMG Numbers
Date/Time Setup T. Zone/DST, Date/Time, Date Format
Close  

 


The Admin Menu in Still Photo Mode


The playback mode for the Canon FS100 is quite good. The screen displays a ton of relevant information on camera settings at the time of the shot. So even if you were shooting in Auto mode and you really like the look of a particular shot, you could take these settings and duplicate them on your own in Manual mode. Data includes: a Histogram, Image Size, File Size, White Balance, Exposure, Shutter Speed, and Image Effect Setting, Quality, and Date/Time captured.

Photo Playback
Memory Operations Card Info, Erase All Print Orders, Erase All Transfer Orders, Erase All Images, Initialize
Display Setup Brightness, Language
System Setup Battery Info, WL. Remote, Beep, Power Save, TV Type, USB Setting, Add To Disc, IMG Numbers, Firmware
Date/Time Setup T. Zone/DST, Date/Time, Date Format
Close  


All in all, the Canon offers more still features than many of its competitors. The Samsung SC-MX20 doesn't even offer still photography.


Still Performance (7.06)
While the FS100 has plenty of options for still photograpahy, these features won't do you much good if you're dealing with mediocre performance. We tested the still performance of the FS100 by shooting an X-Rite Color chart at an even, bright light. We then ran the stills through Imatest imaging software to determine color accuracy, noise, and saturation. The best color error results measured 8.5, which is decent, but not the best performer by any means. The noise measured 1.7475%—as was the case for the high noise score during video testing, this is not a good score for a camcorder in this price range. Finally, the saturation measured 97.03%

Stills shot outside the lab confirmed what we saw in testing: the Canon FS100 images look noisy compared to the average point and shoot, but also compared to other camcorders. Still photography on the JVC GZ-MS100 and Panasonic SDR-H200 both outperformed the FS100 in every respect. Last year's DC210 (a standard definition DVD camcorder from Canon) produced about the same results.

Remember that almost any point and shoot digital camera will take better photographs than almost any camcorder. The Canon is certainly no exception—shooting in the highest quality setting will only net you a 1152 x 864 still image. That's only about one megapixel and several times smaller than the average dedicated still camera. The Canon doesn't even look as good as other camcorders, but the color performance is decent and the still would probably be good enough for low-res web photos.


Still Resolution (7.46)
The Canon FS100's still photo resolution was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart under an even, bright light. The chart is shot as several different exposures, then run through Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder produced a horizontal resolution of 748 line widths per picture height (lw/ph), with an oversharpening of 19.1%. The vertical resolution was much worse: just 507 lw/ph, though oversharpening was only 5.1%.

These are fairly good results for this type of camcorder.

 



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