Canon FS11 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on Jun 5, 2008 8:23 AM
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Still Features (7.0)
Canon equips most of its camcorders with a comprehensive set of still features, regardless of the price range or audience. That said, the resolution on this camcorder is not on par with a point-and-shoot still camera by any means. The FS11 can capture still images in the following sizes: L (1152 x 864), LW (1152 x 648), and S (640 x 480) at Super Fine, Fine, or Normal quality. Images can be captures to either the 16GB internal flash memory or a memory card. The FS11 does not have a Dual-Record mode like most Sony camcorders. Dual Record mode allows the shooter to capture an image while in Video mode, so if you see an irresistible shot you can capture it instantly, rather than switching over to Photo mode.
In Photo mode, you can access manual mode, Shutter Priority and Scene Modes. White Balance settings are Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, and Set (Manual), and you can apply the following Image Effects: Vivid, Neutral, and Soft Skin Detail. The Digital Effects options have been slimmed down compared to video mode. You'll only find Black & White and Sepia modes.
There are four distinct shooting modes: Single, Continuous, Hi-speed Continuous, and Auto Exposure Bracketing. While shooting in Single mode, one image is captured per snap. Continuous mode captures multiple images every .5 seconds and Hispeed Continuous mode captures images at an even faster rate while the Photo Capture button is held down. Auto Exposure Bracketing captures three images--one at Auto Exposure, one an EV step down, and one an EV step up in order to provide a selection to choose from on the fly.
One of the most rewarding features on the FS11, and all Canon camcorders, is the image data that accompanies a still in Photo Playback mode. We're talking Levels histogram, Image Size, File Size, White Balance, Exposure, Shutter Speed, and Image Effect Setting, Quality, Date, and Time captured. No other manufacturer packs in this much info.
The FS11 is devoid of a Flash and has a 10 second Self Timer to round out the rest of the onboard still features.
In order to access the Photo Function menu, simply press the Function button while in Photo mode. A clean, organized menu appears and consists of the following items:
| Photo Function |
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| 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 | |
The FS11 Photo Function menu
The Administrative Photo menu is accessed by selecting Menu from the Photo Fucntion menu. In the Administrative Photo menu, the following options are available:
| Administrative Photo Menu |
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| Camera Setup | Self Timer, Zoom Speed, Focus Priority, Auto Slow Shutter, Review |
| Memory Operations | Memory Info, Card Info, Media: Movies, Media: Images, 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 FS11 Administrative menu
In Photo Playback mode, the Photo Playback menu is accessed by selecting Menu from the Playback Function menu. In the Photo Playback menu, you will find the following options:
| Photo Playback |
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| Memory Operations | Memory Info, 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 | |
The FS11 Photo Playback menu
All in all, the FS11 is only a marginal performer for photography functions. If you're an avid shooter who wants high quality stills on your plate, the FS11 will only take you so far. It's fun to snap images with and provides a plethora of image info and Manual/Auto controls. But with no flash and constrained resolutions, the FS11 cannot match a cheap point-and-shoot digital camera.
Still Performance (7.47)
The still performance of the Canon FS11 was tested by shooting an X-Rite Color chart at an even, bright light, then running the stills through Imatest imaging software to determine color accuracy, noise, and saturation. At best, the camcorder was able to produce a color error of 8.03, which was a decent but not a great score. The noise measured 1.7775%, not a great score for noise for a camcorder in this price range. The saturation measured 100.5%. By comparison, the JVC GZ-MS100 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $269.00) measured better in all counts. Last year's JVC GZ-MG155 (Review, Specs, $269.00) (Review, Specs, $477.99) had the same color accuracy, but better noise performance. Last year's Sony DCR-SR42 (Review, Specs, $477.99) (Review, Specs, $795.11) had slightly better color performance, but about the same noise.
Out of the lab, the images look decidedly low resolution and noisy compared to the average point and shoot camera. The largest stills are only 1152 x 864, which is only about one-megapixel. Conversely, the average dedicated still camera is several times that resolution. However, the color from the Canon FS11 is decent and the pictures would suffice for low-res web images.
Still Resolution (10.73)
The resolution of the still photos from the Canon FS11 were tested by shooting an Applied Image IS) 12233 resolution chart at an even, bright light, then ran it through Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder was able to produce a horizontal resolution of 897 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) - with a clipping of 1.4% and a 12.4% oversharpening. The vertical resolution measured 737 lw/ph - with a 5.31% clipping and a very high oversharpening of 42.8%. The clipping on the vertical resolution score was very, very high, which could cast doubt on the accuracy of those numbers. However, we ran the charts at multiple exposures and the camcorder could never produce a clipping error that was much better than this. That said, the overall score for this section is accurate because the horizontal resolution score has more weighting in the score.
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