Canon Vixia HF S100 Camcorder Review

Playback & Connectivity Summary
• Playback is simple and easy to navigate. • Adding background music and making video/photo playlists can be fun to experiment with, but they aren't impressive features. • The camcorder has all the important ports: HDMI, USB, AV-out, Component-out, mic and headphone jack. • The hot accessory shoe is only compatible with Canon's proprietary accessories.
	Handling & Use	(Page 10 of 17)	Audio & Other Features

Playback (6.4)

The HF S100 has the same playback system as the HF20 and the rest of Canon's 2009 HD camcorders. Accessing the dedicated playback mode on the HF S100 is done by pressing the playback button on the LCD panel. This brings up thumbnail views of your recorded videos (or still images if you're in photo mode). Using the zoom toggle allows you to control how many thumbnails are displayed at once—either 15 or 6 at a time. Selecting an image with the joystick button allows you to play it back as a full-screen video.

The playback screen in video mode		The playback screen in still mode

On the LCD panel are a few VCR playback controls: play/pause, stop, and playlist. These buttons are large and easy to use, but Canon unfortunately relegated some of the more advanced VCR controls to the joystick button. If you want to fastforward, use slow-motion, or adjust the playback volume of your video, you must awkwardly select these controls by pushing down on the joystick button and then moving it to the left or right. Simply put, this is not a good system.

The playback menu offers a few organization and simple editing features. Clips can be divided, organized by date, or grouped according to people's faces that are located in the videos themselves (if footage was recorded using the face detection feature). You can also capture still photos from your recorded video by pressing the shutter button when your video is paused. The still image playback menu offers options for rotating, printing, organizing, and deleting your photos.

The function menu in video mode		The function menu in still mode

The playlist function on the HF S100 lets you group a selection of videos or images to be played back in a particular order. It is similar to making a mix CD or slideshow—clips can be arranged and organized without regard to the date they were captured or the order in which they were filmed. You can even add background music to your playlists, but you have to load songs onto an inserted memory card for this option to be available. Canon includes a Music CD with the HF S100, which contains some sample tracks that can be used for spicing up your video playlists.

The main playback menu in video mode		The main playback menu in still mode

Connectivity (5.88)

The Canon HF S100 has all the important connectivity options, but the placement of certain ports and inputs is downright lousy. Let's begin with the completely unprotected 3.5mm microphone jack on the right side of the camcorder. The port is tiny and out of the way, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have some sort of covering for adequate protection. Moisture or foreign objects could harm the microphone jack in an instant.

Component-out, USB, and HDMI ports		The mic port

Also on the right side of the HF S100 is a compartment that houses the component-out, USB, and HDMI port. These jacks are all protected by a flip-up door that seems fairly strong and sturdy. The problem with these ports, however, lies entirely with their poor placement. The camcorder's large hand strap gets in the way of the flip-up door and plugging in large cables can be a cluttered hassle. The component-out port also has a proprietary-fit design, so it won't work with a normal component AV cable.

The DC-input		The AV-output

Moving over to the left side of the camcorder you will find a few more quirky design issues inside the LCD cavity. Firstly, the camcorder's battery release switch is located here, rather than anywhere near the actual battery itself. Secondly, the SD/SDHC card slot is protected by a flip down door that cannot be opened when the camcorder is attached to a tripod or if the LCD screen is closed. This is a minor nuisance, however, and at least Canon provided a good cover to the SD/SDHC card slot.

The SD/SDHC card slot		The proprietary accessory shoe

On the back of the HF S100, just above the battery pack, are two more ports: the DC input is on the left and the AV-output on the right. Both are protected by their own flexible plastic coverings that remained tethered to the camcorder when you pull them out. These ports are well located and the covers provide decent protection, although we noticed they stopped making tight seals around the ports as the covers got more wear and tear. The AV-output also doubles as a headphone jack, with the option of switching between the two being contained in the camcorder's administrative menu.

Rounding out the connectivity options is a hot accessory that is covered by a sliding shield of plastic on the top of the camcorder. While the shoe is powered, it is only compatible with Canon's mini-shoe accessories and it won't work with traditional shoe-fit devices. Adapters are available through third party vendors, but we can't attest as to how well they work with the Canon HF S100.