Canon Vixia HF R30 Camcorder Review
- Sections:
- Color
- Color Accuracy Performance
- Low Light Color
- Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
- Color Error Map
- Noise
Color
Colors captured by the Canon HF R30 in bright light were accurate, although they appeared a bit sedated to our eyes. We measured the saturation level at roughly 92%, which is a good score (especially compared to the competition), but the colors from the Canon's video image lacked the punch and depth that we see from the best consumer camcorders. The color error measured at 3.85, and anything under 4.0 is strong for a camcorder in the HF R30's price range. More on how we test color.
Color Accuracy Performance
Color Error Map
The map above is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.
The Canon Vixia HF R30 produced a color error of 3.85 and a saturation level of 92.00% in our bright light color testing.
Canon included its "cinema filters" on its line of HF R camcorders this year, so the HF R30 actually has a few color modes up its sleeve. Normally, models in this price range don't include any kind of color settings, other than a black & white and sepia mode, so the Canon does stand out with its cinema filters. The cinema modes include a vivid filter, a cool filter with a bluish tint, nostalgic look, sepia mode, old movie, and dramatic black & white. There's also the standard cinematic look that is meant to be paired with the HF R30's 24p frame rate option to capture a film-like aesthetic.
Low Light Color
We weren't crazy about the Canon HF R30's colors in bright light, but our tests still gave the camcorder a passing grade. In low light, however, the camcorder's color accuracy dropped a lot, and we found the colors looked murky, pale, and unpleasing in our tests. First of all, the color error measured in the R30's low light video was a high 5.0, which is worse than all the models we compared it to (including last year's Canon HF R21). The Canon's saturation level was 63%, which is also a score we don't like, but it isn't much different than the levels we saw from the Panasonic HC-V500 or the Canon HF R21. If strong colors in low light are what you're looking for, then check out the Sony HDR-CX210—it simply rocked in our low light color tests (warning: it didn't do well in many other categories). More on how we test low light color.
Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
Color Error Map
The map on the above is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.
The Canon Vixia HF R30 produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.
Noise
Noise levels, even for a budget model, were high on the Canon HF R30. The camcorder averaged 0.85% noise in our test, and we like this score to be below 0.75%. Still, in bright light, it was very difficult to see much noise on the Canon's video image with the naked eye. In low light, this changed drastically, with the Canon HF R30 showing a very noisy image—one of the camcorder's biggest weaknesses. More on how we test noise.
