Canon Vixia HF R30 Camcorder Review

Motion

The Canon HF R30 succeeded in our motion test thanks to its two alternate frame rate options, PF24 and PF30. Having the ability to use frame rates other than 60i is a feature not found on most budget camcorders, but Canon includes it on the entire Vixia line (that's special). This gives users more flexibility when shooting. Want more of a film-like aesthetic? Go with the PF24 mode. Need to match footage shot at 30fps? Then switch to the PF30 mode. None of these frame rates are native, which means they're all converted from 60i to simulate 24 and 30 frames per second, but that should matter for most casual videographers.

Even though it has plenty of frame rates, the Canon HF R30 does still struggle at times to capture perfect motion. Artifacting will be present in your video, especially if you shoot in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Video is fairly smooth, but we did see trailing in our tests. But this is a solid performance for a budget model, and the only way to get significantly better motion would be to upgrade to a higher-end camcorder (especially one with a 60p setting or native 24p mode). More on how we test motion.