Canon Vixia HF S10

Color (10.23)

The color performance of the Canon HF S10 was almost identical to that produced by the HF S100. This is exactly what we expected, considering the two models are employing the same lens, sensor, and processing. More on how we test color.

Below, you can see crops of the various color modes available on the HF S10. To read more about how Canon’s top-of-the-line models performed in our bright light color testing, read the Color sections of the HF S100 and HF S11 reviews.

For the HF S10, we selected some different comparison models, including the Sony HDR-CX500V. The toughest competition in color performance came from the JVC GZ-HM400. As we discovered when we reviewed this model, the 2009 JVC camcorders are turning in unprecedented color performance. Neither the HF S10 nor its sister models can quite keep up in this department. Of course, the HM400 also lacks any kind of custom color controls, but we don’t mind being ‘stuck’ with such excellent colors.

As for the others, Sanyo turns in virtually identical performance with its VPC-HD2000 and Sony is really the weakest link in this test. The manufacturer’s HDR-CX500V had only mediocre color accuracy when compared to the other high-end camcorders.

Close-Up Color Comparisons				Expand
	Ideal	Canon Vixia HF S10	JVC GZ-HM400	Sony HDR-CX500V	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Red
Green
Blue
Light Skin
Dark Skin

Low Light Color (7.05)

Low light color performance for the HF S10 is just about average for a high-end consumer camcorder. Its color error measured 5.20 and the saturation was just 58.57%. These results are significantly worse than those produced by the camcorder in bright light. More on how we test low light color.

We also tested the HF S10 in its alternate frame rates (30p and 24p) and achieved slightly better results. Even these scores can’t compete with the excellent numbers produced by the Sanyo VPC-HD2000, which had excellent low light performance across the board. To read more about Canon’s low light color performance this year, see the Low Light Color sections of the HF S100 and HF S11 reviews.

There weren’t a lot of surprises among the competition for the HF S10. The HM400, with its incredibly high resolution sensor, has a darker image than many camcorders and its low light color accuracy and saturation suffer as a result. The Sony HDR-CX500V performed about the same as its hard drive equivalent, the HDR-XR520V. Both Sony models produce results similar to those of the Canon lineup. And, as mentioned previously, the Sanyo HD2000 simply outperforms all the rest when it comes to most of our low light tests.

Noise (7.54)

The HF S10 had excellent noise results, just like the HF S100 and HF S11. In bright light, nearly every top-of-the-line camcorder aces this test. However, competition is stiff. You may not see much noise in the crops below, but the HF S10 registered 0.78% noise—more than was measured in the JVC GZ-HM400 or the Sony HDR-CX500V. More on how we test noise.

To read more about the noise performance of the HF S10’s sister models, see the Noise sections of the HF S100 and HF S11 reviews.