Canon Vixia HF S10

Lens & Imaging System

The Canon HF S10 has the same lens and sensor as its sister models, the HF S100 and HF S11. In fact, the lens has the same filter diameter as the GL2—a professional camcorder from Canon. Fortunately, both lens and sensor offered excellent performance on the models we tested earlier this year.

The automatic lens enclosure opens whenever you power on the camcorder.

Lens
Filter Diameter	58.0mm
Focal Range	6.4–64.0mm
Focal Range (35mm equivalent)	43.5–435.0mm
Maximum Aperture	f/1.8–3.0
Optical Zoom	10x
Advanced Zoom	0x
Lab-Tested Wide Angle	47.0°	How we test wide angle

Sensor
Type	CMOS x 1
Size	1/2.6 inches
Pixel Count (Gross)	8.59 megapixels
Pixel Count (Effective)	6.01 megapixels (video) 8.02 megapixels (photo)

LCD & Viewfinder (7.88)

The Canon HF S10 features the same 2.7-inch color LCD as the rest of Canon’s current HD models. The screen resolution is also the same: 211,000 pixels. While this is a decent size and resolution for an LCD, it is nothing compared to the 3.2-inch, 921,000-pixel screen found on Sony’s HDR-XR520V (or even the 230,400-pixel 3-inch screen of the Sony HDR-CX500V). It is, however, average for most consumer camcorders.

This year’s top Canons also have a new design to the LCD panel. The buttons are a huge improvement: the finicky membrane buttons from 2008 have been replaced by more responsive physical buttons. The new screen has one flat, glossy bezel covering most of the panel. It should keep dirt and scratches off the LCD, but it’s also sure to cause a few glare problems. Fortunately,the LCD screen’s brightness can be adjusted with 44 increments of control. While adjusting the brightness, a grayscale display appears at the bottom of the screen so you can calibrate the brightness to match your shooting conditions. In addition to the brightness adjustment, the screen has a dimmer feature that can be turned on and off. Using the dimmer, or running the LCD with lower brightness should save you help the camcorder’s battery life.

Feature	Canon Vixia HF S10	JVC GZ-HM400	Sony HDR-CX500V	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Display Size	2.7 in.	2.8 in.	3.0 in.	2.7 in.
Display Resolution	211000 pixels	207000 pixels	230400 pixels	230000 pixels
Touch Screen	✗	✗	✓	✗
Viewfinder	✗	✗	✗	✗
Viewfinder Resolution	0 pixels	n/a	n/a	n/a

Unfortunately, adjusting the appearance of the LCD is the only weapon you have to combat glare. None of the camcorders in the Canon lineup include a viewfinder. Some more experienced users might find this to be a significant omission from an otherwise excellent top-of-the-line camcorder.

Connectivity (5.88)

Connection	Canon Vixia HF S10	JVC GZ-HM400	Sony HDR-CX500V	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
A/V output	✓	✓	✓	✓
Component output	✓	✓	✓	✓
HDMI	✓	✓	✓	✓
USB	✓	✓	✓	✓
FireWire	✗	✗	✗	✗
Headphone jack	✓	✓	✗	✓
External microphone	✓	✓	✗	✓
Accessory Shoe	✓✓	✓	✓✓	✓
Accessory Shoe	✓✓	✓	✓✓	✓
Wireless Remote	✓	✓	✓	✓
DC Power		✓	✓	✓
WiFi	✗	✗	✗	✗
GPS	✗	✗	✓	✗

The HF S10 has all the most important connectivity options, providing the user with nearly everything he/she would find on most consumer camcorders. On the downside, many of the ports are poorly placed. To start, there’s the port collection on the right side, which is stuffed underneath the hand strap. On the one hand, the door is cleverly hidden from view; on the other hand, the ports are very difficult to access. Also on the right side of the camcorder is a completely exposed microphone input. Without any kind of cover or door, this connection is dangerously vulnerable to dust, dirt, and water.

On the back of the HF S10 (just above the battery pack) are two more ports: the DC input 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—at first. We noticed that these covers stopped making tight seals around the ports as they got more wear and tear.

The AV-output doubles as a headphone jack: you can select its function by visiting the appropriate tab of the camcorder’s administrative menu.

Over on the left side of the camcorder you will find a few more quirky design issues inside the LCD cavity. The most glaring is the camcorder’s battery release switch, which is located here, rather than anywhere near the actual battery. Its placement above the card slot makes it seem like a switch for opening that hatch, instead of the releasing the distant battery. In fact, the flip down door protecting the SD/SDHC card slot requires no switch to open and—annoyingly—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 protect the slot.

Finally, there is the hot accessory shoe that is covered by a sliding shield of plastic on the top of the camcorder. The shoe is powered, but it’s only compatible with Canon’s proprietary mini-shoe accessories; it won’t work with traditional shoe-fit devices without a third-party adapter.

Media (8.52)

The Canon HF S10 records primarily to 32GB of internal flash memory. We love flash memory, especially when it’s embedded into the body of a camcorder. The HF S100 records only to SD/SDHC memory cards, while the newer HF S11 has a total of 64GB of internal memory. All three camcorders have a memory card slot, though many owners of the HF S10 and HF S11 will likely use this as their secondary recording destination. Flash memory, in general, is more durable than hard drives and tapes, but memory cards do experience a small amount of wear every time you insert, eject, or throw the card into your camera bag. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.