Canon Vixia HF S10 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by David Kender
Published on Jan 9, 2009 11:00 AM

 
Intro Audio
Compression & Media Manual Controls
Still Features Handling and Use
Playback & Connectivity Other Features
Conclusion
 Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings



Conclusion
The Canon HF S10 is a powerful camcorder, there's no doubt about that. The manual control set is absolutely killer. Canon has taken a mercenary approach and cherry-picked the best features of its competitors, now offering a gain control ("Sorry, Panasonic"), peaking for manual focus ("Thanks, JVC"), and a dial near the lens barrel for faster access to key controls ("We'll just take that, Sony").

The HF S10 has impressive specs, as well, with a huge 1/2.6-inch 8.5-megapixel CMOS. The lens is the same size as the lens on the professional Canon GL2 model. There are ports galore and the audio features are bulked up, though are limited by the proprietary-fit accessory shoe. Our only real complaint, except for the typical disappointment with a cheap-feeling body and zoom toggle, is that the interface is confusing and cluttered. There's definitely a learning curve involved. Those issues aside, expect the HF S10 to be a powerful player on the upper-end of the camcorder market this year. If you want to save a few bucks, Canon also offers the HF S100, identical in every regard except for the card-only memory.

Canon has not announced pricing at the time of this article's publication.



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