Canon Vixia HF S11 Camcorder Review

Handling & Use Summary
• The new level of stabilization doesn't seem to improve stabilization performance significantly • Easy mode is deceptively named (Dual Shot mode) and hard to find • Custom control dial makes manual focus adjustments smooth and easy • Body is large, but comfortable in the hand • Menus can be a chore to navigate—options are spread out across three separate menus • Battery life is average and there's no viewfinder, which somewhat diminishes the usefulness of all the great manual controls
	Still Features	(Page 9 of 17)	Playback & Connectivity

Ease of Use (4.85)

Auto Mode is confusingly called Dual Shot mode

Canon has made a couple of changes in this year's lineup that make their high definition models slightly more befuddling to use. Namely, the prominent "Easy" button that used to be right in the middle of the LCD cavity is gone. Instead, you'll need to enter cruise control by switching the dial over to "Dual Shot" mode. This is a bit of a misnomer, since you can shoot stills and videos in manual mode too. In fact, we have no idea why Canon made this bizarre design choice. For a complete novice—who might actually want to find easy mode—this is hardly intuitive.

Last year's Easy button has been replaced by the Video Snap button. This imposes a four-second clip limit: you're intended to put the resulting short vids in to a fun, music-filled slideshow. We suppose this could have some allure, but we would strongly prefer having an obvious Easy button. We think that easy mode should be the easiest thing for users to find. In this regard, the 2009 Canons are a disappointment.

In Dual Shot mode, the user is essentially locked out of anything that could get a novice in trouble. No manual image controls or menu options: just point... and shoot. The good news is that Dual Shot mode actually allows you to capture either maximum quality 4:3 photos or maximum quality 16:9 video without switching modes. The bad news is that you can't change the quality setting of either photos or videos without swapping to the appropriate mode and making the adjustment in the menus there. Why isn't there a Dual Shot mode with full menu access? Why isn't there a clearly marked easy mode version of video or still mode?

If easy mode—or Dual Shot mode—is a little too simplistic for you, the regular video and still modes are also at your disposal. Your first step, however, will be surmounting the steep learning curve that comes with learning the camcorder's ins and out. Everything is packed into a pretty dense menu, where the sheer volume of options can be pretty overwhelming. There's also the smaller function and joystick menus, but these options are all represented by sometimes esoteric icons, which novices might find intimidating.

The overall menu structure can be one of the HF S11's most confusing aspects, spreading everything across several different menus. Some options appear in more than one menu, but most live in just one of the three different menus: the main administrative menu, the function menu, and the joystick menu. This makes the camcorder a bit cumbersome even for more experienced users. To adjust white balance, just pop into the function menu. To shift exposure, use the joystick menu. To shift AGC limit, navigate to the second tab of the administrative menu.

Of the four major manufacturers (Canon, Sony, Panasonic, JVC), Canon offers the least in the way of tool tips, descriptions, or other contextual aids. Panasonic's Info feature can be activated to bring up a short explanation every time you select something in the main menu. Sony has a similar feature for their main menu, plus short text descriptions inside the camera settings menu. JVC has scrolling descriptions of the features within their menus. That just leaves Canon, with no scrolling text, tool tips, or menu help of any kind. If you don't know what a feature does, you'll probably need to refer to the instruction manual.

Requiring this kind of mastery over the menu navigation really places the HF S11 out of reach for less tech-savvy beginners that are considering venturing into the realm of manual controls. Experienced users will adjust quickly, but first-time videographers will probably want to look elsewhere. The one saving grace is the excellent instruction manual.

Handling (7.45)

The Canon HF S11 has the same design elements of the HF S10 and HF S100 released earlier this year. Compared to last year's models, there's just a couple of new features. The most significant of these upgrades is Canon's new custom control dial, which gives users a smooth and more exact method for making focus, exposure, and audio level adjustments. We're big fans of the new dial, especially compared to Canon's tiny joystick controls of yore.

The custom control dial is great, but it's a shame you can't swap functions on the fly.

The control dial really streamlines the image adjustment process, giving you easier access to your most commonly used option. Unfortunately, it isn't quite as simple to use as we would like. In order to switch the dial's function, you have to delve into the admin menu. That means you can't just switch controls on the fly, as you could with the lens ring on last year's Panasonics or the dial on 2008 and 2009 Sony models.

Swapping among the five functions (exposure, focus, focus assist functions, microphone levels, and gain limit) is such a hassle that we recommend just picking your favorite and sticking with it.

This year's Canons have more than just the dial to set them apart from the 2008 lineup. The form factor has also changed significantly, with a new, larger lens that completely dominates the body. This makes the HF S11 a very comfortable camcorder to hold: the absence of a bulky hard drive means that it fits nicely in your palm, while the large lens barrel give you something substantial to grip. The contours aren't as pleasant or comfortable as those on the Panasonic HDC-TM300, but it's an enjoyable handling experience nonetheless.

The HF S11 is one giant lens barrel.

This design makes the HF S11 easy to hold, but like the HF S10 and HF S100 before it, the resulting location of the accessory shoe is inconvenient. The front of the camcorder may be a common location now for accessory shoes, but we prefer the position that was on last year's Canon models: pushed further back, your accessories won't be quite such an obstruction to proper grip and won't weight down the front of your camcorder.

Rounding out the excellent grip on the HF S11 is Canon's nicely padded hand strap. The soft suede lining on the interior and a decent amount of cushioning should make long shoots easy on the hand.

The HF S11 fits easily in your hand—as long as you don't plan to use the accessory shoe.

We have few complaints with the button layout of the HF S11. Most of the switches and buttons respond well and are conveniently located. The joystick, however, is one area that could use improvement. It may be better than some joysticks we've seen, but it is still small and finicky. With a menu structure that's already a bit more complex than it should be, this tiny joystick doesn't help matters.

The joystick on the LCD panel...		...and another view of the joystick

The joystick can be annoying to use, but at least the hand strap is comfortably padded.

Stabilization (4.43)

The HF S11 didn't perform tremendously well in our stabilization testing, even with its new stabilization setting. The camcorder is equipped with an optical image stabilization system (OIS). The two settings are Standard (the same stabilization that was featured on the HF S10 and HF S100) and Dynamic (new to the HF S11). The Dynamic setting is said to accommodate for more intense camcorder shake and, according to Canon, should work better across the zoom range.

In our low shake test the camcorder managed to reduce 23% of the shake using Standard OIS and 30% using Dynamic OIS. When we cranked things up to high shake, the Standard OIS reduced 21% of the shake and the Dynamic OIS reduced 27%. These aren't horrid numbers, but we expected better from such a wide, bulky camcorder that is equipped with two levels of optical image stabilization. (More on how we test stabilization.)

Canon HF S11 Stabilization Effectiveness

23% correction at low shake (above) 21% correction at high shake (below)

The charts above show how much the HF S11 shook during our stabilization testing. The blue lines represent the movement of the image without stabilization, while the orange lines show the movement with image stabilization turned on (in Standard mode). As you can see, the OIS didn't do a very good job in correcting the shake.

The video above is an example of the Canon's stabilization capability at low shake levels. When watching this video you can notice a slight improvement with Dynamic OIS engaged as opposed to Standard, but the difference is very minimal. Overall, the stabilization system on the HF S11 didn't perform as well as the JVC GZ-HM400, Panasonic HDC-TM300, or the Sony HDR-XR520V.

Stabilization Score Comparisons		Compare the Canon HF S11 to the JVC GZ-HM400
		Compare the Canon HF S11 to the Panasonic HDC-TM300
		Compare the Canon HF S11 to the Sony HDR-XR520V

Portability (6.15)

In practice, the Canon HF S11 is as portable as any other consumer camcorder: it's too big to fit in your pocket and small enough to slip into a camera bag or purse. If you're the sort of person that carries your camcorder around on a regular basis, however, you will notice that the HF S11 is larger than many of its competitors. This is thanks, in large part, to the sizable lens barrel dominating the body of the camcorder. It's a larger lens than anything you'll find on the top-of-the-line models from Sony, Panasonic, or JVC.

As a result, the Canon is slightly larger than the Panasonic HDC-TM300 or the JVC GZ-HD300. The result is a camcorder that's not quite as comfortable to hold as the TM300, but fits better in your hand than the slim HD300. It is certainly more comfortable to hold than most hard drive camcorders this year, especially the Sony HDR-XR520V. On the other hand, the 64GB of internal flash memory can't quite compete with the 240GB of hard drive space on the XR520. The difference really shouldn't impact portability, since we would recommend you backup your footage at least every 64GB anyway.

Battery Life (5.0)

The Canon HF S11 didn't have a very impressive battery life with its provided battery, but its performance was average for a camcorder of its class. It lasted for 99 minutes and 43 seconds in our test (1 hour, 39 minutes, 43 seconds), which is slightly worse than the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and a bit better than the Sony HDR-XR520V. The JVC GZ-HM400 trounced the competition in this test, lasting for 163 minutes with its supplied battery pack.  (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

This is also nearly identical to the battery life on the card-only Canon HF S100, which went for 98 minutes in our test. All these camcorders do have the benefit of open battery compartments. This means you can purchase and use larger battery packs that should give you increased battery life when recording. Canon specifically sells the larger BP-819 and BP-827 battery packs, both of which are compatible with the HF S11.

The battery pack can be upgraded if you want longer life.

LCD & Viewfinder (7.88)

The Canon HF S100 has a 2.7-inch LCD screen with a 211,000-pixel resolution. The camcorder has no electronic viewfinder, so you'll likely run into trouble framing your image on a bright, sunny day. The LCD's design is rather interesting. It is completely flat and glossy, which means the entire LCD panel is a single, even pane. Most camcorders, including Canon's mid-range models (like the HF20), feature an LCD screen that is recessed by a few millimeters. We feel this indentation helps to protect the screen from aggressive glare, whereas the glossy surface of the HF S11 attracts more glare.

Although it's still 2.7-inches in size, the LCD has a new bezel  and better button design than the 2008 models from Canon.

Still, the LCD panel on the HF S11 looks very sleek, and, in most lighting conditions, it doesn't pose a problem with glare reflection. There are a few buttons at the bottom of the panel that serve dual purposes. In playback mode, the first three buttons represent VCR controls. In shooting mode, the first button will start/stop record, while the next two can be used to zoom. The button farthest to the right switches between shooting mode and playback mode. We like the design of these buttons very much and they are some of the best LCD panel buttons we've seen on a consumer camcorder.

One more button and a joystick are located to the far left of the LCD panel. The Function button brings up—unsurprisingly—the Function menu, and the joystick is used to navigate through menus and access the joystick guide.

Menus (3.5)

We already discussed the frustrating multi-layered menu system of the HF S11, but it certainly warrants further discussion. Options have been spread across three different locations, leaving you to guess where to look when searching for a particular feature. This greatly impacts ease of use, especially for less experienced users.

The function menu in video mode		The function menu in still mode

That's not to say that there isn't at least a small amount of logic in the menu structure. More significant image adjustments are located in the Function menu (above), where you select a recording quality, bitrate, and image effects. This is also where you can access Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. Quick image adjustments that you might want to make on the fly are located in a quick menu, mapped to the joystick (below). Manual exposure and focus adjustments are both part of the joystick guide.

The joystick menu in video mode		The joystick menu in still mode

Everything else is lumped into one giant administrative menu, divided into several different tabs. Navigation of this menu could be a lot easier. Instead of pressing left or right to change tabs, you have to navigate up to the top, then left or right to change tabs.

The main menu in video mode		The main menu in still mode

These minor navigation issues only exacerbate the troublesome split menu design: not only do you have to search for your desired option by process of elimination, but you can't always do it quickly. So, if you're looking for the gain control, you might strike out in the joystick guide (even though that's where focus and exposure are located), then strike out again in the Function menu (even though that's where you control aperture, shutter speed, and white balance), then finally land in the second tab of the administrative menu at a feature called AGC Limit.

On top of all this, Canon doesn't provide tool tips or text descriptions of any of these features. If you don't know what "AGC Limit" is, you'll need to consult the instruction manual or just leave that feature alone. The same goes for BLC (backlight compensation), tele-converter, and several other features. This may only be a minor nuisance to the experienced videographer, but it can make the technology a lot more daunting to first-time users.

For a little bit of added flexibility in your menus, there are two font size options (the captures above use the smaller of the two sizes) and 23 language options.

Canon HF S11 Comparisons
JVC GZ-HM400	Panasonic HDC-TM300	Sony HDR-XR520V