Canon Vixia HF10 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Mar 11, 2008 3:14 PM
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Compression (7.5)
The Canon HF10 compresses video in the AVCHD format. This is Canon’s third-generation AVCHD model, roughly speaking, as it was for Panasonic and Sony. 2008 seems to be the year we finally see some major improvements in this heir-apparent to the HDV crown. All the manufacturers, including Canon, upgraded from 1440 x 1080 to full 1920 x 1080 output. Bitrates also increased. The Canon HF10 now has a maximum bitrate of 17 MBps, as did the Panasonic HDC-SD9 and HDC-HS9.
This increased bitrate, matched with some good processing, seems to have done wonders for video quality. We shot the HF10 in a direct side-by-side with the Canon HV20 and were thoroughly impressed. It was difficult to tell the difference in some instances – certainly a first for AVCHD.
There are four quality settings on the HF10. The highest, FXP, records at 17 Mbps. XP+ records at 12 Mbps, SP records at 7 Mbps, and LP records at 5 Mbps.
The Canon HF10 does not record in standard definition.
Media (8.5)
The Canon HF10 has two options for storing video. The primary method is a 16GB internal flash memory. Solid state memory has a lot of benefits, and is likely to become the recording medium of the future. It’s shock resistant and difficult to damage. It offers fast data retrieval with low power consumption because there are no moving parts.
The 16GB capacity pales in the face of mega-storage like the 120GB HDD models from Sony and JVC this year, and that’s something you’ll have to weigh yourself. However, we can warn you that it’s foolish to rely on a single 120GB HDD as your sole storage device without backing up regularly. Chances are, you’ll rarely need more than 16GB at a time, anyway.
The second storage option is SD/SDHC card. No card comes included, but capacities as large as 32 GB will be available shortly. Cards with 16GB of storage can be found online for less than $200, which doubles your total capacity when paired with the internal memory. Card storage can also be removed and replaced with ease.
In the menu, you’ll find all the core stats on the media. The Memory Info feature provides information on remaining capacity, total recorded video time, total number of recorded stills, and how many minutes of video you can still shoot. This is very useful if you’re on vacation and leaving the hotel for the day. Do you need to pick up that memory card at the gift shop or not?
Editing (4.0)
Editing AVCHD video has gotten considerably easier recently as more software manufacturers have gotten on board. The problem of sluggish hardware, however, remains. Editing software can be replaced or updated yearly, but your laptop or desktop will likely be hanging around for a few more years. AVCHD video is incredibly taxing to edit natively, even to upload and stitch together for a simple home movie. Be aware of this before you purchase an AVCHD camcorder.
The camcorder ships with Image Mixer 3 SE, which is a basic tool for importing, editing, and authoring movies. It’s not bad, but more widely used software is out there that has better support for beginners’ questions, from ultra-simple iMovie ’08 to mid-level programs like Ulead Video Studio 11.
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