Canon Vixia HF100 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on May 13, 2008 3:09 PM
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Still Features (9.25)
The HF100 (Review, Specs, Recent News, ) is equipped with a bevy of still photo options. While the Panasonic HDC-SD9 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $494.95) can only offer 1920 x 1080 still image recording and a small cluster of still features, the HF100 offers the following following sizes: (Photo Mode) 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, and 640 x 480 (VGA), (Video Mode) 1920 x 1080 and 848 x 480. You can record images to SDHC cards in Super Fine, Fine or Normal quality.
All manual controls offered in Video mode are available in Photo mode, including Exposure, Focus, and White Balance. You can access Scene Priority modes in Photo mode, but Cine Mode cannot be applied. Image Effects can be accessed, but you can only apply Black and White and Sepia. A Self Timer is available in the Administrative menu that can be set to 10 seconds. Images can be reviewed in 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 second intervals. The HF100's Flash can be set to Auto, Manual, or On.
Like all high end Canons, the HF100 can can meter an image in Evaluative, Center Weight Average, and Spot modes. Evaluative functions by dividing the screen into numerous windows in order to obtain an average exposure for the entire image--this setting is suitable for most shooting environments. The Center Weight Average setting hones in on the subject in the center of the frame and adjusts the exposure according to that subject. Spot Meter matches a certain portion of the screen's exposure to the exposure of the the central subject.
There are four different speed modes in Photo mode—Single, Continuous Shooting, Hi-speed Continuous Shooting, and Auto Exposure Bracketing. In Single mode, just one image is captured per Photo button snap. Continuous mode captures roughly five images per snap. In Hi-speed Continuous Shooting, five images are recorded per snap, but at twice the speed as Continuous Shooting. With Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) three images are captured in a sequence—one image at Auto exposure, one at an EV notch up (+0.25EV), and one at an EV notch down (-0.25EV). This way, shooters have three different exposures to choose from.
| Photo Function Menu |
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| Shooting Modes | Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Portrait |
| Shot Metering | Evaluative, Center Weight Average, Spot |
| White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Manual |
| Image Effects | Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Soft Skin Detail, Custom |
| Digital Effects | Black & White, Sepia |
| Capture Speed Mode | Single, Continuous Shooting, Hispeed Continuous Shooting, AEB |
| Image Quality | LW (1920 x 1080), L (2048 x 1536), M (1440 x 1080), S (640 x 480) |
The Function menu in Photo Mode
The Photo Menu is accessed by selecting Menu in the Photo Function menu. The Photo Menu contains the following items:
| Photo Menu |
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| Camera Setup | Self Timer, Zoom Speed, AF Mode, Focus Assist, AF Assist Lamp, Focus Priority, Image Stabilization, Auto Slow Shutter, Review |
| Memory Operations | Card Info, Initialize |
| Display Setup | Brightness, Audio Level, , TV Screen, Markers, Language, Demo Mode |
| System Setup | Battery Info, Wireless Remote, Beep, Power Save, Quick Start, Image Numbers, Component Out, HDMI Status |
| Date/Time Setup | Time Zone/District, Date/Time, Date Format |
The Admin menu in Photo Mode
Still Performance (5.36)
The Canon HF100 was tested for its still performance by shooting an X-Rite Color Chart at an even, bright light, then running the stills through Imatest imaging software to determine color accuracy, noise, and saturation. At best, the camcorder produced a colro error of 11.2. These were far less accurate than the scores from Sony and Panasonic. The noise measured 1.495%, which was also not that good compared to competitive camcorders. The saturation measured 123.1%. This indicates where the error was the caused the poor color and noise results. The HF100 was too heavily saturated. In order to get these best results, we lowered the exposure by two increments from where the auto mode had set the exposure. In auto mode, the saturation was even higher, at 132%.
From a practical perspective, this means that you will want to lower the exposure to more accurate colors. However, most consumers prefer saturated colors, so it may not matter than much.
Still Resolution(29.24)The still resolution of the Canon HF100 was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart at an even, bright light, then exported the stills to Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder was able to produce a horizontal resolution of 1481 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) - with a clipping of 0.87% and an oversharpening of 3.6%. The vertical resolution was 1587 lw/ph - with a clipping of 1.33% and an undersharpening of 0.615%. In order to get these best scores, we raised the exposure levels by two increments from where the auto mode had set them.
These scores are about average or higher for a camcorder with this pixel count.
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