Canon Vixia HF11 Camcorder Review

Conclusion
The Canon Vixia HF11 did not offer any surprises, even when we were expecting it to. It's still a rock solid camcorder, firmly planted in the roots of its predecessor, the Canon HF10, which was released only eight months ago. The shiny new feature—a 24Mbps bitrate—did not seem to add much to the already great performance. It's the cherry on top of the sundae—not really necessary, but a nice touch.

On behalf of the nerd community, we have to express both excitement and disappointment regarding this. The fact that Canon is the first manufacturer to hit the maximum bit rate for the AVCHD spec on a consumer camcorder is great news. In doing so, it forces the rest of the industry to stop dragging its feet and catch up. A rising tide lifts all ships, so to speak. On the downside, the increased bitrate didn't really do much. If you look... we mean really look... you can see some decrease in the compression artifacting, but it takes an eagle eye. 

The less sexy but nonetheless valuable upgrade is the doubling of the internal memory from 16GB on the previous generation to 32GB on the HF11. With this much solid state memory, you could safely rely on it for an entire vacation before needing to dump the footage. Expanding the memory is simply a matter of throwing in an SD/SDHC card.

As much as we loved the HF10 at its inception, the competition has caught up, making it less easy for the HF11 to sail through on an easy pass. Panasonic has stepped up its game with the HDC-SD100 and HDC-HS100, both of which offer far better manual control and handling. The Sony HDR-CX12 was significantly upgraded since its the previous generation, now sporting a better sensor and more powerful handling. The Samsung SC-HMX10, not new but only recently come to our testing labs, proved that the Korean giant is no longer content to sit on the sidelines when it comes to performance. Its sleek style, dead simple operation, and amazing low light performance make it a strong competitor against Canon.

Disclaimer – We received some unexpected test results during our evaluation of the Canon HF11, particularly a higher noise percentage in low light. We contacted Canon, and they agreed with our assessment that the results were counter to what should have been expected. In order to deliver to you, the reader, the most up-to-the-minute information, we have published our original results here. Canon plans to send us a second review model to that we can have the opportunity to retest for the sake of accuracy. The review will be edited to reflect any new test results, with a note explaining what was changed and why.

Comparisons

	Canon HF10 There's little difference between the Canon HF10 and Canon HF11. The big, advertised improvement in the new generation is an increased bitrate, up from 17Mbps to 24Mbps. This makes Canon the first to produce a consumer camcorder to reach the bitrate ceiling on the AVCHD codec. When we tested the camcorders, side-by-side, in the lab and out of the lab, we were hard-pressed to see much of a difference. The average shooter will not notice anything. The HF10's performance was pretty hard to top to begin with. The second upgrade is internal memory, increasing from 16GB to 32GB of non-removable solid state capacity. This could be a value save if you don't already own a few SD/SDHC cards. If you do, you can probably save money by buying the HF10.
	Sony HDR-CX12 If you put the bodies of the Canon HF11 and Sony HDR-CX12 side-by-side (and you weren't nitpicking camcorder experts like us) you'd probably have a hard time telling them apart. The size, shape, and color are so similar you'd think that the companies worked on them together. A closer look reveals that the Sony CX12 is actually the better design. It includes a Cam Control dial that allows for much smoother control over focus and exposure than the jerky movements endemic to joysticks like the one on the Canon HF11. Sony did not increase its bitrate since its previous generation HDR-CX7. In fact, the HDR-CX12 remains the slowest in its class. However, the CMOS sensor was upgraded, and other Sony camcorders using the same CMOS sensor (like the HDR-SR12) produced excellent video in both bright light and low light. Overall, the Canon HF11 is the stronger choice due to raw performance and extent of manual controls. The Canon also offers 30P and 24P frame rate recording, making it a more versatile tool. Sonys offer a simpler interface for beginners.
	Panasonic HDC-SD100 The Panasonic HDC-SD100 is an enhanced upgrade over the HDC-SD9, including a new full-sized ring around the lens that controls zoom, focus, white balance, aperture, shutter speed, and gain. That's right—everything you love about Panasonic camcorders can now be controlled with a superior interface. If you're a manual control freak, Panasonic offers tighter control over image quality than anything else. That said, the Canon HF11 has onboard options for color saturation and sharpening that Panasonic doesn't, which may be more useful to you. In terms of performance, the Panasonic HDC-HS100 cannot compete with the Canon HF11 (we're basing our conclusions on testing of the Panasonic HDC-HS100, a near-identical camcorder) on resolution, low light performance, or overall image quality. While the Panasonic handles better, image quality is where it counts. Unless you're shooting in perfect light most of the time, the Canon HF11 is a more useful camcorder.
	Samsung SC-HMX20 The Samsung SC-HMX20 is the dark horse champion this year. After years of mediocre camcorders, the HMX20 was equipped with a huge CMOS sensor, larger and with a higher pixel count than any of the camcorders listed here. This led to an outstanding low light performance that rivalled the Canon HF11. While the Samsung produced the highest measurable resolution, the HF11 produced a sharper looking image in most instances, perhaps because it used a better compression. The Samsung SC-HMX20 cannot compete with the Canon on manual controls. The Canon is a far superior tool for serious shooters. On the flip side, the Samsung HMX20 is a perfect choice for beginners, with its simple interface and smooth good looks.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters
Easy mode is where it's at with the HF11. Beginners no longer have to rely solely on Sony for their camcorder training wheels.

Budget Consumers
No HD camcorder worth its salt is going to be budget friendly, in the strictest sense of the phrase. The fact that the HF11 is $200 more than the HF10 due to 16GB of additional storage will not help the matter one bit.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid
The HF11 has a killer still photo mode, rife with numerous shooting modes, full Manual Controls, and in-depth image info.

Gadget Freaks
The first consumer camcorder to hit the 24Mbps bitrate ceiling is big news from a technology standpoint, but we just didn't see it adding that much to image quality.

Manual Control Freaks
Most of what you could ask for Canon offers—Exposure, Focus, White Balance, Shutter Speed, numerous image effects and an Instant Auto Focus mode. However, Canon will have to retaliate against Sony's Cam Control Dial and Panasonic's Cam Function ring with the next HF model.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists
Ooh, this one is on the line. The image quality is great, and the manual control set it powerful. 30P and 24P bitrates are damn useful in the pro's tool bag, too. However, a joystick-only access to those controls is limiting, particularly in the face of better handling from Panasonic and Sony.