Canon HF10 is one of the latest camcorders released by this manufacturer and as of now one of the best of 2008.
Intro:
Canon HF10 is a HD camcorder recording in full 1920 x 1080 at 17 Mbps. The camcorder has 12x optical zoom and 200x digital zoom. Thanks to a quite few feature called ‘Easy Mode’ it is perfect for amateurs and a vide array of available settings makes it equally good for more professional users. The 2.7-inch LCD screen is perfect for reviewing your shots and 16GB of internal memory should suffice to capture a few parties.
The design:
Canon HF10 measures 73 x 64 x 129 mm and weights less than 400 grams. The front of the Canon HF10 camcorder is dominated by the 12x optical zoom Canon HD video lens. Slightly to the right of the lens is the AF sensor, Flash as well as the LED video light. A bit below the lens is the built-in stereo microphone – a good solution considering the fact that Panasonic HDC-SD9 tried to put the mic above the lens which resulted in accidental finger touches and distorted sound. On the left side, as always, is the 2.7” LCD screen which flips out 90 degrees from the camcorder’s body and can be rotated up to 270 degrees. Within the LCD panel there are Playback and Video controls, the Joystick and the SDHC card slot. On the right side you will find the Mode Dial, good quality hand strap, the HDMI and USB terminals. At the rear of the Canon HF10 camcorder is the rechargeable battery, together with the Mic, A/V Out/Headphone and DC In jacks.
Performance:
Canon HF10 camcorder features a 1/3.2-inch CMOS with a gross pixel count of 3,030,000 pixels thanks to which it is a great performer in most circumstances. The color balance is retained, as is saturation, and the image sharpness will satisfy even the most demanding consumers. In low light the camcorder tends to produce a bit too much noise, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary.
Canon HF10 has four quality settings: 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. The camcorder has a very good Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S) system thanks to which even movies recorded while driving should not be blurred. Adding to that a few scene modes: Spotlight, Sunset, Beach, Night, Snow, Portrait, Fireworks and several White Balance presets along with some additional effect is enough to indicate that the Canon HF10 camcorder is a strong competitor. Yet, even if you do not know too much about all those settings, do not worry. Canon HF10 camcorder features the Easy Mode which will adjust all the settings to improve the image without your interference.
Canon HF10 camcorder, unlike competition, has great still features. The camcorder not only takes great pictures in still mode, but also when you’re shooting a film. There are, of course, some effects such as sepia and black and white. The Canon HF10 can take photos is a few resolutions and the highest is 2048 x 1536.
One of the few drawbacks of Canon HF10 camcorder is in my opinion quite short battery life. The battery needs to be recharged after less than 90 minutes of recording with the LCD on, so you might consider buying a spare one.
Menus / ease of use:
Canon HF10 camcorder has plenty of customizable settings including white balance, Scene Modes, as well as additional effects. Navigating through the menus needs a bit of practice but in general it is not that complex. Maybe sometimes too big abbreviations are used which might confuse novice camcorder users, but they can always refer to the manual or simply use the Easy Mode. When the Easy Mode is activated almost all settings are blocked so you cannot modify anything, but the option works so well that you really won’t have to change any settings when you use it.
So for the price of $1099 you get:
VIXIA HF10 Camcorder
BP-809 Battery Pack (with Terminal Cover)
CA-570 Compact Power Adapter
STV-250 N Stereo Video Cable
WL-D88 Wireless Controller
IFC-400PCU USB Cable
CTC-100/S Component Cable
Digital Video Solution Disc for Windows and Macintosh
Pixela ImageMixer™ 3SE Disc
The selected Canon HF10 specifications are as follows:
Power Consumption
3.9 W (SP Mode)
Image Sensor
1/3.2″ CMOS Sensor, RGB Primary Color Filter
Total Pixels
Approx. 3.3 Megapixels
Effective Pixels
Movies: Approx. 2.07 Megapixels (1920×1080)
Still image: Approx. 2.76 Megapixels (1920×1440)
Maximum recording time
16 GB Internal Flash Drive
LP (5 Mbps) 6 hours 5 min
SP (7 Mbps) 4 hours 45 min
XP+ (12 Mbps) 2 hours 50 min
FXP (17 Mbps) 2 hours 5 min -Allows 1920×1080 Full HD Recording
Greater Capacity is Possible by Adding an SDHC Memory Card.
Lens
Zoom Ratio 12x Optical/200x Digital
Focal Length f=4.8 – 57 mm
Zoom Speed Variable/3 Fixed Zoom Speeds
Max. F/Stop f/1.8-3.0mm
Filter Size 37mm
Focusing System
Instant AF, Through the Lens/Manual Focusing Possible
Manual Exposure
Yes
Programmed AE
Auto, Program, Av, Tv, CINEMA, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks
Max Shutter Speed
1/2000
1/500 (card)
Auto Date/Time
Yes
Record Search/Review
Yes
Minimum Focusing Distance
10 mm (wide)/1m (tele)
White Balance
Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Auto, Manual
Image Stabilization
SuperRange Optical (lens shift)
LCD Screen
2.7″ Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD (Approx. 211,000 pixels)
Recording Media
Internal Flash Memory (16GB) or SD/SDHC Memory Card
Audio
Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2 ch)
HDMI Terminal
Type C 480i/480p/1080I Format Supported
Microphone Terminal
3.5 mm Stereo Mini-jack
AV Mini Terminal/Headphone Terminal
3.5 mm 4 pole Mini-jack
Dimensions
(WxHxD) 2.9 x 2.5 x 5.1 in (73x64x129mm)
Weight (not including lens and battery pack)
13.4 oz (380g)
Source: Canon.