Canon Legria HF S10 /S100 users

[coffee3in1]

Hi there, I just got the model above and thought of opening up a thread to capture experience.

Next upgrade accessories will probably include
- tele mic DM-100?
- wide adapter WD-H58
- Merlin Steadicam

Still on the lookout for a practical tripod/head combo. Been down to cathay photo and found manfrotto head quite stiff. I thot of putting a head onto a glitzo traveller; but don't think I can pan smoothy becoz the tripod is so light. video newbie...

Cheers. Hope to hear more from others (experience and thots)

[silverbullet]

Hi

I am also thinking of getting either the HFS100 or HFS10? What's yours? Care to share your experience, in terms of performance till date - video quality, auto-focus speed, light compensation, etc etc.

txs a mil.

[coffee3in1]

Overall, I'm quite impressed by the camera. Heh, heh - I'm a video noob afterall, so i'm easy to impress.

Low light AF performance is surprisingly fast. In close the no light, video noise is bad. I miss the Sony Nightshot feature. So a video light (argh!) will be needed in zero light environment.

For a normal lighted room the result is passable, I recommend the LitePanels MicroPro - approx $700 from Expandore. This will add a more natural look and fill in the shadow area.

The compression is leading class, video is nice and sharp; artifact-free. Lens is so good that I can take pictures at f/2.8 on max telezoom - I need to verify that again. I was amazed by the image details.

This is really easy consumer feature. I like the "4 sec" shot mode as it forces you to keep your footage interesting. Afterwards when everyone is seated at the sofa, you pick the footages into the playlist and selected the included music. You get a kind of editing feel without much effort. It's more enjoyable than watching standard raw footage.

Ok, let's bitch about the cam now. The audio part is abit annoying when the camera man starts to have a conversation with the subject. The sound is unbalanced; the camera man sounds much louder and closer. DM-100 is a must. I've no problem with the added cost (what to do rite?) but it adds to be bulk and I don't like the idea of stowing the rig into a carrying case. It's not a good idea for a vacation cam to be fixing on/off the mics. Sigh... Why can't they make a proper built-in mics??

I don't want to get started with the wide end of the lens - it's not really wide. Canon Powershot SX-10 is much better. Maybe it's a good idea save the $300+ from the WD-H58 to get the Powershot. Haha.. For the same reason why women need more than one pair of shoes. Well, at least the wife can still use the cam to cover her POV, I can't say the same about her shoes.

[coffee3in1]

I bought the S10 for the built-in 32GB. Reasons below.
1) No silly situation like Dog ate the card; Wife lend to neighbour; Left it inside the card reader. You _CAN_ still end up with a flat battery, tho!
2) To shoot full HD - you need Class 4 SD card. I have a bunch of 2GB cards from Nokia (mini, micro) so I can "backup" to them after shooting or on tour.
3) My extended warranty with Harvey Norman covers it
4) Can be configured to shoot a) videos onto built-in memory and b) photos onto SD card

[silverbullet]

Hi friend

Thanks so much for the review and sharing. Let me get mine soon and will exchange notes with you. Do you mind PM me how much you paid for and the package (if any) extended by HN?

[zax13]

Originally Posted by coffee3in1 I bought the S10 for the built-in 32GB. Reasons below. 1) No silly situation like Dog ate the card; Wife lend to neighbour; Left it inside the card reader. You _CAN_ still end up with a flat battery, tho! 2) To shoot full HD - you need Class 4 SD card. I have a bunch of 2GB cards from Nokia (mini, micro) so I can "backup" to them after shooting or on tour. 3) My extended warranty with Harvey Norman covers it 4) Can be configured to shoot a) videos onto built-in memory and b) photos onto SD card

U bought from which HN outlet and how much?

[coffee3in1]

I got mine from the Suntec City outlet, near Carrefour. Go and look for John, he is very tall. He is the head of department and can give something special. I got my set for $2,450 incl GST; standard Canon gifts - 8GB SD, EOS bag, Card reader and additional battery. Other HN freebies include tripod, editing software, lens filter if u don't need the 0% installment.

I can only expect deals to get better. This model is still pretty new so shop wisely.

Another feedback. The HF-S10 requires power supply when transferring files to/from PC (USB mode); this can be pretty troublesome when you're travelling.

[JacePhoto]

Wow... thats interesting. I am also interested in the video and wonder how does the video quality compares to that of D90 and 5D MII. Sorry Noob question...

[obfuscate]

Originally Posted by JacePhoto Wow... thats interesting. I am also interested in the video and wonder how does the video quality compares to that of D90 and 5D MII. Sorry Noob question...

Video quality on camcorders like these will always be better that DSLRs for now. If technology keeps improving, we might see a convergence in the future.

[zax13]

Originally Posted by coffee3in1 I got mine from the Suntec City outlet, near Carrefour. Go and look for John, he is very tall. He is the head of department and can give something special. I got my set for $2,450 incl GST; standard Canon gifts - 8GB SD, EOS bag, Card reader and additional battery. Other HN freebies include tripod, editing software, lens filter if u don't need the 0% installment. I can only expect deals to get better. This model is still pretty new so shop wisely. Another feedback. The HF-S10 requires power supply when transferring files to/from PC (USB mode); this can be pretty troublesome when you're travelling.

quite a kick ass deal u got there...

Can help do a review bro?

[anakbaba]

Try Alan Photo. Ask for Peter. You get a much better price. Sorry . .cannot say . hahaha. Just in case some party not happy. Its below SGD$2400 all incl.

[anakbaba]

I find the battery usage is rather high. The provided BP-807 and given BP-808 has same ratings although different size. I am planning to get the BP-827. I will be heading for a trip where charging is not convenient and from the manual, it says the batteries does sell discharge! I'll have to do a test and see how fast the buggers discharge!

I think the way to solve the need power to transfer video to PC is to use SD card. Then can use card reader. But the 32GB ain't cheap! I probably need to get 2!!! Kiasu syndrome I guess or I can get a mobile data storage. But then again I will have to hope the data don't get corrupted. Maybe get both! Aarrgh! Spend spend spend!

[raymondluo]

Originally Posted by obfuscate Video quality on camcorders like these will always be better that DSLRs for now. If technology keeps improving, we might see a convergence in the future.

Not true, the image output of 5DMk2 is closer to that of Red One then a consumer camcorder already. Albeit it losing out on a ton of manual control, which the GH1 provides, and with a new up and coming VDSLR from samung for competition- things are already hot now.

[docolmo]

Originally Posted by coffee3in1 Another feedback. The HF-S10 requires power supply when transferring files to/from PC (USB mode); this can be pretty troublesome when you're travelling.

Is this a problem? When I am travelling, I would definitely bring my charger cable. Batteries won't last a whole day.

[coffee3in1]

Either I'm suffering from a bad case of post purchase dissonance or I'm a noob who didn't know what I want in the first place.

First annoyance: The t/fer of data which requires the A/C power to be plugged in.
2nd annoyance: Like anakbaba mentioned, this baby is power hungry (probably why it needs A/C power for data t/fer). Under standby mode (closing the LCD screen while powered on) the unit is still "warm" when I took it out of the camera bag.
3rd annoyance: SD card cover cannot be opened whilst the tripod plate is mounted.
4th annoyance: Battery cannot be changed whilst the tripod plated is mounted.
- I'm using the standard size Manfrotto QR plate, I think that size is pretty standard.
5th annoyance: No LANC remote port. Damnit, Sony's got it on their high end models.
6th annoyance: Image Stablisation is not as good when moving or walking around. I have not tested the Sony HDR-XR - but the online reviews are good.
7th annoyance: When powered down, and the unit is moved around or shaken, it sounds like something is loose or broken off inside. I suspect it is the lens lid. After Power On, no sound is heard even if I shake the unit. Com'on, this is happening on a flagship model?

I'm gonna pimp it with a Rode Video Mic this Saturday. Watch this space for more comments.... Cheers.

[ricohflex]

Thank you for posting the problems.
These are for real and we would never know them unless some one (you, in this case) pays the large sum of money to buy the product, try it out, finds out the hidden horrors and tells us.
When we read "reviews" from beholden reviewers in websites sometimes they paint glowing picture of a product.
Now we know better.
I think Canon is recently trying to break into the lower end consumer video market but they got a lot to learn from established players like Sony and Panasonic.
Canon made some interesting stuff starting 1997 with the XL series onto XL2 miniDV 3CCD (I think) and more recently the XL-H1S in 2008 US$9000.

[ricohflex]

Originally Posted by docolmo Is this a problem? When I am travelling, I would definitely bring my charger cable. Batteries won't last a whole day.

If the videocam cannot tx unless it is plugged into AC then it is a BIG problem. A design fatal flaw.

[coffee3in1]

Yeah, I made a terrible association that if Canon is good with their EOS dSLR then they cannot be too far off with their camcorders. This is sadly mistaken - it's not a "system" camera.

Overall, it's still a decent camera - to take baby and vaction shots. Wong Lilin is their spokesperson. So... I'm having serious thoughts about plonking more dough into the wide angle adapter (WD-H58) and the boom mic (DM100). It's just not the camera built to be pimped on.

For those who are wondering, I'm fixing the HF S10 onto a Manfrotto fig rig.

[roofies]

u could make a bullet time rig with multiple HF-S10s like the guys behind crank2 did.

=D

[silverbullet]

Guys

I had almost made up my mind to buy the HFS10 until I saw Coffee's review (the post-purchase dissonance). So on the hind side, which cam would you have gotten instead? I have 2.5k budget. HD and Flash Memory with SDcard a must have. Anyone can advise pls?

txs