Canon SLR Reviews

Posts Tagged ‘Little Beauty’

Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom

Canons new VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory camcorder packs
tons of excitement and high-quality imaging power into its
small, lightweight body. Capture vividly colored, realistically
detailed high definition video and photos with a Genuine
Canon 15x HD Video Lens, SuperRange Optical Image
Stabilizer, 3.89-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor, and
Canons latest DIGIC DV III Image Processor. With the VIXIA
HF200, youll enjoy the convenience of recording to removable
SDHC memory cards.Youll also love shooting with the userfriendly
layout, and the ability to switch seamlessly between
shooting video and photos. The Canon VIXIA HF200 is packed
with innovative new features like Pre-Record that captures the
action 3 seconds before you press the record button, so you
never miss a memorable moment, Video Snapshot Mode that
lets you set 4-second video vignettes to music, and Genuine
Canon Face Detection that perfectly focuses and exposes
selected faces–even if theyre looking down or to the side.
All this in one compact camcorder! Canon USA 1-year limited
warranty included.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars You Little Beauty
I have had this camera now for about 10 days and I have used it and tested it under a variety of conditions trying to work out what it does well and what it doesn’t do well.

My summary is that this is a fantastic little camera taking amazing video in most lighting conditions although not very low light and of course Pixela software is so bad it is embarrassing for Canon and should never have been released (just be honest and say BUY YOUR OWN SOFTWARE).

The quality of the camera is evident really in every detail of the camera including the nice screen for the lens that activates when shooting, no more loose lens caps. Having solid state memory is fantastic, no worries about vibration, less power consumption (imagine a battery with 90 minutes life that comes standard with the camera, used to be 30 minutes with my older canon MV digital camera).

The menus and controls are all well designed and thought out. I found though you have to be very careful to hold the camera steady and I often use both hands.

The auto focus of the camera is exceptional and most of the time works so fast you don’t even notice it. I know from my experience of cameras over the years that this is quite a technical feat. My old Canon MV camera would hunt badly especially when using the zoom at maximum. Even taking video of my budgies int their cage, the autofocus correctly focussed on them and did it quickly whereas most cameras would just focus on the cage wires.

The colour accuracy is exceptional as is the saturation and and dynamic range. I shot some video late in the afternoon and had a good look at the footage (megabittage) and was very impressed with the colour accuracy of lit and shadow areas.

The resolution of the camera is exceptional which means that the lens must be very good and this sharpness and clarity extends to the extremes of the zoom range which is unusual. Detail drops when light drops such as indoor shots but that is to be expected and detail remains very good with indoor shots under reasonable light.

The exposure control is also very quick and accurate. Dynamic range is exceptional and it generally prefers lighting darker areas at the cost of some blow out in bright areas but no camera is as good as the human eye so still very impressed.

Low light performance is still very good on a reasonable lit indoor setting but if the indoor lighting is poor can become very grainy indeed and not nice to look at. I think most people won’t find this too big an issue. I found that the low light performance of my old mini VHS Sharp was better than my Canon MV mini DV camera and this in turn was better than the Canon HF 200!

I tested about five trial video editing software packages and settled on Pinnacle Studio 14 which just came out last week. Pinnacle was the only one that I tested thoroughly that didn’t crash on my Windows 7 64 bit system (pre release RC software). Adobe disappointed me in that it came with ‘trial software’ adorning all the video images so I didn’t even bother testing it, as it annoyed me. What were their propellor heads thinking? A trial is just that, give the customer the real software and let them evaluate. Mind you they were one step ahead of Roxio Creator who won’t even let you trial their software so needless to say they didn’t get my money either. Pinnacle is very nice easy to use software. Vegas was great but randomly crashed, Corel crashed the computer with a driver error and Cyberlink crashed when editing. In the end Pinnacle was the most expensive but hey this software will last for years (I hope).

Overall an excellent camera and I would thoroughly recommend it although I also had my eye on the Panasonic TM200 (marketed in most parts of the world as a very similar TM300) but this camera is quite a lot dearer.

5 Stars Amazing Quality!!!
Files are hard to deal with – But the Quality is AMAZING.

Buy an extra battery… You’ll need it.

A great camera!!

4 Stars Picky Picky
I just received the camera, extended battery, bag, card, etc. I always appreciate the reviews left on Amazons site. I go there first because I believe most of its customers are knowledgeable about the products bought there. However I must admit I was, and still am a bit surprised at the thumbnail photos that are in the ad. One shows the two Cannon cameras. If you scroll over them they say HF 200 terrible camera? Huh. So far it is a great camera and takes great video. I don’t understand how Amazon allows that picture to stay up on their site?

I think the regular Joe Schmoe that buys this camera is going to think the video quality is awesome for the price, but as mentioned a million times the software should not be downloaded to your computer. I have the Adobe and use that to edit all my videos. Of course that is a costly program for some so Cannon should definitely set you up with better software right out of the box than that Pixela crap. Anyway I think the camera, so far, is quite good. Not a $2000 camera, but still takes very good vid. I bought this for a bang around camcorder instead of taking my Cannon S10 on Bike rides. It is Autumn up here in NH so hopefully I get some leafy shots on Youtube soon.

5 Stars Good Buy!
This one come with a remote and is pretty sturdy. i just wish that the battery life was a lil more than 90minutes.

5 Stars Love this camera
I really like this camera. I have used it in many different scenarios, from home movies, to professional corporate productions, and it has not disappointed me yet. With so many reviews, there’s not much left to say. I will say one neat feature is the HDMI-out, which let me both record and preview on a large LCD display at the same time, the video that was being shot. Apparently this camera doesn’t work with Class-10 SDHC cards, which is a bummer, since in the near future Class-6 cards will probably become harder to find, so hopefully there is a firmware upgrade for that. Other than that, I love this camera, it was very affordable, and no matter if you’re shooting your kids’ soccer game, making a video for your company, or looking for a nice budget camera for an indie project, this camera will do the job for you!

Buy/More Info

Canon Angle Finder C for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

The Canon Angle Finder C is compatible with all Canon EOS cameras when used with the included Ec-C and Ed-C adapters. Allowing you to adjust the viewing angle, the Angle Finder C provides a full screen image, as well as exposure data. Also, the Angle Finder C has a built-in dioptric adjustment for variations in eyesight.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars sloppy adapter springs
As a wildlife photographer with a stiff back and neck I was looking for an alternative to my skimmer ground pod and whimberly gibled head for low angle shots with my canon 1d mk III /500mm f4 set up. Being able to set up and look down would relieve my back problem and allow for low angle shots. When I first put the angle finder on the mk III it fit ok however the second time it was very loose and i found it difficult to use and lost many good shots of a group of shore birds until i took it off and discovered that the springs were very loose. I pushed them back into place with my finger which improved the fit but any adjustment and the adapter loosened up again. Others have reported this same problem. The optics seem ok. I would recommend this for a static set up but not for any dynamic subject. Note, the box that contained this product is labeled made in china. All of my other canon product boxes say “made in Japan”.

4 Stars If You’re On The Fence, Get It
I bought mine for use on a rebel XT. Between that small

viewfinder and the poor ergonomics of keeping my face

against the back of a tripod mounted camera, I was getting

worn out trying to capture anything from a sunset to a

macro subject. this little beauty solved all that. And,

I like that I can flip a lever and get a magnified view

to help in manual focusing.

For me, it was well worth the money.

5 Stars Canon Anglefinder
This item is great for macro photography and for use to help focus on a telescope. Makes for a more comfortable view.

4 Stars Great item
This is a must have item for any one taking low pictures. Also is great for keeping your face away from the view screen

5 Stars Canon Angle Finder C for Canon EOS SLR (and about anything else)
I purchased the Canon Angle Finder not for a Canon EOS but for a Nikon D90. It works like it was made for it — easy on, easy off, 360 rotation, view magnification — all great.

Buy/More Info