Customer Reviews
Quality is beautiful, support and value is mediocre esp for Mac Users 
2008-07-07
Wow, what can I say, once you go HD you'll never go back. Great camcorder from an ergonomic perspective and I mirror much of what others have said but I'm going to focus on a few things others have not yet said...mainly that I'm a MacPro user and yes indeed the SW to play & edit isn't included for Mac OS but it is for Windows. You'll have to buy something like iLife ($79.95 on Amazon) to play your video (if you bought your mac recently it has iLife on it for free) on your computer and then edit it. How crazy is that? Free for Win, but $80 for Mac! The bigger issue is that I can't seem to find an answer to what I think would be part of a normal workflow. That is, I want to simply use my Mac to archive my .mts (ACVHD) files and then bring them back (unedited) to the camera so I can view them on my HD TV via the HDMI cable. YOU CANT DO THIS! I spoke with Canon support and they said and I quote "We claim no compatibility with Macs WHATSOEVER" but the Pixma software included does allow you to download to WIndows, play and move it back to the camcorder". The only way to view a clip if you have a Mac is to burn the archived video on to DVD and then view it. HOW CRAZY is that!? My kids just want to occasionally view an old video now and then and what faster way than to simply copy the particular clip back to the camera temporarily to view? NO, you have to burn a DVD! Per Canon support "copying from a Mac is meant to be a ONE-WAY process".
If you use Windows, I'd say it worth buying. If you use a Mac, WAIT!! Shame on Canon for not recognizing an important user base when releasing a THIRD generation ACVHD camcorder!
Great camcarder 
2008-07-05
This is my first HD Camcorder. Picture is really good and I like the HDAVC format. You can play the HDAVC directly on PS3, just plug the memory card into the PS3 USB port, it instantly recognized and you can play the video with HD quality picture. You can also use the come along software to create a DVD or Blueray DVD. I done with the regular DVD, although the format is not bluray, it is 16:9 and picture is quite good on my 40' LCD. I did not render the Bluray DVD option, I can imagine the quality should be way better. But why bother, I just plug my memory card into PS3 and the result is the same.
The only thing I regret was, I brought the HF10, I should have brought the HF100 which is identical without the internal memory. I used the external memory card all the time so the extra money I paid for the internal memory model is a null point.
The best in its class but not without serious drawbacks 
2008-07-05
First of all I'm quite sure that image-quality-wise it's the best camcorder one can buy below 2K. It is also probably the best compact camcorder and a great value.
Downloading videos from internal memory is more painful than it should be and the included decoder cannot run smoothly enough on my new dual-core desktop. Some controls are well designed ... but these are fairly minor drawbacks.
One serious problem with it is the lens. It is very narrow. Horizontally is it's about 42mm equivalent at its widest end. This is bad in itself but is particularly problematic for a 16:9 camera. Basically you need to be about 20 feet away to be able to film a 5 foot person in full height.
I imagine that's the price for a fairly useless 12x zoom.
A wide-angle lens is a must. It does improve things a bit (by 0.7 factor) but at the price of significant distortion, loss of (so precious) light, extra bulk, about $150. It also ruins the nice look of the camera.
One more necessary accessory is 2 hour battery. I can't see why Canon is charging $100 for a less than 10$ battery. Do yourself a favor and buy a noname alternative for a fraction of a cost.
The first AVCHD camcorder that convinces. 2008-07-02
I have quite a selection of HD camcorders from Sony, JVC, and Panasonic. I also have the Canon HV10 and HV20 HDV camcorders, which are as amazing as that sounds incompatible in HD mode. HD has creates the most amazing confusion on the format front. Also capturing became very painful with this mess. Enter AVCHD. After tremendous disappointment over the last year with AVCHD compatibility for video editing - particularly on the Mac - this has finally been resolved. I use now Final Cut Pro 6.04 and iMovie to directly import the AVCHD files into the editing software. The winner in quality, handling and usability is for me the Canon HF10. The picture quality in FXP mode - the highest quality setting - is excellent and beats both HV10 and HV20. Compared to the Pro-Camera Panasonic HVX-200 I see very little difference. The biggest distinction is low-light noise. But also here the HF10 beats all other AVCHD camcorders.
A bit unpleasant is the requirement to have the power cable connected while USB use, but that must be related to problems with potential file corruption should the battery fail. I would recommend the HF10 over the HF100 because of its internal memory.
Finally AVCHD has reached the mainstream. I wonder for how long until another format makes it obsolete ...
Awesome Product 2008-06-28
I am amazed with this product. Clear and very sharp images, lighweight and with a superb design. I'm glad I have bought this camera. Canon, once again, exceeded expectations.
I also bought, together with the camera, the SanDisk Ultra II 16GB/15MB SDHC Card and the Canon BP-819 Lithium Ion Battery, which I higly recommend.
Points for attention:
1. Focal Length: from my perspective, the camera should have a shorter focal length. 40mm is too limited. I'm considering buying the wide angle converter.
2. Video editing sofware: since this camera shoots in AVCHD, pay attention on the software you'll have to buy in order to edit your films. The one that comes with the camera is just ok. For Mac users it's a no brainer, but for PC user, like me, be aware that Adobe Premier does not edit AVCHD files. You'll have to chose either Sony Vegas Platinum or Pinnacle to do so. An upgrade in your computer may be also needed, especially for Pinnacle.
Bottom line? Buy it! But also order an extra battery and SD card to guarantee you don't miss anything!
good camera 2008-07-19
This is a good solid camera. My only complaint is that when viewed up close on an HD TV some video compression artefacts are visible. I don't know how this compares to other HD cameras using AVC, I assume most of them would have such artefacts as well. Other than that the image quality is really good.
How to import video into iMovie on the Mac 2008-07-17
This is a marvelous camcorder. Rather than repeat what some of the other reviews have mentioned, I thought I'd explain how to import video on the Mac, because it wasn't obvious to me. First, you must have an Intel based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). You also need iMovie '08, which comes with new Macs. If you're running an older version of Mac OS X (such as Tiger) or have an older version of iMovie, or have a PowerPC based Mac, you won't be able to import video from this camera.
To import video, attach the camcorder to the Mac with the USB cable that's included with the camcorder. Make sure you plug your camcorder into AC power, running from the battery won't work. Set the mode dial on the camera to video playback (the little blue camcorder icon). Turn on the camcorder. Now open the LCD display on the camcorder, and you'll see it's asking you a question: use the joystick to choose "computer" for where you're connecting the USB cable. I spent some time the first time I wanted to import wondering why iMovie couldn't see the camcorder until I finally tried opening the LCD screen and noticed this question. Once you've made this choice, iMovie will detect the camcorder and will be able to import video, and you can do the rest from iMovie.
Canao VIXIA HF10 Video Camera 2008-07-17
The camera has met and/or exceded my expectations. It's light weight, easy to handle and the operation and functions are very intuitive and easy to learn. The sound quality of the built in mic was a pleasnt suprise. The HD playback is quite impressive! The free software provided is, well, free. The cost of a backup battery is a little stiff, but technology advances will most likely bring the cost down in the near future.
A very good camera with a couple issues for some 2008-07-15
The camera is a dream: small (maybe too small?): fits in the palm of your hand. Pure memory storage of video is relaly quite nice, but have a large hard drive ready. Now that drives are cheap and plentiful, no problem. You will need a good software set to work the HD well, not to mention a fast processor. I got Sony's Vegas suite: works well. Still images with the camera are fine, though this is not a still camera with all the features you'd expect from one. Focus is great, auto exposure settings work fine, the display is great. Battery life is fine, though I did pick up an extra larger battery for field work. Works ok at night. Works better during daytime. Audio is ok for field work though wind sensative. Useful in many ways.
Great Picture easy import to Final Cut Pro MAC 2008-07-08
The picture is as expected for a compact HD camera. In full daylight very sharp but this is not a low light video cam. Import to Final Cut Pro on my power Mac was easy and uneventful. It just imported and that was it. Controls are a little awkward. Generally I am happy with this consumer level cam.
