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| Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $899.99
Buy New: $529.00
You Save: $370.99 (41%)
New (33)
Avg. Customer Rating:  141 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Monitor Size: 270
Includes Software: Yes
Optical Zoom: 12
Digital Zoom: 200
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 57
Minimum Focal Length: 4.8
Maximum Resolution: 2070000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 5.1 x 2.9 x 2.5
nv:Size: 1/3.2-inch
Image Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Movie Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Storage Media: SD/SDHC Memory Card
Compressed Format: DPOF
Compressed Format: DCF Exif 2.2
Movie File Format: MPEG-4
Movie File Format: AVCHD (HD)
Optical Zoom: 12x
Digital Zoom: 200x
Focal Length: f=4.8-57.6 mm
LCD Monitor: 2.7-inches
LCD Pixels: 211,000 pixels
LCD Coverage: 100%
Maximum Aperture: f 1.8 - 3.0
White Balance Control: Auto
White Balance Control: Daylight
White Balance Control: Cloudy
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: HF100
Model: HF100
UPC: 013803092004
EAN: 0013803092004
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 HF100 experience of a first-time camcorder owner/user June 9, 2008
67 out of 82 found this review helpful
As a computer savvy photographer buying my first camcorder, my experience with the Canon HF100 is quite mixed
The quality/color/resolution/etc of the video is surprisingly good. Unfortunately, you can only take short clips using full quality/resolution because importing the video is very slow, and exporting high-resolution video after you're done editing is slow as well. I have a macbook pro 2.2 ghz core 2 duo (still fairly fast by June 2008 standards) and it takes iMovie 3+ hours to export 1 hour and 15 minutes of 960x540 video (1/4 the pixels of 1080i). I don't recall the import times, but they are similar/hours. 1080i resolution requires approximately-forever to import anything bigger than very short clips
A few specific things to be aware of ->
1) The built-in microphone is okay for subjects right in front of the camera, but otherwise poor. If you want audio, the 12x zoom is useless. And, in my brief experience, audio quality is at least as important as the video for "capturing the moment". I am going to experiment with external microphones
2) The image stabilization doesn't work very well either. And again I don't have other camcorder experience to compare it to - but the HF100 requires a lot of attention to avoid sea-sickening video. Similarly to the audio, the problem worsens as you zoom in (eg, fully zoomed-in, you will most likely have little or no audio, and very shaky video)
3) At a "widest angle" of 43mm (35mm equivalent) this camera does not capture a wide angle of action. I would much prefer a 35mm equivalent range of 20 - 240mm, which would (hopefully!) mitigate the problems both with the short-range-only microphone and the clumsy image stabilization - in addition to improving indoor options
To summarize, the camcorder does provide the opportunity to capture *amazing* video footage in the 10-feet-or-less range. However, even in the best case, it takes a long time to import and export - and, otherwise, it's very easy to get shaky video without good audio. For me, this means I'm using it less than I would if it were faster and easier to shoot/edit good video - and I can't count on it to capture events in a reliable high-quality manner. In hindsight, I would wait for the next generation of AVCHD camcorders to come out - as it seems the Canons are the best of the June 2008 solid-state camcorders
 HF100 Review HF100 VS HF11 and AVCHD vs HDV All what you need to know about HD Camcorders July 22, 2008
45 out of 46 found this review helpful
With this review I will tell you everything you need to know to pick best camcorder for you
First of all about the HF100
Sound,Size,Video,Value are all perfect to be honest the video is crystal Clear and the sound is unbeatable even without an external mic
There is no viewfinder but the LCD is extermely bright,Battery 1Hour~, and its very light/small camcorder i simply put it inside my jeans
You need to know that HF100 do not record in SD (Standard Definition) or 720p "it only records 1080 videos"
So if you want the options to record in SD or 720p then you might reconsider another Camcorder
So lets start first of all Yes I wrote HF11 in the title its not a Typo Canon just announced TODAY (22 July 2008) that they will release HF11 very soon "September" (Only in Japan for now as I write this review) Which use 24MB/S instead of the 17MB/S max that the Current HF100 use (That's around 30% video BITRATE Boost over HF100/HF10)
So before I starts Some might say The hell with HF100 I will just wait for HF11 which have 24MB/S AVCHD
Well you need to understand First what does the 24MB/S means
1-There is a million Camcorder that use HDV tapes with 25MB/s recording yet HV30 wins hand down without any other camcorder getting close to its quality/price because HV30 lens, sensor, etc are way better than other camcorders in the market, Same goes here HF100 and HF11 both have the EXACT SAME lens, sensor, optical zoom, pixels 1920x1080i (or p) and even the body design!!!! So don't expect serious changes in video quality at all (Lens, sensor, etc matter the most than the codec of the video) what was changed in HF11 is that Canon added 32GB memory and new processor to record the new 24MB/S AVCHD (which of course require faster processor to play/record in the camcorder) (I am not saying 24MB/s is useless however I AM saying that HF11 wont be the camcorder to use the true power of the 24mb/s avchd
2-You CAN NOT copy these files to a DVD and share them with family/friends because All DVDS have "18MB/S LIMIT" and sharing 4-5GB files over the internet is something people try to avoid, yes you can edit the video and lower the BITRATE to 18mb/s however this will take a lot of time (AVCHD isn't walk in the park when it comes to editing) and the quality wont be as good as the HF100 17MB/S because HF100 video is unedited
Almost any BLU ray player can play normal AVCHD DVDS! (The PLAYSTATION 3 plays them too) and since BLU ray burners are very expensive (300-600$) and Each disc is around 10$ you don't want to deal with BLU rays for now (Unless you don't mind giving free 10$ discs to friends/family) DVDS cost like nothing these days for 10$ you can buy 100 DVD
3- 24MB/S = you need Bigger hard drives to backup/save your data
17MB/S 2hours and 5min for 16GB
24MB/S 1hour and 25Min for 16GB
4-Bigger files = Require better PC for playback/editing (But not huge jump like HDV to AVCHD editing/playback requirement)
5-HF11 is priced for 1300$ (HF100 is half the price) why waste more money for Same Exact camcorder even if you buy the HF11 trust me next year a new Camcorder will be released which will use the true power of the 24MB/S AVCHD but as of now HF11 lens and sensor is very limiting and wont use AVCHD 24MB/S real power Canon is just using the 24MB/S for Marketing~ save your money and get HF100 if you want memory based camcorder
Now AVCHD vs. HDV (HV30 VS HF100)
HV30 = Best Tape HD camcorder
HF100 = Best HD Camcorder that use Memory to record videos
HF100 pros over HV30
1-Its smaller
2-Record in full HD 1920x1080 (HV30 max recording is 1440x1080)
3-You just copy the files to your PC however with the HV30 you need to plug the camcorder to the pc and LIVE capture (HF100 is way faster and better tech also you can use your pc and browse the net while you wait for HF100 video file to be sent to your pc , but with HV30 using your pc while you live capture from the tape can cause slowdowns and frame drops in your video )
4-You can take your memory of the camera and insert it on any PC/PS3/blu ray player and watch your videos (With HV30 you need to plug the camera... because it use tapes)
5-With HF100 you do not need external microphone for acceptable audio sound which make it very portable since its already smaller than the HV30 however the HV30 without External microphone is completely not acceptable at all you can hear the tape noise and trust me its very LOUD
6-HF100 use AVCHD H264 Codec "To Me" it have better colors it depends on your taste some people do not like the cool blue effect that AVCHD videos use
7-With tapes you have 1hour limit for recoding then you have to switch your tape but with HF100 you can keep recording for hours (Depends on your battery + memory size)
8-With memory based camcorders you can shoot in 1sec!! But with HV30 you cant record fast you need to wait for tape to get active first
9-You can record with any settings/frame rate you want with memory based camcorders but with HV30 recording multi settings/frame rate in the SAME TAPE can cause problems when you capture the video on your pc
10-you can backup your AVCHD files and make them "playable video discs" to any DVD or (BLU ray in the future "now if you are rich") without any EDITING at all!! But with HV30 you are required to Edit/capture , with AVCHD its just drag and drop then burn voila !
11-You can record over hundred and thousands of videos in the same memory without any problems and its free but with HV30 "tapes" first it costs money to buy tapes and secondly you cant repeat recording in the same tape after 3-4 times you will see lot of video quality drops the more you record over same tape also keep in mind that with HF100 all what you need is your camcorder and you are ready to go, but with HV30 you need lot of tapes with you if you going in trips and tapes are big which will kill the idea of having a portable camcorder
Now lets talk about HV30 pros over HF100
1- It have a Viewfinder which a lot of people prefer over the LCD
2- It can record in SD (standard definition) and 720p (HF100 can only do 1080)
3-It use HDV format which is way easier to play or edit in pretty much any pc nowdays
4-HDV format have worldwide support programs wise because its very old almost any video editing program can edit HDV, not the same for AVCHD which is new (Sony vegas 8 pro edit AVCHD just perfect but its very limiting to have few programs that really work with AVCHD unlike HDV any program is fine with it kinda, i guess by the end of the year everything will be solved remember AVCHD is new format"
So after reading all this you should know that waiting for HF11 isn't really good idea and which camcorder is better for you HV30 or HF100
And that's about it I hope it was helpful to you :)
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Update "AUGEST 14" Camcorderinfo.com just confirmed what i was saying from the start about the HF11 you can read there review at there website (heres what they said about HF11)
"Out of the lab, we put the HF11 and HF10 side-by-side in some difficult shooting situations
and examined the playback footage with an extremely critical eye. After much deliberation,
we came to the conclusion that most people can't tell the difference between the two.
You'd have to spend an insane amount of time and energy--as we did--to see a variance." -Camcorderinfo.com
HF11=1299$ HF100=649$ (Half the price of HF11 save your money people ;p)
Worth every penny!!! April 9, 2008
40 out of 41 found this review helpful
I recently purchased the Canon HF10 and wanted to give some thoughts for any perspective buyers.
First off the video quality is excellent. I took some video indoors at low light and then took some outside where it was a sunny day. Both scenes played back with excellent color reproduction and clarity. The outside video was very impressive, the color reproduction and clarity were spot on. Blue skies were a perfect blue and green grass was a vibrant green. The sharpness of the picture was very clean.
The inside pictures were not quite as good, but that is because of the low light in my house. I needed to do some tweaking first, but even at the factory settings the picture was very good.
The auto focus is quick and the image stabilization works like a charm. The 12x zoom really gets you in tight and brings in those distant shots fast. The camera really takes some fantastic video.
The menu is easy to navigate and gives you loads of options. All the controls fit well in my hand, and I would say I have average size hands for a guy. Love the small size and it hardly weighs anything at all.
One thing that really impressed me was the still photos, they are above and beyond what I expected. Now granted this isn't a DSLR, but I think most people would be impressed with these photos, especially considering they are from a camcorder. Honestly for me this is all I need, why carry a separate point & shoot when this camcorder does it all. Very impressive photo quality.
Just to be clear, I am just a novice. I am in no way a camcorder pro. But as far as I am concerned the HF100 is worth every penny. Nothing better than being completely satisfied with a purchase. Awesome camera top to bottom.
 HF100 vs HV20: observations on video quality trade-offs and editing/distribution June 30, 2008
37 out of 38 found this review helpful
I have a one year old HV20 and a 2 month old HF100. First and foremost, I care about video quality, but convenience is also important.
Each year, we go to the Fraser Valley in Colorado - an area surrounded by pine-forest covered peaks. Last year, we took a ton of footage with the HV20. Did the same this year with the HF-100. Three fundamental things about the video quality strike me in comparing similair footage.
1 - the HV20, given any movement at all, still has a slightly better ability to resolve fine detail. In bright indoor shots and in in reasonably but not overly detailed outdoor shots, not sure I can tell the difference. However, the moment I have a backdrop with lots of pine trees on distant hills, there is a very noticable difference. The HV20 simply seems to resolve a lot more of the distant pine detail. The HV20 did (and does) create a "wow" factor with those kind of shots. The HF100 does not. The 100 is not bad, but I lose the ability to marvel at the distant detail. Of course, thousands of pines mean millions of needles. That's a lot of detail. And my camera is never completely still in real life - even if only slowly zooming or panning (or if there is some movement in the subject/s). This is not a small quality difference. (I should note I have a 65" 1080p projector - smaller screens may not reveal such a big difference).
2 - Movement is more fluid with the HV20. With the HF100, I noticed that I found even reasonably slow pans bothersome - there was blur and greater "blockiness" to the scenery. The HV20, on the other hand, seems both more fluid and to present more of a solid image as I pan - really allowing my eyes to track the scenery during a pan.
3 - Medium to low light shots are dramatically better on the HF100. With the HV20, I tried to do all kinds of things to compensate any time it was evening in doors (even with a few hundred lux of light) or nearing twilight outdoors. The colors seemed overly reddish on the full auto settings, the image got noisy, etc. I used cineamode to try and offset both to some reasonable effect. By comparison, I have found I never need to take the HF100 out of the "Easy mode" and the quality is far better than what I got with all my fiddling on the HV20. (I should note I do all my filming in 60i - so bear that in mind). This is no small quality difference. It's huge.
In the end, for video quality, I'm faced with having to let go of the occasional "wow" factor in higly detailed (and real world - with movement) shots for the much greater quality consistancy under varying lighting conditions. That's not an easy trade-off, but probably tips the scales for me to the HF-100.
If you are a hobbyist or such who can always assure ample lighting - the HV20 probably still reigns for best quality.
EDITING AND CONVENIENCE - another matter entirely. If you want to do a lot of post work, there's still no comparing the tools available. I do not do a lot of post work. I was pleasantly suprised by the packaged (Pixela) software. It's not great, but for scene deletions, trims and rearrangements, it works while doing smart-rendering, which is a big deal for time and quality. So that suggests the HF100 for me.
For distribution, the jury is still out, but it looks like AVCHD will win out. There is some suggestion that Hi-Rez MPEG2 (HDV) can be natively encoded to Blu-Ray disks. I haven't tried that. But I can say that that the AVCHD disks created on DVD from the HF100 play very well on the Play station 3 and several other Blu-ray players I've tried them on. All my connections are via HDMI - and there is no perceptible quality loss to me vs. hooking up the camcorder straight. That's promising.
INTERESTING NOTE
I took my Colorado HV20 footage and encoded to AVCHD (17Mb/s). I used Pinnacle Studio 11 - probably not the best encoder. But the important point is that, even though TWICE compressed with the re-encoding, the resulting footage was, in general, better than the AVCHD from the HF-100 for the highly detailed nature scenes described in point 1. That's really surprising and is good news for the standard. It suggests any quality trade-offs I'm seeing today may be more a function of processor limitations (doing it all in real time) vs. the protocol(s).
I'm still struggling, but in the end, I think the more consistant quality with low light and the distribution convenience probably will make me shift to the HF-100 and AVCHD.
For what it's worth.
Why I bought the HF100 instead of an HV30. May 12, 2008
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
Before I bought an HF100, I first bought an HV30 due to reports of it having better video quality. But I ended up returning that camera the moment I heard the audio play - the tape noise was LOUD and distracting. Totally unacceptable.
I knew Canon made the highest quality HD cameras, though, so I went with the HF100 as a replacement based on good reviews and the fact that it had no moving parts that create noise (like the tape drive on the HV30 or the hard disk drive on some other models.)
Having now shot several things (a baby shower, a friend's farewell party) I can tell you with confidence that I absolutely made the right decision. I think the video quality is just as good as the HV30. I was worried it wouldn't be, but it absolutely is. (Low light footage is expectedly a bit grainy just as it was with the HV30 - and always is with small handheld models - and daylight footage is near perfect.) And the audio quality is as good as I've ever heard from a consumer camcorder. No unwanted noise.
And then there are the bonuses:
- This camera is noticeably smaller and lighter than the HV30. Very very nice.
- The AVCHD format is 100% functional with a current Mac (I tested footage shot with this camera on a MacBook and the lastest version of iMovie). The process is seamless, in fact. Absolutely handier than importing from tape.
- I was worried that I wouldn't be able to backup the footage for long-term safe keeping. What would I do without mini DV tapes? Well, problem solved (for Mac users). You can simply create a little disk image copy of your camera footage (using Disk Utility, which comes with all Macs) and drag that image over to a blank DVD. Burn the DVD and voila - perfect backup. I even tested the process of loading footage into iMovie from the backup DVD and it absolutely worked. iMovie thinks the backup disk image is a camera and will let you import from it no problem.
- If you happen to have a PS3, you can pop your HF100's memory cards right into the system and the PS3 will play your footage in full HD immediately. Talk about handy! Yes!
That's about it for me. Oh, I also HIGHLY recommend getting the Transcend 16GB card that amazon recommends near the top of the page. Not only does it work great, but the card reader it comes with is awesome. It enables me to pop the card directly into the PS3's USB slots (as I mentioned above) and also works for popping the card directly into my Mac's USB slots (so I don't have to fiddle with hooking up the actual camera to import footage.) Gotta love it!
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