Since I was a little kid with an 8mm film camera, I have tried in vain to make videos that had the look and sound of professional TV and movie productions.
I failed in many ways, many times. Sometimes due to my meager skills, sometimes due to the short comings of my cameras.
The Vixia HF G10 changes that. I can no longer blame my equipment.
Let me say now, I am not a professional video/film maker. I have had no formal training. My videos are for my own enjoyment, I record special moments and travels for myself and my family. I seldom display or publish videos on the Web.
I placed my order on Jan. 5th, the day of Canon's new product announcement. Amazon was great, as usual, and kept my pre-order updated until the camera was released. I received it last week, and was immediately struck by the quality of the images.
So far, I have just been learning about the G10, and its features. I've made some stunning video studies of my flower and vegetable garden. Whether played back on the camera's LCD screen, or on my big screen HD television, the images are sharp, clear, vibrant, and have the look of a professional documentary. In addition, the on camera microphones are far superior to any camcorder I've ever used. I have some large wind chimes near my garden and the playback of audio through my TV is astonishing. I have a Sennheiser MKE 400, but have not used it as yet, the on-camera sound is excellent.
What I like: Coming from a DV tape camera, the memory cards are the best thing since sliced bread. The 'touch screen' is very good. I did not think I would like it, but it is easy to use, responds well, and the menu system is somewhat intuitive. The Manual mode provides tons of recording and exposure options. In Programmed mode the camera will make several automated exposure adjustments as the scene or lighting changes. In Av mode the DOF control is excellent, and there are built-in ND filters available in Av mode that have already come in handy. I have not used Tv mode, but in full Manual the controls are easy to access and perform as well as my Canon EOS still camera.
Three modes of Auto focus and excellent, easy to use Manual focus. Zoom speed adjustment, very cool.
Cinema Mode: Sounds like a gimmick, works like a charm. The primary feature in Cinema Mode is a set of 9 filters for various cinematic effects. I like them all, and look forward to using them to highlight my scenes in my videos. It would be easy to over use these, I think. But the Nostalgic, Sepia, and Old Movie filters will surely get used, as will the Dramatic B&W. I'm thinking the Vivid would work on panoramic landscapes.
The whole memory card/built-in memory thing is wonderful. Transfer to a Win 7 PC is easy and fast. So far I'm sticking with the MXP 24P (true 1920 x 1080). It is the luxury I paid for, and I'm going to use it.
Things I don't need: Still photos nice but I have a great still camera. In camera editing and Decorations: just fluff to me. I guess these things have market appeal, but why does Canon add them to a camera aimed at the upper end video customer?
Things I don't like: The initial impression that the G10 is a small, cheap-looking, plastic camcorder (I got over that when I saw how it performed). The shallow angle of the lens opening prevents adding after market wide angle conversion lens; apparently the only lens that currently fits is the very expensive Canon lens. The BP808 battery is small, and you need 2, or a larger BP819. There is no separate battery charger included, so you need one of those, too. The hot shoe is the Canon mini-shoe, so you need an adapter to use after market mikes or lights, or buy the expensive Canon accessories.
My still camera is a Canon 5D Mk2. It has fantastic video performance as well as awesome still image performance. I wanted the G10 to give me more flexibility for different situations; run-and-gun, handheld kind of stuff, ad hoc filming which I find difficult with the 5D Mk2.
That's about all I can think of now. I would buy this camcorder again without hesitation. I would and do recommend it to anyone looking to take that next step up in video making.
I'll try to post a short video soon, showing some of the images from the Vixia HF G10.
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