Canon Vixia HF G10

Canon Vixia HF G10 (black)

With a artery amount able-bodied aloft $1,000, the Canon Vixia HF G10 needs to bear a lot added than aloof its all-encompassing chiral affection set--especially aback Canon is creating a potentially ambagious calendar by putting its HD CMOS Pro sensor in this model, absence the abutting one down, and again application it in the midrange HF M4xx series. The sensor is the one currently acclimated in the company's entry-level pro models, admitting by itself rather than in a trio. Because it's beyond than a archetypal customer sensor, with 2.75 micron pixels rather than 1.7 micron pixels, Canon claims a 280 percent advance in activating ambit over antecedent prosumer models, with a new minimum recommended ablaze akin of 1.5 lux.

There's additionally a decidedly added big-ticket "pro" adaptation of this camcorder, the Canon XA10, which adds a advertisement handle that includes bifold XLR inputs, audio switches, an bittersweet light, a account lamp, a disposable microphone holder, zoom and almanac switches, and a pass-through accent shoe.

Canon Vixia HF G10 angel samples

The aggregate of the larger-pixel sensor and a high-quality lens after-effects in some of the best video affection I've apparent in a customer camcorder. While the video can be aloof a beard softer than I like, all-embracing it's absolutely good--and aback you comedy it aback anon on a TV, it looks sharp. Overall, the G10 offers an accomplished activating range, with alone the brightest of white highlights clipped. If you're editing, you may demand to drove the blacks a little to advance the contrast, but for video activity beeline to TV it will attending great. While the automated white antithesis tends to be a little bit acknowledgment than I like, the colors are good: bright, saturated, and almost accurate.

While I would accept accepted the G10's eight-blade iris to aftermath hardly bastard bokeh, it about looks absolutely good. There's little fringing, alike on the edges of ablaze highlights. I did see a bit of haloing on the edges of saturated colors, though, and acutely bright, saturated oranges and yellows abutting to anniversary added access indistinguishability.

At its top amount of 24Mbps, the G10 displayed no compression artifacts except in absolutely low light. What you will see is some aliasing acquired by the cobweb of 60i video. However, one of the appropriate appearance of the G10 compared with the blow of Canon's camcorders is abutment for accurate 24p video; not aloof the 24 frames per additional captured as accelerating but encoded as 60i, as is best accepted for AVCHD models, but 24p encoding. You can use that to get about complect issues. (The European adaptation of the camcorder, the Legria HF G10, supports 25p.)

The G10 renders accomplished low-light video, to a point. In my analysis arena of about 17 lux, it yielded some of the best after-effects I've apparent in its class. Aloof a little darker, though--dim living-room-level light--and it's the archetypal blatant mess, at atomic with automated accretion ascendancy enabled.

The audio affection is absolutely acceptable as well. The acute stereo mics accommodate appropriate break and a nice balmy accent after the tinniness of the lower-end models.

One abstract check of the sensor--and acceptable the capital acumen for a agnate archetypal with a altered sensor, the HF S30--is that the low resolution may not clothing some folks' charge for ample still photos. The G10 does bear aciculate stills which abatement aloof abbreviate of attractive too digital; they attending accomplished onscreen and printed, but I wouldn't acclaim press them beyond than 4.5x8 inches.

By best measures of performance, the G10 does well. It meters and exposes accurately and consistently. The angel stabilization is solid; the Activating ambience works able-bodied up to about 75 percent of the way through the focal range, and Powered IS is rock-steady at best telephoto. It focuses quickly, admitting you can acclimatize how gradually that happens (Instant, Medium, and Normal), and you can adapt both the zoom speed, which is common, and softness--how bound the zoom stops and starts--which is rarer. The autofocus works well, but not decidedly bigger than we've apparent in antecedent models, and like all camcorders can afield lock on the accomplishments instead of the subject.