Review Of Canon Vixia HF S11 Camcorder

The Vixia is a mighty beast in the world of Camcorders, truly HD and great video quality.

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

The Vixia HF S11 was a treat to test with its amazing video quality, the new Canon interface and a quick charging battery.

Thumbs Down:

The lack of an electronic viewfinder was a disappointing fact. It also is quite expensive, compared to the competition. The lens cover also rattles when closed.

Inside The Trunk:

This beast comes fully loaded with a 10X HD lens and a relatively large, high-resolution 1/1.26-inch 8-megapixel CMOS sensor. The S11 also comes with a 64 Gb Flash. With a video resolution of six megapixels, it’s a great choice for those who want a little more from their camcorders.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Canon has always been amongst the market leaders in digital imaging and the S11 is no black sheep of the family. In the latest wave of  high end prosumer camorders, the battle is just heating up. Canon, on its part launched the triplets, the Vixia HF S11, S10 and the S100. The only difference being the memory capacity of these babies. The S100 has no memory under the boot, the S10 has 32 GB and the top of the line S11 has 64 GB. These camcorders offer high end features like the SMPTE color bars. The S11 also brings in the Dynamic SuperRange OIS, which help while shooting while walking or at wide angles. S11 also features the Advanced snapshot mode, through which you can pull four second clips wither while playback or whilst shooting. These features are attractive, and at the price it is offered, it seems justified. I’d go in for the S11 for the sheer quality of the product and the result.

Razzle Dazzle:

The S11 is a good looking camcorder, which also performs to the cue. Weighing slightly more than a pound, it cannot be classified as a compact. The controls are well placed and can be accessed easily. Due to the size, weight and the placement of controls, the camcorder feels nice and sturdy. This also affects the handling while giving stability to the camera. Canon has done away with the usual placement of the video light, instead putting in a pop-up flash. The mics have been placed on either side of the lens barrel, instead of a single location either above or below the barrel, delivering stereo sound capture. If you do need external microphones, you can attach them via the mini accessory hot shoe. There is also a 3.5mm mic input near the grip side of the device. The other connections like the USB, component, and the Mini-HDMI ports are neatly placed in a covered compartment underneath the strap. Due to the strap, this clustering, though, can be a little cumbersome when it comes to hooking the camcorder to outputs.

Inside Dope:

With the S11, Canon introduced its new Custom dial, making life easier for users! It is quite similar to Sony’s models. You can control the exposure, focus; assist functions like Zebra and peaking. You can also adjust the mic levels from these controls too. While this dial sits pretty on the side of the camcorder, the zoom switch and the photo button lie just below your forefinger on top of the camcorder. The most surprising aspect of this device is that it lacks the Electronic Viewfinder. We sorely missed this hugely important feature. The location of the EVF has been hijacked by the mode dial, which is flancked by the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the power connector. The power switch is cramped up and feels a little out of hand.

Live shooting controls are located on the LCD bezel. The cleverly designed function button pops up to reveal the frequently used settings, and the full menu another level down. The HF S models offers users real control over the aperture and shutter speed. The range of these functions are also impressive, with the shutter speed alterable between 1/8 to 1/2000th of a second. The aperture range is a generous f 1.8 to f8. In the still modes you can exercise control over metering and drive modes. You can also test tones and play with variable zoom speeds.

With the new S11, Canon has introduced a new menu system too, You can now choose the font size too. The 2.7 inch display is bright, and even though the font looks pixilated, it is clearly visible even in direct sunlight. The still photo mode gives you access to a lot of dedicated controls while you lose control over the mic and the digital teleconverter. The performance of the S11 is class beating at a 24-megabit-per-second bitrate and 17Mbps transfer rate. You can record at either 5.5 minutes per gigabyte or at a 7.8 minutes rate. The focusing is accurate while being quick, even in low light conditions. The optical stabilizer has been tuned well and works beautifully throughout the zoom range. The OIS is a nice feature which enables you to shoot a blur free image while traveling in a vehicle or whilst walking.

The battery life of the S11 is average according to class average levels, but the S11 races ahead with its quick charging feature. According to a claim by Canon, it takes ten minutes for half an hour of battery life.
The S11’s DigicDV 3 processing works well, maximizing the dynamic range. A bit of noise and softness was noticed but it was nothing major. Purple fringing was also noted in high contrast frames. The still images looked a little saturated and over-processed, but in this case too, it is well within the acceptable range.

Nitty Gritty:

The S11 is a monster! It works well, through all the ranges and dynamics. If you shoot while traveling or are looking for a cheaper backup to your high end equipment, this is a great choice. Priced well in terms of the features offered, and with Canon’s service backup, it would be the path that I would definitely take! Go Ahead, upgrade yourself if you love to shoot videos!

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