Hands on the new Canon HF11

[Ken Ross]

Originally Posted by Martyn Hull

When you first bought your SR 12 i remember you saying the the picture was every bit as good as your hv30,i know reports give the hg21 very good marks but using an SR 12 i find colours good with clear pictures without sign of haze,i think i am right that the hg 21 cannot manual focus as easy as the sony is this correct.Oh for a HC1 shell with its on cam control and pictures up to the hg21 standard,i guess your SR12 will be on its way ? now good luck with the new cam.

Hi Martyn. Yes, you are correct, when I had gotten my SR12, I found it was very close in PQ to my HV20 (I never had an HV30). But the new HG21 seems to be a different animal to me. I agree, when I look at my SR12 footage on its own I see no haze, but when you do an A/B with the HG21, it almost appears as if the same SR12 footage is a bit hazy.

The HG21's clarity is unreal and the color is very good. The Sony colors are somewhat warmer, but I'm actually finding the HG21's colors to be more accurate.

I also tried manual focusing and I do find it just as easy as the SR12.

[Ken Ross]

Originally Posted by Bob Curnow

I read elsewhere on the 'net that the HF11/HG20/21 all come with a newer remote than the HV20/30, and it allows manual focus; so it can be done without bumping/vibrating the camcorder!

Bob C

Bob, I'm not aware that you can manually focus with the remote...I don't think I've ever seen that ability on a consumer cam. The HG21 does have a 'manual focus assist' which enlarges the center area and makes the manual focus process quite easy. The process also allows you to lock in 'infinity' if you so choose.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Bob, I'm not aware that you can manually focus with the remote...

I can confirm that the Canon wireless remote WL-D88 controls every function that's available at the joystick, including the last shot review, video light on/off, exposure adjust up/down, audio input level up/down and manual focus in/out. This applies to the entire Canon VIXIA line, not just the HF11, plus the standard definition FS Series camcorders as well. Hope this helps,

[Ken Ross]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

I can confirm that the Canon wireless remote WL-D88 controls every function that's available...

Wasn't aware of that Chris, I'll take another look at the remote while the cam is hooked up to my plasma. I'm not sure I'd ever use the feature, but it is interesting.

I'm so impressed with this cam, my SR12 is going to Ebay! :)

[Bruno Donnet]

Hi Ross,

I follow your posts since some years now and I know that you spend enough time with your cams to have a trustable judgment ;)...
As you, I was an owner of a Sony HC1, then a canon HV20. But compared to you, I've jumped the 'steps' HV10 and SR12 because I cannot afford to change my cam every year!...

Now, I'm very interested in the HG21 : I'm plaised with the results given by my HV20 in HDV but I'm ready to jump into the AVCHD wagon only if the 24mb/s offered by the HG21 is a real plus.

When you've compared your SR12 and HG21, that was both in 16 or 17mb/s?

Had you time to compare the 17mb/s and 24mb/s modes of the HG21 in difficult situations (movements + many details scene)? What is you opinion on the results in 24mb/s?

[Ken Ross]

Hi Bruno,

Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I'm a compulsive 'upgrader'. I had looked at the HF10, but didn't see anything that warranted my replacing my SR12. So I was a bit surprised by the improvement in the HG21 (the hard drive equivalent of the HF11) relative to my SR12.

To be honest, all my testing was done at 24mpbs vs the highest bitrate, 16mbps, of the Sony. I did that because I always tend to shoot at the highest quality modes available in any camera I own. I haven't actually done an A/B with the HG21 at its two highest bitrates, but from what I've seen and read, the difference between 17mbps and 24mbps will be the retention of fine detail during movement.

It seems to me that the vast majority of the improvements over the Sony can still be seen at Canon's 2nd highest bitrate. The difference in clarity with many scenes can actually be striking.

My A/Bs with these two cameras actually ended sooner than is typical for me due to the consistent improvement I saw in virtually every scene. I showed my wife one of the A/Bs I did in our kitchen and she actually responded with a "Wow" (she didn't know which camera was which). For her to say "wow" on one of my A/Bs is a bit unusual as her more typical response is "I don't know, they both look good". :)

[Bruno Donnet]

Ken, thanks for your input.