This is a marvelous camcorder. Rather than repeat what some of the other reviews have mentioned, I thought I'd explain how to import video on the Mac, because it wasn't obvious to me. First, you must have an Intel based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). You also need iMovie '08, which comes with new Macs. If you're running an older version of Mac OS X (such as Tiger) or have an older version of iMovie, or have a PowerPC based Mac, you won't be able to import video from this camera.
br /
br /To import video, attach the camcorder to the Mac with the USB cable that's included with the camcorder. Make sure you plug your camcorder into AC power, running from the battery won't work. Set the mode dial on the camera to video playback (the little blue camcorder icon). Turn on the camcorder. Now open the LCD display on the camcorder, and you'll see it's asking you a question: use the joystick to choose "computer" for where you're connecting the USB cable. I spent some time the first time I wanted to import wondering why iMovie couldn't see the camcorder until I finally tried opening the LCD screen and noticed this question. Once you've made this choice, iMovie will detect the camcorder and will be able to import video, and you can do the rest from iMovie.

I am amazed with this product. Clear and very sharp images, lighweight and with a superb design. I'm glad I have bought this camera. Canon, once again, exceeded expectations.
br /I also bought, together with the camera, the SanDisk Ultra II 16GB/15MB SDHC Card and the Canon BP-819 Lithium Ion Battery, which I higly recommend.
br /Points for attention:
br /1. Focal Length: from my perspective, the camera should have a shorter focal length. 40mm is too limited. I'm considering buying the wide angle converter.
br /2. Video editing sofware: since this camera shoots in AVCHD, pay attention on the software you'll have to buy in order to edit your films. The one that comes with the camera is just ok. For Mac users it's a no brainer, but for PC user, like me, be aware that Adobe Premier does not edit AVCHD files. You'll have to chose either Sony Vegas Platinum or Pinnacle to do so. An upgrade in your computer may be also needed, especially for Pinnacle.
br /Bottom line? Buy it! But also order an extra battery and SD card to guarantee you don't miss anything!

I have had quite the myriad of camera in the time I've been doing video. I started using my Kodak Z812 IS Camera, which is a great camera, but takes less than steller video - even if it is 720p. I upgraded to an Aiptek Action HD Camera that offered 1080p video along with a host of other features. While this was a definite improvement over the quality of the Kodak, it was sorely lacking in many areas. Namely, the video was extremely jerky, you couldn't zoom the camera without the sound of the zoom being recorded, and the quality was less than steller. So, with a big trip to New Orleans on the horizon and an increasing interest in video I sprung for the Canon HF 10. I read a lot of reviews before I made my purchase. For me I knew I wanted a couple features but didn't care about others. As you read below, you'll find out why I made the HF10 my choice.
br /
br /But first of a summary. The HF10 is a AVCHD Digital Camcorder that records up to 1440*1080 (widescreen) @ 12 Mbps or 1920*1080 @ 17 Mbps. It records sound in stereo through front microphones or through a direct stereo in line and encodes video in Dolby Digital Stereo audio. It has a 12x optical zoom. It has 16 GB of built-in flash memory as well as a slot for adding a SDHC card. It is capable of taking still photos at up to 3 megapixels (2048*1536).
br /
br /Here's what I like:
br /
br / * Size: For me size was a huge issue. I want something I can carry around in a pocket, and the HF10 delivers. While it's a little tight to put into a pants' pocket, it does fit easily into a jacket. Although other models, including the Canon HG10 offered a lot more capacity with their built-in hard drives, for me size drove me to consider only flash-based models.
br / * Internal Memory/Flash Memory: I originally was interested in the HF100. It's identical to the HF10 except that the HF100 has no internal memory, therefore requiring you to always have a flash card on you. The problem was that I needed the camera fast, and Amazon couldn't guartee two day delivery on the HF100, so I got the HF10. In hindsight, this worked out. A number of times I have forgotten to grab a flash card out of my computer and have been really glad there was internal memory to record to. Although I prefer recording to flash drives (it's much easier to pull out a flash card and plug it into a reader than it is to hook the camera to my computer, plug the camera in, switch it into disk mode, etc.) the internal memory is nice to have in a pinch.
br / * Three different frame rates: 24p, 30p, and 60i. I hate interlacing - really really hate it. For me, most of my videos are going to end up on the web somewhere and therefore interlacing is just an annoying bother. I wanted a camera with a progressive mode so I wouldn't have deinterlace video before putting it to the web. The HF10 excels in this area, with three frame rates. 24p, which mimics film, 30p, which puts together 30 full frame images per second, and 60i, which puts together 60 half-frame images per second. I've used the 30p setting almost exclusively although I've messed around with the 24p setting for run and the 60i setting when shooting high-motion footage. This feature alone made it stand out to me.
br / * Varied encoding rates - You can record at 5 Mbps, 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps, and 17 Mbps. I've only used the two highest settings when doing video, but since I sometimes record audio only the 5 Mbps setting has been nice when I'm recording something just to strip the audio out since it allows you to store a lot more data on the internal memory or flash card. The advantage to the 12 and 17 Mbps modes is that depending on what your editing software allows you can either record in 1440*1080 (which is similar to the HDV standard) or 1920*1080. When I first started Final Cut Express hadn't been upgraded to support 1920*1080 editing so I had to use the 1440*1080 mode.
br / * Optical Zoom - The optical zoom on the HF10 is really nice. It allows you to zoom in and out at varying rates with varying acceleration. Combined with the nice image stabilization you can actually manage to get decently steady hand-held video.
br / * Picture Quality - For a consumer grade camera, the picture quality of the HF10 is outstanding. Not surprisingly it suffers a little bit at low-light levels but...
br / * Manual Adjustments - One feature I do like, especially for low light situations, is the ability to make manual adjustments to the video. The automatic settings often want to make dark scenes lighter than they actually are, and using the exposure control I can lower the exposure resulting in better quality video with true blacks.
br /
br /Other Features I either don't like or could live without
br /
br / * There is a built-in video light, but it's off angle and very white. If you're actually close to use it, it'll take every drop of color out of whatever object you're shooting.
br / * One could say that it would be better if the HF10 had a 5.1 Dolby Creator instead of just a stereo creator, but 5.1 single point microphones are somwhat pointless.
br / * The HF10 has a built-in camera, but it's not great. The built-in camera is nice in one respect, you only have to carry one camera. But it's only 3 megapixel at 2048*1536, which isn't ideal if you're looking to integrate photos into a HD video production. Plus, the flash isn't real good. Truth be told, video cameras are good at video, photo camers are good at photos.
br / * The LCD screen is nice and it rotates, but a viewfinder would have been nice as well. The nice part abou the rotating LCD is that you can do self-recordings real easily. The problem is that if you're using the rotating LCD to show the subject what you're taking video of, you can't see the subject through a viewfinder. I know a viewfinder would have added size and price though, so it's a very acceptable trade-off
br / * The battery life is alright, but not fantastic. The basic battery that comes with the camera provides about an hour of recording time at the highest resolution. They offer another battery that provides longer recording, but it's rather expensive (100+). I ended up being a third-party imitation that does the trick just fine.
br / * Other recordings modes would have been nice. By far my biggest annoyance is the lack of modes for shooting other than 1440*1080 or 1920*1080 content. The only one I'd really like is a 1280*720 @ 60 fps mode for handling high motion.
br /
br /Overall I give the HF10 high marks - I'm extremely satisfied. A few minor quirks, and the simple fact that its a consumer grade camcorder aside, this has been a great camera for a home video enthusiast.

After a nightmare with Sony cameras, I've decided to go with Canon and I was very right. This camera is amazingly easy to understand. Canon did a great job with user interface. (If you ever had any Canon product, they all very consistent in term of user interface).
br /
br /Quality is just outstanding. Having 16Gb build in and Flash makes it 32GB. I love the option of moving files back and forth between those two memories. Flash drive is definitely better and faster.
br /
br /I have a mac and this camera couldn't be any friendlier than it is. Mac recognizes two Flash Drives as one for Photos and one for Videos so you not gonna import all in one mix media. All software works great with this camera.
br /
br /If you been looking for simple, yet great camera, this is the one. Thank you Canon, you just earned yourself a loyal user.

First of all I'm quite sure that image-quality-wise it's the best camcorder one can buy below 2K. It is also probably the best compact camcorder and a great value.
br /Downloading videos from internal memory is more painful than it should be and the included decoder cannot run smoothly enough on my new dual-core desktop. Also some of the controls are poorly designed and a bit sluggish ... but these are fairly minor drawbacks.
br /One serious problem with it is the lens. It is very narrow. Horizontally is it's about 42mm equivalent at its widest end. This is bad in itself but is particularly problematic for a 16:9 camera. Basically you need to be about 20 feet away to be able to film a 5 foot person in full height.
br /I imagine that's the price for a fairly useless 12x zoom.
br /A wide-angle lens is a must. It does improve things a bit (by 0.7 factor) but at the price of significant distortion, loss of (so precious) light, extra bulk, about $150. It also ruins the nice look of the camera.
br /One more necessary accessory is 2 hour battery. I can't see why Canon is charging $100 for a less than 10$ battery. Do yourself a favor and buy a noname alternative for a fraction of a cost.
br /

This camcorder is simply great. Small, excellent video quality, and an extremely convenient storage. Like many other costumers, I was divided between the HF100 and HF10 models, but here is a definitive difference that, after two moths, made my choice the right one: I've lost a very important recording with a defective Transcend SDHC 16gb card when plugging it to my computer. So, first of all, I recommend buying cards from traditional brands, to avoid headaches. Second, as the HF10 has 16gb of internal memory, you're able to record to it and then copy the files to the SDHC card with the camera, before plugging it to the computer. With this simple procedure, the operation of transfering files to the computer becomes safer, as you have a backup.

I've had this camera for about a month now and have really enjoyed using it. It is light weight and turns on pretty quickly. Here is my quick review:
br /
br /Pros: Small, lightweight, nice view screen, lens gets covered automatically, internal memory holds 2 hours of footage but you can add another card, quality is really good. Pretty good in low light situations. Steady shot is okay.
br /
br /Cons: Had to upgrade the battery because one hour of power is not enough with the standard battery. The auto color balance doesn't always do a good job, especially when in nature. On one of my shoots people looked a little purple. I took care of this by setting the white balance manually when I'm outside.
br /
br /Overall: I'm very glad I bought it and I would recommend it with the above understanding.

a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UQQGMIT8YFFA"Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UQQGMIT8YFFA/a I recently purchased this camera when it went on sale. I initially struggled between the HF100 and the HF10. The only real difference is the HF10 includes 16GB of storage built in. Based on the price between the two and the cost of good (class 6, 17MB/s, etc.) SDHC it was a no brainer. Plus, I like the black better than the silver. :-)
br /
br /The features are great. If you just want to point and shoot, go for it. It even has an 'easy button' (no joke). But if you want more control over the image, it's all there - quality, frame rate, effects, aperture, etc. I've only begun to scrape the surface of all of that. The video shows some shots taken at Amicalola Falls, GA. I did a long zoom to show the great 12x optical zoom.
br /
br /This thing is small and light. I went on a hike and slipped it into my jacket pocket no problem.
br /
br /Having a Mac, I had no problem whatsoever getting it into iMovie and importing the movies, editing and sharing. It was a snap. With iMovie I can distribute any way I want - HD, SD, YouTube, iPod, iPhone, iTunes, AppleTV, Quicktime, etc. iMovie recognized the camera and imported the movies quickly and easily. Even easier than I thought it would.
br /
br /I haven't used it yet for still photos. It has nice features around this. I have a Canon Digital Rebel SLR so I do not anticipate using the camera much for this purpose.
br /
br /So far the only con is the lack of an included mini HDMI cable. An adapter is only $12, but I haven't been able to enjoy the HD on my plasma yet. The menus and prompts could be a little easier to use, but I was able to pick up things fairly quickly.
br /
br /All-in-all, this is by far the best camcorder I've owned. BTW - The video has been compressed quite a bit to fit Amazon's guidelines - the video quality of the camera is so much better than what can be shown here.

I've had this camera for about a month and have shot numerous short videos in a variety of situations using the Easy mode. I'm very pleased with the results thus far.
br /
br /The good:
br /Video quality - I couldn't be happier with the overall results
br /Image stabilization works well
br /Zoom is smooth and can be done very slowly or very quickly
br /Handles low light really well (I was able to get the fireworks the neighbors were setting off at 10:30 at night)
br /Start up time - you're shooting after only 5 or 6 seconds when booting up cold, faster if it's in suspend mode (which ends after 10 minutes or so of disuse)
br /The camera's weight and size are remarkable
br /Solid construction
br /
br /The okay:
br /Still images
br /Audio quality with built-in mic
br /Software support (I use Premiere Elements 4.0 which to date doesn't support the native AVCHD files - I have to downsample to DV-AVIs... but I'll still have the originals for when the software catches up)
br /
br /The bad:
br /Battery life (with the default battery, though isn't a problem with the highly recommended extended-life battery)
br /Once card or internal capacity is reached, you have to manually switch the camera over to the other through the settings
br /
br /Overall - totally worth the money (even with the bigger battery and a fat SDHC card). I know that I'm going to be able to enjoy the quality of the video I'm shooting for years to come.
br /

I have quite a selection of HD camcorders from Sony, JVC, and Panasonic. I also have the Canon HV10 and HV20 HDV camcorders, which are as amazing as that sounds incompatible in HD mode. HD has creates the most amazing confusion on the format front. Also capturing became very painful with this mess. Enter AVCHD. After tremendous disappointment over the last year with AVCHD compatibility for video editing - particularly on the Mac - this has finally been resolved. I use now Final Cut Pro 6.04 and iMovie to directly import the AVCHD files into the editing software. The winner in quality, handling and usability is for me the Canon HF10. The picture quality in FXP mode - the highest quality setting - is excellent and beats both HV10 and HV20. Compared to the Pro-Camera Panasonic HVX-200 I see very little difference. The biggest distinction is low-light noise. But also here the HF10 beats all other AVCHD camcorders.
br /
br /A bit unpleasant is the requirement to have the power cable connected while USB use, but that must be related to problems with potential file corruption should the battery fail. I would recommend the HF10 over the HF100 because of its internal memory.
br /
br /Finally AVCHD has reached the mainstream. I wonder for how long until another format makes it obsolete ...

I didn't expect to be able to buy a top-notch video camera for under $650 this year, but this camera has everything I want. I was originally going to stick with Panasonic, JVC, or Sony because they are well-respected names in video, but the Amazon reviews swayed me toward Canon. I'm very glad they did.
br /
br /The 16GB onboard memory turned out to be more useful than I expected. After all the horror stories I've read here about SD cards failing and taking important videos with them, now if I'm recording something important, I record it onto the onboard first, then copy it to the SD card (which the HF10 makes very easy), test the copy real quick, and then erase the onboard.
br /
br /The microphone input is an important addition that you only find on the very expensive models with other brands. A family member of mine has a Panasonic that he has been using to record the life stories of the older generation, and the lack of a microphone input on his camera has made some of the recordings almost unusable because of background noise.
br /
br /All high-end cameras take high quality videos in well-lit conditions, but the HF10 does a very good job in low light as well. Running the component cable directly to a 52-inch HDTV, I was able to detect a small amount of monochromatic noise, but you have to know what you're looking for. Unless you're turning your video into a feature film, you won't be bothered.
br /
br /And yes, the color quality is impressive, particularly in well-lit conditions. If you're used to video cameras from 5 to 10 years ago, you will be amazed. Canon has sample videos on their site if you want to check it out; vimeo.com is another site where camera owners and reviewers commonly post their sample videos because the site hosts high-definition content. Just search for the camera's model number.
br /
br /Also, if you're worried about noise, this camera has the same "spotlight" (i.e. zero-gain) mode that HV20 users have been raving about, and comparisons say that this feature on the HF10 works just just as well as the HV20. By turning off gain, the camera doesn't add any noise. Then, in post-production with software such as Sony Vegas, you can use filters that increase the brightness without introducing noise.
br /
br /The color correction is great if you know what you're doing -- as with all Canon cameras, you can do "custom" or "evaluative" white balance. It's the icon with a circle between two wedges. Just point the thing at something white and it calculates the right color correction, giving you true colors in any lighting conditions (assuming you bring along something white to calibrate it against).
br /
br /Another useful feature that has gotten little attention is the recording light. This light does add a bit of a blue tint, but the effect can be neutralized using the white balance setting as mentioned above. The light doesn't seem to significantly reduce battery life; the blue tint leads me to believe that it's an LED. In absolute darkness, the light is sufficient for subjects from 3 to 6 feet away from the recorder, and passable up to 10 or maybe even 20 feet -- better than nothing at least.
br /
br /Cons:
br /The recorder doesn't (but should have) come with:
br /* An HDMI Cable -- read the reviews before you buy one, some of them cause poor picture quality.
br /* An stand-alone battery charger. Canon makes one, but you have to buy it separately.
br /
br /The battery is absurdly expensive--on par with laptop batteries. If you use an after-market (non Canon) battery you won't be able to see the estimated remaining battery time. The extended-life battery is considered non-optional if you need to record more than an hour or two between charges. Charging time is significant -- don't expect to simply charge between shots.
br /
br /Altogether ---
br /
br /Highly recommended if you're in the market for a video camera. This model compares favorably to the [...] price point models from other brands.

I studied the various HD Camcorder options and after three months settled on the HF-10. I almost got the HF-11 (24 mbps vs 17-18 with HF-10). but the HF-10 is so good that it really suits my needs. Superb video, great focus and zooming, Plays back in 1080i through Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable on my 1080i HD LCD TV. Component output looks great also.
br /
br /I have been doing video editing as a hobby for about 10 years and I was concerned about editing the AVCHD on my PC. I am still learning various ways to edit and produce a video and then play back. So far
br /
br /1. I have used Pixella Imagemixer software to trim and do limited effects and write back to the HF-10 to play over the HD TV. Works OK but the editing software is not very capable.
br /
br /2. I upgraded from Ulead Video Studio 11plus to Corel's Video Studio 12 Pro X2 (Corel bought Ulead) The new package is excellent with many capabilities. I have a pretty fast Intel Core Duo with 2 MBytes of RAM
br /
br / I have: Authored a 45 minute video after capturing from HF-10 and burned to an DVD+R as an AVCHD DVD. It plays great on my SONY Blue Ray Player. I used the same editing project to output to a 1080p wmv file that took about 8 hrs to render. I also could burn a regular 480p DVD so those without Blue Ray could view the video.
br /
br /I understand SONY Vegas is a good package. Also Pinnacle 12 might be OK I have heard, but I have had problems in the past with stability of Pinnacle's products.
br /
br /Has anyone else tried other software for editing AVCHD on a PC. What is a good fast PC and how much faster can it render video compared to the fastest core duos? Has anyone seen any benchmarks?
br /
br /Anyway, I am extremely pleased with the HF-10 and plan to use it a lot for a good while.

This seems a fantastic camcorder. Unfortunately, I cannot use it because it is not compatible with other equipments I have which use the PAL system. So, I had to return it. I was confused because I bought in the past other Canon products through amazon.com which have the possibility to switch between NTSC and PAL. The Canon VIXIA HF10 does not have this possibility. This said, I think it is a fantastic camcorder. Too bad that the product description available on line did not specify this important detail (NTSC versus PAL system usage)

Bought both cameras to compare. Everybody seems to think that these two are the top consumer cameras to look at. I'll probably agree. Between the two cameras, I ended up choosing the hf10. Simply put, I was expecting the sr11 to perform better at 60i in low light(30-60 lux) based on online reviews. It was definity brighter with auto. However, If you turn up the exposure on the hf10 (in 60i) you could match the brightness of the sr11. Turning up the exposure on the hf10 also made the color saturation increase in low light to where the hf10 was slightly better than the sr11.
br /
br /Another expectation based on reviews was for the sr11 to have less noise in the same low light range. This is partly true. What they don't tell you is the type of noise. Sure there is less noise, but it is large
br /chroma noise. It is easily seen on any tv or monitor from normal viewing distance. Medium to dark objects in a 17 x 17 2 story room lit with 4 100w bulbs off a ceiling fan all had very noticable color blotches. The hf10 in the same room produced more noise but it was much finer and it was more of the lumanence type. The noise was definitely more pleasant on the hf10 and you would not really notice it at normal viewing distance on a tv.
br /
br /The last expectation I had was for the sr11 to produce better skin tones than the hf10. I have a sony vx2000 which I think produces very pleasant skin tones in the low light. Manual white balanceing both the sr11 and hf10 shows that the skin tones look about the same with neither looking better than the other at all in low light (same room conditions as discribed above.) The "peachy" skin tones of the vx2000 was more pleasant than either of these cameras but it is not an HD camera.
br /
br /Outside, hf10 had a sharper image that is slightly more colorful on most colors except green. The sr11 does make greens look more saturated. The hf10 simply looks more clear however. Its raw performance is better in bright conditons.
br /
br /Now the down side. My biggest gripe on the hf10 is the auto mode. It tends to underexpose-especially in low light but also applies outside in the shade. You constantly have to increase the exposure to make it look right in low light-many times adding 3 steps of additional exposure. On the lcd screen, some times it has to look a little over exposed to get the recorded video too look right. Fortunely, the recorded video has more detail in the over blown highlights than the built in lcd screen shows. The sr11 has the advantage where you can shift the auto mode to your liking. As an example, you can add 1 exposure level and it will keep that for all its auto exposure calculations. You can not do that with the hf10. You have to manually control it all. The controls are about the same for me except that the sr11 can use a LANC tripod. Handheld, the cam dial of the sr11 is smooth but it firm enough to where the camera will move when you use it. The joystick of the hf10 really isn't any better.
br /
br /All in all, the hf10 has a greater potential to create better quality video in all lighting (including shooting at 60i) but requires more effort. You do have to turn up the exposure manually and manually white balance to achieve all this however. I actually wanted to like the sr11 because of LANC capability but once I manually set the exposure and white balance of both cameras in low light, my choice was easy. I could not accept the larger blotches of color noise and imagine it would not be very pleasant to record an evening wedding in a church. If you just want to point and shoot, then the sr11 is for you. If you are willing to adjust the camera, I think it is clear that the hf 10 is better. I don't want it to sound like a one sided review but I invite everyone to compare the cameras yourselves as I have done. There are too many times when the reviews are misleading. The sr11 is clearly better than consumer cameras
br /from the past, but if you don't mind setting a couple of parameters manually, the hf10 is clearly better when it comes to video quality. And to me, thats what matters.

I'm a longstanding fan of Canon still cameras having spend some significant coin on two point and shoot and one SLR so when in the market to replace my Sony digital Hi8 video camera, the Canon brand was the first I checked out.
br /
br /My primary requirements were full High Definition, no media with moving parts. I did not want a CD or DVD burner, I did not want tape, and I did not want to gamble with a hard drive (I'm in IT and am very familiar with drive failure rates... good, but not likely to last the 5-7yrs I want to get out of the camera).
br /
br /While I like Sony's home AV gear, I've not been a fan of their tendency to use proprietary media.... sure it's often great quality, but I don't want to have to buy a ton of accessories to integrate with current and future systems. The Canon offered nice support for SDHC media (of which cards I already own for a point and shoot and phone). It also introduced me to AVCHD which, from what I can tell is the next thing in HD video format (not media but file format) I knew I was going to need to buck up for some video editing software (went with Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12) so that was something I conceded with any purchase.
br /
br /Having tinkered with the camera for a month before taking the family to Disney World, I was happy with how it operated... very simple. I was very concerned about battery life as the one it comes with does not last long and the internal memory seemed quite small at 16gb so I bought extra cards for the trip in case I needed them. It so happened that I didn't use over 70% of the memory during the 5day trip and did fine recharging the camera every night. That was awesome!
br /
br /Now that I have a new laptop and Pinnacle Studio for editing, I've overwhelmingly happy with the totalality of the suite of purchases. With sufficient PC horsepower and editing software, this camera really pops and has provided some great first video footage that has me thirsting for upcoming events to capture for future memories.
br /
br /I highly recommend the camera, but only if you have or are going to buy a system and software that can handle the AVCHD formatted video.

This is my first HD Camcorder. Picture is really good and I like the HDAVC format. You can play the HDAVC directly on PS3, just plug the memory card into the PS3 USB port, it instantly recognized and you can play the video with HD quality picture. You can also use the come along software to create a DVD or Blueray DVD. I done with the regular DVD, although the format is not bluray, it is 16:9 and picture is quite good on my 40' LCD. I did not render the Bluray DVD option, I can imagine the quality should be way better. But why bother, I just plug my memory card into PS3 and the result is the same.
br /The only thing I regret was, I brought the HF10, I should have brought the HF100 which is identical without the internal memory. I used the external memory card all the time so the extra money I paid for the internal memory model is a null point.

I bought the camara, and found that it is fairly easy to use.
br /
br /I have some troubles with its software and manual.
br /
br /1) The Manual cannot be openned up easily by Adobe PDF Reader 9.0, and got stuck constantly. As a result, I have to download another reader from other software vender to read manual.
br /
br /2) I had a hard time to upload the video records from the camara to my PC, until I did a lot of research over Internet to find that I have to use AC power instead of battery to upload the recording.
br /
br /I wasted about 6 hours to address these two issues. Other than that, everything seems working out okay.
br /
br /Another complaint is that the battery life is too short (about 90 minutes).
br /
br /

I've been a Canon pro-sumer user for years. First with the XL-1, then the XL-2 and now Canon has done it again with the VIXIA HF10. Though the HF10 isn't really marketed as a pro-sumer camera, (for that distinction, at the least, I feel you need to have interchangeable lenses) this camera is far and away the best in its class.
br /
br /I needed a solid performing video camera for everyday use and for when using the XL-2 just isn't feasible. Imagine lugging an XL-2 with you for documentary footage that's meant to be unobtrusive. NOT! Point being, my substitute camera had to be able to hold its own against the superior quality and craftsmanship I've become accustomed to with the XL-2. And that's a pretty tall order, so I really scrutinized my options. My second requirement was that the camera be Flash Memory based. No tapes. I really wanted the ease and convenience of skipping the tedious capture process. Given my requirements and high expectations, the only other camera in the running was a Sony. But I've had issues with Sony before, and since I've been using Canon for years now, I've come to trust the name and reputation.
br /
br /Well, the HF10 doesn't disappoint. The lens is top notch, video clarity is superb and form follows function in the design. Button placement is intuitive and the feature set is abundant. Actually, you'll probably forget half of what this camera does. But the key features most home users would want are seamless and work well. Night mode, full auto shooting, 3.1mp photos are also a bonus. And with this camera, digital still cameras and video cameras are finally at the tipping point of being merged into one. I never use Stabilized Zoom on any camera for fear of lost quality, so that's one feature that means little to me. But for a commercial camera, there's some nice pro-sumer type features too, like histogram display, 24p and 30p shooting modes, built in audio meter, and an accessory shoe for better mics, just to name a few. Incidentally, the built in lens cover is a nice touch.
br /
br /Hi-def recording has arrived for the home user with this powerful little camera. But just be aware that you need a hi-def TV to actually watch your hi-def recordings. Meaning, the camera needs to be connected directly to your hi-def TV or burned to a hi-def DVD and played on a hi-def player. A lot op people I speak to about this camera seem lost on that fact, so just thought I'd mention it.
br /
br /Overall, I really have no complaints. This camera lives up to my expectations and Canon's superb reputation. And I'm pretty picky when it comes to video cameras, so that's saying a lot. So whether you're a casual user, professional videograper or indie filmmaker, this is a great camera. Way to go Canon, you've done it again!!!
br /
br /
br /

I just edited and burned my first DVD with 1080 footage off of this camera using Adobe Premier Elements 7 and it was flawless! I have a Dell Inspiron 530 desktop with a 1.60Ghz processor running Vista Basic with 4Mb of ram. I will also test with Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 and report back.This is an area I think too many people neglect to look into, so trust me when I say that if you experience system and software problems when trying to edit and burn your videos you will go crazy and pull your hair out! It stinks. I was very pleased today, so much so I wanted to write the review.

My wife and I love this product! We used to have a MiniDV camcorder and extracting the film from the camera was always a headache. This flash memory camcorder allows fast transfer through USB 2.0 and makes life much easier. The capacity of the internal flash memory is enough for our family use, as I do not tend to make very long movies, and usually I do not use the highest resolution. The battery capacity is also enough for me.
br /The image stablizer is very helpful when shooting at high magnifications, if you do not want to carry a tripod. The performance under low light conditions is very good. Several white balance options and color temperature schemes give the user plenty of choices to approach the true colors.
br /The cons: 1. The accompanying software is too fundamental. I only use it to do the file transfers. 2. When doing the transfers, you need to plug in the power cord, open the LCD panel, and select "transfer to PC" every time because it's not the default selection. This is somehow awkward. 3. The joystick is not easy to press down (it can be pressed down as a button to confirm the selection). The touch screens on the SONY models are more easy to operate on, but I'm satisfied with the several hundred dollars I saved with this model.

This is my second HD camcorder (Sony HC3 bought 2 years ago). This one beats the Sony. It is light, very small, easy to use, and the picture quality is superb. Because of the light weight a very steady hand or tripod is useful as camera shake is hard to avoid. The image stabilizer is quite good but when doing a pan shot can lurch at the beginning as it tries to steady the picture. The on board mikes are adequate, prone to wind noise but not great. Surprising that manufacturers go to great lengths to give you good video but don't much care about sound. The boom mike makes a huge difference but is expensive. An improvement would be to have a way of transferring scenes from the on board memory to the chip memory - you have to use your computer to do that now. On the whole however it is fantastic value for the price.

Do some research before you buy this camera!
br /
br /It's breaking mah heart, but I have to send this beautiful camera back.
br /
br /The MTS Codec doesn't play nice with premiere pro cs3.
br /
br /Since it doesn't have a firewire port, I can't use it on my mac and record with quicktime.
br /
br /If, and that's a big if, I can get anything from this gorgeous camera onto my mac, I would have to recode EVERYTHING to edit, think .flv or .avi packed with xvid. Think hours of recoding and hours of extra defragging.
br /
br /Too much drama. It looks like if one spends hundreds and hundreds of dollars on "video editing" software, you wouldn't have to buy more software to recode ANYTHING! I used to have the same problem with Sony Vegas. What the hell are they thinking? Internet video is a passing fad???
br /
br /Anyway, the flash sounds great but it's not working for me. I'm trading it in for a HV30. Mini HD tapes aren't as sexy, but they are very cheap archival quality storage. Plus they record straight HDV no codecs.
br /
br /Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
br /
br /happy...ah whatever.
br /
br /

This is a great camera. Does everything I asked, and have created incredable videos of my grandkids. Makes professional quality videos. Software could use some tweaking, but I am sure that future versions will take care of that.
br /It is a camera worth the money.

One terrific camera. Months of research paid of 100 times over with this little gem. A palm size HD camcorder that is user friendly, takes great movies, and under a grand. Enough said, buy one.

So I am a dad taking video of my family. I wanted the best HD camcorded possible. I originally purchased the Panasonic HDC-SD5. It has beautiful color AS LONG AS YOU ARE OUTSIDE WITH GOOD LIGHTING. Any video shot indoors are pixelated. In fact, even outside shadows pixelate - like if somebody is wearing a hat and their face is shaded. So I spent the money and purchased the Vixia HF10, then shot side-by-side video inside and outside for comparison. Figured I'd return the HF10 if it didn't give the results I wanted. Results: the HF10 is MUCH MUCH better quality in low light conditions like indoors. The Panasonic SD5 has slightly (but noticeable) more vibrant colors in well lit outdoor conditions. For me, the low light advantages of the HF10 far outweigh the perfect/vibrant colors of the SD5 outside. In fact, if I wasn't comparing two videos side-by-side I would not notice the more vibrant colors of the SD5.
br /
br /I've benefited from the great user reviews here at amazon so wanted to give back. Hope it helps others when making their purchase decision. Now I have an $800 Panasonic "stand-by" video camera I guess :)

The Canon VIXIA HF10 is a great camera. It has many pros and very few cons.
br /The pros are: the fantastic HD camera resolution and color, easy to use 3MP camera, beautiful LCD display, and general ease of use.
br /The cons are: the power cable needs to be plugged in to transfer video and pictures (why?!?), the display needs to be opened to use the camera (it shuts itself down otherwise), and the limited battery (only about an hour with HD recording).
br /All in all, a good purchase.
br /

We wanted a camera and camcorder combined, that was portable and likely to be used all the time. The HF10 is great. We have already captured some great memories and find we use it everyday as it is small, light and easy to use. The colours it captures are pretty good too.

The camera is a dream: small (maybe too small?): fits in the palm of your hand. Pure memory storage of video is relaly quite nice, but have a large hard drive ready. Now that drives are cheap and plentiful, no problem. You will need a good software set to work the HD well, not to mention a fast processor. I got Sony's Vegas suite: works well. Still images with the camera are fine, though this is not a still camera with all the features you'd expect from one. Focus is great, auto exposure settings work fine, the display is great. Battery life is fine, though I did pick up an extra larger battery for field work. Works ok at night. Works better during daytime. Audio is ok for field work though wind sensative. Useful in many ways.

If you are looking for Home/personal use HD (compact) camcorder, this camcorder definitely should be in your list, unless of course there are newer models out there. :)
br /I use this almost everyday.
br /Plus:
br /1. Easy transfer. I use iMac (Leopard and both iMovie and FCE).
br /2. Enough manual control, and they are all works
br /3. Great image quality.
br /4. Easy to use
br /5. compact and looked gorgeous.
br /Minus:
br /1. (of course) battery life
br /2. drifting focus on some condition, can be annoying if you are serious hobbyist, but this is the issue with all other similar camcorder out there, I've tried Sony/Panasonic/JVC.
br /
br /Not yet proven (I have this for only a month now):
br /Durability
br /
br /IMHO, this camera perfect for it purposes.
br /A step above in quality would be HDV.
br /If you have the budget and like the look and compactness of it then I highly recommend this camcorder.
br /If you use windows based, there are few program out there that work with AVCHD, and I'm pretty sure this issue will be a thing of the past in just a few months.

After doing a lot of comparative research between the HF10, the HF11, and the comparable Sony camcorders, I purchased the HF10 for the following reasons:
br /
br /Video quality. Canon has always had stunning image quality. I viewed a few sample videos on the web. It was a close call, but I concluded that Canon's video quality is better than Sony's. As an added bonus, the camera has a mini HDMI out for the best viewing experience. (note: a mini HDMI cable is not included)
br /
br /Best value. It costs hundreds less than the other cameras, with no compromise on video quality.
br /
br /Flash Memory. The integrated 16 Gb isn't all that impressive, sure. But you can purchase a 16 Gb card for less than $40. The flash memory makes for silent recording - no whirr of the recording motor in the background.
br /
br /Simple Operation. I recently had the chance to fiddle with an older Vixia camcorder. Canon has made many improvements in buttons, switches and menus in the past few years. Still no touch-screen operation, but I don't find the menus over complicated or cumbersome.
br /
br /Non-Linear editing. My Mac still has to "capture" the video, but there is absolutely no loss in image quality. iMovie gives you the option of importing it at full resolution with an "observed" loss in video quality, or at a lower resolution with no "observed" loss in quality. I have a feeling that Mac is working on a fix to allow you to edit full-resolution 1080i/p video in iMovie. Of course, if you have a different application to edit your film, you may not have this issue.
br /
br /I would definitely recommend purchasing this camera to everyone. It is easy to use, has great image quality, is compatible with computer software... the list goes on. You can't go wrong with this camera!

This is an excellent piece of tech. A must for the digital photo enthusiast. It is loaded with innovative options and fantastic ideas. It is worth its price and more.

Do not hesitate do buy the HF10 camera. It produces Awesome images.
br /Crispy, clear, good colors (little magenta in some images), but AWESOME!

The camera takes fantasticly clear videos. The instruction booklet is worthless, and the software that came with the camera keeps freezing and booting me out. I purchased different software,and love the video. I still cannot figure out how to take still pictures while recording video.

I love this camcorder. My previous one was a Sony, bought some years ago. I wanted to get a hi-def machine so I did some online research and this seemed to be scoring highly, and also had a good price from Amazon. I was also keen to go for the AVCHD as that is becoming more widely compatible. I am impressed with the picture quality. It is easy to transfer files to the PC, using the memory card or with a cable, but you need to use the software that comes with it. The flash memory allows the camera to be very compact but it has a nice feel to it, even though I have quite large hands. The menus could be a little bit more ituitive, but they are not bad. I would recommend this to a friend.

This is a good solid camera. My only complaint is that when viewed up close on an HD TV some video compression artefacts are visible. I don't know how this compares to other HD cameras using AVC, I assume most of them would have such artefacts as well. Other than that the image quality is really good.

The camera has met and/or exceded my expectations. It's light weight, easy to handle and the operation and functions are very intuitive and easy to learn. The sound quality of the built in mic was a pleasnt suprise. The HD playback is quite impressive! The free software provided is, well, free. The cost of a backup battery is a little stiff, but technology advances will most likely bring the cost down in the near future.

Long review: 10 min.| I got the HF11 video camera in urgent need for a specific occasion.
br /The 60th fireworks event of Suwako lake / Nagano Prefecture in Japan on 15th August 2008. (offical sale start in Japan)
br /
br /As the overall package Canon with its long term experience in Imaging seemed like "The natural Choice to make".
br /
br /The HF11's navigation is intuitive and exactly as the digital camera products.
br /Most users are able to use the product within minutes !!
br /The video camera integrates a huge amount of intelligent functions that ensure the quality of your video experience.
br /
br /- image stabilizer,
br /- light sensitivity sensor,
br /- profiles
br /- variable zoom speeds,
br /- remaining battery status info,
br /- alignment markers in the screen
br /
br /
br /On top of that the video cameras body weight with 380gr. and the size of your favourite beverage is well acceptable even for ladies or kids hands.
br /
br /The HF11 does not come with any major usability hitches but for video editing features you might want to look into additional software editing and codec converter solutions like Divx, Xvid etc. to be able to share the joy with your friends on DVD etc. The package contains all possible cables but NOT the ultra compact HDMI cable connection.
br /
br /
br /The major salespoints of this video camera are
br /
br /- Imaging quality (resolution and smoothness of video)
br /- Canons colours
br /- Usability
br /- Usability and
br /- Usability
br /
br /My subjective opinion is that the Imaging quality is unlike anything I have seen before and easily justifies the product alone.
br /
br /
br /HF11, HF10 or HF100, which one should I get ?
br /
br /If you cant compromise video quality for anything get the HF11 with its 24mbps recording mode and be rest assured you have the extra stretch when you need it f.e. in low light scenarios and the best model on the marcet in the personal camcorder class.
br /
br /Otherwise, if you can life with good quality and the same usability and other features as the big brother than you can make a deal by getting the HF10 or the HF100.
br /
br /The intelligent functions and the exceptionally good design make the HF100, the HF10 or the HF11 the natural choice for beginners, amateurs and entry professionals.
br /
br /This is the quality customers are expecting from a long term Imaging company like Canon !!
br /
br /
br /As requested from comments I have shortened this review.
br /
br /Please see my How to guide (http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R1350ZLGI7U7TP/ref=cm_sylt_byauthor_title_full_1) for more details.

The picture is as expected for a compact HD camera. In full daylight very sharp but this is not a low light video cam. Import to Final Cut Pro on my power Mac was easy and uneventful. It just imported and that was it. Controls are a little awkward. Generally I am happy with this consumer level cam.

This camera has a lot of appealing features, but the AVCHD format makes it very difficult to work with files using a Mac and iMovie for editing. The files become unmanageably large when imported to iMovie, and take a lot longer to import than 1:1 even. Perhaps there will be software upgrades or improvements to handle these files with ease in the future, but for now it has made use of this camera a chore.
br /
br /In fact, I am now planning to simply buy add'l SD cards for archiving of the footage we are taking of our new son, and will hope for a more user-friendly way to edit these videos in the future. At $25/8GB for Class 4 cards, which can hold 1-2 hours of raw footage, which is not unreasonable, but it beats the time investment required to deal with the files using current software.

The Canon HF10 seemed a good choice for mounting on a motorcycle during a vacation trip due to the flash drive memory. Few moving parts, light weight, etc.. Someone else had said that he'd gotten this camcorder and tried a handlebar mount without success due to vehicle vibration. Therefore, I bought a tankmount, thinking it might be less susceptible to shakes. Plus, shooting through the windshield would provide it some protection from bugs and rocks. Unfortunately, this lovely little instrument is so light and my V-twin engine so enthusiastic that most of the video that I shot while the engine was running is blurred from irritatingly to horribly. Perhaps I should have contrived a body harness or helmet harness? The thing took wonderful stills, although it is so small and light that when zoomed in it is like trying to aim a small handgun. My previous camcorder was a full size VHS unit, so I wasn't expecting to have to concentrate on steady aim quite so much. Handheld videos came out well. The bundled software is not good at viewing the videos. The rendition it gives on my computer screen seems to be a rough approximation of the actual content. Perhaps it's my computer and not the software? The software is very limited, too. It won't let you copy video files from the computer to DVD. It only seems to allow direct copying from the camera to DVD. I haven't looked for better software yet. The included battery charger requires plugging in to the camcorder itself with the battery installed. It also allows operating the camcorder on external power. To charge batteries while using the camcorder with a spare battery requires an accessory charger.

This is an excellent camera, it fulfills all my needs, I'd have really appreciated a few more options but I can't really complain.(I wanted to be able to mount the camera upside down or sideways and would have liked a feature to flip the video so that the resulting pictures were always the correct orientation when played back... but the feature is not there... ah well), I'd also have liked a 'stop frame' mode, take a shot every 10 seconds and pull them together as a movie...
br /Other than these 'missing' features the camera is excellent, the small size, the ruggedness, the battery life, the video clarity, the image stabilization, and the low light behavior are all excellent (you will notice graininess at low light but all cameras do this and this is not the worst by any means)
br /My only gripe is that the video standard used in the resulting movie files is not very widely used yet so finding programs that can edit the video is difficult or expensive.

I read up on what camcorder to order.
br /All the reviews where correct, this is a fantastic digital recorder.

The best part is being able to randomly access the different recordings! No more tape to rewind/fast forward.

I purchased this camera about 2 months ago and my family has really enjoyed it. For a high-end general purpose home camcorder, I think the picture and sound quality are excellent. My friends have been very impressed when I plug the camera directly into my 40in. LCD HD television using the included component cable. Instead of worrying about HD DVDs, burners, players, etc., I just transfer the files to my computer, back them up on an external hard drive, and when I want to watch them I can transfer them back to the camcorder and plug it into the TV. The m2ts file format can be a bit tricky to work with, but there are free and/or inexpensive ways to convert to other file formats if necessary. Eventually I will probably make the leap to Blu-Ray for storage purposes when the prices come down.

I am more than happy with this camcorder - perfect picture and very easy to use!

when I got it from Amazon, there's sth wrong with the Li battery or charge adaptor, I contacted the canon service according to the phone number on the pacakage,but I was told I can only return it or exchange a new one. ...Finally I return it to amazon.
br /
br /Amazon's return policy is very good though.

I bought this camera a month back as I needed a High Definition for best quality and Flash drive for light weight. Though I was very happy with the picture quality even on my 50inch plasma, but I was very very dissapointed with its very limited focus of 12x. Also when you zoom the autofocus doesn't work properly with blurred picture. You need atleast 25X optical zoom else you have to run close to every object and that's not why you need a camcorder. I immediately returned the product with full refund. I suggest buy a Non HD (DVD quality is equally good) and go for a descent zoom range or wait for few months to have High Defn camcorder with more than 12X zoom.

this one star is for amazon, the item i received was with many scracthes around the body, with cables unhooked, even the battery for the remote controller was placed in. this is a definitely used camera. how could this happen from such a big amazon, unbelievable. i would not bother if they had told me this is refurbished item, but they sell it as brand new. the item could even be defective I do not know.

What model is worth buying and sticking too i know HF10 has 16GB internal memory and SD/SDHC card slot but heard some great views as well as videos taking with both models on Vimeo.com. But i also hear alot bad on HF10 with internal memory that can wind uop breaking down wuth and without warranty is valid but thats why we all should get exteneded one on top of vendors but my question is which model is better in ways
br /1. do they both have or dont have ( MOVING PARTS )
br /2. are the video quailty the same when recording in SDHC card or Internal memory or it dont matter do to video be same
br /3. cheapest way to go almost all are saying HF100 is cheaper but how when u need to stock up on SDHC cards to start using HF10 u got internal mem to begin or leave for back up and just use sdhc cards
br /
br /And most important Q ? i would be using a 2 yr old HP and ACER laptop with Pinnacle Stuido Ultimate ver. 12 along with COREL UleadVideo Studio 11 Plus But i been using those softwares with HG10 and works awesome no errors buit one thing im unable to use MAGIC BULLET LOOKS on either do to graphics card cant read but i ll never wanna use anyhow please get bk to me thanks

Wow, what can I say, once you go HD you'll never go back. Great camcorder from an ergonomic perspective and I mirror much of what others have said but I'm going to focus on a few things others have not yet said...mainly that I'm a MacPro user and yes indeed the SW to play edit isn't included for Mac OS but it is for Windows. You'll have to buy something like iLife ($79.95 on Amazon) to play your video (if you bought your mac recently it has iLife on it for free) on your computer and then edit it. How crazy is that? Free for Win, but $80 for Mac! The bigger issue is that I can't seem to find an answer to what I think would be part of a normal workflow. That is, I want to simply use my Mac to archive my .mts (ACVHD) files and then bring them back (unedited) to the camera so I can view them on my HD TV via the HDMI cable. YOU CANT DO THIS! I spoke with Canon support and they said and I quote "We claim no compatibility with Macs WHATSOEVER" but the Pixma software included does allow you to download to WIndows, play and move it back to the camcorder". The only way to view a clip if you have a Mac is to burn the archived video on to DVD and then view it. HOW CRAZY is that!? My kids just want to occasionally view an old video now and then and what faster way than to simply copy the particular clip back to the camera temporarily to view? NO, you have to burn a DVD! Per Canon support "copying from a Mac is meant to be a ONE-WAY process".
br /
br /If you use Windows, I'd say it worth buying. If you use a Mac, WAIT!! Shame on Canon for not recognizing an important user base when releasing a THIRD generation ACVHD camcorder!