I've been avoiding buying a new camcorder to replace the 8 year old DVC tape unit for awhile now. There were plenty of tempting offerings, but none matched the feature set and price point that I was looking for until I happened upon Canon's FS100 model at an Apple Store. While giving it a once over there, I liked the light weight, the responsive and variable zoom, the microphone input, and that at $399, it was still very much reasonable in price. I almost bought it right there at the Apple Store, but resolved to sleep on it first and check out what other people were saying about it. I'm glad I did, and afterwards I almost gave it a miss but decided that no other camcorder available currently in the this price range would meet my needs.
br /
br /Let me say what I liked about it first. As said before, It's lightweight and small enough to fit in most pants pockets (or are you just happy to see me?) without making you walk funny. The unit measures 2.3-inches wide, 2.4-inches high, and 4.9-inches deep. It weighs about 9.2 ounces. It starts up almost instantly and is ready to record within a few seconds. It has a large 2.7-inch LCD display that is clear. It has a relatively easy menu system for setting up some of the various built-in features all of which a clearly displayed on the LCD. It has a variable zoom that can be as fast or as slow as the user might wish and there are some settings in the menu that allow you to adjust this even more. The battery lasted almost 2 hours of near continuous use for me (your usage will vary dependent on a number of factors). In it's highest video resolution mode, you can get nearly 2 hours of video from an 8GB SDHC memory card, though Canon states that you can get over 5 hours of video from the same card at a lower resolution. Keep in mind that while this camcorder does record in either 4:3 or 16:9, it isn't true high definition and if that's something you must have in a camcorder, keep on looking.
br /
br /
br /
br /There are a number of effects available from the FS100's menus, like fade-in/fade-out, Sepia, and Black and white recording modes, Mosaic, and a few others of varying effectiveness. Most of these probably sound like nice additions, but I doubt you'll use them more than once. There are a number of Automatic Exposure settings as well (AE in the menu) including TV, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Fireworks, etc. Chances are unless you have specific needs, the Auto setting will work just fine in most conditions. You can manually set the White Balance as well as the unit having Auto, Daylight, and Tungsten presets.
br /
br /Canon does not supply any memory for this camera (though essentially the same camera models FS10 and FS11 has 8GB and 16GB built-in respectively for a higher price), so an SD (preferable an SDHC card) will be required. I put in an 8GB SDHC card from Transcend that cost roughly about $31 and if even more storage is needed the camcorder accepts 16GB cards as well.
br /
br /One of the main reasons I bought this camcorder was that it had a microphone input. The input uses an industry standard 3.5mm jack (there are adapters available for other sized inputs from places like Radio Shack) and as long as Phantom power is not required, the FS100 should be able to use nearly any non-XLR microphone. The built-in microphone is very sensitive and does a pretty good job, but is subject to some wind noise as most built-in microphones are.
br /
br /Now some of the things I don't like about this camcorder. The image sensor is only a little more than 1 megapixel. Still images look a little washed out and with both video and still images. The FS100 also does not do so well in low-light situations. I've used it now under some different lighting conditions and have had varied results. Fireworks seemed OK. The FS100 quickly adjusted itself from almost total darkness to bright bursts withe little effort. Also the FS100 had little trouble with typical stadium lighting, but any constant low-light situation was not that great.
br /
br /
br /
br /The FS100 does take still pictures as well as video and it can shoot up to 5 frames a second. The image sensor as I said is only 1 megapixel so this is more like a stop-gap convergence answer for digital photography than a dedicated point and shoot. If your main focus is taking pictures and you want them to scale well in various sizes, the FS100 is not the answer for you.
br /
br /The included software seemed next to useless to me or most likely any other Mac user that already has iPhoto for digital images. Once you have the camera plugged into a USB port and it mounts on your desktop, iPhoto should (depending on your settings) automatically start up. Downloading your still images using iPhoto is pretty straight forward like most digital cameras.
br /
br /OK, let's talk about what this kind of stuff this unit is really meant for: video. Honestly, even with the complaining I've done (and I'm not through yet), I liked the video this camera put out. While low-light certainly isn't a strong point, it does pretty well in every other situation and I liked what I saw. Here's what I didn't like though, .MOD files. Know what those are? Apparently they're some kind of modified mpeg-2 format that Canon uses. iMovie 06 and QuickTime 7 had no idea what to do with these files and it took a little research to find a solution.
br /
br /A company called Squared5 makes a software converter called MPEG Steamclip that is an absolute free download and that will take those .MOD files and make them QuickTime compatible files (in a variety of formats). Also iMovie 08 will import them as well.
br /
br /One other minor complaint is that if you want to download the content off the camera, you'll either need to remove the card and put it in a reader or connect the camera via USB. No big deal in itself, but if you connect the camera directly, you MUST have the power cable connected and supplying power as well. If you're out and about, that may not be easy. You might be better of having a few other memory cards to use until you offload them later. Also no battery charger is included so the only way to charge the batter right out of the box is to have it inside the camera and connected to power.
br /
br /I really like this camera even with all the complaining I've done and it will be my main family shooter for at least a few years. I can live with its shortcomings as it is light, easy to use, takes great non-HD video and it has an external microphone connection.
br /
br /MyMac rating:3 out of 5

This camcorder has been great! I was debating between this one and the Panasonic SDR-S7 and Samsung MX10. Those camcorders had around 680k pixels whereas this one comes in around 710k pixels. What does that mean? Better videos. The 48x advance zoom is awesome and if you want only the optical at 37x, that is great too. You can't tell the 48x is doing some digital tricks. The quality looks just as good as just optical. The other camcorders can be found online for around $200 but with this one coming in at just over $300, you will be far happier with this one.
br /
br /When I was looking for this, I wanted to get a camcorder who's file format would play on Ubuntu without any conversion and also plays on Windows Media Center Vista. This camera does both! To copy the videos, I remove the flash card from my camera and insert it into the flash reader on my laptop. The only "conversion" I have to do to get the videos to play is to change the ".MOD" ending to ".MPG". This also makes the videos play fine on my WMC box. I then copy them to my WMC box over the network.
br /
br /I use to have a Sony Digital 8 camcorder that I connected to my computer via a firewire cable. The videos the FS100 takes are just barely better than those. However, to get the videos on my computer is way faster copying them from a flash drive. I never want to use my Digital 8 camcorder again. The videos I have taken with this easily upload to YouTube. My FS100 videos show up there with the "watch in high quality" option below them. They really look good on YouTube when you click that link... better than most other videos out there. The quality of videos is phenomenal outside at sporting events and is just okay inside with low light conditions.
br /
br /The videos I have so far record around 0.7 to 1.0 MB per second. That is why the 4 gig card gives will give you around 120 minutes of recording time. I have a "class 4" card and I haven't had any problems with it not being fast enough. I'd recommend at least a 4 gig card. If you can afford an 8 or 16 gig card, it would just give you more recording time before you have to copy them to your computer.
br /
br /When the files are copied directly off the card on to my Ubuntu desktop, they play in Movie Player in wide screen format like they are suppose to. However, after I copy them to my Windows Media Center PC, they play in 4:3 mode. I have to adjust the "Zoom" setting to "3", I think, and they look normal. This isn't much of a downfall. I've heard there is a "sdcopy.exe" file that will copy the files and correct the header information for WMC so they will play in widescreen format by default.
br /
br /I ended up going with the gray version because companies now seem to be charging more for the colored ones. It doesn't matter much because other than the color, they are all the same.
br /
br /The FS100 really is about the size of a can of soda, except with a large screen sticking out of it. Some people criticize the lack of a view finder but why would you want anything like this attached to your face.
br /
br /It starts up from a cold start in about 6 seconds. If you close the screen it goes into a low power mode which conserves the battery life.
br /
br /The menu options on this are pretty simple and the "easy" button makes things, well.. easy.
br /
br /If you are thinking about getting one of these... do it. The only type of camcorder that could create a better picture would be an HD one.
br /
br /PROS:
br /Great Quality Videos - 710k pixels!
br /MPEG 4 video format and AAC audio
br /Videos Compatible with Ubuntu Hardy Heron with extension change
br /Videos Compatible with Windows Media Center with extension change
br /37x Optical, 48x Advance Zoom (check YouTube for examples)
br /Simple Menu
br /
br /CONS:
br /Picture quality is kind of low... keep your digital camera for those.

I'm a beginner with video, so I'm not one to judge the quality of the image. After reading other reviews, I thought it would be better than it is though. You have only the small LCD screen to use to make adjustments such as exposure or white balance or manual focus, and LCD screens are notorious for looking different at different angles. The screen swivels for ease of use, but where do you set it to know you are seeing what the camera is seeing? Once I put some video onto my computer, it was easier to view, but several shots taken of a marina on a cloudy day had vague purple stripes in the sky. The still images are awful, with lots of purple fringing. The stabilization is electronic and only applies to the video mode, so the camera portion is almost worthless.
br /
br /I took some video of some real estate to show my family, and the microphone picked up my footsteps in the grass much better than my voice. The windscreen hardly works at all. I shot some video at the beach and didn't even notice the breeze until I heard it on the video. (and despite what another review said, there is no audio gain control -- there is an audio level indicator but you can't control it)
br /
br /A big surprise for me was the noise of the buttons. The microphone is up front, but the buttons on the LCD are right there too. There are only a few things you can change while recording (exposure, manual focus, mini-light, backlight compensation, zoom), but all the buttons make noise that is recorded and make it difficult to hold the camera steady. Other features such as white balance, scene type, digital effects, and a few other settings must be chosen before recording starts.
br /
br /I haven't tried the included software. I can easily copy the files to my computer by plugging the camera in with the USB cable. I tried putting the SD card into my built-in card reader, but half the time it worked and half the time it locked up my computer. I think that's probably a hardware issue and has nothing to do with the camera. But the first few videos I took were strange because sometimes playing them (in Windows Media Player) sometimes hung the program and sometimes they played fine.
br /
br /If you shoot video at eye level, the standard grip that the camera is built for is OK. I have fairly average sized hands, but I have to put my hand at a tiring angle to keep the camera level. My boyfriend's larger hands have no problem with this (it fits better), but he has a hard time hitting the record button with his thumb - he has to use the middle of the thumb since it's so close. Trying to hold the camera any other way, it's difficult to keep it level and steady.

I bought a JVC Everio GZ-MG155 about one year ago, and was never completely satisfied with the image quality, it was not as sharp as I expected. I decided to give a try with the Canon FS100 since all my digital still cameras had been Canon and I loved the images and colors they produce.
br /Well, thanks to the Canon FS100 I realized my JVC Everio was not in fact that bad at all...
br /I recorded some scenes with both cameras and edited them back to back in a DVD, so I could see the footage in my 50'' high definition TV and could compare results.
br /Outdoors, in sunshine, both camcorders performed more or less the same, same image sharpness, colors, etc. No big difference at all.
br /Indoors the difference was simply amazing; the Canon FS100 produced grainy images full of noise (annoying red particles around everywhere) in most lighting situations. Just to clarify this point, I'm not talking about recording in low light, I'm talking about regular indoor lighting (in low light the results were even worse). When I saw the recorded footage in my 50'' TV, the amount of image noise and pixelized artifacts was unbearable.
br /On the contrary, my JVC, does not produce any noise, not even in low light (yes, the image is much darker in low light, however, no noise or red particles floating at all).
br /I tried the manual controls of the Canon over the weekend (since the camera is so tiny and portable that I really wanted to like it), however I couldn't get any good results indoors compared to the JVC. And another issue also quite annoying; while the JVC stores all the manual settings when you turn the camera off, the Canon erases all the manual settings. This means every time you turn on the camera in manual mode, you need to reset the settings.
br /Finally, I just decided to stick to my JVC and returned the Canon FS100 to Amazon (which by the way, is great; they gave me a full refund on the camcorder).

I bought the Cannon FS100 (blue) even after reading all the reviews about the problems with the .MOD file extension. After receiving the camera and playing with it for a few hours it was really symple to save the movies. I took two videos, changed the file extension to .MPG. Opened Windows Movie Maker. I imported the two movies and clicked save to my computer. Then enter the file name, choose a place to save, click next and go to other settings. Choose (High Quality Video-large) Once the movie is joined the quality is excellent. I have no problem with saving, using this method. I'm really happy with this camera. I hope this helps.

Hello and welcome to my little review of the FS100. So far I have had for less than a week and I couldn't be happier. The size, weight, quality of the item is top notch. The vid quality is really good. In low light it could be better but for this price point I can't complain. I really wanted to comment about the software that it came with because everyone complains that it's useless and doesn't work. They are incorrect. I loaded the ImageMixer3 software the day I got the camera just to see if it worked. I knew I would find better software eventually but wanted to test it out anyway. I did not load the other "Canon" software disk, just Image Mixer. I set my cam on XP (high quality) and proceeded to shoot a few mins of test footage. I then uploaded the footage to the pc using a flash card reader and I told Windows XP to recognize mod files by using the ImageMixer software. The software very quickly loaded the couple vids I'd taken. I then used the edit video feature of the software to save the file as an mp2 at high quality. I was then able to upload the vid to youtube in a matter of minutes. Granted the software does not have a bunch of editing tools but it does work and it worked well. GREAT camera and I can't wait to really put this puppy to the test.

I owned a video production studio for 8 years, and was using 3 Sony DVX-1000's for documentary work. Having been out of that biz for 11 years now, I was wanting something small and simple that still had good resolution and able to handle a Mic-in for narration or interviews. THIS FS100 WAS IS THE TICKET! I have had it for 2 weeks now, and can only rave about its ease of use, the clarity and sharp res from edge-to-edge, and the FLASH MEMORY! WOW! For those of you who have dealt with mini-DV tapes and mini-DVD disks...forget that mess! I got an 8GB Transcend SD HC(Class 6) disk for mine, and I get 2.75 HOURS of video time, then just pop in another and continue shooting! I pop the disk, put it in a reader on my computer, bring up Media Player Classic or Movavi Video Converter and play, edit or convert the video file from .MOV to whatever I want---NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER! The .MOV format creates a LOT of problems for most peeps that use the small-sized videocams, BUT if you use the proggies above, there is NO problem! It just works. Anyway, for you YouTubers...THIS is a kick A** videocam and will give you some of the BEST FOOTAGE you've ever seen! Oh, and the shock is that this cam is literally THE SIZE OF A BEER CAN!! It slips into my front pocket with no problem! I carry it everywhere now! And the battery---I haven't had a problem with battery going dead on me prematurely...shot over 2 hours the other day and still had PLENTY juice left for more footage. There is an on-screen battery meter that is highly accurate. Audio meter, too. I thought I would have to buy another battery...but not with it performing like it is now. I cannot say enough cool stuff about it...so give it a shot! I think I'll get another one, but this time get the FS10 so I have BOTH a built-in flash drive AND the extra pop-in flash drive as an option.

I am the type of person all the family and friends come to when it's time to buy electronics - I don't take making decisions lightly. After looking for a great camera to replace my 5 year old Sony Digital8, I found a real winner with this Canon.
br /Outdoor image quality is awesome. Almost looks HD. Indoor is not perfect but better than any other camcorder I have ever owned or used. I have stayed with burning DVDs from the camera using analog inputs into my DVD recorder, as I find it way less frustrating than using digital files, but I have loaded the Imagemixer software that comes with this camera and it works well for anyone who is looking to upload videos to youtube, etc.
br /I chose to buy a SanDisk 4GB SDHC card, which although my HP Pavilion PC card reader cannot read SDHC, the SanDisk card came with a usb adapter which was super.
br /I have found it important to keep my elbow braced against my body when filming to eliminate image shake, as this camera is so light (which is awesome - it fits in my small digital camera case for travel!)
br /Love this little camera (I got the blue one), Canon hit a home run in my book.
br /

Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Garnet Wine)
br /
br /This is my 6th Canon digital video camcorder, having owned a ZR30MC, ZR50MC, ZR90, Optura 20 and Elura 100 before this one. My main objective for purchasing the new flash-memory based camcorder was to get away from the dreaded motor noise from most of these units. Out of all 6 previous models, the Optura 20 had the best video sensor CCD size (1/4"), followed by the Elura 100 (1/5"). The other models, including this FS100, use a sensor CCD size of 1/6", so I was expecting the video quality to be a bit more grainy (especially from reading all these reviews).
br /
br /Right out of the box after charging the BP-808 battery, the unit starts up very quickly, however, the LCD is a bit grainy even in moderate lighting. Don't be alarmed though, this granularity image is not transferred to video, it's just the nature of the 123K pixel color LCD (my Powershot SD750 has the same problem with its LCD but still takes great pictures). But the biggest test of this new unit was to see how the audio sounded from a camcorder with no moving parts/motor. I am pleased to report the sound is great, and even better (good bass) when hooked up to my 55" projection TV.
br /
br /Now for the video quality, it is true the video is very grainy and noisy in low-light settings, but I am much impressed with how well the unit retains its focus in these situations. What I am very much disappointed in is the unit only uses electronic stabilization and at max. telephoto, I can't get a steady shot with the IS on no matter how steady my hand. And I am not sure what to think of the advanced 48X zoom, the picture tends to pixelate at you approach the 48X, so I may just stick with the 37X optical zoom (I never owned a camera with a zoom bigger than 22X on the older ZR models). Now I haven't had the chance to video in bright sunlight, but I do feel the single LED video light works very well to help out in low-light situations.
br /
br /The record, photo and playback menus are excellent on this model, since you are recording to the SD card (I use 8GB Transcend card with included USB reader) and you can never accidentally erase footage and you can choose scenes and playback with a few touches of a button. The joystick on the LCD is placed in a comfortable location and is very responsive. One major complaint I have is why does Canon insist on the user having to press buttons to activate the faders/digital effects? Every model I have owned has this same problem, and yes the mics will pick up on you having to press button to activate you fade-to-black for ending your current recording in progress. I know for a fact on older Sony 8mm units, once you activate a fader, it will remain active for every scene you shoot until you turn it off. Canon needs to do this on future models.
br /
br /Still photo quality is surprisingly good on this model (as compared to experience on previous models), but it is a function of lighting available to you.
br /
br /I use iMovie '08 and the software/Macbook has no problem recognizing the files. I don't like the fact you have to use AC power to transfer your files/photos to your computer, but I bought the USB card reader to get around this. IMovie HD will not recognize these files, so you'll have to upgrade to iLife 08 and you need an Intel Mac for this to work. iPhoto immediately recognizes the camera if you have any still images to transfer.
br /
br /In summary, the unit is very light and easy to hold, very responsive to start recording in about a second, and the electronic lens cap is a nice little feature. Here are my PROs and CONs:
br /
br /PROs:
br /- Sleek, lightweight and colorful unit that is easy to hold and the major user features to operate it are well placed
br /- Focus in excellent and very responsive even in low light settings
br /- Very bright LED video light that helps in low-light recordings
br /- Very good video quality in very well-lit surroundings, and audio is great with no motor noise!
br /- Excellent menu hierarchy with quick, easy playback of your scenes
br /- Flash memory is great and very reliable, but pick up extra cards (8GB Class 6 or higher) especially with the good prices here at Amazon.com. I recommend Transcend from experience with this unit.
br /- Many manual controls I have not yet explored
br /- NO MOTOR NOISE, did I mention this?
br /- Quickstart standby mode is great and really helps to conserve battery power.
br /- Intelligent battery meter a great addition to help you gauge remaining battery life
br /
br /CONS:
br /- Low light performance on this unit is very poor, but video light does improve video quality and I'm sure Shutter priority and other manual settings could even help out more.
br /- Electronic stabilization is not at all useful at maximum telephoto and even pixelates the image while producing a really bad shake even with steady hands.
br /- I am not impressed with the advanced zoom to gain an extra 11X from plain optical zoom. Video quality will suffer at maximum telephoto.
br /- You have to use the joystick to activate faders and digital effects during your recordings, so expect to hear the button-pushing on your video footage.
br /- Have to plug in the unit to AC power to transfer video/photos to your computer.
br /
br /So as you can see the PROs outweigh the CONs and I am happy with this unit in overall performance and value for its price (I got mine in a bundle pack at [...] with the unit, extra OEM Canon battery and a carrying case, sorry Amazon!) This camera is a definite keeper for me for a while (until I get HD TV and home theater systems), and then I'll probably upgrade to the equivalent HD model the HF100.
br /
br /I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting a new standard definition unit, but be sure to invest in several SD memory cards to support your video needs. As you can see I am a loyal Canon consumer for both my camcorder and digital camera needs. Nice job overall, Canon, on this FS100 model.

Ok, I am writing this small review to people who are like me who look everywhere for the lowest price on an item and live and die by customer reviews. This camera is great for everything it does but I am mainly focusing on the file problem. I read at least 100 reviews on this item from professional sources and customers until I finally purchased it. Anyway the files come in as .MOD files which need to be converted into .MPG or .AVI or something else that can be read by your editing software. After trying multiple FREE converting software, I found the easiest and fastest one was sdcopy. It did not degrade the quality of the video and allowed choice to convert into 4:3 or 16:9 which is very handy.

I have been most impressed with this camera. It is easy to operate, quick to record, tolerant of user shortcomings, and gives good picture and sound. The control position and activation are well thought out and the camera has a secure feel when held. I have used this around the house, local travels, for documenting events, and on a long cruise. The battery life is excellent. The 8gb chip records a large amount of footage. The optical zoom is impressive and clear but a steady hand or tripod is best used. I considered the FS-11 with built in memory but for the cost difference went with this model. So far quite pleased. Lack of a viewfinder has not been an issue. Seeing the view screen in bright light can be difficult, but can plan around it, point-and-shoot has worked for me. The Canon has done well in low light, and has the automatic lens cover closing compared to the new Sony 30gb HD mini-cam my wife uses. I think it outperforms her camera, but that is a subject of debate, though I see her borrowing the Canon more frequently.

Okay, I have had this camcorder 4 months, I couldn't tell you the zoom range, the memory it has, it's battery life or anything very technical about it. I got it on am impulse before a Disney vacation as I was looking for something simple, small and cheap. It wins in all three categories.
br / My big thing was can I record my own DVD's without a lot of hassle?
br /Glory be, yes you can!!! I decided I wanted to send my mom a DVD of the kids and sat down to try and figure it all out. Using only the downloaded software that came with the camera, it took me about 20 minutes to figure it out and get a DVD made. Albeit I had already downloaded the discs and some video, I just had no idea how or if I could make a disc myself. But if I could do it, I am sure 99% of you can. I can't edit, no fading, no fancy stuff for me.
br / The only not so great thing about this camera is the lack of image stabilizer. Yikes, my kids take video as they walk and talk and you would think there was an earthquake going on. But I knew it didn't have that feature when I bought it.

My friend wanted a digital camera, he was looking at still units but after he starting talking more about movies than stills I talked him into a video camera over a still camera. This "type" of product has been out for awhile but most of them have been primitive, needed tons of light and the videos were of generally low quality.
br /
br /I have Canon SLR units, their digital sensors are some of the best in my opinion so I started checking out this camera. Most consumer sites have glowing review after glowing review on the FS100. We've had this unit about three months, we've used it quite a lot under mostly daylight conditions. Where these units most often fall down is in the amount of light they need to get good pictures. My old tape camcorder can easily get good video in candle light, this one is not quite that good but it's dang close. Most often with these units low light means unacceptably grainy images...this unit does pretty well with that from what I've seen (at least in middle quality mode). The book states minimum light something like 100 lux which is around dim room light. After I got this I took it to the Target parking lot at night and shot some video under just the parking lot mercury lamps...I was looking for two things...grainy images and color shifts caused by the non-daylight colored lamps in the parking area lighting. I happened to catch a guy riding across the parking lot on his bike at a pretty good clip and tested the camera by tracking him across the lot and zooming in and out all the while....the image was a bit grainy, but it was acceptable and surprisingly good for a camera of this variety at night and under non daylight colored light...i.e. Canon's sensor is pretty darn good.
br /
br /My first canon SLR is pretty brain dead when it comes to mixed lighting situations but they seem to have straightened up their act in later products in that regard (white balance logic). There is a competing product of this type made by Samsung, the price is generally a bit lower than the canon, I've looked at that unit but not had a chance to use one; on that unit folks are saying the buttons are too flimsy (another reason I went with this one).
br /
br /We use this camera to shoot a lot of fast action (SCA heavy fighting) I find that the default (AUTO) setting does not result in a fast enough shutter speed to catch very fast action, this unit has a mode that allows you to choose the shutter speed while the camera chooses the aperature...I fixed the blurred action by setting the camera shutter speed to 1/250 or faster and that has cured that issue completely. I have not shot in full quality mode...really don't need it...middle quality mode is pretty darn good even displayed on a large flat panel although I'm sure a true HD video snob would sniff indignantly at it. This camera supports SDHD so you are not limited to 2 gig memory cards. The 16 gig cards are currently out (like 3+ hours in middle quality mode) and 32 gig cards are also available but still too expensive.
br /
br /If you get this camera I suggest you buy an image bank (handheld self-powered device with notebook hard drive in it) so you can clean off your cards and reuse them. This camera doesn't have touch screen, I really don't miss that at all, the joystick is very serviceable, I find the menus easy to navigate and the camera has a good variety of settings. If I didn't mention it before the camera can also take still images that are very acceptable.
br /
br /Overall what I think about it:
br /I like the camera, I think if it was up to me I'd redesign the zoom lever, yes it's under your fingers as you hold the camera....but I find it a little bit awkward, especially when zooming in (higher magnifications). I'd prefer to have the zoom on the back where I can hit it with my thumb. Canon does their usual thing of monopolizing batteries and accessories for this camera by not releasing tech specs so other companies can make products that work with it. Batteries are outrageous at 80 bucks plus each, you can find them on amazon for around 60 but that is still outrageous in my book. You can find knock off batteries on ebay that power the camera but they do not have the internal electronics and thus the camera cannot detect the charge and they will not charge on the camera. One of your first purchases should be two 16 gig sdhc cards, they're not too high if you shop around, 4 gig cards will suffice to start but get the biggest ones you can get and stick with a quality manufacturer as well, I didn't pick "high speed" cards for this camera I have not noticed "lag" caused because the camera buffers were full and could not write to the card fast enough...at least not in mid quality mode...high quality may be another issue (what I'm saying is I don't know if investing in the high speed memory cards is worth it for this item like it is for my professional slrs). This is a great unit especially around the price that amazon has it for, it's great to not have to digitize your movie you just pop out the card and play it with windows media player. This unit also doesn't use any kind of custom format like some of the other cameras do, it's stock mpeg2 right off the camera so you don't have to translate it before windows can play it or roxio can burn it onto a cd/dvd. Yes, I'd buy this again.

Let me start out by saying I am a novice to video editing. I read about the problems with .mod files before I bought this camera, but purchased it anyway. The files were driving me nuts. I tried everything I read on reviews and nothing seemed to work real well. I was using a pretty old version of Adobe Premiere Elements. I read some reviews on this web site http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/. I downloaded a trial version of the two top rated which were CyberLink PowerDirector 7 and Corel Video Studio X2. I used the software that came with the camera to put the video files on my hard drive. The were saved as .mpg file (not .mod files). Using either of these applications, I was able to edit the files and make perfect DVDs in both 4:3 and widescreen. I preferred Corel Video Studio and purchase it. It is so easy to use. So now I don't have any problems with this Canon .mod files at all. Of course I had to buy new software, but my Adobe version was pretty old anyway.
br /
br /In regards to the camera, I really like it because it is small and convenient. What I don't like is that it is not good in low light and is very shaky when using the zoom. But for the price I really like this camera

Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Advanced Zoom (Silver)
br /I purchased the FS100 for my wife's B-day. She wanted something to record our infants 'firsts'(rollovers...crawling, etc all that good stuff). I read a lot of the reviews and took the chance with the FS100 as my first camcorder. I got the package deal @ amazon w/extra battery and 16gb card. Pretty good deal compared to sale prices (e.g.at Best Buy). I also got an extra 8gb card and bag. Total (w/shipping $461)
br /Camera is pretty easy to use right out of the box(after charging) for a novice. There are plenty of features that you can use to fine tune your recordings...night time, snow backrounds, etc.....read the book...there if you need them.
br /While recording the mini joystick gets you through the menus relatively easily. You can turn on the LED light with about two movements if you wish. Sound is well, and you can play with that after the fact anyway.
br /I was tempted to go with an HD, but read mixed reviews for the both the FS100 for HD devices. Seems there were issues with both. So, I saved at least $400 by not getting one of the comparible HD models.
br /I think the video on the DVD is fine....and I didn't have to do anything to the format or get another Program to do it. I used the software that came in the box. The only problem I had was that it would not recognize the particular DVD-RW I had. But once I stuck in a DVD-R(up to 16x)walllah...it worked just fine....(for me). Again, I'm not making any professional videos, I'm just watching my new baby roll around on the floor. But plenty good enough to send DVD's to the grandparents and make keepsakes. I haven't had it that long yet, so I'll keep you updated if I run into any other issues.
br /One other note,...several people complained that the two software programs included do not have manuals. FALSE. The discs have PDF manuals on them. You must install the software first, and then you can open up the pdf's (I dropped them on my desktop) to lead you. They may not be the best programs for video/image stuff, but they are all I need. Definitely reccommend have an extra memory card. The software does take a long time to make DVD. Plan on kicking it off via the SD cardreader and walking away from your computer and just let it go. Then you can pop in your other memory card and still record if you want.
br /I would reccommend for others that aren't looking to make professional broadcast videos or something....I think it's fine for school, home, the kids soccer games....etc....stuff like that.

We bought this camera in anticipation of the birth of our baby. He's not here yet, but we've been testing it out over the past couple of weeks. So far, we have really enjoyed using it.
br /
br /The camera is tiny - probably a little larger than a soda can. It is very lightweight as well. We bought the Transcend 8GB SD cards and an extra battery from Ebay.
br /
br /We have Vista and have had no problems reading the video files. We used Nero to create a DVD and it played in the DVD player with no problem! The video looked great on the television and we unknowingly recorded it on the medium resolution setting. I can't wait to see how it turns out on the highest resolution.

We did the research, read the reviews and purchased the Cannon FS100 mainly for recording high school sporting events and family footage. We are thrilled! The kids say the picture is great, it is very easy to operate automatically, yet the capability is there to be creative and manually operate the camera. Download is easy, have yet to create a CD, but I expect that to go well too. The still photo is a bit grainy, but when you are in a pinch it works. The way I figure, if you want a good still, use your camera, this is for video! Oh, and the size is amazing! It literally fits in the cup of your hand, and light weight too! It starts and stops amazingly quick, picks up sound well and the zoom feature, although I have heard others complain, works well. We zoom in on the football action and do not have a lot of trouble with "wobble". Cannon delivers again!! (I have a 17 year old EOS Rebel that I love!!)

For around $300 you can't beat this little camcorder. I love the format with the SD cards. The video quality is really high on it as far as color and clarity go. Not a great low light camera as others have stated but not unwatchable by any means. Video's look far better on the TV then on a computer so don't make any judgements based on computer viewing (at least on an older computer). I thought it was only marginal and then hooked it up to the TV and the difference was like night and day. I shot on SP and XP and both are good. I would definately recommend this camcorder to anyone who is a casual user. Great for family videos and vacations. Software is basic but gets the job done....even on my old computer. Only drawbacks are the low light issues and the image stabilizer isn't the best as the small size makes it hard to hold still.

I picked this camcorder mainly because 1. I have a Canon camera (S2 IS) that takes great videos, 2. I want a compact camcorder with good battery life. So far it meets my expectations. The SD cards are getting cheaper every year. They will soon replace battery-thirsty and bulky hard-drive camcorders.
br /
br /Pros:
br /1. Light-weight, ergonomic to fit small hands.
br /2. SD card is small, quiet and cheap compared to memory stick or hard drive.
br /3. video is crisp and clear, the sound quality is great.
br /
br /Cons:
br /1. USB port is in the middle of the camcorder, you can't get to it without opening the lcd. And transferring files requires the power adapter and the speed is slow.
br /2. It takes 195 min to charge which is slow.
br /3. The "set" key is made of low-quality plastic. Feels like it can break any day.

I was looking for a video camera to capture all the memorable moments as my 5 month old was growing up. I had been using a MiniDV recorder and it was a real pain to transfer the files from the cassette to a computer and make a CD/DVD. I came to Amazon looking for something that will fit my needs and my wallet. I searched for some camera and then when I sorted them with their Ranks, I found this amazing thing Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder at I think 6th or 7th position. After reading some of the reviews I was convinced that this is something that I should have. When I received the camera, I was certainly amazed by the features.
br /
br /Its a very small and light camera that can even fit my pockets :-).
br /
br /With 48x zoom you can record things that are far off and works as good.
br /
br /The menu is very simple to understand. I am a person who never reads the instruction manual and try to figure out things by exploring the product. Its very easy to get used to this camera.
br /
br /Best thing is, its very convinient to transfer the files from the camera to a computer. Just take out the SD card and put in the card reader. Fortunately my laptop has it inbuilt and removes one more step for me. I read in some of the reviews that the software doesn't work properly for the camera. I never installed any software. The files are just fine and open up with Windows Media Player.
br /
br /It allows to take still photos as well. The resolution is not great but okay if you do not want high quality images and don't want to carry a separate camera for taking stills.
br /
br /The video quality was much much better then I had expected out of it.
br /
br /Now making videos is fun and easy. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone.

I purchased this camera for my recent trip to Burning Man, in the Black Rock desert of Nevada. The conditions there can be very harsh, with extreme temperatures and blowing dust and sand. My previous video camera, a Panasonic mini-DV was a great camera, but would get bad dropouts and lines on the screen when there was dust in the air. So I missed out on all the atmospheric and dramatic footage during duststorms. Then I had to clean the heads with a head cleaning tape. And although that camera wasn't very big, I still wanted something much smaller, lighter and easier to carry around. The FS100 fit the bill, and I'm very satisfied with it. It performed like a champ out in the desert, taking flawless video during a massive duststorm with 40mph winds and visibility of just a few feet. The battery life was good, and I often used the quick battery check button to see exactly how much time I had left. The sound seems better than my last camera too, especially the bass response. And the size is great, small enough to carry around all the time. And I love the fact it has no tape or hard drive. Data just goes straight to the 16Gb SD card I installed, which gives me over 5 hours of video at standard resolution. I found that it performed well both during the day and night. Of course, things can get a little fuzzy in low light, but that's to be expected. Overall, it performed about as well or better in low light than I expected. This camera is a very good value for the money. Since I don't have HD (High Definition) TV at home, and I'm not even sure if my editing software supports HD, I didn't bother spending the extra money on an HD camera. This camera does everything I need now.

After wavering back and forth between this Camcorder and the JVC Everio GZ-MG330, I eventually decided to go with the Canon because of it's flash memory as opposed to hard disk.
br /
br /I just got mine this week, and this is my 1st Camcorder ever, so I have nothing to compare it to. Firstly, I have to admit that I was shocked by how tiny it really is, and my most major concern was how well it would perform indoors (as that's where most of the action occurs with my kids), and while it was not as fantastic as outdoors, I still found it quite acceptable and the zoom is unreal.
br /
br /I am extremly happy with this purchase and if I had to do it over again, I would make the same choice again.
br /
br /Just to add on to my previous review, since then, I have actually been tinkering around with the settings, and when switched to tv mode as a previous review suggested and the other settings adjusted, it does very well indoors - and is capable in general of some great videos!
br /
br /Also, I choose to get the 16gb card - now I feel, it may have been a bit of overkill, but don't regret it - hey you never know when something may come up and I use the whole card. My other great love for this camcorder is that it fits in my digital camera case, so I can stick it in my handbag (and no I don't have one of those huge monsters some like to lug around) and roll out with my kids to the next adventure..

This is the best camcorder on the market. Has great grafics and has an extremely reasonable price. It will connect to Mac's and iMovie with ease. This is one of the only camcorders i could find that would do that. It also can connect to PC's. If you have a mac, don't bother downloading the software they give you, but just use it with iMovie. It has amazing zoom and after one day of owning it i had already made a great video. Don't waist your time with other lame camcorders. This is the best one available.

First impression of it is how small it is. I had read reviews and knew that it was small, but this thing can EASILY fit in your pocket and is shorter than a soda can!!
br /
br /
br /
br /PROS:
br /
br /-Very fun to use
br /
br /-EXTREMELY comfortable to hold (mesh on inside of hand strap instead of leather makes it really comfortable to hold for hours), also fits the shape of your hand really well
br /
br /-Menu is very similar to other recent (last few years) Canon camcorders and it's easy to navigate
br /
br /-Better quality
br /
br /-Good zoom (although surprisingly slower than previous Canons, not by much though)
br /
br /-Blinding LED light!!
br /
br /-No motor noise!
br /
br /
br /CONS:
br /
br /-Good luck figuring out how to use the .MOD files in WMM (Windows Movie Maker)...
br /After hours of endless research I decided to go with the $30 Movavi Video Converter [...].
br /Unless you can understand codecs and everything else there is to simply converting these files to non-MPEG 2 format, there's no free software that can do this (or if there is, let me know...) unless it's some trial version. I had tried [...], but that takes forever for each clip and doesn't even put out very good quality.
br /
br /-Lots of 'noise' inside, even if room is well lit
br /
br /-Cannot take pics while recording video (as was possible with my previous MiniDV camcorder, the Canon ZR830)
br /
br /-Editing software with camcorder is pretty much useless, although it may not seem so at first. It's only for VERY limited editing (maybe cut a bit here or there, but that's it) and just putting all the files together. Probably is a bit worse than WMM even (is that possible??)
br /
br /
br /I would definitely recommend buying this camcorder if you can find it for about [...] or less. Only reason I didn't give it 5 out of 5 stars is due to the .MOD file issue. (IF you only plan to get video and leave it in a folder somewhere on your computer, then ignore the entire file extension issue and get this camcorder.)

I am pleased with the camera, but don't try to get any technical information. I tried three times and got conflicting information between two and just a smattering of information all together. Canon's view seems to be that this is a consumer camera and no consumers ask technical questions. The support staff seemed ill prepared to handle even basic questions. If you purchase a consumer-grade camera from Canon, you are on your own. I guess you have to spend over $900 to rate support.
br /
br /Even though I couldn't get answers or specs, Some reviews, flash memory storage and the processing chip prompted me to buy the camcorder anyway; I could always return it if my evaluation was unsatisfactory. The camera performs well for the price, but, without complete specs, it is a guessing game to perform manual operations and I don't know what will happen if something goes wrong.
br /
br /Tom H.

Excellent camera, compact size, and no tapes!! Every piece of recording is its own file, so it should make editing and splicing easy. Just what I was looking for to video my 2 year son.

Great little video camera for outdoor use. So small it can fit in your pants pockets if you have the need. Inside video is acceptable, but not has good as other video cameras. For the price this video camera is very difficult to beat. I highly recommend it for the casual video user.

it is easy to use. transfering video to PC is a breeze.
br /digital statlizer is of poor quality though. When zoom in, no matter how you hold your hand steady, the resulted video is shaky.
br /
br /

Have used this camcorder a number of times love the size and weight.
br /Pros:
br /-easy to use both recording and replaying simple just touch and record
br /-take out the card and place into computer (vista) card reader and watch the action, also easy to watch on tv. I have a 720p hd tv no problems with the quality of the picture. I am not a pro just doing home movie type stuff
br /-light weight easy to handle
br /Cons::
br /-off easy mode hard to get zoom to focus at max
br /-so light need tripod when zooming in tight to decrease movement (minor detail)
br /
br /so far very pleased with this, would recommend to anyone shooting simple home video, have not tried the picture on my larger tv

Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom
br /I was looking for my first camcorder because we had a baby and I wanted to capture special moments. I'm pretty happy with it! It's very lightweight and the memory is not too expensive for it. It doesn't work so well under low light conditions (putting him to bed, for instance) but all in all a pretty good experience thus far and connects directly to my TV and computer.

For a number of years now, possibly 5, I've been using a Sanyo Xatci, since they first came out, mainly for it's small size, portability, flash based media and ease of use. It was not however used for it's high quality results. And for indoors, forget it, the light only worked for snap shots, not video. So for outdoor events, it was handy and easy to carry. But you could forget about it for indoors or low light situation. It's audio was also very poor unless your subject was within a few feet and battery power, under continuous filming you were lucky to get 60 minutes out of it.
br /
br /I've waited a long time for another flash based card/medium, reasonably priced, light weight, small form factor,long battery life, a light for indoor recording, and the ability to use an external microphone. Over the last year or so, there have been some early models from different makers, however, they were very expensive, and still a little heavy. Also, the external microphone option was missing.
br /
br /Along came the FS100. I've read the reviews on Amazon about this camera and other forums. I spent a lot of time researching other cameras, but couldn't find anything comparable in the price bracket. Since I was ordering from Amazon not an Amazon Market Place vendor,(though I've had good experiences with the majority of them as well) I felt confident in making the purchase that should it not meet my needs or expectations, returning it would not be a problem.
br /
br /Now, I had just switched, after almost two decades with Windows to a Macbook Pro, though I'm running XP on the machine via VMfusion, however my goal was to winnow down my need for Windows products. So, I was somewhat concerned by some reviews and their experiences with OX 10. However, one reviewer made a great suggestion about a third party software which addressed the issue of changing the unusual movie format Movie.MOD to something I could edit or play on the Mac. It's Visual Hub, and works great. Be aware however, the longer the movie the slower the conversion, but it is still way faster than using the old DV tapes.
br /
br /Now, if you buy a SDHC card and don't want to use the camera's usb cord, you must buy a newer reader that accepts SDHC card. The older readers will let the card fit in the slot, but will not read it. It took me a couple of days to find this out. I went with the FS100, because it didn't come with built in memory, and am glad I went that way, since you could only transfer those scenes via the USB cable.
br /
br /I bought a 16 gb Kingston card for under 40 at [...], including shipping, and some unknown brand off Ebay for about the same price. (The [...] deal was only available after I'd purchased the one off of Ebay)
br /
br /I've been playing with the camera now for over three weeks, and I have been pleased overall. Outdoors the pictures are clear, the audio a great improvement over my old Sanyo, and battery life close to three hours with continuous shooting.
br /
br /Indoors, with the light on, it's still grainy, but much improved over the Sanyo without the light. With the camera set to it's highest quality video using my 16gb card, I can shoot about 3.5 hours.
br /
br /If you are looking for a video camera for shooting a lot of indoor video, especially in low light, you may be disappointed with this camera. If your shooting indoors with lots of outside light coming in, it's fine.
br /
br /For sporting events and action videos this camera really excels for with it's light weight and small size, you'll find yourself taking it along with you more often than a standard video camera.
br /
br /But as others have pointed out, the software, at least for the Mac, is poor. Really poor in fact. Accessories like additional batteries, and a separate charger are outlandishly priced. But like I did with my video card, I found non oem replacements on Ebay for under ten dollars, not including shipping. I recommend buying at least one battery with a charger so you don't have to plug the camera in using the AC adapter to charge the battery.
br /
br /

I got this back when it came out in April right before the birth of my son. I absolutely love it! I love how easy it is to pick up really fast and catch a priceless moment. It takes only a few seconds to turn on the camera and flip it open. It's also soo tiny! I stick it in my diaper bag and bring it everywhere with me. On that note, it's pretty durable too!

The camera records clear videos during daylight and it is pretty light sensitive in low light. Plus there is a night mode that will record in near darkness; almost like a cat's vision, but the video will be choppy, so use a tripod for that mode since the exposure is long.
br /
br /My main reason why I gave it only 4 stars is that the videos are a bit too shaky compared for example, to an old hard drive sony camcorder sr42 which didn't have any zoon stabilization unlike this canon which has digital stabilization.
br /
br /I think the heavier cameras just tend to be less shaky, and since this is a very light camera, it has a lot of jittery in its videos.
br /
br /If you are careful while recording or you are using a tripod, the videos will be excellent.
br /
br /Love the features and the portability. The absolutely best bag I found for this camera is a tamrac 5292. It is extremely small and very easy to take the cam out and put it in.
br /
br /Very fast start up, very nice vivid mode, good sound, great zoom with variable adjustable speed, and a dedicated microphone input. Overall this is a very good camera. Highly recommend.

I simply love it's small size, wonderful clarity, great optical zoom, instant start and above all no moving part in it.
br /The SD card format is so easy to use and download to computer. i am using Mac to download and it work great with imovies.
br /Although it came with CD software for windows. i never tried that.
br /It is bit shaky at full zoom (48X) but that is the price you have to pay when you want extreme zooms. you have to use tripod to shot at that zoom.
br /otherwise it is fine. i don't see any reason why somebody will buy upper models of this FS series which cost another [...] bucks and have only 8GB or 16 GB of internal memory when you can buy 8GB memory card for under [...] Bucks from Amazon.
br /Overall it is good starting model for those guys who can't afford HD models at this moment.
br /
br /

Good Camera, for the price. Palm size is very comfortable. Get a 16 Gig Card and you are good to go. No complaints with a Canon. Would recommend to all real dads who want save kid memories.

I am very pleased with the size of this product and the easy use for talking stills and movies

Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Advanced Zoom (Silver)
br /We bought the FS100 prior to a trip to Spain to upgrade from our old 8mm camcorder and to save space. I chose the flash memory type due to the absence of moving parts, as well as the reduced size and weight. The camera has been impressive. The picture and sound quality are very good, despite the fact that the unit isn't hi-def. I like the fact that you can just shoot in auto mode and let the camera adjust itself or you can compensate for unusual lighting or motion situations in the pre-selected scene mode.
br /
br /There is one major problem with this camcorder; the lack of a viewfinder. Granted, a viewfinder would add to the size and weight a bit, but I think that it is a necessity. With a camera this small, it is very difficult to hold it steady while shooting a scene. You need the stability offered by holding the camera against your face. A viewfinder also makes it much easier to see what you're shooting when you are in very bright conditions, such as at the beach on a sunny day. The high-def versions of this camera have a viewfinder, but one may not wish to invest $700 to $800 in a camcorder.
br /
br /This camcorder has impressive features, quality, and ease of use for one in this price range. The battery charge lasts quite a long time and with a 16 GB card, you can shoot all day. It's a good $300 investment.

Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Advanced Zoom (Silver)
br /Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Garnet Wine)
br /Canon FS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 48x Optical Zoom (Blue)
br /
br /It records H.264 video (the new standard) to a flash card, so you can put it on sites like YouTube without trouble, instead of converting it from a MiniDV tape or the like.
br /
br /I'm recording family stuff and video podcasts with it and it performs very nicely, the onboard mics work pretty well, actually (mic in port is there for your use), the autofocus is quick and intelligent and picks up motion without artifacting (or blocking if you will).
br /
br /My single complaint so far is the memory card has to be formatted FAT32, which for your purposes means that it'll only hold 4 gigabyte files maximum. I recorded on high quality and I got my video in 1 hour, 2 minute, 39 second chunks. For most people, recording on medium or even low quality should be sufficient for what you want, so you might assume upward of a 3 hour recording within a single file.
br /
br /I looked for about 6 weeks before settling on this particular brand and model. There are also 2 other cameras in the FS line, but the only thing they add is internal storage. Save yourself the money and pick up a 16 gig SDHC card (no more than $30) and a card reader ($10ish - you will get the video off faster using the reader). The battery life only lasts for 90 minutes or thereabouts, so I hope it doesn't die on me for my friend's wedding. I may pick up an extra one ($60) just to make sure I get everything, but we'll see.
br /
br /In reviews, I have seen some people complain about the lack of stability control (shaky video) but for less than $1,000, I don't think you can complain much. Some also complain about poor indoor conditions and I haven't had a problem with it. (I haven't used it outside yet, but if it works indoors, outdoors should be just fine.) You can see the podcast episode at [..] if you want to take a look at the quality of it... it'll be episode 50. That'll give you a reference for the quality of the camera... don't pay attention to the performance of the bald guy with glasses... if may leave you wanting for actual talent. :)
br /
br /Overall, I'm very pleased with this camera. Its small size (5 x 2.5 x 2.25 [add another inch if you leave the strap on] inches) allows me to stow it in a pants pocket and not look like a tourist.

Overall, this is a great value camcorder. Focus could be faster under low light condition. Hard to focus when you try to follow the subject. Very shaky compare to the older DV model. You must have a steady hand to capture good video. Video file has "mod" file format which may not be recognizable by some player.

Let me first give Amazon.com 5 stars for following through on the promised shipping date. That was truly a life saver.I was attending my sons graduation and I needed the camera OVERNITE. And thats precisely what I got. Cudos to you Amazon.
br /Now onto the camera. I LOVE it. I am totally electronically challeged, so it was great to see the ease and simplicity with which this camera operates. Not to mention the color is so pretty. I highly recommend this camera for the novice photog such as myself. If you are into making short films this camera is way beneath your skill level. But for taking pix of your kids on the beach or in a school play, it works.

It's hard to imagine finding fault with this inexpensive easy to use little camcorder. It's not intended to make broadcast quality video, it will probably see many birthday cakes being blown out and for this it is perfect.
br /I find that the smaller a camera/camcorder the more often it will be used, and that's a good thing.

exellent, no problem at all, simple take the video format, chage to mpeg, then burn with any recorder.
br /
br /thanks

This camera is just what I needed and it was very affordable. I wasn't really concerned with HD. I just wanted a camera that could take good videos and be able to share them with family by copying to dvd so that the videos could be viewed using a standard dvd player and TV. I have become so frustrated because I am having such a hard time trying to copy the video to dvd. While not a pro by any means, I do not consider myself computer illiterate. Most reviews have said not to even bother with downloading the transfer software that came with the camera but what can I use that will produce good videos and isn't so expensive? I've had trouble with Nero and Sonic MyDVD. I don't have the money to buy software to experiment with to see if it will work or not. What good is taking the video if you can't save it and be able to share with others. Being so frustrated with trying to copy to dvds has caused me to regret buying the camera. If anyone can give me directions on what I need to do, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm using Windows XP. I gave the camcorder a 4 rating but if I was rating my overall experience with the camcorder I'd probably give it a 1. Using a product shouldn't be this hard.

Pros : Small, handy, good quality in Outdoor. Can easily add more memory as I like.
br /
br /Cons : Battery shorter than I thought it would last. Indoor night video - lot of noise.
br /
br /Overall, it's a good buy for the price.

This camera seems to work fine for taking home video. It is lightweight and compact. I took it out of the box and had no problems with using it right away...it is extremely user friendly. I have previously owned a Canon video camera and loved it so this camera was an obvious choice. My previous camera is almost 10 years old and still works wonderfully which speaks to the quality of Canon products. My movies look amazing and the stillness of the movie even with high zoom is perfect. No motion sickness from shaky video. The battery life has been long lasting and transferring the clips from a built in SD reader in my laptop was a piece-of-cake...rapid transfer and plays on Windows easily. I haven't tried the SD converter for MPEG as another reviewer recommended, nor have I tried the software but I am completely happy with this purchase! They are very nice looking cameras too! I love the wine version-being somewhat influenced by the "cuteness" of it.

I bought an FS100 and have used it for almost a month now. The picture quality is excellent and the zoom is amazing and the great image stabilization lets one actually use it. The value you get for the money is unparalleled.
br /
br /The cons so far are:
br /1. I haven't been able to use the blackwhite/sepia/etc. mode for some reason. Selecting it doesn't enable it.
br /2. The video takes up a huge amount of memory. I would recommend buying atleast an 8GB sdcard for this.
br /3. There is no night mode.
br /4. The quality of still photographs is worse than my cellphone. (I know this is a video camera but putting in a good still-image sensor really isn't that hard or expensive! A 1MP image sensor is really rock bottom!)

This camcorder is light and very easy to use. The resulting clips are beautiful and clear. My big problem is that I record specifically to make movies using MS Movie Maker and the format created by this camcorder (.mod) is not compatible with any of the movie making software that I could find out there. Only after a lot of work did I find a way to convert my clips to something I could use and there is some loss of quality in the process. I'm okay with it now that I figured out what I need to do but I'm pretty sure I'm going to move on to something else sooner rather than later.

I own an iBook G4 laptop and have not been able to download ANYTHING. The software that came with it is useless, both for videos and still images. Since I have iPhoto, I don't need the still imaging software. The files are written in .mod format and iMovieHD is in .avi. Somewhere, I found that if you use iMovie (not HD), you can download them, but we don't want to pay even more money to buy software that we shouldn't need in the first place. My husband owns a PC so we could try doing everything on his computer, but I'm the one with the time to download and edit and I'm the one who takes all of the movies. The clerk at Best Buy, where we bought the camera, told us that this camera would work with Macs. Either he was wrong, or we just haven't been able to figure it out.
br /
br /As for the picture quality, it's quite good. The handling of the machine is easy and the interface is mostly user friendly. But, what's the point of having a good camera if you can't share the videos or keep them.

I bought this to replace my aging MiniDV ZR200, and thought that stepping up to the newest format would be a good step since I copy the videos to my computer and then burn them to DVD. I loved the MiniDV format, but thought that this would be a good move since I could hear the tape motor in the background on my old camera, and with flash there are no moving parts. Bad idea... I got it in hand, charged the battery for 12 hours and then fired it up and the image quality was terrible. I have a cheap Canon SD1000 digital camera (Which I absolutely love) that can take short movies, and it blows away the videos I got from the FS100. Also the five year old ZR200 can record short videos to it's flash card, and that video is again far far better than anything I got with this FS100. At first everything was good, I could see the wall, floor, etc. But then my son walked in and asked me what it was, and as he talked and moved around the image ghosted so bad you could not recognize him at all until he stopped moving. I had bought a brand new class 6 SanDisk SD card for it, so it is the best flash card money can buy right now so that's not the issue. Bright light, dim light, different flash cards from other cameras etc. etc. and still no change. After playing with it for two hours and reading the entire English section of the manual I boxed it back up and shipped it back to Amazon and bought the ZR950 MiniDV camcorder instead. It's image quality is incomparable to the trash I got from the FS100, and it is $100 less to boot. The one thing that amazed me the most was walking into my kitchen and simply panning side to side about once a second for a bit. As the image moved the camera dropped to maybe 5 frames a second at best, and then came back up to a more acceptable frame rate once it stopped, while blurring out everything in the frame as it moved. Maybe in a few more years they will have the flash format to the point where it can be useful, but it is not there yet. If you want video quality that is on par with a cell phone or cheap web cam, this is your camera. If you want a camera to record birthdays and vacations to watch on TV later you will be disappointed.

I used this camera and attached to TV to view the video quality and am impressed with the video quality. I like the SD flexibility. But still this camera is frustrating.
br /
br /If you try to get the videos and Pictures out of this camera to your Vista based computer you will be disappointed. I tried on 2 different computers One having Vista Home Premium and one having Vista Home Basic. Both do not recognize is camera. I called Canon for drivers, they said Canon does not provide drivers for Vista and XP. The OS have the driver in built. But why the heck this is not recognized by the Vista. To make sure it does not conflict with other USB devices I removed all USB devices except Keyboard and Mouse. But still Vista does not know what this device is.
br /
br /So overall a good camera but what its worth if you cannot get the videos out.
br /
br /If anybody was able to get the videos/pictures out of this camera to your computer please share your experience.
br /
br /