Canon Vixia HF 20 Test

[Emomoz]

you mean VIXIA HF R20? 20 without R?

[VSMrocks]

@Emomoz No this is the Vixia HF 20. The R20 might be a model made outside North America.

[arheaya19]

what settings did you use inside.. i have the same camera and it looks really grainy inside..

[VSMrocks]

@arheaya19 At this time it was all on auto. To clarify, inside the was plenty of light coming from the open window, and it easily reflected off the floor and walls to light up the room, hence why there is little grain.

If you're footage is grainy, you may need to add more light to you're subject, be that adding another light to the scene, or just taking a big white board and reflecting light off of it towards your subject.

Hope that helps!

[arheaya19]

@VSMrocks Yea thanks.. I just figured out that if you have enough lighting cine mode work pretty well also..

[WiggzMusic]

are you using imovie with this too?

[VSMrocks]

@WiggzMusic This was edited in iMovie 08 yes. Although now I just use iMovie to import the footage, while I use Final Cut Express to edit. FCE won't import it but FCP will.

[sonicblast2404]

1 nice camara i am buying it thx 2 you

2 dude that's a big shocker are you shure you wont kill the dog and if it don't that's one really tough dog lol dam he must be really hard headed XD to keep leaving the back yard lol.... my dog died :( bye :)

[grantslife]

on your dogs collar. what the fuck is that?

[VSMrocks]

@grantslife

Yes its a 9volt shock collar. He would get out of the yard a lot because he would take the pain of the normal shock collars, so this bigger one gives him more of a jolt (doesn't harm him though).

[MalamuteKid]

it looks like a car battery

[grantslife]

is that a fucking shock collar on your dog? cause it looks big enough to kill a cat.

[arc1342]

please answer this what is the newest and best canon video camera in market right now???

[VSMrocks]

That's all up to what you need the camera to shoot. If your shooting just home videos to capture life moments every now and then, a Canon Vixia HF R10 is perfect. If your planning on shooting high quality work and need more pro features without being so expensive, any Canon Vixia HF S sires cameras are perfect.

[arc1342]

then im getting a Canon Vixia HF S100....thank you

[VSMrocks]

Glad to have helped.

[freddytk421]

I just got this camera and I love it. You can upload in 1080p now on youtube.

[olo567]

Just got this camera and have been experimenting with the frame rate settings. Both 30p and 24p look much choppier. Obviously motion won't be as smooth as 60i, but it looks worse than expected. Have you found settings that make it look better? A slower shutter speed perhaps?

[VSMrocks]

When I shoot in the lower frame rates, I usually set my camera to the Shutter-Priority and set it to either 1/60 or 1/30. This usually helps keep it from being choppy (although i've never had that problem unless shooting less than 1/30). The only problem I have is my AF is slowed down but not always.

[gigirty1]

how did you convert the video file once you got the video on the computer from the camera.

[VSMrocks]

The file is imported with iMovie 08, which automatically converts it to a editable file. Then using the editor, i exported it into a .mov file (quicktime).

[BOOF2k9]

Thnx!

[BOOF2k9]

Awesome video! I just got this camera two days ago, and I am completely new to HD lol. I was just wondering what settings did you film on for this test video?

[VSMrocks]

This video was all shot with it on AUTO settings. Auto white balance, auto focus, everything was on auto. The video could have been 10x better if I had set the white balance and shot in a lower frame rate.

[caprine888]

Mi volt a kutya nyakába akasztva?

[VSMrocks]

Ez egy olyan nyakörv, hogy van egy elem benne. Az akkumulátort használnak, hogy egy kis sokkot, hogy a kutyát, amikor azok átlépik a föld alatti vezetéken tartani őket a kertben. Ezek nem ártott mikor használ ez.

Remélem, hogy le lett fordítva van.

[caprine888]

Yes , thanks !

[poprocz]

Excellent video and even better answers to questions, us newbies to HD and Canon really appreciate it.

[VSMrocks]

Thank You. I appreciate the recognition. :)

[Blaze0820]

the white balance in this cam is good.

[indiaman555]

hey can you plz help me!! i have this cam and all my videos turn out pretty noisy no matter what settings i put it in!! can you tell me what settings are best for it!! i need it for a cruise that i am going in christmas. your video wasnt noisy at all!!

plz reply!!

[VSMrocks]

Check your audio levels by doing this:

In recording mode, press the UP button and scroll down in the pop up menu to the mic icon. Make sure it has an 'A' on it, for automatic. If it is and the level metet (turn that on via settings) is peaking still, click it and then turn it down.

See if that works.

[indiaman555]

its not the audio noise its the video noise (random dot pattern which is superimposed on the picture)!! audio is perfectly amazing!! the video noise in low light is the problem!! i saw some other videos on you tube of same camera in low light and they werent noisy at all! plz help someone thanks :-)

[VSMrocks]

Oh gotcha. Well, try these tips:

Check your white balance. Auto set it when possible

If your exposure is up, it will become more grainy so turn it down.

Try and be in places that have plenty of light. It's not the greatest low-light camera.

If you have to (this the last thing I'd do), use the built in light on the camera to bring some light in.

If your videos still come out noisy, you will need more light in them. Good luck!

[indiaman555]

thanks. but how do you adjust the white balance? thanks for the reply

[VSMrocks]

When in REC mode:

Func.> Down 1> there it is most likely set to AWB or AUTO White Balance. Go all the way to the far right option, and then take your camera and fill the entire shot with something white (such as a white t-shirt or piece of paper) and click on the icon and wait till it finishes blinking. You have now successfully WB'd your camera.

[indiaman555]

thanks dude you rock i did manage to get some noise out of my videos. any other tips for a beginner hd camcorder user? plz let me know but thanks for the wb thing

[VSMrocks]

No problem. I'm a bit of a beginner as well, but be on the look out for some new videos on some tips on shooting i'm planning on posting soon. ;)

[iljorgeruiz]

can you import the HD files to After Effects?

[VSMrocks]

There was an earlier comment made on that. I did a bit more research on it and found that version 3 and later support it.

[WizardofWoz132]

Is this camera Mac compatible?

[VSMrocks]

Of course. All footage was imported via iMovie 08 (i've been having trouble importing in Final Cut) and edited with iMovie.

[t0ny009]

hey does the software that comes with the camera work with windows vista? if it cant how do you think i can export thee videos to submit on youtube because i want to buy one comment back ASAP (:

[VSMrocks]

I'm not sure. The CD's just say "For Windows". My guess is it would, but don't take my word for it. If you want to use this camera, from what I know, it doesn't work with Movie Maker, as the file type isn't compatible. Something like Sony Vegas would work with it I bet.

[t0ny009]

Do you think it would work with Adobe AfterFX?

[VSMrocks]

Yes it should. As long as the software supports AVCHD, you should be good.

[pimpinpenz]

shock collar haha!

[nil1230]

Canon or Sony?what do you think is the Best HD camcorder in the market today.

[VSMrocks]

I've switched from Sony to Canon, and i've tried other Sony Handy-cam HD camera, and they were ok. When I picked up the Canon Vixia series, I felt like I had a professional camera in my hand. The quality of Canon's camera are just phenomenal, and they have a very professional look and feel. Even the video, when shot correctly, looks professional. With the Sony, you just can't get that without going Prosumer.

[an24252]

Canon

[honitsten]

I'm curious about how well this would do on a macro shot. For example: If I wanted to capture gears moving on an elegant wind up watch. You can watch one of my videos to get a clue on what kind of close ups I'm talking about. I am thinking about buying this model.

[RyanBlomquist]

What program do you use to export the video files? Do you edit with FCP or Adobe?

[VSMrocks]

Im running Final Cut Express and using the Quicktime Conversion Export to export it as a 720p video. This was however exported in iMovie 08 using the Quicktime Conversion Export just like i said above. It comes out as a .mov video file and because its encoded to be 720p, it is posted as a HD video.

[VSMrocks]

Battery life is about 90-100 min with the standard battery. If you plan on filming constantly out in the field, i recommend getting a bigger battery.

[FSXMovies]

Should I buy this camera for my bday?

[VSMrocks]

Its a wonderful camera. Its got a good prosumer feel to it, with a consumer price tag. If you can afford this camera, go for it. Its worth it.

[FSXMovies]

Ok thanks