1. Compact Powerhouse
Canon's HF S11 looks to be one of the top compact HD camcorders in the market today. Is 24 Mbps AVCHD and 64 GB of storage enough for the crown?
Which wide-angle?
Since the HF S11’s focal length is limited to 43 mm as a 24 x 36 equivalent, Canon offers a converter for widening the field of view, the WD-H58 Wide Converter, which reduces the focal length by a factor of 0.7 to produce a more wide-angle view.
It costs around $300. That’s a tad expensive, you’re thinking. True. But if you look around a little on the web, you’ll see that the WD-58H (note the different H position), designed for the Canon XM1 and XM2, also fits the HF S10 and HF S11. But at only $165 plus the inclusion of a lens hood, it's worth thinking about.
The Canon HF S11 has double the storage capacity – 64 GB – of its older brother, the S10. The new camcorder also has an improved optical image stabilizer, the performance of which is very impressive.
First Impression, Design
Upon opening the box, there’s nary a noticeable difference between the S10 and S11. You’re essentially dealing with an S10 clone with some modifications. The shape, color, and even the buttons are identical to the millimeter. But there’s nothing wrong with that – the HF S10 was a handsome camera. The HF S11 has the same mode selection dial at the rear. It lets you choose between movie or photo mode, or else Dual Shot mode (in which you have the possibility of shooting both photos and video).
The sometimes unintuitive menu is still just as exhaustive, complete with joystick-button for navigating through the different headings, and the Custom dial – which gives you manual adjustment of focus, exposure, AGC limit, or microphone level – is in exactly the same location under the lens. It’s a shame that a lens manufacturer like Canon hasn’t included a manual-focus ring. About the only camcorder that still has one is the Panasonic HDC-HS300.
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The Custom dial (left) gives you manual control over a range of features that you can choose from in the menu (right)
To see what you’re shooting, there’s no viewfinder – only a 2.7-inch, 210,000 pixel LCD display. The body has a very classy black-lacquer finish, and there’s an accessory shoe for attaching an external microphone or a video light.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Format | AVCHD (Mpeg-4) |
| Sensor | CMOS 1/2.6" |
| Zoom | 10x optical |
| Focal length in 24x36 | 43.5-435 mm |
| Image Stabilization | Optical |
| Dimensions/Weight | 2.76” x 2.72” x 5.35”/0.99 pounds |
You turn the camcorder on by pressing the Power button, which automatically opens the lens shutter, which covers a 10x optical zoom that starts at a focal length of 43mm – a bit narrow. We would have hoped for a slightly wider angle, even if the Sony HDR-CX520 does no better.
Image Quality
Canon has now caught up with Sony in terms of image stabilizers. Sony had pulled off a masterpiece last Spring by providing an “active” image stabilizer with their HDR-XR500, and more recently with the CX520, which cancels out movement to the point of letting you shoot while walking.
But the HF S11 has made up the differencewith its SuperRange in Dynamic mode, also capable of vertically stabilizing the movements of a person walking. When stacked against the Sony, the HF S11 excels. A stabilizer that absorbs movement to the point where you get the impression that the camera is on an air cushion is a rarity. To give you an idea of what it can do, there’s a video that compares the S11 against the CX520.
The Dynamic mode earns the HF S11 the title of best-stabilized camcorder on the market. Add to that the precision of the images, encoded in high definition at a bit rate of 24 Mbps in AVCHD, which results in a sharper image than the Sony CX520. Colors are also very accurate. Really the HF S11’s only weakness is too much digital noise, which shows up as soon as light dims. On this point, Sony still has the advantage with its Exmor CMOS sensor.
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The HF S11 shoots in AVCHD at 24 Mbps (the best bit rate possible). Its design is simple and accessible.
Movie buffs will appreciate being able to shoot in 24p Cinema Mode to give their video a “movie” feel, as well as the microphone input and the volume indicator, visible on the LCD display. On the other hand, the AVCHD format is still laborious to edit, even with an up-to-date computer.
The 64 GB built-in memory can hold 7 hours of video in the best HD quality (MXP mode) and up to 24 hours at the lowest bit rate (1440x1080 at 5 Mbps). That’s not at all bad for a start. The camcorder also has an SD/SDHC card reader for recording video or photos in 8-megapixel quality, and an automatic flash.
The supplied battery powers the camera for less than one hour (45 minutes), but recharges in only 20 minutes, which is rare for a camcorder.
| Canon HF S11 | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
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The HF S11 boasts remarkable stability with excellent image quality. It would be the perfect camcorder if there weren’t so much noise in low light.
um...that's it? that's the whole article?
45 minutes? Really? What the hell is the point of a small camera with 64 gigs of storage, interally, if I have to carry a camera bag with 4 extra batteries in it? Just silly.
external power supply...if it bothers you so much.
the picture behind the flower which captured in this canon looked blurry, like deep of field.. , how canon do that?
how to make this scene,any body can tell me..
thanks
Depth of field.
Back in the day when people used manual SLR cameras, everyone knew this trick...it's called minimizing depth of field. Open up the aperture to maximum and set the shutter speed to minimum. with that done, only objects at a precise distance from the lense will be in focus. everything either closer or further will be blurry.
How to do this on an automatic digital camera? NOt for sure but my guess is to set the camera for fast action shots. fast action shots require very fast shutter speeds to prevent blurred motion. Very fast shutter speeds will necessitate a wide aperture to allow more light in to compensate for the reduced light available due to the fast shutter speed.
Also, you might have to turn the flash off.