Product ReviewsDigital cameras
On the face of it, Canon's new AVCHD flagship camcorder (known as the Vixia HF11 outside Europe) isn't that different to the HF10 it effectively replaces, and requires a scan of the specification sheet to see where the major new features lie. Perhaps the most significant advancement over the previous model is that it has been given 32GB of internal memory in addition to a high-capacity SD card slot. While this won't mean a lot to those who need to see what they're getting for their money, it's still something of a milestone simply because it signals a seismic shift away from hard disk in favour of flash memory as the primary internal storage medium. Its 1/3.2in Cmos image sensor offers a maximum resolution of 3.31 megapixels, which translates into 2.07 megapixels for its Full HD video output. A Canon HD Video Lens provides a 12:1 (4.8mm-57.6mm) optical zoom ratio together with Super Optical Image Stabilisation and DigicDV II electronic processing. If that's not enough, the HF11 is also the first consumer HD camcorder to use a data rate of 24Mbits/sec to write and read full-specification 1920 x 1080i or 25p HD clips to the selected storage medium. 24Mbits/sec is the maximum possible within the current AVCHD specification, and the higher value means more data can be written to memory at a faster rate. In essence, many users will rely on its Easy auto mode to create video sequences in a choice of five quality settings. Viewed on a large HD LCD display and using direct HDMI connection, the replayed pictures are stunningly good when viewing carefully shot material. The quality is impressive even shooting at the intermediate settings of FXP (17Mbits/sec) and XP+ (12Mbits/sec). Good video compression depends on movement and detail, of course, but even at lower 7Mbits/sec and 5Mbits/sec,
The HF11 offers other useful features: i.AF (Intelligent autofocus) provides a magnified centre portion of the image to aid focus adjustment and can be a life-saver when setting up focus critically. Another common Canon feature is PF25, the company's own label for 25fps progressive scan mode. This improves the quality of the scan when shown on 1080p or 720p monitors, and produces a more film-like visual quality when combined with the Cine Mode, one of three white balance modes that includes Aperture Priority (Ae) and Shutter Priority (Tv). What's nice about this model is that it has a very well-designed and user-friendly menu system. It provides a lot of 'head-up display' style options - such as current shutter, exposure and input audio level settings - which make life easier for those trying to shoot under manual control. However, these rely on manipulation of the joystick, which in turn creates wobble when recording on a tripod and zoomed-in. Using an on-screen graphical assist system, manual adjustment of exposure, focus, shutter and even mic-input levels becomes easier with practice. Surprisingly, even the HF11's 40x digital zoom is quite usable, too, which is attributable to the difference between standard definition and HD specifications. Digital zoom is achieved by the digital magnification of the existing pixels to give the appearance of an optical zoom taking place. The resolution is so good that a digital magnification up to approximately 50x produces little of the picture noise and less visual artefacts associated with the technique. Ironically the two most noteworthy aspects of this new model aren't obvious to potential purchasers. A high data rate combined with 32GB internal memory represents a major leap of faith for solid-state on Canon's part, and when combined with the SD card slot (for which 32GB SDHC high-capacity cards are available), this provides us with the clearest indication yet that tape and even spinning discs are doomed at this price point. The Canon HF11 is a lovely camcorder that's very easy to use. It would be nice to have more accessible manual control and perhaps even a manual focus ring, but it produces such good high-definition pictures and sounds that we shouldn't really complain. By Colin Barrett
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