Pro settings

The HF S10 has several settings inherited from professional video cameras. Situated close to the lens, the Custom button allows you to switch to manual control of settings that you assign it in the menu. Using the scroll, you can adjust exposure, the level of the microphone, the diaphram or the focus (there is no ring on the lens). An audio levels indicator is also displayed on-screen. This allows you to check, for example, if the external microphone that you have plugged in is switched on and see if the sound is saturating. You can also insert a pattern of bars of colours with an audio tone, generally used at the beginning of a shoot to calibrate the image and sound on your television when watching the rushes.

The HF S10 can be seen as Canon's prestige HD model. It has a 1 / 2.6 inch CMOS sensor and films at a res of 1920x1080 pixels on 32 GB of flash memory in AVCHD format. It is also the most expensive general consumer HD camcorder on the market (1549 euros). Does this make it the best?

Handling

As soon as you pick it up you know you’ve got hold of a high end machine. Canon has done well with the finish, combining shiny black plastic with magnesium. The lens opens using an automatic cover. The casing is nice to the touch and its overall look impressive indeed. You turn it on with the Power button and it turns itself off automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity.

As with many camcorders, the LCD screen is central to its operation. And the screen is good: 7 cm, 211,000 pixels and bright enough to allow you to film in full sunlight. So much the better as there is no viewfinder. The screen also gives you access to the camcorder’s functions: menu, video playback etc. It serves as the camcorder’s dashboard, displaying information such as battery autonomy, length of recording time remaining and even the audio levels of the microphone, like on pro models. Obviously if the screen stops working, you won’t be able to use the machine.

The battery it comes with works for ¾ of an hour and recharges in only 20 minutes (useful if you’re filming a wedding and have only one battery). The 32 GB internal memory gives 3 hours and 30 minutes of optimal quality video and 12 hours 15 of low quality (1440x1080 pixels at 5 Mbps). We should also mention that the HF S10 supports an SD/SDHC card to increase storage capacity.

Image quality

Image quality is excellent. Remember that this camcorder films in AVCHD encoded as Mpeg-4 (a highly compressed format). Canon has therefore thrown everything in to offer the best possible quality, working on the basis of 24 Mbps encoding, the top speed for AVCHD format. Results: faithful colours, nice sharpness. The white balance and automatic focus work in an instant.

In low lighting slight noise does appear when it’s too dark but the subject remains visible. Canon has included an LED torch that pops out to add brightness to your images. If we’re honest though, we have to say that it is so weak that all it does is use up the battery for little return in terms of illuminating your subject. It’s better to try and work with the exposure using the Custom scroll (see inset).

How does the HF S10 do when focussing and shooting? The optical image stabilizer works very well. With zoom at max, it litterally fixes the subject being filmed and a stable wrist will even make is look as if the camera is strappeed to a Steadycam. However, the stabilizer absorbs movement less well than its direct competitor, the Sony HDR-XR500, expecially if you film when walking.

The field of vision is a little too narrow, a 43 mm zoom in 24x36, which is a real shame for a model this expensive, especially as the 10x optical zoom is not particularly powerful.

Menus and settings

The HF S10 has a myriad of settings shared over three menus. The first menu, accessed using the Func button on the screen allows you to adjust video speed, photo definition and exposure presets. Then a sub-menu gives access to all the camera’s settings (around 35 in all) from shutter speed to brightness of the screen or size of lettering. A third menu is activated using the arrow button (you’ll need to work out where it is!) to turn on the torch, activate face detection or exposure. To sum up then, the HF S10 is an unnecessarily complex machine that is likely to confuse and even annoy the novice.

There are even some rather unusual functions. Take the Video Snapshot mode for example, that limits video recording to 4 second clips. Why? Canon’s answer: To encourage people to film for shorter periods. They’re trying to teach us how to produce better films with shorter sequences then! I must say, I’m rather sceptical about the use of this mode that is likely to cut you off at the wrong moment.

More useful is the pre-record function that starts to record 3 seconds before you start shooting. Let me explain: a 3 second buffer continually records and empties itself. The aim is to make sure you don’t miss anything vital. For example if your child blows out the candles before you’ve had time to press the red button, the action will still be filmed. This isn’t a new function (a year old already) but can be useful.

Another mode that’s already been developped on many other models is the DualShot that allows you to photograph while filming. You can, for example, record facial expressions that you film (in video res however). In photo mode you can shoot at 8 Megapixels but the results are nowhere near as good as with an equivalently priced camera. It also comes with a progressive 25 p mode that gives a matte texture to your video with a slightly staccato effect in moving sequences. This gives a cinema film touch to video.

Last but not least, connectivity. You’ll find analogue audio/video outs and classic TV sockets, an HDMI out for a flatscreen HD TV (cable not supplied), a headphones out and above all a mini-jack socket for plugging in an external microphone. The USB socket will allow you to copy your HD clips onto computer. Here, the camcorder must be plugged into the mains before you connect it (probably a security feature to avoid damaging it during transfer).