Canon VIXIA HF M500 Full HD 10x Image Stabilized Camcorder with One SDXC Card Slot and 3.0 Touch LCD
- Genuine Canon HD Video Lens with 10x Advanced Zoom and SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization
- Newly Designed Canon HD CMOS Pro Image Sensor is a professional-level 1/3-inch native 1920×1080 image sensor
- 3.0-inch Flat Touch Panel LCD with a new GUI (graphical user interface) for easy touch control
- AVCHD recording for the highest quality viewing on an HDTV or archiving, or in MP4 format for easy sharing with mobile devices or cloud applications
- Smart AUTO with 38 predefined video capture situations including Auto Tele Macro for close-ups and shallow depth-of-field shots
Canon VIXIA HF M500 Flash Memory Camcorder 6096B001
SanDisk Extreme 32GB 45MB/s SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDX-032G-X46,BlackGet the perfect balance of speed and reliability for high definition video and faster shot-to-shot performance with SanDisk Extrem…
Transcend 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card (TS32GSDHC10E)This Transcend 32GB Class 10 SDHC Memory Card is for you to expand the memory capacity for your compatible device like digital cam…
Perfect for my needs!,
I received the Vixia HF M500 camcorder yesterday and am so far very happy with my purchase. I’ll try to keep this review relatively short.
Overall the camera is very simple to use. The menu navigation is rather intuitive. You can hit the home button on the inside panel to bring up selections for a number of important settings. General camera settings and functions are all accessed from here. On the touchscreen, depending on how the camera is set up, you will see other options available. For instance, choosing the “cinema mode” brings up filter selections on the main screen which you simply scroll through to select. Very easy to use!
The included software isn’t much, Pixela Transfer Utility. I can’t complain, it gets the job of transferring files from the camera to the PC done. For reference I’m using Windows 7 and had no problems with installing the software or getting files to load.
Pros:
Video Quality – Excellent for a camera in the sub $600 price range. The colors overall were all very accurate with very good hue and saturation. I filmed a Sandhill Crane in automatic mode and then manually set the white balance using a photo grey card and the compared results were very similar. Many people probably wouldn’t even notice the subtle changes. The sharpness and detail of the video is outstanding. Not once under proper lighting conditions did the video appear grainy or lacking in any way. I did notice a bit of degredation in very poor lighting, which is found below as the one con for this model.
Very small and incredibly light weight. The camcorder fits very comfortably in my hand. The controls are easily available for one handed operation.
Battery life is pretty good and better than I expected at a full 120 minutes. I’ll end up getting a spare just to have but to start it’s nice to know you’ll have 2 hours worth of recording time.
10x optical zoom. There’s no degredation of the video at full zoom, unlike digital.
Optical Image Stabilization. Like the optical zoom, this is the best option available. It doesn’t degrade the picture and produces a very steady shot.
Cinema filters…Ok, so I really didn’t think I would like them but it turns out that I do. To my surprise I actually can see myself using a couple of them from time to time. If nothing else, they provide some artistic options without having to edit them in to the video in your software program of choice.
Audio quality. You’re essentially getting cd quality audio from the internal microphone.
Available hot shoe. In the event you’d like to add a light or external microphone (5.1 surround mics are available) you simply attach the accessory to the hot shoe and you’re ready to go. I know in the future I will be adding these capabilities. This is one of the features that made me choose this model.
Cons – A little lacking in the low light area but nothing that is a deal breaker. I’ve seen far worse and was generally impressed. It isn’t pro quality but if that’s what you’re looking for, $550 isn’t the price range you should be looking in.
Conclusion:
From my couple hours of experimenting and using this camera I can without hesitation say that the quality is exactly what I want and need for my own personal use. There are plenty of options for video quality and general aesthetics right in the camera that make it everything I need. If you’re looking for a “step up” model with some bells and whistles and excellent overall video quality then take a serious look at the HF M500. I am extremely happy with the purchase.
EDIT: 03/31 – I detailed the video quality and battery life as I have yet to be able to load a short sample clip.
EDIT: 04/01 – I finally got some test footage up and available in 1080p on YouTube. I hope you’ll find yourself as happy as I am with the quality of the video this little beauty produces. I am completely satisfied in every way with every aspect of this HD camcorder. Search YouTube for the model number and it should pop up (mine is the “jaysdroid” video), if not here’s the address:
[…]
Was this review helpful to you?
|Great cam,
Just got the camera today so I thought I’d jot down some initial impressions.
The build quality is good, classy black with chrome. I bought an extra battery and noticed it wiggled slightly but no big deal. The cam is definitely light. The touch screen has a nice sensitivity to it. Had to turn up the brightness to get it to work okay under bright light.
The menu system will take a little time to get used to. It’s not the sort of system you can can just goof around with all the options and figure it out. If you know what functions your looking for you’ll have to spend a little time in the manual figuring it out.
Naturally, everyone would be wondering about the image quality. The video quality is very good. I took a little video of a friend of mine doing yard work in fairly strong daylight. I noticed that the lens is quite sharp, rendering lots of detail. Color is good. Image is perhaps just a tad overexposed but I was throwing it into a tough situation with the harsh daylight right out of the box. Zoom is smooth.
The microphone worked well, even with a little bit of wind. Not overly sensitive, but it can pick up some low volume details in the scene.
Bottom line, for the price you’ll be happy with this camera. If you want to take some high quality HD without paying an arm and a leg for $1,000 plus professional camcorder, then this is the camcorder for you.
FOLLOW UP (2 MONTHS LATER)
Okay, now I’ve had lots of experience with this cam. Submitted some footage to the local access television station. So here’s the scoop. The image quality, in low light, is superb for a camera of this price. Image quality is very good under normal lighting conditions. The cam tends to overexpose a little, however most people wouldn’t notice it. However, if you want to “dial in” a “semi-pro” look, then definitely get acquainted with the exposure compensation. Definitely compensating one or two stops (darker) will make your image look really, really good, coming close to a pro look.
The built in mic is superb. I took some footage of a music performance at the local high school and I was shocked at how good the sound was. I’ve been using an external shotgun mic for a few events and the cam handles that beautifully, just set the volume level to 50 out of 100 and I’m getting pro sound. Only minor annoyance is the external microphone volume is conveniently placed under the easily accessible “function” menu but the volume for external headphones is buried under another menu. Luckily the headphone level is “set and forget” because I always use the same headphones.
The build quality is good but not top notch. But realistically most people aren’t going to use this cam forty hours per week on the job. I’m using it about 10 hours a month videoing various programs for the local access station and I don’t have any qualms about the cam standing up to that level of use.
This cam is a serious amateur to semi pro rig for short dollars. If you know how to dial in exposure compensation you can really make the image shine. I was videoing an event beside a pro with a $3,000 camera and quite seriously, the images I was capturing, in my opinion, were very close in quality to the pro’s cam.
No camera is perfect, but your getting 90-95 percent the quality of a serious semi pro rig for about 1/4 to 1/6th the price.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Worth It,
I upgraded from a Samsung MX-100…I only use a camcorder occasionally to capture candid moments and family events. So far…completely impressed. I originally was going to get the R300 for $350, but once I found out that Canon ships that camera with the smallest of its 3 batteries (BP-709, BP-718, BP-727) and that other users were getting about 20-30 minutes of video recording with the BP-709, I knew I would have to purchase a second battery. The medium size battery (BP-718) was $75 and the large battery (BP-727) was $110.
Factor a second battery into the equation and your price point is no longer $350, but about $450.
Given that the M500 comes with the medium size battery (BP-718), for an extra $100 it was a no brainer to upgrade from the R300 to the M500. I get incredibly awesome low light performance (the video, at least for someone who just wants to capture occasional indoor scenes, is 1000% usable…very low noise and grain and the colors are true); I get a much better lens and sensor; and I get an shoe accessory (mini).
Also, with respect to the maximum record time on the battery:
I just fully charged my M500, put it in auto mode, set it on the counter and zoomed to the widest setting, then pushed record.
Initially, the M500 display stated I had 1 hour 24 min of battery.
Result, I recorded a full 2 hour and 6 min video clip at full AVCHD MXP quality and the battery displayed 4 min left.
Please note: the zoom never changed, the camera never had to refocus…it was simply stationary on a counter. I would assume constant zooming (and the new IS system having to work) and focusing would decrease the battery life…probably why initially the display stated 1 hour and 24 minutes because it included those factors in its estimated battery life.
Also…you can turn the camera on, push record, then close the LCD screen into the camera (as if you are going to storing it) and the camera keeps recording. The purposes of recording this way are limited, but it is an option, which I would assume would let you record way more than 2 hours and 6 min.
Was this review helpful to you?
|