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Canon VIXIA HF S20 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder - 2010 MODEL |  | Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
Buy New: Too low to display
as of 9/8/2010 21:24 PDT details
New (15) Used (6) Refurbished (1) from $775.99
Seller: Electronics Expo
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 272
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Optical Zoom: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 2.9 x 3 x 5.5
MPN: HF S20
Model: HF S20
UPC: 013803121254
EAN: 0013803121254
ASIN: B00322OP3Q
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Records up to 12 hours of crisp high definition video to a 32GB internal flash drive or directly to two removable SD memory cards | | • | Genuine Canon 10x HD Video Lens | | • | Canon 1/2.6" 8.59-Megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor captures video at 1920 x 1080 resolution | | • | Canon DIGIC DV III Image Processor | | • | Dynamic SuperRange OIS corrects a full range of motion |
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Product Description
Canon's VIXIA HF S20 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder, with a 32GB internal flash drive and two SD memory card slots, offers Canon's most sophisticated feature set to date - blurring the line between consumer and professional. Canon's superlative proprietary imaging technologies help deliver video and 8.0 megapixel photos with incredible detail and lifelike color. Touch & Track allows you to achieve sharp focus and precise exposure for any subject, simply by touching the generous 3.5" High Resolution (922,000 dot) Touch Panel LCD. Native 24p Mode perfectly matches the frame rate of film. And 5.1-Channel Surround Sound* ensures your audio complements the stunning realism of your video.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
Canon HF S20 is generally excellent!! August 25, 2010
Duncan Rae
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I owned a Canon HF S100 prior to this camera and only bought this upgrade due to being able to sell my HFS100 for a good price.
First, the positives:
Powered IS: This little button is incredible. It makes getting still images at high zoom possible. It has to be tested to be believed. I was blown away. I hadn't seen this feature marketed very highly in other reviews I had read, but it really is good.
The Screen: Wow! Compared to the previous generation this screen is incredible. It is MASSIVE and looks amazing! Very well done Canon! The only gripe is that because it is a touch screen it gets covered in fingerprints, but the touch UI is also fantastic.
Video Quality: Excellent! I only ever use MXP 24mbit recording since you can always render at a lower res, but you can never get those pixels back if you didn't record them! The quality of the video at this setting is awesome!
The negatives:
Battery: Seriously, they might as well not even include a battery with the camera. If it makes it through 20 minutes I'd be surprised. I purchased a high capacity battery for my previous model as it had the same battery life issues (although this camera is worse now that it has that great screen and powered IS) so this extended battery gives my about 2 hours of life, which is far more acceptable (but it did cost an additional $90)
USB: My previous model was the HFS100, so I only used memory cards and would put them in a card reader to get the video into my PC. The HFS20 has 32Gb built in storage, but niether my PC nor my laptop seem to recognise the camera as a USB device, despite playing around with the settings. I am running Windows 7 on both, and neither work. In order to get video off the camera I have to put an SD Card in the slot and move the video from internal storage to the card. What a pain! I have set the camera to record only to card now to save this step, and will use the internal storage only if I need it, so it is kind of a waste. I haven't looked much online yet to see if this is a common problem or not, but it's a real pain!
Overall though, I would highly recommend this camera. Save money and get the HFS200 without the internal storage though since it's kind of useless if it isn't accessable.
 Very nice camcorder August 24, 2010
Ryan H.
I bought this to replace my Canon HV20 (HDV) camcorder. I was getting tired of tape-based technology & finally decided to make the plunge into tapeless.
I am very pleased with my new HF S20. Image quality is spectacular - noticably better in HD on my widescreen TV than the HV20. The image does get noisy/grainy in low-light shots, but this is characteristic of most cams at this level. There are several image stabilization modes to choose from. These seem to work very well.
I really like the touch screen menu-based interface. I find this a LOT more intuitive and easy to use over a button/scroll menu type interface. The best touch screen feature is the track focus/auto face detect mode. The screen shows a square around the face/object it is currently holding focus on. If you want something else to be focused, just touch the screen on the object - focus & tracking will shift to that. Very intuitive/easy to use!
I find the cam a lot easier to hold than my old one, since there is no "tape bulge" in the housing.
The USB and HDMI out ports are in an awkward place (under the hand strap), and the flip-up port cover seems rather flimsy (it would've been better if it was a slide-open door like the ones for the other interfaces). I fear I will break it one of these days.
Battery life seems rather short with the supplied battery (maybe only an hour or less at best). Make sure you pick up a high-capacity battery if you tend to do long shoots. And if you do, I recommend you also get the separate charger so you can charge one battery while using the other. (you can charge the battery using the AC cable in the camcorder, but the battery will NOT charge if the camcorder is in use while plugged in - big design flaw IMO)
While tapeless technology is very convenient, there is one big drawback -- storing and archiving your videos. You will eventually have to delete the videos stored on the camcorder in order to make room for new videos. This means storing it on a hard drive or other media as your master copy. This procedure is not as convenient as just taking out a tape and popping in a new one.
Overall I am very pleased with the HF S20. Definitely a keeper!
PROS:
- great image/video quality
- built-in video light/flash (automatically pops up when needed)
- easy to use touch screen interface
- good image stabilization modes
- tapeless. The camcorder is ready to use almost immediately - no tape spool-up or mechanism delay
CONS:
- awkward USB and HDMI port locations (I use these most often)
- rather short battery life with the supplied pack
- camera does not charge the battery while plugged in AND you are using it. Gotta turn it off to charge
Love the Camera - I finally got the files August 18, 2010
onebighappy
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I loved this camcorder, although it's a bit over-engineered from a menu/settings perspective. Fabulous video. Clear sound. I even purchased the 5.1 dolby microphone.
Thanks to those that responded to my eariler review I figured out how to get the files off of the camera. However,the other critiques stand.
Second, the battery drains very quickly. Best case is 60 minutes of life. I have a 32Gb memory that can hold 4 hours of video...but have the recharge the battery 4 times to fill it. And to charge it there isn't a provided plug in charger, so you have to connect the camera to the outlet with the provided AC cord.
Third, the dolby 5.1 microphone is not plug and play. They provide a memory card with a firmware update on it. The problem is that you need to find the firmware menu using the not sensitive enough touch screen. After 30 minutes of looking and manual references I gave up. I did find the menu later when I was failing to connect the camcorder to the iMac but I don't think I could find it again.
Great pictue...hardly plug and play...needs a better battery.
 MAC users please read! August 6, 2010
krbtv (Fort Worth, TX)
7 out of 16 found this review helpful
If you are a MAC user then you need to buy the Canon HFS 200, not the HFS 20 (note: 200, not 20). The HFS 20 has 32 gb of internal storage that will NOT WORK on the MAC. In order for the internal storage to work, the user must install Canon's software. The software will only work on the PC, not the MAC. Connecting the camera to the computer will not work as the computer will not read the camcorder as another external/disk drive. You can only read the camcorder's 32 gb of internal memory by installing the "Window's" software (the software is not Mac OS compatible). The same goes for the HFS 21 which has 64 gb of internal memory that will only work on a Windows operating system.
The only differene between the three camcorders is as follows:
HFS 21 has 64 gb of internal storage plus a small eye view finder
HFS 20 has 32 gb of internal storage
HFS 200 has 0 gb of internal storage
Other than the above, the camcorders are all the same. I received my HFS 20 yet have to return it because it will not work so I ordered the HFS 200. Once the camcorder arrivies I will give a review on how well the camcorder works. Sorry about giving the negative review on this device but I do not want others paying extra money for something that will not work.
I originally wanted the Sony HDR-CX550 but its internal memory also does not work on the pc so I decided on the Canon not realizing I was running into the same issue. The bottom line is that you are paying more money for a camcorder because of the preinstalled flash memorty that you cannot use.
 Note to Non-Techies: editing video may be more than you bargained for August 4, 2010
Still looking... (MI, USA)
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am writing this review under the vixia 20 because vixia 10 (which I purchased from Amazon a few months ago) is no longer available.
Canon video cams take great quality video, but non-tech users like myself, who don't love solving technical puzzles, should know that when it comes to hd video, software development lags FAR behind hardware development. Unfortunately, so far behind that the hardware model becomes obsolete before adequate software is even widely available.
In other words, Canon may take great video, but plan to become a semi-pro in video editing if you want to edit and burn dvds of the video.
the vixia hf 10 came out in 2008; I purchased it in 2010 but am still having a hard time finding decent video editing software to deal w/ canon's m2ts files. According to CNET editors, converting m2ts can be a challenge (and of course, the whole high-def bit is lost in the process, thus defeating the entire purpose of owning a camera that takes high-def video).
For those who want good quality home videos and are neither techies nor want to be forced to become pro-videographers, I do NOT recommend this camera, or any other hd video camera.
If you do purchase Vixia 20, and your current home computer is more than 2 yrs old, be prepared to replace (or add) a new computer to the cost of your camera--a computer that is largely devoted to the resource-hungry software that is required to work w/ hi def files. If you want to burn dvds of hd video, you will also need to purchase a blu ray disc burner.
either that or try your luck at converting the hi def files to a lesser format that can be used w/ regular dvds. I wish I had known this before I purchased the vixia hf 10.
great camera--lousy software options, and most will require hardware purchases (that cost more than the camera!) to use.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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