Canon HF100 HD Camera

At this moment I am EXTREMELY excited to be the owner of a Canon HF100 camcorder! Never in a million years would I have ever imagined ending up with such an advanced device! I just so happened to be lucky enough to know a professional photographer who recently purchased the new Canon HF S100 model and no longer had a need for the previous model HF100.

This quest for a new camcorder began when I became frustrated with the focusing performance of my iSight camera and Canon SD750 digital camera. While these cameras performed just fine for the average wide shot, tight shots were constantly plagued with blurry views. This proved to be a great disadvantage for reviewing gadgets and attempting to provide detailed footage at close range. In the midst of tax time, I decided to consider using a portion of my refund to buy a reasonably priced camcorder. With a price ceiling of $300, I was definitely regretful of the previous sale of my old Panasonic GS-300 MiniDV camcorder that had been reliable through many past TRENT SENSE episodes.

I was limited to a small number of camera models and preferred to use flash memory as my recording media. While I had no objection to using MiniDV tapes, the only way to import footage from this media was to use a FireWire cord which was not supported by my MacBook Aluminum. I then figured that flash memory would allow me to connect a video camera via USB or simply place a card into a reader to import video files. For what I needed to do with shooting TRENT SENSE videos, I couldn't afford to be too picky with potential models...but I did want to remain focused on the Canon brand if at all possible.

After some online research, I came across a refurbished Canon FS100 for a little over $200 on Tiger Direct. While the FS100 was a standard definition model, online reviews appeared to be promising from camcorderinfo.com and CNet. The SD card media compatibility was a worthwhile draw for me along with the attractive pricing. The Canon FS100 may not have been an advanced device, but it was suitable for my primary need to provide tight close-up shots of gadgets for video reviews. To make the situation even better, I discovered that a local Sears store had some refurbs available of this same model for $300. For that price I could easily get a new camera alternative, so I was hoping that I could print the Tiger Direct flyer and ask Sears if it could match the value of the online deal. I couldn't buy right then since I had to wait for my tax return, so I eventually found out that all refurbs had been sent away from the Sears store. As much as I had anticipated this particular Canon, my expectations had been immediately dashed and I needed another plan.

Instead of having the comfort of my home and MacBook to do in-depth online research, I found myself doing impromptu comparison shopping with my Nokia E71. Walking into a store, I saw what was in stock, listed the candidates on Nokia Active Notes, and then looked up online reviews from my E71 web browser. I understood that this was unnecessary if I still wanted to get the FS100 from online, but a part of me still preferred the instant gratification of in-person purchases.

Upon walking into a Target, I found that the selection of camcorders was paltry at best. However, there were a couple of models that did stand out:
Sony DCR-SX40 $270 new
4 GB internal memory
Carl Zeiss lens
Record to HD or Memory Stick
touch screen LCD display

JVC GZMS120AUS dual model $300 new
Dual SD card slot
LED light
Laser touch controls
YouTube mode
Blue color

While I did like the build quality, Carl Zeiss lens, and appearance of the Sony, I didn't like being limited to the more expensive proprietary media of those memory sticks. JVC seemed to be an average grade offering, but I wanted to keep looking before making a decision. I then went to a nearby Best Buy and recorded the following data:
Best Buy
Canon FS200 flash memory $329 new

JVC Everio MS130 $350 new
LED light
16GB internal memory
SD card slot
Blue color
Laser touch controls

Canon FS20 $350 new
8GB internal memory

Samsung SMX-F34 $300 new
16GB internal memory

Panasonic S26 flash memory $300 new
sliding lens cover
Optical Image stabilization

Panasonic SDR-H40 $250 new (sale from 350)
40GB HDD
SD card slot
Optical Image Stabilization
sliding lens cover

Best Buy of course had a wider range of available models which included new Canons that succeeded the FS100 that I had been fixated on. I even came across a Panasonic with a built-in 40GB harddrive for a good price AND an SD card slot for an amazing sale price, so I thought this was going to be my final choice. For some reason, the JVC and Samsung models appeared to give an impression of inferiority in comparison to Canon, Sony, and even Panasonic. Even though choosing one of those two brands wasn't likely, I wanted to at least read the reviews for some consideration. At this time, I must say that I was better off alone since the store associate didn't know ANYTHING about the cameras that he couldn't get from simply reading the display cards.

Hit with a number of other models, all I could do was list them accordingly and go to a local cafe with free wi-fi to do online review reading on my MacBook Aluminum. After an hour, I had narrowed down my choices to three: Canon FS200 and Panasonic SDR-H40 from Best Buy, and the Sony DCR-SX40 from Target. The Canon was basically a new version of the FS100 and seemed to be able to meet my needs just as well as my Canon SD750 digital camera. The Panasonic just seemed to be too good of a deal to pass up for the price, and I still remembered how reliable my old Panasonic GS300 had been for me in the past. Despite the proprietary memory, I couldn't ignore the Carl Zeiss lens and touch screen LCD controls of the Sony model. It was then a matter of finding out which brand yielded the most potential in video quality. This was when I began doing more online research in addition to asking the opinion of knowledgeable store associates and my photographer friend. One more aspect that I had to consider was iMovie compatibility, so I did some searching of the Apple Support forums as well. At the end of the day it was deemed that Sony and Canon would offer the best video quality, so I finally felt ready to make my choice once and for all...or at least I thought I was ready.

In the middle of Best Buy, I suddenly was struck with the prospect of going big. I thought to myself, why not make an investment in a model that appeared to have more features even if it was a bit more than my price limit? This was when I discovered the Panasonic H80 60GB model for $400. Despite not having read any reviews, it just seemed to have this new-car gloss that was more alluring than the average looking Canon and Sony in my price range. I figured that I could still put my faith in the Panasonic brand and have the benefit of huge harddrive storage. I was about to call over a sales associate just when I suddenly received a new text message.

That message was from my photographer friend informing me that he was selling his camcorder since he had recently purchased a new Canon HF S100 HD model. When he told me the name of his old camera and the price at how much he was willing to sell it to me, I was SHOCKED and stood frozen in the middle of Best Buy! Instead of settling for a standard definition camera, I was offered a chance to invest in my first Canon HD camera!! Upon reading reviews from Amazon.com, CNet, and camcoredrinfo.com, I was definitely on board with buying this camera from my best friend!! Another great benefit was that I could trust the condition of this preowned gadget!! The next day, I was pleased and ecstatic to become the owner of a Canon HD camera that had been priced at 800 to 900 dollars brand new!! To make things even better, I also did some comparison shopping and got reasonably priced tripods and a storage bag.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
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