Canon VIXIA HF R20 Full HD Camcorder (black)

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 2 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 8 stars

  I might be biased but I really like it!

  by Steven1x10 on April 19, 2012

  Pros: Image quality is great,
  Video is clear and crisp while low-light video is still viewable,
  Audio quality is also good,
  There are a lot of features (such as anti-shake and focus targeting),
  Easy to use, light weight video camera.

  Cons: Weak battery life (only about 2-3 hours),
  Just build-in 8GB memory.

  Summary: Alright, full disclosure: while I've had all sorts of still cameras and do own a Flip Camera, I've never had a "real" camcorder. Weird but true. So, in ...

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  Summary: Alright, full disclosure: while I've had all sorts of still cameras and do own a Flip Camera, I've never had a "real" camcorder. Weird but true. So, in some ways, this review's going to be biased because I'm just getting a kick out of the fact that I've finally gotten a camcorder and it's not the size of a lunchbox!
  
  The camera itself is really small. Granted, for me that's news, for some of you, that's probably what you're used to. Even so, it's got the same footprint (with the screen closed into the camera body) as an iPhone. The screen itself is smaller than an iPhone but still usable. It uses touch to get things done (menus, options) but since the screen is so small (and I'm so big), it's challenging to navigate the various menus and select options. Once you're used to it, it works but if you're used to the responsiveness of an iPhone or Droid phone, it'll take a sec...sort of jarring in a way but you can't expect everything to be like those phones.
  
  The image quality is great. I'm probably not the best judge of these things (i.e. I'm not going in there and measuring pixels or whatever) but well-lit video is clear and crisp while low-light video is still viewable (in default mode). You can pick from five different recording modes to try to squeeze out the best quality or the most recording time out of the built-in.
  
  You can toss in two SD cards (SD, SDHC, SDXC with upwards of 64GB) giving you a lot of space to work with. Even so, at mid-range quality, you're looking at about 1.5-2H of video. I didn't really get into the modes for choosing media but there was something I read about it being able to record to the built-in memory and use any SD cards as a sort of back-up. Instead I went through the slightly tedious task of going into the menu system and switching media to get the most out of the 8GB built-in and my one 4GB HCSD card I had lying around.
  
  It works but it might have been nicer if the camera could actually treat all three as a sort of single virtual disk. I understand there are challenges (like if you pull one of the disks out) but if they were tagged you could stitch them together when you transferred them to a PC. Still, nice to have the option to expand and extend your recording time when travelling or out in the field. You could just keep a handful of SD cards handy and just keep swapping them out. And a stack of those tiny cards could fit in your pocket a lot easier than larger old-style camcorder tapes.
  
  There are a lot of features like anti-shake and focus targeting (so an element, even a moving element, will be in focus all the time...as best as it can do at least) but the best part is that you can just power that sucker up, push a button on the back (where your thumb would be) and bam! You're recording. No hidden button or anything.
  
  The one thing I didn't like too much was the battery life. Seems it only really lasts about 2-3 hours. That'd be fine if you were at home but if you're travelling, I'd want to be able to carry a separate battery at this rate. There's no battery charger included (just a power adapter for the camera itself). So, you'd have to find a battery charger and spare battery that you can swap out as needed to untether you from the power grid. Not a deal breaker but just a bit lacking.
  
  The software setup was challenging. You get three disks. One has the main manual (the printed manual in the box is a quick-start manual in a number of languages) and some software which I could care less about (some sort of music app so you can sync music to your video?). The other two are where the challenge was. One's labeled "VideoBrowser" while the other is labeled "Transfer Utility". Both are from a company called Pixela Corp. I made the mistake of trying to install the Transfer Utility first. Once I tried to install the VideoBrowser app, I was told the install couldn't continue because the Transfer Utility was already installed or something stupid.
  
  Huh? I ended up uninstalling the Transfer Utility, running the VideoBrowser install and getting the Transfer Utility installed anyway. Weird. Plus the software is weirdly unprofessional in terms of the English translation. There were weird choices in terms of grammar and terminology. Not something you'd expect from Canon the billion dollar company but something you'd expect from Canon the Japanese company. You'd think they could just hire someone who actually knows English well enough to localize it. Just weird.
  
  All in all, I really like this camera. I can't give it a 5-star rating mostly because with just 8GB of memory out of the box and--in my opinion--relatively weak battery life, it's sort of ridiculous. I mean, you can use it and buy SD cards and a spare battery and be fine but let's say you had a birthday party you wanted to record. Between the battery and the memory limitations, you'd better hope the part is only an hour and a half long. Between 32GB SD cards being about $50 each and a charger and a spare battery pack setting you back $140, it's just not as "perfect" as it could be.
  
  That being said, it's a feature-rich camera that relies on relatively inexpensive media and can deliver on all sorts of fronts for personal use. It does the job well enough and only has a couple of hold-backs that are definitely surmountable. I can only compare it against a Flip and a Panasonic film-quality camera that belongs to a friend and they both don't compare for different reasons (Flip = cheap/limited but costs you $100; Panasonic is the DVX-100 which is a ridiculously good camera that generates film-quality video but will set you back $2500). Unless you just don't like Canon (I've got a great still camera from them though I'm not a fan so no bias there!), and if you're will buy this canon camcorder, I suggest you have to compare prices before you decide at: Before-buy.info/Canon-VIXIA-HFR20
  
  you can't really go wrong here.

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  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Small, Light and Easy to Use

  by Miguel-Mcdonald on September 2, 2011

  Pros: Composite and hdmi (mini-hdmi to hdmi) cables are included
  Image stabilizer works great overall
  Lens provides a very clear image
  Low light performance is only okay
  Small enough to it in a large pocket and light enough to pack in a backpack

  Cons: File format that every video is saved in .mts

  Summary: Small, Light and Easy to Use
  ==Summary==
  The Canon Vixia HF R20 offers many of the features found in a larger, more expensive camcorder, but is small and light enough ...

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  Summary: Small, Light and Easy to Use
  ==Summary==
  The Canon Vixia HF R20 offers many of the features found in a larger, more expensive camcorder, but is small and light enough not to be a burden. While the higher-end Vixia models provide some serious upgrades for the enthusiast for a significant price, the casual point-and-shoot crowd will find plenty to love about the Vixia HF R20 and only one thing to hate. The R20 shoots clear, vivid video with only minor weakness in low light, image stabilization and motion. The .mts file format will be alien to most users and may require time-consuming file conversion on additional (not the included) software to retain full HD quality for viewing on common devices.
  
  
  ==Construction==
  Weighing only 9.5 oz. and measuring 2.4" x 2.4" x 4.8", the Canon Vixia is just small enough to it in a large pocket and light enough to pack in a backpack without weighing you down. The overall construction feels a little cheap simply due to the light weight and this will also make it harder to shoot steady video. The lens is noticeably smaller than those found on the more expensive Vixia models, but still vastly superior to the majority of cheap point and shoot video cameras that have been flooding the market.
  
  The touchscreen measures 3", which should be big enough for most, but I'd have liked at least 3.5" and capacitive instead of pressure-sensitive response. Aesthetically the R20 is quite attractive and comfortable to grip. The buttons, ports and slots are all laid out efficiently and ergonomomically. Hdmi, composite and audio ports and two slots for SD/SDHX/SDXC cards round out the package.
  
  
  ==Video Quality==
  The Canon Vixia HF R20 provides an Auto shoot mode as well as scene modes for more specific environments. In auto mode it only takes a few frames for the camcorder to adjust from shooting indoors to outdoors. The image stabilizer (dynamic/standard(default)/off) works great overall, except for close-ups. The lens provides a very clear image with only minor distortion and provides a 20x optical zoom (28x advanced zoom). Low light performance is only okay.
  
  Frames rates of 24p, 30p and 60i are available. Five bit rate qualities are available, the two highest shoot in 1920x1080 resolution while the 3 lower ones shoot in 1440 x 1080. The following bitrates can be selected: MXP-24Mbps, FXP-17Mbps, XP-12Mbps, SP-7Mbps, LP-5Mbps. The default shooting mode is SP with 60i frame rate. You can shoot 2hr 20min in deault SP, 1hr in FXP or 40 min in MXP using the internal 8GB. Keepn in mind that higher quality bitrates may not save onto lower speed SD cards. Maximum shooting time is 12 hours. Pictures are saved at either 2 (1920x1080) or 2.4 megapixels depending on aspect ratio.
  
  
  ==Ease Of Use==
  Most owners should be able to dive right into using their R20 for shooting home videos. The buttons are (for the most part) clearly labeled as to their function(s) and logically laid out so you can find things intuitively. Both composite and hdmi (mini-hdmi to hdmi) cables are included as well as 8GB of internal memory. The only times I had to look at the manual were to figure out the Vid Snap button (sets camcorder to shoot for 2/4/8 sec at a time) and look up how to get at some of the more advanced settings (touch "Func" on the touchscreen when NOT in Auto mode). A minor complaint is the inability to shoot stil pictures WHILE you're filming video.
  
  The major complaint I have for the R20 is the file format that every video is saved in: .mts. It took me a while to find adequate software to convert the .mts files into .avi and even longer to convert a few short videos (on my last generation computer). I suspect most people don't have software on their computers already that will convert or even play MTS video files. I've been a long time user of Pixela software for my photos, but video software is a joke (the video browser disc required me to uninstall what i had installed only minutes before from the image transfer disc). The included video converter will not convert the MTS files without reducing the resolution significantly! Thankfully the pictures save as .jpg files. I ended up removing the included software from my computer and simply drag and drop the files from the Canon onto my desktop.
  
  *** P.S. If you will buy this digital camcorder I suggest you have compare prices before you decide at: www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004HW7E92?ie=UTF8&ref_=dp_olp_new&qid=1315012654&sr=1-2&condition=new#?ie=UTF8&tag=***************&********=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
  
  Updated on Oct 15, 2011

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  I suggest you have to compare prices before you decide at: HF-R20.like.to

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