I found this interesting, amazing how different reviews can be.

Camcorderinfo
Click to view (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-Vixia-HF20-Camcorder-Review-36314/Conclusion.htm)

"We found the menus to be confusing and the lack of a clearly labeled "Easy" mode to be disorienting for first-time users."

i4u.digitaltrends.com
Click to view (http://i4u.digitaltrends.com/review6473_main32373_page2.html
)

"the menu is drop-dead simple to operate."

i4u.digitaltrends.com also found the low-light to be not so bad.

What to do....what to do.

Mitch

I have the HF20 and find the menu system extremely simplistic. I'm used to overly complex settings and multiple menus in my DSLRs, so the relatively small amount of settings on the HF20 really makes things easy.

I have had the HF200 for a little over a week and so far I really like it. I, along with my wife, find the menu very easy to operate and understand.

The problem with the camcorderinfo review is that they shot the comparison tests in auto mode. They did this to try and level the playing field with the other camcorders reviewed, but since this camcorder offers custom modes that others don't I don't think that it's a fair comparison. After all if you have the option to use a custom mode that will give you better performance in low light, why wouldn't you use it?

And, while it's true that in auto mode the indoor/low light shots are quite grainy, by shooting in 24p & cinemode I have been very happy with the videos taken indoors. From reading up on Canon's cinemode I believe that to help achieve it's desired effect it prevents the camcorder from introducing artificial gain. The artificial gain would explain the noise generated in low light under auto mode.

BTW you can find several test videos on vimeo and youtube if you do a search on their websites for HF20 / HF200 which provide a good example of these camcorders' abilities under the custom modes.

I don't think you can can go wrong buying the HF200 if you are willing to tweak it's settings. This is by far the best camcorder I was able to find at this price point.

I would have preferred a more streamlined menu system myself, with the possible removal of a few features I consider to be "bullet items" designed to fill the columns of camcorder magazine reviews. I would have also liked to see a "favorites" option where you could save your favorite settings and call them up in an instant, such as the manual settings required for proper nighttime shoots.

Speaking of low light capabilities, I'm starting to wonder if we've become low light crazy a bit. It did take a significant drop in ambient light to even begin to confuse the HF200's "P" mode. But all I had to do to correct the problems was to simply dial in my own settings.

I've posted a camcorder shoot-out between the Canon HF200 and the Sanyo VPC-TH1 on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVVaEQa9hgs) to see if a 720p camcorder could challenge the dominant position of a 1080i camcorder, especially when you consider that processing 1080i AVCHD files requires very powerful computer equipment, while processing 720p AVCHD files only requires more reasonable equipment.

I find the HF200 to be a landmark camcorder. We've reached a point where a consumer camcorder can now rival professional grade equipment in the "quick shoot" category.

Thanks everyone for the info.

Francois Caron...excellent review!

I concur that the HF200 is a fine camcorder. In full light using auto ("dual shot") mode which permits taking photos and video simultaneously, the camcorder produces excellent video. Focusing is typically spot-on with virtually no lag or "confusion." Indoors under typical lighting results can be grainy, but going to shutter priority using 30fps (anything below 30fps tends to make the video "jerky" and leaves trailing images) helps reduce graininess to acceptable levels. I need to try the cinemode setting and see what that does to the graininess. The menus are easy enough to navigate and auto mode, which should suffice for most shooting, is simple.

Francois' review is spot-on. I too would appreciate the ability to "save" settings - what I typically do is shoot outdoors under full light in "auto" and shoot low light in the manual setting under shutter priority as noted above. Take the time to see Francois' Youtube review - great review and definitely worth your time.

The more I use the HF200 the more I consider the camcorderinfo.com review rather unfair if not worse. The HF200 is a fine camcorder that produces stunning results under auto mode in most circumstances and in nearly all circumstances if you are willing to work with the settings.

francois caron...excellent review!

+1... Excellent

The more I use the HF200 the more I consider the camcorderinfo.com review rather unfair if not worse. The HF200 is a fine camcorder that produces stunning results under auto mode in most circumstances and in nearly all circumstances if you are willing to work with the settings.

Thanks for your comments...I think the HF200 may be the right pick for me, I also agree with you regarding camcorderinfo.com. ;)