hey guys,
i need to get an HD camcorder and need some advice in getting the right one for my needs. i have been partial to Canon in the past and would like to stick with it if at all possible.
something in the $600-1100 range would work. i want bang for the buck (IQ, ease of transfer and editing, etc.) but $ is not the biggest consideration.
i have a Mac Pro (intel processors) to use for editing. i'll mainly be shooting family vacations, kids sports, and maybe the occasional short film for fun. i have Final Cut Express HD and iMovie 08 on the Mac Pro.
what would be your recommendations?!! i have seen the models hv40, hf10, hf11, hf100, hf200, hf s100 thrown around but have no user experience with them yet.
it must work with my Mac for importing, editing, and exporting fairly easily.
thanks in advance!!!

anyone?

The HF S100 (or HF S10) is the most recent and apparently best offering from Canon in this category. Look at the threads on it/tem.

I almost got the HF S100, but instead got the Sony XR-500 because of its better low-light performance, superior optical stabilization, automatic GPS tagging, and lower bit-rate (smaller file sizes) at similar PQ. The Sony also has far more storage capacity (120gb), but this is unimportant to me. I would rather have had the solid-state form factor of the Canon, but the other Sony advantages were more important to me.

I was in a somewhat similar situation that you are in. My wife and I are expecting our 1st child in October and I wanted a good HD Camcorder; one that worked well with my MacBook, wasn't the most expensive. I was also somewhat partial to Canon since I own a Canon DSLR.

Here's a good review of the Canon HF10:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-Vixia-HF10-Camcorder-Review-34711.htm

The HF10 performs well in low-light (even better than the newer models HF S10 and HF20). The price is also lower since it's last year's model (2008). Here's what I paid for mine:

Canon HF10: $550 (Costco)
Transcend 16GB SDHC Card: $40 (Amazon)
Canon WD-H37 II, Wide Angle Lens Converter: $162 (BH Photo)
Canon BP-819, Extended Battery: $85 (17th Street Photo)
Canon CG-800, Wall Charger: $54 (17th Street Photo)

Total: $891

I bought the Canon HF10 a few months ago in March and I am very satisfied with it. I didn't want to pay top dollar for the Canon HF S10 /S100, plus I wanted to get all the accessories that I bought (16GB SD Card, Wide Angle Converter, Extended Battery, etc). Since the HF-S10 is new, it requires a newer and more expensive wide angle converter, the Canon WD-H58 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/618336-REG/Canon_3572B001_WD_H58_Wide_Converter_Lens.html) (BH Photo price of $285).

IMHO, the Canon Wide Angle Converters are a must buy because the widest you get on the HF10 is: 42.9mm and on the HF-S10 is: 43.5mm. If you are familiar with photography, then you'd know this is not very wide at all. So, that's another plus for the Canon HF10. The Canon WD-H37II is at least $100 cheaper.

I have tinkered around with the new Canon HF-S10 for a few minutes at Best Buy. I like how they revamped the menus and navigation. It's also a little bit bigger and heavier.

Editing videos on a Unibody 2.4 MacBook with 4GB ram is really good. iMovie recognizes the camcorder and let's you select which video clips you want to import. Also, editing the videos is seamless and will probably be even easier and better on a MacBook Pro! You can even burn/make blu-ray (HD) Quality movies onto a normal blank DVD playable only on a Blu-Ray Player or PS3. You need Toast Titanium and the blu-ray plugin for that, but it works great! You can fit about an hour onto a DL DVD and 30 minutes onto a normal DVD.

Overall, I am still glad that I purchased the HF10 and didn't wait for the HF-S10. It does everything I wanted to and at a price that was easier to swallow than the HF-S10 and all the accessories I would've liked to get. If money isn't an option and you have to have the latest and greatest, then go ahead and get the HF-S10.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

I am using this Canon Vixia HF11 Digital HD Camcorder, it really is extremely compact and offers a great amazing picture!!!!!!

wow... thanks for the great replies! costco has the hf s100 for 899 which i am probably leaning towards. not many places have the hf100 in stock anymore... at least at a reasonable price considering the hf s100 price. a little steep for the brand new technology but from what i have read it seems that canon somewhat got it right with the hf s100.
would everyone agree?

wow... thanks for the great replies! costco has the hf s100 for 899 which i am probably leaning towards. not many places have the hf100 in stock anymore... at least at a reasonable price considering the hf s100 price. a little steep for the brand new technology but from what i have read it seems that canon somewhat got it right with the hf s100.
would everyone agree?

I bought the HF200 two months ago for about $550. I think the HF100 has both advantages and disadvantages over it. I don't see that they could possibly be worth paying $350 more, however.

wow... thanks for the great replies! costco has the hf s100 for 899 which i am probably leaning towards. not many places have the hf100 in stock anymore... at least at a reasonable price considering the hf s100 price. a little steep for the brand new technology but from what i have read it seems that canon somewhat got it right with the hf s100.
would everyone agree?

Abe's of Maine has a great price on the HF11: $609
http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=CNHF11&id=CNHF11&l=CJ

Use "loyalty10" coupon for another $10 off. At $599, I would definitely get the HF11 over the HF-S100.

thanks for the great advice guys... very helpful!

so to get the evolution from canon correct, the order of models goes something like this...?
hf10... hf11... hf20... hf s10?

hf100... hf200... hf s100?

i would somewhat assume that, as with most electronics, the models progressively improve in performance (in general)?

also, can anyone confirm that working with the 24p mode will work with imovie 08 or final cut express hd on a mac?