The "Official" Canon HFS10 / HFS100 Owner's Thread - Page 6

Just got my HF S10 and love it. But I have a question about the files stored to internal memory. I shot 5 video scenes stored to internal memory and some stills stored to the external memory card.

When I connect the camera to my computer it is recognized and I can access the memory as any other camera. When I look at the DCIM folder containing the stills I can see them and move them to the computer without a problem.

But when I click on the other folder in search of the video files I find sub folders and none of them show any files present. Yet when I launch the software that came with the camcorder it locates the video files and downloads them just fine.

Is there some trick to viewing and managing the files on the internal memory directly without using the supplied software?? I might want to download (backup) video to a laptop or other computer one day where the supplied software is not installed.

1) Make sure you're looking at the right drive - there's one for the SD card, one for the internal memory

2) The M2TS files are all in a STREAM directory, a few levels deep. Specifically:
:\\PRIVATE\\AVCHD\\BDMV\\STREAM

If you just want the M2TS files, copy them out of here. If you want a full BD image, you should copy the whole AVCHD tree, and use something like NERO (or perhaps the software that came with the camera?) to create an ISO.

If you just grab the M2TS files, make sure to reinitialize the card when putting it back into the camera, as it will look like the files are still there (there is some place where it stores the index and screen shots, separate from the movie files).

I just grab the M2TS files, for viewing all sorts of ways.

Thanks for the info. But that is exactly where I was looking for the files and they simply don't appear when stored on the internal memory. The software that came with the camera will find and download them just fine, but when I navigate to the stream folder it is empty. But if I save the movie files on the plug-in memory card then I can find them just fine. Very strange.

Those of you who use the cam control dial to adjust things like manual focus, how do you do it? I thought this feature would be really neat and give me the type of control I need to bring a subject from out of focus to in focus with a really large aperture (small DOF) for a dramatic look, but I've found two problems using it in this fashion:

1. the dial doesn't affect focus quickly enough (i.e. its not sensitive enough). It takes something like 4-5 turns of the dial to go from focal distance of 5 feet to 20 feet.

2. The resistance is too high in the knob. It takes some effort to turn it and I can't seem to do it without moving the camcorder, which introduces shake. I think even on a tripod (not that I ever use that for my video, sadly), I couldn't avoid moving the camcorder.

With these to problems, it seems almost useless unless you're using it for things like AGC adjustment, which kind of seems like it didn't really need a dial to adjust in the first place (I would think a button that advances through the 4-5 options would be sufficient).

Any advice?

I find the tutorial for the CANON HF S10 to be horrible. It doesn't explain anything about transferring files to computer (only using their transfer software or their DVD player). It doesn't explain anything about MTS files, why do they create 1,000 different files and if you want to burn a DVD of all your files would you have to drag each one into the timeline? This would take forever!

Can't you get one combined video clip of all your scenes? If so how do you do that?

Every time you start and stop recording you create a new clip or file. Most of us who like to edit our work find this to be an advantage since it makes scene detection automatic. There are a few software programs out there that will stitch .AVI files together like you want, but I'm not aware of anything that works with .MTS files at this time. If you have editing software then you may not need to drag each file separately to the timeline. I use Adobe Premiere CS4 and it will allow you to place a select group of files on the timeline all at the same time, either with or without transitions between clips.

You must be looking at the wrong drive when you plug it into your PC. There are two drives, one for the internal memory, one for the SD card.

Need settings for crappy lit night high school games. I have a Canon HFS10 and have not had the chance to fiddle much at night under those type of lights. I'm looking for a starting point. I will mostly be shooting soccer under florescent or halogen lights at night. I would like to hand hold and not use a tripod if possible. Is it best to use the AV and go to the PF30 frame setting and then use the 17mps or less quality? Or is it best to use one of the preset modes,,like sports or night shooting? I know nothing..or very little. Most of my experience is with a DSLR. Thanks for any help!

Mp

BB priced matched my hf s10 with rogerscamera.com $789 starter kit. I was shocked...I told them I was going to order offline and get it cheaper and return the one i bought because i never used it. lmao

Incredible! Guess they didn't notice anything was amiss when they were price matching to ~$350 off the regular price?

You mean best buy? Noooooooo. Going to try that, I didn't see the S10 in the store by me though.

BB by me said they only price match if the store has a store front and is nearby. Which BB did you get the price match? Maybe I'll call in and have it shipped =p.

They priced matched rogerscamera.com. I took it to say I would return it and order from this site and they priced matched it. Everyone in your local market probably wont do it so i guess I got lucky. The sales person did say no but the manager said yes.

Yeah they told me that they discontinued it and wont get anymore. I don't know if this is going to cause online prices to rise or not. Maybe theres something up with the camera or people arent buying cameras for 1300 anymore.

Seller Oskimusic has a new one on sale on amazon for 1050

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new

Or they're morons, which is usually the case with BB employees.

This is a brand new camera from Canon, and their new flagship Prosumer model. And it's still available from BB on line, and in larger stores in major markets.

Yes, people inpodunk idaho aren't buying $1000+ HD cameras, they just buy the Flip HD, and smile.

I greatly appreciate all of the helpful discussion on frame rate and such. I thought I'd be sticking with my original decision to use 30p for filming this dance recital (which starts a couple hours from now). But, after doing some real-world tests, I get better results recording in 60i and letting Sony Vegas 9 Platinum (not pro) do the work. The software has an option to reduce interlacing flicker, but ironically, it actually makes the interlacing more pronounced when viewing the DVD. I should note that I could not notice a difference in 30p and 60i when viewing the resulting mpg on the computer. But, watching on a regular TV after being burned to a DVD, the 60i had the least noticeable interlacing. I must stay though, that I am disappointed that a "high-def" camera such as this, is not able to produce crystal clear, non-interlaced frames.

Maybs - You are doing a lot of processing of the output from your camera. It is possible that some of the steps you are taking (like converting it to a DVD) are adding some flicker or otherwise distorting the picture.

After all, you are not really seeing the output from your camera on a progressive display directly unless you hook the camera up via HDMI directly to your flatscreen. I've tried that and the picture is stunning as one would expect. I've also processed the output with various software packages and displayed it from a PC and been disappointed with the picture. But that's not the camera's fault. Video editing and rendering is pretty complicated. We have the right tools, we just have to learn to use them.

If your TV has an HDMI input, then hook it up and enjoy the unspoiled beauty for which you paid so much money. Another way I've found is to take the MTS files from the camera unchanged and view them from my PS3.

Good luck and don't give up on the camera, I think we bought a winner.

Thanks Jim,

I agree it does make it easier for editing but sometimes I want to assemble a rough cut of footage and put that on media but I've found by organizing the mts files by time and date that you can import them into the timeline in the right order using Premiere.

On another topic, this camera offers true 1920x1080 recording while the Professional High Defintion top model $8,000 Canon XL H1S camcorder only does 1440 x 1080. I find that interesting. Also 6 an effective video resolution of Megapixels on CANON HF S10 VS. XL H1S of 1.56. Of course the XL H1S is a three chip professional camcorder with a good lens and I'm not saying that the S10 is a better camcorder, but I find it interesting that the consumer model has a greater resolution for a fraction of the cost.

rlloydag, you are right... I was not being fair to the camera. I just expected it to be a no-brainer to get the highest possible quality on a DVD when starting with high-def footage. I hope that I can find the right settings in Vegas Movie Studio to make this happen (and quickly). I welcome any suggestions for the best way to render this 60i footage onto a DVD, especially from those of you using Vegas. If there is better software for this, I would consider switching, but I can't justify spending $500 on something like Vegas Pro or the like. There's gotta be a cheaper solution.

Here's a link to a tutorial.

http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/0...dvds-for-free/

Is there any difference between iVIS HF S10 (Japanese version) and Vixia HF S10 (US version)? Will I have any issues, such as software or hardware compatibility, if I buy iVIS HF S10?

I am told that they are identical (and iVIS does look identical when compared to photo printout of Vixia), but I tend not to believe everything a sales person says. I am in Japan for a visit, and I found iVIS HF S10 on sale for 98,000 YEN, which is approximately 1,024 US DOLLARS at today's exchange rate. That is a decent price considering that they don't have such thing as "Sales Tax" in Japan, and I can have it RIGHT NOW!

Only difference I've noticed is that iVIS has only 2 menu languages (Japanese and English) while Vixia offers whopping 22 languages. Since English menu is all I care for, difference is negligible. I just wanted to make sure that I won't run into any problems with attaching accessories, getting my computer to recognize the camera, etc. before I go ahead and buy it. Can anyone validate the sales rep's claim? Thanks in advance.

Jo'

If interested and that you dont live too far from Montreal i'm selling my 3 month old HF S10 1100$ Can... with an extra battery and 3 year warranty...

Has anyone found a 3rd party battery supplier for the HFS10/100? I want a second battery but don't feel Canon is offering value with their battery products.

I found the mini hdmi to hdmi cable that Canon wants $110 for for just $8 including shipping at www.monoprice.com - even has gold plated connectors.

A quick update on my rendering task... I have found that I really can't do any better than whatever Vegas is doing to make an SD DVD out of my HD footage. I have tried using other software (AviSynth) to do the scaling, and tried converting to 30p (by dropping half of the fields), but it did not make a bit of difference in a standard DVD player on a standard TV (it still has to make 60i to display). The 30p did look awesome on the computer, though. I suppose that seeing the footage played back at full HD on my computer makes the resulting DVD look worse than it really is.

Since DVDs use MPEG-2 compression, you need to configure the software properly to do the best MPEG-2 compression to reduce the compression artifacts, e.g. use 2-pass VBR compression and use as high a bitrate as allowed by DVD. MPEG-2 is not very forgiving with moving subjects if not done properly. Scaling quality isn't the issue. Compression is. AVC codec is far superior than MPEG-2.

Hey all,

I just bought my Canon HF S10 and started playing around with it. I did some test footage and edited it with Pixela. That program came with the device. Pixela is a little underestimated. Even though you cant do as much as CS4, you can do everything a noob like me needs to make a DVD in AVCHD format...fades...cut...words....music tracks, ect...

With that said, I am going on my honeymoon to France, Spain and Italy. I need great footage. When I get back I want to make a movie out of it. I want to burn it to BLU-RAY.

(1)Anyone have any good suggestions on an external BLU-RAY for a realitivly low price?

(2)Can anyone tell me the best program to use for editing and burning to BLU-RAY?

(3)Does anyone know where to get a good tutorial of the HF S10's functions and features? Preferably video. I want to know everything about this device.

(4)Does anyone know of a good converter for .MTS to .AVI, .MPG, .WMV? Just a straight converter no editing needed.

(5)Night Shot? Where is it and how do I use it?

(6)Macro setting for video. Is the maximum closeness 3.3feet or is therea macro function avalible in Video Mode?

(7)24p Cinema Mode. Is that the best possible quality out of this device?

(8)Is there a tutorial of Pixela, preferably a video, avalible anywhere?

These are just a few of my questions as the noob I am. Any help would be appreciated. I leave on the 14th of july and I want to learn this thind as quicly and as acurately as possible. Thanks again all!

Hello.

I'm an American living in the UK. I spend the majority of my time in England, but would like the ability to use a new Canon HF S10 in both the UK and US. I've a multitude of questions I need answered before I make a purchasing decision. And before I pose a number of questions here that may have already been answered; I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction so that I can get the info that's already out there myself?

Some key questions I have.

1. As long as I'm using HDMI, are NTSC/PAL compatibility issues a moot point? Or must I get PAL to use the camera with a UK HDTV? NTSC must be purchased for a US HDTV? Hopefully, HDMI is a common denominator?

2. The Vixia (US, NTSC) is considerably cheaper in the US than the Legria in the UK. Getting it sent over from the US would seem to be very very cost effective, unless VAT and import tax will eat the savings margin?

3. Obviously voltage will be an issue and power adapters will be required, but can I use batteries purchased in the US here; and vice versa?

4. I have a fairly low-spec pc: dual-core, 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM, Motherboard integrated graphics. Am I definitely going to have to upgrade in order to get any editing done?


Thank you so much in advance,
Max

Hey Guys...looking into the VIXIA HF S100 but was wondering if i would'nt be better with the VIXIA HG20 with a 60gig HD. Camera for Camera, is the HDS100 superior?. i've been reading so much specifications, my head spins.. It seems that no Canon Camera can record at 1080p !...but not that bad.

Every review i read about Canon as that! "Limited Software Compatibility" what's that about?. THe Canera seems good on paper, yet reviews on Canon site are BAD..very strange. Last concern is motion stability..the new Sony's have an image stabilizer wich no one else has, it's very stable, but it only shoots at 60i, no 24p wich i need.

Any suggestions are welcome naturally..

I had the same problem with deciding on what to get. I compared all the specs of HD cams. To me the Canon HF S10 or S100 is superior to all out there. 24p cinema mode with v.x color activated, and the best recording speed elected, it compares to broadcast quality very well. The canon HF S10 has an image stabilizer that works very well. Its actually a floating lens. Limited software ability just means, aside from the Pixela software that comes with the device, that .MTS or AVCHD format(which the device records natively) is not main stream yet and software to read and render is out there but not many programs support it yet. Look into Vegas or CS4. I use the Pixela...even though it low end software it does an excelent job rendering and burning a regular DVD...however I do recomend you burn it to AVCHD format and play it back on a blu-ray player on a HDTV.....it will look best that way.

Keep in mind If you do get a hard drive camera, its risky. First they are slowly being replaced with Flash Memory (SDHC or built in). Also risky because if your recording or playing back, the hard drive is spining....if you drop it or give it a good jolt while its running you can damage the hard drive and your camera is gone. Just like a lap top...a good drop while the hard drive is working...boom goes the dynomite....

Basically, the Canon HF S10 or S100 are the same camers....the S10 had 32GB built in memory..the S100 relies on SDHC cards. I got the S10 becuae its always good to have internal and external media. The S10 and S100 both have a 58mm thread so you can get lenses and filters easily.

I hope this helped you out a little. If you have any other question let us know....im no expert but I have done months of research before I picked this one out and been playing with it every day to get the hang of it.

Liquid Sky