The "Official" Canon HFM31 / HFM30 / HFM300 Owner's Thread - Page 3

It was only at this price for a week, and then went back up to $379 (with free super-saver shipping). I happened to find the HFM300 locally at a Brands Mart store (FL) on sale for $368 (plus tax). But only the HFM300 was on sale there (normally $538). The HFM31 was still $578.

I've used the HFM300 for two days now and for $368 it's a pretty good camera with a lot of features. I'm sure the HFS200 probably takes better video since the lens and CMOS sensor are larger, plus the larger LCD, but at twice the price ($749 Amazon) it's a hard sell.

My HFM300 also has the image stabilization rattle when powered off. Has anyone tried using the differed IS modes: Standard & Dynamic? I've tried both, and not sure which one I prefer and sometimes the Dynamic seems to be too much over compensating. Regardless of which IS mode you use, you can still press the Power IS button on the side of the LCD. I wonder how the Power IS works and if there is any harm is using it all the time?

For low-light, I've noticed a lot of noise in the image. But there is a way to adjust that in the AGC menu, almost like adjusting the ISO. I changed the AGC Limit to 15dB and it took away most of the noise, but images at night are darker. If I lower it to 10dB all the noise is gone.

My only complaints with the HFM300 is that the LCD touch-screen is pressure sensitive (known as resistive), which means you have to use your nail. I would have preferred a capacitive sensitive display (like what smartphones use) so it would be more accurate and only require a finger-tip touch.

The other thing is with the video modes of 60i, 30p, and 24p. I tried them all and played back on my PC. The 60i looks sharper, but movement doesn't look at good. The 30p isn't as sharp, but looks smoother. The 24p (with or without the cinema mode) looks studdery, so I'm not sure why anyone would use it, unless exported to a HDTV with native 24p playback, but why not use 30p? Also, only the two highest data modes of 24 and 17Mbps record at 1920x1080, while the 12Mbps and lower only record at 1440x1080.

I have a 5-day return window on this HFM300, so I need to decide by Monday if I want to keep it or not. Does anyone know of any other camcorder in the under-$400 range that does a better job or that you like more?

I'm going to purchase this camcorder soon. Any other confirmed success with SDHC other than Kingston and Sandisk with the highest recording mode (24mbs)? I prefer 32gb...but will consider 16gb cards that work fine. Thanks.

In my post right before yours, I should have added that I'm using an ADATA 16GB Class 6 card (purchased in 2008) and have no problems recording at the highest MXP mode (24Mbps). From looking at reviews, last year this card changed where it was made is isn't as fast as the 2008 model, so now you have to get the ADATA Class 10 card for good speed. But I've read a lot of good thing about the Transcend Class 6 and Class 10 cards. If I buy a new 32GB card, I'd probably go with this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Ulti...9711861&sr=1-1

Also, I'd suggest everyone update their firmware (check the Canon site).
I did this on the HFM300 before I started using it. Only took about 5 min.
It supposed to allow greater card compatibility and will now work with SDXC cards (64GB and larger).

I purchased a M30 over the weekend ($400 at Best Buy seemed like a great deal). I was very disappointed with the quality of the image, even in MXP mode, taken in my house. I wouldn’t consider my house to be a low light environment but it is far from a bright sunny day. There was a lot of noise and grain. It really didn’t look much different then what my camera phone can take! The little white LED light didn’t make any noticeable difference either. I even tried adjusting the AGC limit as suggested above but all that did was make the video too dark to really see detail.

So I returned it already and am considering trying out some other cameras. Any suggestions?

I've been reading that the new Sony units have a backlit CMOS sensor which helps for lower light recording. Maybe give one of those a try?

I just got HF-M300(good time to buy now) and need a wide angle lens.
I used to use Raynox HD6600 for HV30 and loved it. I still regret selling it. Its video looked awesome with minimal distortion.

Wide angle lens for HF-M300....

1) Canon WD-H37 -> $145 pricey.
2) Raynox HD6600-37 -> This got 37mm mount. $146 pricey.
3) Raynox HD5050-37 -> $120. I don't like distortion.... x0.5 seems too much.
4) Raynox HD6600-55 with step-up ring 37mm-to-55mm -> $109 + $6

I like to go with 4)....because it is the cheapest option.
My question is that 2) can give less distortion or vignetting than 4) due to its setup or they are the same?

I am willing to go with some cheap wide angle lens(<$30), but again I like to avoid any distortion or vignetting...

Thanks!!

Why so little talk about these camcorders.
I have been looking at getting a camcorder on and off for some time now.
I've mainly considered the Canon HF30/31/32 and because of all the talk, the Panasonic TM700. I ended up backing off the TM700 because it just seemed a little too finicky for me.

Recently the Canon 30/31 models dropped considerably in price so I thought I would take the plunge.
I purchased the HF M31.
Right now I am charging the battery, so I haven’t had time to experiment with it. I went ahead and upgraded the battery to the BP-819, (the sales guy at Best Buy gave me 10% off) but even then, I just realized I could have bought the BP-829 cheaper through Amazon than I paid for the 819 at Best Buy. So, if I keep this camera, I'll be taking the 819 back to Best Buy for the 829.

Any recommendations on websites or tips and tricks for this camcorder? Good places to buy accessories??

BP-829, or do you mean BP-827?
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-BP-827-L...9883717&sr=8-1
I was thinking about buying one from Amazon too, but if you look through the reviews, some people were shipped a no-name brand battery that doesn't work as well as the real Canon brand battery.
Maybe Adorama is selling the real Canon one:
http://www.adorama.com/CABP827.html

Does anyone have a preference as to which video edit and disc burning program they are using for Win 7?
I tried some test videos with the HFM300, and then used Windows Live Movie Maker (that converts them to a WMV file), and then Windows DVD Maker to burn them to a standard DVD. The Quality was OK, as I was watching them on a DVD player (480p) with Component cable connected to a 2001 Panasonic CRT HDTV. But the images didn't look as sharp or crisp and I would have liked.

I then tried the Image Maker program that Canon includes, and the user interface is horrible in it. But it combined the MTS files as a M2T file and burned the DVD. When watching it back on the same set-up, the video was much sharper (maybe a bit too much) but it looked better to me than using the Windows DVD programs.

Lastly, I downloaded a demo of Sony Vegas 10 Movie Studio HD. I wasn't able to figure out how to make menus but got it to burn the disc. I did go into all the menus to make sure the correct and best setting were selected. When watching the DVD back, images weren't as sharp as what I got using the Image Maker program from Canon, but still looked better than the Windows DVD Maker program. So somewhere in between. The problem was that the DVD player kept stopping every 5 minutes for no apparent reason (the video was 30 total). The only way I could play the whole video was to fast-forward parts and then watch the next 5 min. I'm not sure why it kept doing this, or maybe a setting was wrong?

In any event, using the Windows Live and Windows DVD Maker programs are the easiest to use out of the bunch I think, but since it convert the files from MTS to WMV, it to losing quality, even though I have it set to save at 1080 @ 24Mbps.
Because of this loss in quality during conversion, I'd either have to use the Canon Image Maker program or get the Sony Vegas program to burn disc that don't stop every 5 minutes.

Does anyone else have suggestions for software to use?

I'm using M300 with 16GB SDHC class 10 card ( Kingston ).
I Initialized the card from from the camera menu and noticed that long video scene splited into 2GB chunks meaning the card was formated using FAT32.

When I imported the files (~60 min' of video - several MTS files ) I have noticed that at the split point there is a missing frame ( or frames ) since there is a definitely glitch in the video.

1. Is this normal ?
2. Is the camera support NTFS file system ?
3. Can I format the card using a PC ( again, NTFS )

Your help is needed.

Thanks in advance

Lior

Use software that comes with the camera, or use tsMuxer or use "copy /b" command to merge segments of one take.

Well I'll give it a try but I think the result will be the same.
If the camera splits a file and there is a missing frame at the split point, it will be missing no matter how I join those files .. ( copy , other transfer form, NLE video software ..)

What about format the card using NTFS ?

Lior

There are no missing frames.

Cards use FAT32, but do format your PC drive with NTFS to allow long files.

I tried the "copy /b" command-line to merge a few MTS files togheter as one large one (about 30 min worth). Even though I could get it to play in Windows Media Player, it said the video was only 2 minutes long (but it did play the full 30 min.) But once I tried to convert and burn it to a DVD, it wouldn't work right. I used the Sony DVD Architect and Windows DVD Maker and both has problems reading the file.
So maybe this copy /b doesn't work right for large MTS files.

I insist, something definitely happens at the split point.

I had this posted in it's own thread, but has anyone tried the SM-V1 5.1ch mic with a Canon camcorder, or compared how it sounds to using the D-100 directional mic?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1289963

Insist as much as you want, but there are no missing frames. Hiccups occur in some editors that are unable to join segments correctly.

Right, I just tried it, and got a different, but still incorrect result: the duration is set to the duration of the last clip, and it plays only for the duration of the last clip.

Use tsMuxer, it works, I just checked. Use "join" button, not "add". Mux into M2TS.

I did some outside recording test this weekend on the HFM300 using the 60i and PF30 recording modes. When watching the raw MTS files on my PC, the 60i video looked to have unnatural movement (almost faster), while the PF30 video looked smoother and more natural.

I then used Sony Vegas with DVD Architect to put them on DVD (720x480, 29.97fps) and watched it on my HDTV. The 60i video looked sharp and smooth, even in fast motion. While the FP30 video wasn't quite as sharp, but even standard movement looked a bit studdery (vertical fence wood look blurry when the camera moved side-to-side).I guess this is because Sony Vegas is de-interlacing the 60i to 29.97 fps at a better quality compared to the Canon's built-in de-interlacing on the camera to get the PF30 pfs mode.

So I guess it's best to record at the 60i if the video is going to be encoded on the PC and burned to disc. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Canon does not deinterlace anything, it shoots 30p and records as 30PsF. It is your (or your NLE's) job to treat it correctly. 30i has twice higher temporal resolution than 30p, but twice lower spatial resolution (some of which can be recovered depending on deinterlacer). DVD-video does not support native 30p or 24p. DVD-video is recorded as 30i, with "hard" or "soft" pulldown.

Ok, so what's your advice then for recording mode if the video is going to be copied to DVD (for use in a DVD 480p player), DVD-AVCHD, or Blu-Ray disc? The Canon user manual says "Recordings at PF30 and PF24 are frame rate are converted and recorded on the memory card as 60i".

No advice. Use whatever frame rate you like.

* 30i (a.k.a. 60i) -- highest temporal resolution, "live" look, works for DVD-video and BD. Needs deinterlacing for uploading to video sharing sites.
* 30PsF (a.k.a. PF30) -- just treat it as progressive, and it will look great when uploaded to video sharing sites; lower temporal resolution; may have lower spatial resolution than actually possible on many DVD players.
* PF24 -- same frame rate as used for the movies, more stutter. For proper editing needs to be IVTC'd into true 24p, which requires additional software. Compatible with progressive-scan DVD players.

I uploaded the 60i and PF30 MTS files to YouTube, just to see how they would turn out, but due to the site's own conversion process both of them look the same.

60i http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=notkQWvI5K0
PF30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VO775pjFQg

Just so I understand it correctly, if you record at 60i, it is recording 30-even and 30-odd interlaced frames each second (so that's 60 total). When you then use a program like Sony Vegas/Architect to make a disc, it converts it from 60i to 30p (29.97 fps). Then the DVD players reads it at 30p. Is this correct?

YouTube's deinterlacer now works better than earlier.

DVD-video is recorded as interlaced, with or without pulldown flags: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video

Can anyone help me.
I have the Canon HF 31.
I also have a two terabyte My Book external hard drive.
Can anyone help me figure out how to download my files from both my SD disk and the camera's hard disc to the two terabyte external hard drive using the software that comes with the HF 31?
For the life of me I can not figure out where I can browse and select a drive to download my video.

Here is what I want to do.
Record my video at the highest quality possible.
Then store those video's in my external drive(s).
As I want to view them, I'll either burn them to a DVD until I can get a Blu Ray burner or download them back to my SD memory card and use the SD card slot in my Blu Ray player.

Maybe I just need some other software...?
I hope someone can help me this is absolutely frustrating.

I'm not able to help you take the footage off the internal storage but until somebody can give you further advise, You should record just to the SD memory card and put it inside a memory card reader for the computer. If you don't have one, a USB SD card reader are pretty inexpensive. Doing it that way you just copy or drag the files to your hard drive.

Hi,

I recently purchased M30 and looking for good SDHC card.
I found one post that PNY has good performance for recording with M30.

On Amazon following two options are available

39 $ class 10 :
PNY-Professional-Hi-Speed-Memory-P-SDHC16G10-EF

56$ clas 6:
PNY-Class-Flash-Memory-P-SDHC16G6-DVDC

(Cant paste urls as new member here)

It looks something strange that class 10 is cheaper than class 6. Is something wrong? What is good price for 16GB class 6 card?

Thanks,
Chetan

For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...end-_-20208410

I have read so many posts my head is spinning. But lots of good info.
I am considering the Canon M30 (can't afford the M31) and the Sony CX150. I am still confused as to which to get.

My use will be for capturing my Mom's home and belongings for memories. She passed away recently and I've decided to video the things that are important to me but that I have to divest of. So that means close ups of nick-knacks, papers, cards, furniture etc. in a variety of lighting conditions including low light (unfinished basement florescents, tungsten overhead/floor lamps and ambient indoor sunshine and normal outdoor light) I then plan to narrate as I film or better yet, dub over it later. I will no doubt use it for more creative things at a later date.

But for now, I am overwhelmed and need a very small learning curve, good image stabilization, performance under inside lighting while holding with my hand not a tri pod.

According to what I've read the Sony is better with low light but does not have optical stabilization like the Canon, which "they" also say is not as good in low light. But the rattling of stabilization glass is a little worrisome.

I used both in the store but w/o any real experience it was hard to tell. Sony lens seemed much brighter and nicer. Canon had univeral usb ports etc unlike Sony. What to do? Just want best for my situation....aaahhhgh!
It has been very difficult to find any "real life" info out there and I have already spent waaaay too much time trying searching, reading to no avail really. This forum seems the best so far.

Thanks in advance for reading this and hopefully replying. I just seem to be afraid to make the wrong move instead of focusing on the real task at hand. So any serious advice is much appreciated.

Cheers,
Tracy

If anyone else is struggling with the low light issue, a reviewer on amazon has posted some manual settings that they believe solve most of the problems. I can't vouch for these as I haven't tried them but wanted to share what I've read.

First, let me offer my condoleances on the passing of your mother. It's never a good experience, I know.
And congratulations on your research work before buying.

Since there's no better way to evaluate a camcorder other than actually using it, I would suggest buying both of them first. Try them both in the same situations, and after a short evaluation period return the worst one of the two, and get your money back for that one. Ending-up with the one you are willing to work with, despite its compromises.

Of course you would need to make sure about the return policy of the store where you would buy them, before actually going ahead with this plan.

My two cents on it...

P.S. That's actually what I did when I hesitated between a Canon HF20 and the Panasonic HDC TM700. I kept the TM700.