Canon HF M41, HF M40, HF M400 - Page 3

I owned both, I was one of the first people to have the HF G10 in the states, and it was very good in lowlight and bright light, the OIS wasn't very good for my needs, not sure if it was defective or not. I also picked up the M41 but did not like the feel of it after having the HF G10 in my hands, plus the LCD screen are very different, again both very good in lowlight. To me the best camera out there is the TM900 for stabilization and bright light, low light the new Canons for sure. Not sure about the wide angle lens, as you would have to test it to get a correct answer.

Thanks a lot for the info, so what you found different was the (inferior) feel of M41 compared to G10 and different LCD. How would you compare image quality of both - were they similar? I understand that G10 has a much wider lense, so it would probably feel very different, but with both completely zoomed out do you think the image quality were similar?

Basically just the LCD and Material used in the Camcorder itself. Image quality is on par, but with the nicer lens on the G10 bumps that up, I didn't get a chance to test the two enough because I took them both back. I had the HF G10 for about 2 weeks and the M41 for about 3 days. Both very good in low light, but for me the OIS was a tad quirky for my needs. Meaning I do a lot of shooting while walking.

Thanks. I can see that stabilization in Canons can be a deal breaker for many. I also do a bit of shooting while walking, so will check canon before purchasing it.

been following this thread and the hf g10 thread... very good stuff. lots of helpful info from everyone, was hoping i might be able to get a few questions answered.

i'll try to keep my situation as brief as possible... looking to finally go hd, i've got a panasonic dvx100b that has seen better days. my budget is a LOT less than what i originally purchased that badboy for ($3300), so i was looking into panny's hmc40, then saw the new canon xa10, which led to hf g10, then on to m41/40. i'm looking to shoot again within the next month or two, so i'm hoping that if the g10 is the way to go, it's available by then. at the moment, i can easily get an m41/40.

right now i'm torn between the m40 and the g10. i realize that not many people have access to both these cams, so i guess this is mostly speculation and opinion that i'm asking for by people who know much more tech stuff than me...

1) my main concern is the lens size, the g10 obviously has a larger lens. how would the fov compare between the g10's standard lens and the m40 with the .7x wide angle lens? it's $230 extra. if it's comparable or even greater than the g10, that means the m40 + lens is still $570 cheaper.

2) is the native 24p of the g10 a huge difference between the m40s 24p with pulldown?

3) i really like that the g10 has manual controls/dials. is there really any kind of manual control on the m40? i feel like i'm missing something on the canon website. would i be able to manual set shutter speed/exposure/white balance/focus/etc at all on the m40? or is it all auto-you-probably-don't-know-what-you're-doing-that's-why-you-bought-a-consumer-level-cam?

i'm obviously looking for the most bang for my buck, so the m40 seems like a good way to go so i can put the extra money towards other things in the budget. but at the same time i sure love how the g10 has so many pro features i want in such a consumer priced cam. any help is greatly appreciated... thanks!

This would be a perfect camcorder to take with me to nightclubs... but i really don't want to have to carry a wide angle lens around with me.... may stick it out until next year, i'm sure they'll add a wider angle lens

Just leave the wide angle lens attached.

If you buy the m400 the wide angle lens matches the body.

I saw a review of the canon wide angle lens on youtube and it looks really big though, i didn't realise that they were that big (and almost as heavy as the camcorder itself) :/

thanks so much for all the info!! going to do the above asap. might take a bit since the hf g10 isn't available anywhere atm. my bro claims he can get me an hf m400 for $565, so as long as when i test it out i don't hate it, i'm very much leaning towards that.

I'm still interested in the new JVC... went somewhere yesterday to try it out but they didn't have a battery for it. The shop assistant claimed the stabilisation is better than the sony's (i find that hard to believe)

Could you tell me which JVC model you mean and what is it that makes it an interesting cam?

Well, the JVC GZ HM860 (HM870 in Australia) has a back illuminated sensor and an F1.2 lens, which should equal really really good low light performance. But there have been no tests conducted thus far so I can't really tell.
It outputs video at 60p via the hdmi cable
10.62mp sensor
Big 3.5inch screen
Only $650 at provantage.com

well... i went to good ol best buy today to see what was going on, and the m40 and m41 were on sale. played around with it, liked the feel, didn't mind the touch screen as much as i thought i would, decided to bring it home as i'd have 2 weeks to decide to return it or not... soooo bring it home, charge it up, and... utter disappointment. pretty sure i have a defective one, as there is no way this thing is recording in any kind of resolution close to high definition. changing the bitrate has no effect. it just looks like noisy/grainy mess and standard def. there's no excuse for this kind of noise as there's plenty of light. using the hdmi cable and connecting that to my hdtv produces the same grainy mess. am i doing something wrong? is there a "horrible footage" option i have turned on that i don't know about? they had a few left at the store... hopefully they aren't afflicted with this either.

Sounds like a setting since these cams with the CMOS Pro sensor have the best low light footage out there and I haven't heard other owners complaining about such high noise levels. Did you try taking outdoor footage? If that too doesn't look 'HD', then something is wrong. I'm not as familiar with the M series, so I can't walk you through the settings.

which one should I get M40, M400, M32

Newbie here!

Looking for my first camcorder. My son will be born in August and I want to be ready. I am looking very closely at the M41 & M400. I'd prefer no internal memory though but the viewfinder is a nice touch.

Does these camcorders record in the AVCHD format? This way I can pop the SD card in my Panny Plasma and play back the recordings.

Are the M41, HF M40, HF M400 basically the same camera with different features?

How do the M46 and M406 fit in here?

Anybody know the steps to turn on/off the date/time burn in when u shoot videos? I saw it once in one of the manuals and for the life of me, i can't find it again.

Hi, I have an older Canon Vixia HF200 which I like. However, it was an unpleasant surprise when I discovered it had to be connected to a plugged-in AC adapter to transfer video files to my computer, even though the battery was full.
A friend wants to purchase a Vixia M40 or M41, but travels a lot and does not always have access to a wall outlet.
Do these have the same limitation, or can you move video from the camera's built in memory, or a flash memory card, to the computer without using the AC adapter?
Thanking anyone for the info..

Great, thanks for the quick reply. This person is traveling light with a Mac Book, and wants a minimum of gadgets, cables, adapters, etc. So, just to confirm before I recommend she spend $550, if she records only to the removable flash memory, she can import the files over the USB cable to the Mac, using iMovie say, WITHOUT connecting the camera to AC power, right?
In that case she may be better off with the M400 as it has no internal memory, and she will be forced to use external.

Hi, sorry for the confusion in my request. The HF200 works great with Macs, I assume the M40/41/400 will also. Files are automatically joined on import with software like iMovie. I just don't want the user to have to plug into AC power to import the files, or have to buy other readers, etc.

So the only question I am trying to clarify is:

Can I import the files when recorded to removable memory, into a computer (I assume if it can do it with a PC it can do it with a Mac), with the memory card still in the camera, using the camera USB cable, WITHOUT connecting the camera to an AC adapter and power? I ask as I can't with the HF200.
Sorry I am so thick and thanks!

Got it, thanks! Will get a card reader.
The Mac Book Pros have a card reader, but not the Mac Books.
Appreciate your prompt assistance..!

thanks