Canon HF M4xx Owner's Thread - Page 7

Wow, I know that many folks here as well as in the TM900 thread would be interested in seeing (or at least hearing about) the results of your comparison.

Have you compared while shooting in 30p mode vs. 60i with the M41?


It does take some getting used to, but I'm quite comfortable with it now. In fact I much prefer it to the old control stick interface on the HF10 - I can change shooting settings quite quickly now. Just remember that the touchscreen is pressure sensitive (unlike capacitative like on the iPhone, etc.) - I find that pressing with the nail on my index finger works well.

To my knowledge, the M41 doesn't allow you to set the gain directly, however there is a setting to set the maximum gain to use (I believe the setting is called Auto AGC).

It has Exposure slider, does not it? Shutter Priority + Exposure lock ==> manual exposure. On older cameras one could see aperture by half-pressing the Photo button.

Yes, you can set the exposure to manual with the m41. When you do so the AGC Limit setting is disabled, which makes sense. I've been unable to find a way to display both the shutter and aperture when recording - unlike the old models, the M4xx series doesn't have a physical photo button.

I currently own a HF11 bought in 2008. I am overall pleased with the camera functionality and video quality. I also purchased the WD-H37 II wide converter, mostly for indoor filming. My main complain, is image stabilization. Either the camera sucks at this or I have shaky hands. If I upgrade to the M41, will I get a more stable image than I am getting now? Are the expectations to get the same stabilization results with the newer M52 as well?

Thanks in advance

I was using a borrowed HF11 for a month or two prior to getting my M41. The stabilization on the M41 is greatly improved over that in the HF11 - in comparison, the HF11 almost felt like it had no stabilization. The M41 has 3 IS modes - I've set mine to Dynamic IS, which is the default I believe.

I have no idea if the IS is improved in the M52.

If you set the many scenes in the manual mode such as low light, fireworks, beach, etcetera, do you still leave the camcorder in manual and, if so, will the camcorder still have the auto features, or can you shift to auto and it will retain the scene feature selected? Thanks.

I don't know if this was mentioned before, but I did some tests with the relay record function of the HF M40.

I discovered that the brief playback skip from when the card changes from Card A to Card B, (when putting them next to each other on an editor timeline), can be joined in tsMuxer freeware using the AVCHD output and the playback in the joined file becomes seamless. (Similar to joining files that were split due to the FAT32 file size limit.)

I also tried using the Device Explorer in Sony Vegas to join the files by taking a card formatted in the HF M40 and putting two mts files in the Stream folder. (The two mts files from when the relay record happened, that I already had in a folder on my PC. One file from Card A, one from Card B).

It didn't work; Vegas recognized it as an AVCHD device, but the files wouldn't appear in the Device Explorer window. If anyone knows of a way to do this in Sony Vegas, post here.

Otherwise, tsMuxer will do it and you then import the joined file into an editor, like Vegas or other. You could also join them with the included Pixela software.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/tsMuxeR

Great find! I've always avoided depending on relay recording because I can't tolerate any skips when recording a concert. I use MTS FileJoiner instead of tsMuxer - I'll have to check that out .

I have a Canon HFM400 and it seems to limit maximum file size to about 2gigs.

I need to do a long video that needs to be uncut, i.e. on file, is this possible? Do I need to change a setting or something?

If I record at 17mbits, I am limited to about 16 minutes before I hit a 2gb limit.

You don't have to limit the quality to avoid the split. I always shoot at MXP (24 mbps) just because it's available. (Unless you are shooting 17mbps for a different reason?)

After it hits 2gb it splits into a new file (due to the FAT32 file size limit/nothing to do with the camcorder) and you then use software like tsMuxer (see my 2 posts up for the link) or the included Pixela software that came with the HFM400 to join two or more split files and it becomes seamless/no skip into one big file. (If you don't use software to join them, there will be a slight hiccup if you lay them side-by-side in an editor/that's why you should join them.)

If you have Sony Vegas Platinum or Pro, you can use the Device Explorer function and join them while the HFM400 is connected via USB or join the files while the card is in a card reader, minus the camera.

that you can't tell that they were separate files before they were joined?

Actually, you won't be able to tell that they were separate files after they are joined. If you don't join them and play them next to each other in an editor, there will be a skip.

Joining the files will remove the slight skip at that point where the files were joined and will playback smoothly as if the skip didn't exist.

But you have to join them with software that can do that; tsMuxer (choose AVCHD output), Pixela, Sony Vegas or whatever can join mts files for that purpose.

You're not limited to two files; if it was split more than once, join them all into one fluid file.

This is only in regards to hitting record just once on the HFM400 and new files are created during that one, continuous session. You can also join the point where card B takes over from Card A (Relay Record) and the skip will also be gone. (See my post a couple back/above.)

If you use the Relay Record function, you have to make sure that is set to that beforehand in the menu, represented as an icon, an "A>" with an arrow which will then go from green to yellow when it will soon change over to Card B. Then there will be a green card B icon on the screen as it continues to record.

It seems to default back to the setting of recording to card A only after changing some settings before recording. I'm not sure which ones made that happen, that's why I have to pay attention and make sure the Relay Record function is set in the menu before hitting record.

Exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks, B9222.

Can someone tell me what their stock battery on the HF M41 is registering once fully charged right now? My stock BP808 shows 69 minutes fully charged and shows this as 100% in the battery info section. I know when I first got it around Christmas time, it registered around 109 minutes and 112 minutes.

After I confirm with some of you here on the forum, I may try to make a claim with Canon regarding the battery....I'm hoping it's the battery and not the camcorder itself.

Also, could it be my settings? I have most things still set to stock...display brightness set at the middle, wireless function off, everything else set to auto. I'm running MXP mode too. I'm sure I was able to get the 100+ minutes before, just disappointed why it's only registering 69 minutes (and 100%) after a full recharge.

I plan on getting the Wasabi batteries, but wanted to get this resolved first.

Also, I called Blue Nook up (the Wasabi batteries from Amazon are from Blue Nook) and they told me that if I put the order in the for the BP-827 equivalents, I can call them and they are willing to send me 1 BP-827 and 1 BP-819 battery since I was concerned about it sticking out too much...this way I'll have 1 of each size battery.

The lithium-ion battery needs to be fully charged before using at all. If the battery was used for example taking it right out of the box and testing the camcorder without charging the battery, it may display the incorrect time on a permanent basis. That first battery charge needs to be fully charged @ 100% before any use.

Also, when you use the fully-charged battery for the first time, it needs to be run down in the camcorder until it is "completely exhausted" so that, from then on, it will display the correct time. (It doesn't have to be completely run down all in the same session, but only charge the battery again after it has been completely drained after that first charge.) It states this at the beginning of the manual. This is not a Canon issue, this is inherent to lithium-ion batteries.

I did do this....that's why I know that it use to read 112 minutes of time after a full charge....only recently am I noticing a 69 minute full charge, no matter what I do (like I mentioned in my post, I made sure it ran out a couple times before charging). That's why I am thinking something is wrong. It was working fine for the first couple months and have started to only show 69 minutes the last couple weeks.

I've had my M41 since late December and I am still getting around 112 min in record mode with a full charge. It sounds like your battery is defective.

Merely copying mts files into the Stream folder won't make it a valid AVCHD image - there are other files which need to match. iMovie is also very picky about this, as I recently learned. However, I read somewhere that you can use multiAVCHD (http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/) to author a valid AVCHD image from a bunch of mts files. I hope this helps.

Hi, I bought a Canon Vixia M40.
I am dumb to any Optics.
What kind of thing should I buy to protect the original lens of M40?
UV filter? or any other kind of lens?
Could you recommend any cheap but not so bad thing for me?
Thanks.

Tiffen 43MM UV Protector Filter
http://www.amazon.com/Tiffen-43MM-UV...1567095&sr=8-1

When you screw it on, point the camera up/towards the ceiling and gently place the UV filter on the camcorder's thread at the front of the lens, then very slowly screw it on the thread and make sure you can unscrew it the other way easily.

The reason for that if you hold the camera sideways and just start turning the filter, you may screw it on the thread wrong and get it stuck, so using the filter's weight to find the thread is safer.

You can leave the UV filter on 24/7. If you have to add someting else, the UV has it's own thread at the end (43mm) and add the lens or hood on top of the UV, or you can just remove it and place the lens/whatever directly onto the camcorder's thread (43mm).

Also, if you have to clean the UV filter (and especially if you have ever have to clean the camera lens)- use a microfiber cloth only:
http://www.amazon.com/Goja-Microfibe...567885&sr=1-13

Never use a tissue, paper towel, rag, etc.
Use the microfiber cloth on the LCD screen also - actually you can use a separate one from the lens for that because it will be used to clean the fingerprints off the LCD, so get two.

If, at the time you put the UV filter on, the camera's lens is clean you probably are not going to have to clean the camera lens on any regular basis being that the lens will be encased there good with the UV filter.

Also, never spray the LCD, filter or lens with something like window cleaner/Windex, just use the microfiber cloth.

Thanks, b9222
Great Tip to a novice like me.

If you treat your gear carefully, a UV filter for protection is not necessary IMHO. It can actually degrade the image quality in some situations. That said, I can understand if you'd feel better with one. Since you mentioned lens, the "Digital Concepts" wide angle adapter which you can buy on Amazon for $16 is a must-buy.

But that wide angle lens also degrades the quality though so I ended up spending more and getting a superior one without sacrificing the cams great IQ. Of course no harm on trying the cheap one first as I did, but for me...it didnt cut it.

I think my battery is defective. I did a couple tests....first was to turn it on and leave it on until it runs out. Then I recharge it fully. This still showed up around 68 minutes on a full charge.

So the next thing I did was I let it record until it runs out during the record cycle. I noticed that after burning through the 68 minutes, it told me I needed a charge, but I let it continue recording. It went on for another 40 minutes or so before shutting off. After recharging, the time indicator showed 105 minutes as a full charge.

Well, then I tried to record here and there and see if I truly got 105 minutes. I let it record again, but this time it shut off when there was supposed to be 20-25 minutes left on the timer. After charging, it now says 69 minutes on a full charge. Will conduct another "recording" test to see if it actually lasts that long or longer.

I think this really is a defective battery. I've been in contact with Canon, but they are telling me that it's normal for it to degrade to 1hr of capacity(yeah, right....for a 3 month old battery?).

Anyways, I ordered the Wasabi BP-827 kit and will actually try charging the stock Canon battery on that charger to see if that helps.

Does anyone know if the chip in the battery does anything to tell the camera to stop charging?

Also, how fast would the battery drain if it was left in the camera and the camera is turned off?

Thank you all for the very excellent resource, Big props to Icyman for his rocking accessory list

I also purchased a HFM41 and am thrilled with it. The video quality makes my product look like I know what I'm doing. Between the camera and Coral Video Studios X4 I've been able to do far more than I had hope with video footage. I am on the hunt for some accessories and these posts are a milestone in my hunt. I hope I'm not repeating something already discussed, but I have a few questions for you all if you can give me a minute of your time:

I see on the top of the HFM41 the accessory mount. I assume the CN-126 LED Video Light mounts at this location? If so can you not have the DM-100 Mic and LED light mounted simultaneously? How have you made this work?

I live in a small house and am trying to take lots of footage of my newborn son for our distant family, I'm definitely shopping for a wide angled lens. Thank you Icyman for your video with the wide angle lens/mic/filter. I found the same WA lens online but had seen videos with shot other cameras which showed Vignetting, I'm glad to have assurance that this lens will work for my camera. Maybe I need to watch the video again but can you use both the UV filter & WA lens at the same time?

All in all great posts, very informative!

Thank you!

Hi all,

Any one of you tried Neutral Density filters with the M41 ? I'm considering buying one for shooting but I am not sure is it necessary for M41 model since it have the cinema modes.

Cheers

Hello all,

I have been watching for a decent priced M41 or camcorderinfo to review the M52 for weeks now, stopped in at BestBuy a month ago and no longer stocked

Saturday i stopped at Best Buy near my parents house and looking in the locked glass cabinets in the very back, nestled between all the Sony cams was a M41,still new in box,woohoo!, got a sales person and checked out for $419.00 !

so anyone still looking for one might want to try the same.

Lots of good info here, i love this camcorder so far.

Mike

mvpers,

Welcome to AVS.

That was a nice score! Enjoy the cam.

Is there any way to have the camcorder remember i want to always use relay recording (mem to sd cards) it resetes after power off and even after each mode change...?