Canon HF M4xx Owner's Thread - Page 3

Vimeo.com usually has a lot of native clips from different camcorders for you to download so I'd check their.

I received my M41 just a couple of weeks ago. I also ordered the Canon brand 819 battery. It fits perfectly, completely filling in the battery compartment. The battery that ships with the M41 leaves a vast cavern in the back of the camcorder. Depending on the quality level you shoot (I'm currently using FXP) you could get a few hours with the 819 battery.

I was wondering what others do regarding using a filter on your video cameras in regards to when camera not in use.
Do you leave it on and use a lense cap so you can store it without messing up the filter and/or do you take off the filter each time.
I was curious as I didn't know if there is a lense cap that would fit the size filter this camera takes.
I have it charging for the first time as I type and am excited to get some shots in.
Thanks.

Could you tell me which battery does the M41 come with? Is it the 809? Thanks,

Just got my new M41...Any M41 owners notice a slight rattling sound when they handle the camcorder....like soemthing is lose inside of it? Is that normal?

My M41 hasn't arrived yet, but I hear the rattling noise with the HF-10 I've borrowed. I'm guessing it's an orientation sensor (some DSLRs also make the same noise).

Page 165 of the full manual explains the answer...internal lens fixture makes the sound when camera is off. Also Google "canon camcorder rattle" shows it is common to most camcorders. So it's normal.

Yes.

The $15 wide angle lens I bought for mine requires a 43mm to 52mm adapter ring which matches the outer diameter of the lens on the camera - I'll probably use that size filter so I can leave the ring on and/or the 62mm diameter of the other end of the wide angle lens. I also bought a lens hood that was advertised as a 43mm but is actually a 58mm with a 34mm to 58mm adapter ring so I could also go with that for my filter diameter but I think I will puchase a 52mm to 58mm adapter ring for that so - again - I can leave the 52mm adapter on the camera. YMMV .

Thanks for replying and your insight. Enjoy your camera.
I'm very happy with this M41.

What recording modes are you guys using? I've read that if archiving and shooting important stuff, you usually shoot 60i and 24Mb/s (MXP mode). But I read in the manual on pg 86 that movies recorded in MXP cannot be saved on AVCHD discs. Does this mean it will also be difficult to archive on blu-ray discs? Or somehow be difficult to transfer and edit .mts files on a computer?

I shoot most everything in 30p mode, better for internet, sharing on facebook or YouTube. I only use 60i when I'm wanting to make slow motion. While 60i is the spec for bluray, IMO that form of long term storage is problematic. My bluray player, like most, has a USB connection that I can use to connect a thumb drive or usb hard drive. But I actually use the DLNA network to view my videos from my computer's built-in hard drive.

I find that BD and DVD get damaged too easily to trust my work with them. Even my 75 year old mother uses facebook and youtube.

So if you're archiving on BD then yes use 60i. But if you are archiving on a hard disk, Online storage or uploading to YouTube then keep it 30p. Also, my BD player will play mp4 files from any data disc format. So technically, you can still archive on a "Bluray Disc" with 30p mp4 format.

One added bonus. You can get nice stills for "digital media" viewing from 30p format. It can always be converted to 60i.

The Wasabi 827 batteries are great. I have never run out of power. While they do stick out, it actually doesn't interfere with using the view finder. The view finder eye cap is too short to use without turning my head slightly. Thus the battery is out of the way. Besides, I find that I use the LCD screen much more than I originally thought I would have. I keep the stock battery ready if needed but I never find it more useful. Just like most electronics, more juice is better.

I Just got my Canon M41. I am excited and like to know what kind of accessories should be having as i am newbie to photography/cinematography .

Thanks for any help and pointers from all of you

Regards

Post #56 has all the value accessories listed that I have. But the DM-100, .45x wide angle lens and the Wasabi batteries are a must have IMO. I use them on a regular basis.

The M41 is now only $388 at B&H. Wow! what a deal.

What software do you use to generate your slow motion clips? I'm very interested in incorporating some slow motion video but don't know what's best. How do you de-interlace your 60i files for slow motion?

I just got an M41 and have been very pleased with the video that I've seen so far. Thanks in advance!

Formally, AVCHD on DVD allows for 18 Mbit/s max, but YMMV depending on player. BD allows up to 40 Mbit/s, so feel free to shoot 1080p60 @ 28 Mbit/s. Oops, 1080p60 has not yet become a legal mode for BD, so YMMV again.

How do you think transferring files can be difficult?


In my book, one cannot archive 30i as 30p, and one cannot archilve MPEG-2 TS as MP4. Archiving means preserving, and preserving means as little changes as possible, at best using the original clips. I don't see why saving 60i files to BD is fine but saving them to HDD is problematic.


Sure, you can convert 30p to 30i. And you can convert 30i to 30p as well, but you lose something either way. If you convert 30p to 30i then you lose spatial resolution without gaining temporal resolution. If you convert 30i to 30p then you lose both spatial and temporal resolution.

Canon's 30p is not native 30p, it is 30PsF. Keep it this way when archiving. Render to 30i for BD (if your authoring app does not have explicit PsF profile). Render to 30p for YouTube and combine fields (this is often and incorrectly called "no deinterlacing").

I am a new HF 40M owner and trying to learn fast. This thread has a lot of great information.
One thing I played with other lesser camcorders before finding this one that can actually do low light recording and look great, was time lapse recording which I find it rather cool yet, it seems this camera does not have that? Am I unfortunately, correct?
Also any cheap external MICs you guys recommend or is it better to stick with the built in one unless I am willing to spend some $$ for a decent one?
Thanks!

Hey Guys,

I'm a brand new owner of the Canon Vixia HF M41. I'm really pleased with the video that I've taken with good light. The detail is fantastic. However, I've not been impressed at all with the footage that I've taken in low light (it's supposed strength). I think I just might not know what I'm doing operating the camcorder though. Here is the footage - it really is this grainy. At the 1080p setting Youtube seems to display the video fairly close to the original.

Low light test at Auto, MXP and 24p: http://youtu.be/kVlOCN02Ams
Low light test at Auto, MXP and 30p: http://youtu.be/YyJ2SyxgIHE
Low light test at Auto, MXP and 60i: http://youtu.be/GIUnKqQOFQM

A few questions: why is it so grainy? Am I moving too much? Is there a manual setting that will give me better performance?

Changing the bitrate from MXP to SP and everything in between didn't seem to have any affect. Neither did changing the from rate from 60i to 30p to 24p. Everything I tried with that particular setting turned out bad. (You can see three of the examples above). I'm definitely a novice with the camcorder at this point. I think I just need to understand the ins and outs of the camera a little more before a setting like this can be filmed correctly.

Dave

I am no expert so I will leave that part for others but I do think youtube completely destroys the videos I have taken with this camera. On my TV they look so razor sharp and detailed and above all silky smooth. I just uploaded raw files as a test so maybe I need to do some work on them to make it more youtube friendly.
I did some low light videos as a test (just got mine too) and was really impressed by how clean it was specially after suffering with other ones I tried like some JVC everios and a Samsung.

You're shooting everything back-lit .

Luis - youtube didn't ruin the video in this case. What it displays is pretty close to what I have with the raw mts files. Especially if you use the 1080p option for viewing the videos on youtube.


ronkimball - So the reason it is grainy is because of the light coming from the fire place in the back? Is there a way to mitigate that with some manual adjustments? I don't think this is an issue with the camera. But I'm not sure how to make the adjustments to make a scene like that look good.

All other video I've been very pleased with. It's just the lighting in this scene and the resulting graininess that have me a little discouraged.

Oh I meant in reference to your previous comment about youtube not degrading the video. At least from my point of view, uploading raw video, the results were bad compared to the actual footage on my computer or via the hdmi.
Good luck with the low light thing..I am just trying to learn myself and hunting for add ons.

Backlighting like that doesn't put enough light on the subjects to get a good picture. You really need some fill lighting to balance it out. These cameras are't magic - my M41 sees better in low light than I can and you can't really ask for more than that. I don't know of any color camera that eliminates the need for fill lighting in all situations...

Funny that you said that...yesterday I was playing with it at night and I was like damn...it actually looks brighter via the cam than with my eyes...a first for me with any camcorder I have owned.

Hi All.

I just bought an M41 (my first HD camcorder) and was wondering what settings one should shoot at if planning on burning the (non-sports) footage to Bluray. I read somewhere that shooting in 24p is a myth of sorts with regards to things looking 'like film', but it's still good to do to conserve disc/memory space.

Also, aside from an extra battery and memory card, what accessories are typically useful? I'm wondering if I really even need an external light, given that the low light capability is pretty good. Do people find they're needing a wide angle lens? If so, which brand is recommended?

Finally, what do people do for storage when they travel? Do you buy a bunch of SD cards? Lug around a laptop? I don't see that you can directly transfer videos to most portable hard drives, but that would be nice if there's something out there like that that's not more expensive than buying a netbook.

thanks in advance,

Frank

Disk space depends solely on bitrate. 24p does have different motion portrayal, but to properly edit PF24 from the M4XX you need to remove pulldown first.

A wide-angle adapter may be useful, I have a 52mm Raynox lens, works fine on my Canon and Panasonic cameras.

I have a bunch of cards and have yet managed to fill all of them during vacations. Cards are cheap these days.

Thanks, Ungermann.

Also for everyone, what bag are you using? I'd like the smallest one I can get away with that still holds the charger.

- Frank

I got a Lowepro from walmart. I think its called the Adventure 140 or so.
Not the smallest but just enough to fit enough accessories to feel ready for any situation.
Not sure what I will do when I get an external mic (if I ever do).

Do you guys think this hood works with the camera using a 43mm to 52mm adapter (from the links in post 56) ?
Hood

Also I was considering the Audio-Technica PRO24CM Stereo mic but it seems I will need to but an adapter to mount it right?