Canon HF M4xx Owner's Thread - Page 4

This is the one I bought - it is actually a 58mm with the adapter ring. The 58mm matches up with the outer diameter of the M4X lens about perfectly. It may interfere with the "instant autofocus" sensors at 5 o'clock on the front of the camera but you can either shut that off when using the hood or cut out part of the hood with a dremel tool as someone earlier in this thread did:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200633393475

Dumb question: what are the benefits of using a hood?

It blocks extraneous light and therefore can help to reduce lens flare/increase contrast.

I use Case Logic DCB-304...M41 is positioned vertically and the charger slides in next to it. Good fit. I think this is the smallest one that will work. I tried DCB-303, but the camera alone wouldn't fit. Same with Lowepro Edit 100. Edit 110 would work if the camera sat on top of the charger.



$349 at B&H was the best price for M41 in the last few weeks (11/2011). Fry's had the M41 for $289!! I missed it. Lasted for a day.

I am happy with getting the Canon M41 at B&H Photo at $399 and now it says that the Camara is Discontinued.
I am sure there were many good sales on the M41 but I think it is ending soon....JT

Hey, Icyman. How is use with that battery and the viewfinder? Does the viewfinder pull out at all? I currently do not own the Camcorder but am planing on it very soon. I saw the post that said it doesn't interfere. But, I also wondered if the battery gets really hot at all. Do you think maybe you could post a picture of you use the viewfinder? Or maybe one of the viewfinder pulled out if it can.

Also, would you say and LCD is worth having? Does it make a difference?

One of the reviewers of this camera on Amazon states the following....is this correct?

"If you decide to buy either an M400, M40, or M41, do yourself a favor and switch the camera off AUTO mode. AUTO mode is locked to 1440x1080 at 7 Mbps...and this baby can do 1920x1080 at all the way up to 24 Mbps...but not in AUTO mode."

No, it is not correct on the M41.

Mine came shipped with AUTO record mode set at SP, which is 7Mbps. While it is true you can not change the Recording Mode in Auto. What ever you set in Manual mode, applies to Auto as well. Mine is currently set at MXP, the highest level. It stays in that mode when I switch to AUTO as well.

Same for M40.

Hi
I just recieved the M41 ,the Wasabi batteries , 2 16 GB Sandisc Extreme cards and the SM-V1 mic. I`m going to be using this in a medium to large club to record a band on New Years Eve. As I don`t have alot of time for testing does anyone have experience ,camera and mic settings or pointers using this gear in this type of situation? Also, is the software really crap that came with it? That seems to be what I`ve read. I haven`t yet ever processed digital video so `im looking for someone to point me in the right direction. Basically I`d like to burn a CD ( Win 7) or post the songs online not getting too involved with manipulation of the origonal. thanks Tom

Hi - newbie question: I just bought an M40. What's the best (easiest without losing information) way to get the videos of the camera and onto a PC for editing?

Is there any down side to just pulling out the SD card and popping it in the PC and copying the files? Is anything lost? Is there any meta data stored with the video that can be lost if not transferred correctly?

Thanks!

hey guys. just picked up my M41 at best buy today and from the sound of it, I got the last one locally! I live in Oregon. lucky me!! This is my first HD cam and it looks awesome!! I have already figured out how to upload to youtube and put the cam in MXP. I'm sure like everyone else, they will be filming Christmas with the family. what setting will you guys have it on?? now that I have it in MXP, should I just leave it in AUTO? what do you think is going to look good? thanks!!

I want to start editing videos recorded on my new M41 that consist of several 2 GB mts files. Will Pixela Transfer Utility or VideoBrowser join these files for editing in my Cyberlink PowerDirector 9 editing s/w? The manuals for both Pixela programs say nothing about merging... I've already determined that if the files are not merged there is a brief stutter that occurs when the scene changes from one file to the next (I copied the files from the SD card to the HDD in my PC)...

...OK, so based on a previous thread I downloaded "MTS_FileJoiner". I pulled the SDHC card from my M41, copied the two adjacent clips I wanted to merge, ran MTS File Joiner, and VOILA, the clips were joined. Yea!

whats the deal with story scene?? dont know what the point of it is...

Fishman57- Yes, the software that comes with it is pretty crappy. Do yourself a favor and learn using at least a basic editor that will output good quality video and support 5.1 sound because you have an smv1. There's a few consumer editors that will do this. Of the entry level editors I prefer PowerDirector Ultimate and then Pinnacle Studio. I have since switched to PremierePro which is expensive and a bit more technical but using one of the sub 100 dollar editors should give you good results and are easy to learn.
I found I get better 5.1 sound especially through the center speaker when I select 5.1 zoom. However if recording live music and depending on how close you are to the band, you might want to select 5.1 surround.

Auto is fine if your not familiar with the camcorder yet. But often indoors the color balance is not very accurate in auto mode. Choosing Tungsten, Custom, or one of the other modes can often improve the color.

The settings I will probably use for Christmas (indoors) will be to set it in manual mode. Have it set at P (programmed AE). The gain will be at 13 max, and I will use focus assist if it looks to need it. But most important will be the color balance which I will set under "Custom" and will use a white sheet of paper to adjust it in the room I will be recording in. In darker conditions I sometimes set the shutter speed down to 1/30 to brighten the look, but if there's a lot of movement in the shot I won't do that. There's a whole lot more fiddling you can do with a Canon but if it gets too cumbersome, just set it in auto and have fun. The low light capabilities of this camera are really good so chances are it will look okay in Auto also.

orytek,
Thanks for your helpful suggestions.I`ll look into the software you mentioned.The sound will be harder to judge because the speakers can really spread out the music.Surround might be best. I`ve been using a Digital8 Sony for many years, with no editing of the resulting video.I will take video at the best quality settings and try out editing as I learn the program. I`ll test the Auto ,and Manual and Cinema setting on the opening band .Thanks

Is there any point installing the software that came with the camcorder? I just got Sony Vegas platinum 11 and will be doing the editing with that.

BTW, I just got the Lowepro 110, and would recommend it to those wanting a small camcorder bag. It just barely fits the charger in the outer pocket, so I'm pretty happy.

Frank

To all Canon M4xx owners, interested in quality generic high capacity batteries. I can verify that the following batteries and charger work perfectly with my M40. They are coded which means the battery level and charge indicators work perfectly.


http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-B...5002672&sr=8-4


Randy

Yep , great battery indeed.

Thanks Randy, that's a great price for two batteries and a charger. Two BP-819's should be enough for a day's worth of shooting.

I'm picking up my M41 today and am pretty excited. It'll be interesting to compare with the HF-10 I've got on loan.

I Just received the Wasabi batteries today. These generic 819's fit perfectly flush with the back of the cam and register about 245 minutes of charge per battery. Nice quality charger too.

With the narrow field of view of these cams the first thing I wanted was a wide angle lens. The Canon sounded to be too heavy, wrong color, and expensive though I'm sure it's a good lens. I settled for a Raynox DCR-731 which Raynox told me was a good match for the M series as it zooms 100% maintaining focus with no vignetting. I'm pretty happy with it. I'm no expert but I cannot see any problems at all and it is light and easy to tote around. I'm going to just leave it on the camera most of the time. About half the cost of a Canon but still a quality lens.

For a camera bag I just ordered a Lowepro Edit 130. Sounds like a steal for 13.75 and just hoping the camcorder fits easily in it with the lens attached.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

Edit: Just found the same bag for only 9.00 at newegg.com with free shipping and no minimum purchase required, and for what it's worth, it comes with a free sandisk 4gb sdhc card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16830992495
I'm hoping it's small enough to wear on my hip Through the belt loop but not sure.

One more thing... about microphones. I had ordered the Canon SM-V1 5.1 mic. Sounded like a good idea and I was able to import the channels into FCP X and PremierePro with some effort. just didn't think it was worth all the post work for the quality I was getting. The sound was a definite improvement but soft and ambient only. Not separated enough and although I would like at least stereo, I need more of a shotgun with the ability to also record some ambience. I was impressed with the Rode but too big and the Sennheiser mke400 looked really nice but is mono only. I know I'm asking a lot out of prosumer mics but I just ended up returning the 5.1 mic for the Canon DM-100 which is stereo but more of a shotgun mic. If I don't like it I'm not sure what I'll do. I'm not recording music. Mostly sports and Nature with some dialogue.

Quick question about that Digital Concepts Wide Angle Lens.
Am I going to need a ring for it? It says it 's for a 43mm, I'm kind of new to all of this stuff. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi there! No, you do not need to get a ring to use the Digital Concepts "0.45x" wide angle lens for 43mm, since the M4xx uses a 43mm filter thread. The lens is a direct screw-on.

I just got mine, along with my M41. I did a quick test and it's actually closer to 0.7x, not 0.45x. Still, it brings the wide angle on the M4xx to around 28mm (in 35mm terms), so I'm very pleased. One minor complaint - I just wish it were black to better match the camera.

IMHO, this wide angle lens, at $17 or so on Amazon, is a no-brainer buy for owners of the M4xx. With this lens, I no longer have any reservations about choosing the M41 over the Panasonic TM90.

M4xx + Digital Concepts wide angle lens = poor man's G10?? Probably not too far from the truth!

Cheers!

^^^^Thank you for the reply! Def. will be ordering, although I too wish it was black.

Ftlum/Frank, have you had a chance to edit with Sony Vegas yet? What are your first impressions?

Has anyone tried this kit:
"Lens and Filter Kit for Canon Vixia Hf-m40 Hfm40, Vixia Hf-m400 Hfm400, Vixia Hf-m41 Hfm41 Camcorders Including Wide Angle Lens, 2x Telephoto Lens and 3pcs Uv, Fld, Pl Filter Kit' $39 at Amazon
if so what is your opinion is it worth bothering with or should I keep looking?

Did you try the SM-V1 with the Surround Mic Directionality setting on the camera set to 5.1 Zoom or 5.1 Gun (shotgun)?