Official Thread : VIXIA HF R30 , HF R32 , HF R300

Seen several of the VIXIA HF threads but none mentioning the HF R30 , R32 , or the R300 so thought this might help to get one started . I just bought the HF R300 and this is my first camcorder ever . I know Canons reputation cause i've dealt with them for the past 8 years with digital cameras . Now i want to get my hands wet with camcording . It will be for hobby of family & friend gatherings , vacations , and just plain walk around and perhaps some wildlife ventures . I have "ALOT" to learn but for the last 2 days learning this camcorder i feel i am really going to enjoy it ! So now if anyone who has any comments on these camcorders or own one of the 3 mentioned please feel free to drop in and help me get this thread started ! I'm sure i'll be back with questions as i learn myself how to take great videos !

Now that i started this thread are there any owners here of the HF R300 ? Whether or not you are a owner does anyone have any opinions about the HF R300 , Pros' or Cons' ?

good luck , seems no one either has this line of camcorders or they don't like them or they are not interested in the lower cost camcorders . More than 200 viewers and your the first to even post in this topic .

Well being new to this forum i guess i jumped the gun and shouldn't have started this particular thread before i fully decided to keep this camcorder or not . After a week of testing and reading review after review and checking other cameras and links i decided to take this camcorder back and will be getting the VIXIA HF M50 . I would prefer the M500 but i dealt with BestBuy and they have the M50 but not the M500 . About the only difference is the M50 has a 8-gig built in HD and slot for a SDHC card . The M500 has only a slot for card , no HD . They don't have the M52 but only difference is the M52 has a 32-gig built in and the M50 has 8-gig but i can deal with that for $100.00 difference .

So since i will be changing camcorders a moderator can delete this whole topic if he feels reason to . There is already a topic on the M500 so wont need to start one at all .

Well big mind changer here . Took the Canon back and came home with a SONY HDR-XR260V . More than the Canon but let's hope i'll be more happier with this one .

Well i was not happy with the SONY , WAY TOO MUCH CA (Chromatic Aberration) and the expansion software was not available to download with the camcorder ! Took it back and got the Canon HF M50 . Great choice , now i'm happy ! NO CA either !

Did you read all the thread ? I took the R300 back and bought the HFM50 . Not to cause misunderstanding i wont argue with your belief about the 24p recording . When you understand better the ways video is recorded you'll understand the reason for Canons recording formats and styles . Then you can argue with Canon , not me .

Frame Rate NTSC:
AVCHD: 60i/PF24/PF30
MP4: 24P/30P

You might want to read the specs on the R300 : http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_r300#Specifications

Then watch the short video explaining Vixias Technology : http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/VIXIA_imgquality

Then watch this short video on Canons HD CMOS Pro chip : http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/hd_cmos_pro

One other thing is Canon has good glass optics and that is a fact known world wide .

Honestly i cannot answer about the Panasonic cause i have no experience with it . From what videos i have seen they all look good but honestly alot of the video depends what software you edit with and how you edit it . I use Adobe Premiere Elements suggested by another member here and i'm glad i did cause it was in my pocket range and excellent video software without going the full blown Cs6 Premiere for $800.00 . All in all the i'm definitely glad i bought the M50 and yes it's a little steep but an excellent camera . The R300 is a very good camera if your using it mostly in well lite areas or daytime . The light sensitivity is not as good as the M50 is . Another reason i bought it was because i know Canons quality and have dealt with them for many years and it's world wide known that their optics are probably the best on the market as you look around at all the major football games and see all the white lens on many cameras . That white lens is Canons trademark of perfection . The optics in the camcorders are the same way . However as with any optics any brand you get what you pay for so i wanted better and something new and not fixing to be dropped off the new list for a long time . I still have alot to learn in video and editing cause i've never been into camcorders in the past but always wanted to have one for activities and vacation purposes . When i bought the R300 when i took it back i got the Sony HDR-XR260V with the 160gig HD . It really was a nice camcorder but out in the sun it had so much CA (chromatic aberration) (purple halo) in tree leaves and around anything bright and i just could not handle that for the amount $$ it cost . I asked on the SONY forum about it and they told me it had to do with adjusting the aperture . Sorry but if you know glass you know aperture has nothing to do with CA , it's all in the quality of the optical glass . I even do astronomy and use scopes and it's the same way with telescope glass or even binoculars . So i took it back and got the M50 . There is no detectable CA on any daytime videos i have done and the only CA i have seen so far is when i zoom in on the moon and there is very little at the edge which can be edited out if need be . So do i think the extra $200.00 is worth it ?? To me definitely yes !! Depends your pocket book and what quality you need . The M500 , 50 and 52 all are the same except for the HD . M52 has 32-gig , M50 has 8-gig and the M500 has no HD , you use a card for recording . However if you can pick up a good or new M41 and your wanting to watch the budget that is a good camcorder also . You might can find that one a little cheaper at Ebay or elsewhere . Hope this helps more with your decision with whatever brand you go for . Just make sure you buy what you can afford and want to last a long time and mostly are happy with it .

I honestly believe you will be happy with your purchase if you get the 500 and it does not have the Wi-Fi ability which i have disabled in mine anyway . But that 64-gig card will be more than enough or if you shoot a whole lot get 2 . if you do get it the only thing i recommend is get a small camera bag for it and go to www.amazon.com and get a Hoya clear UV filter (43mm) for the front , it will not only protect the lens but keep any flying debris out of the shutter area and it's thin so it wont interfere with the view at all . Nothing like protection for a new camera . BTW it does not effect the quality of videos or pictures what so ever ! Look forward to hearing what you decide for a definite . Have a great day !
Edited by ronlhodges - 6/29/12 at 6:42am

I thought i might ask if you saw this thread i made on the M50 :

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1409756/official-canon-hf-m50-52-500-thread

It has alot of info , sample videos and a few pictures . The car image is the only one i edited with some special software but had the original image not been good the edited image would not have turned out as good as it did but the other scenery images have not been edited , straight out of the camera . This is the thread this forum has doing it's best to bury as quick as they can ........ , wonder why ?? ;-)