Canon VIXIA HF M40 Price Review

Size Name: 16GB interior Flash

210 of 212 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Impressed, April 9, 2011
By Simpleton Peck “Electronics Junkie” (Illinois) See all my reviews This review is from: Canon VIXIA HF M40 Full HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro and 16GB interior Flash Memory (Electronics) Well, I have had this camcorder now for a week and tested it in many lighting situations and places and I must say I am impressed. Outside filming my niece and dogs in the yard the videos are crisp viewed on my 40″ Sony HD LCD TV. I could give it a five out of 5. In my eyes, looks broadcast quality. Indoors with varying light was remarkable though I did notice a little graininess. I’d give low light a four star ranking. Being as anal as I’m, I did a little test. Take it for what it is worth.

Now I’m the most anal person you’ll most likely meet and maybe set my expectations too high at times, but I started flipping through many of the HD channels on t.V. To do a little comparison and noticed too some graininess if I stood right up to the TV. Now I know nobody watches t.V from three inches away, I just wanted to compare what beed broadcasted to what I was able to film with this camera. I must this camera’s footage is almost spot on in many cases (TNT in HD, FOX in HD, USA in HD) I’d like to believe I have a good signal from my cable provider into my TV, so in in general video quality, I’d give this camera five stars.

So why not five stars in general for this camera? Well, maybe I am used to my iphone’s touchscreen too much, but the touchscreen on the viewfinder drives me nuts. I may be old school (34 years old), but I really favor real buttons to navigate menus and such. I used to own a Canon Vixia HF100 and really enjoyed the navigation stick and buttons. I could say I have average sized hands, and find it a bit hard to get the right menu selection with my finger at times.

Now I did go with the 16gb variant and dont have regrets though I can not ever see myself opting for using its interior storage. I like to be able to pop out my sd card and just watch my videos on my PS3 or computer for editing instantly. Do not like the annoyance of transferring pictures via usb. As well, wanted a black body as opposed to the silver one. Yes, I am that picky. LOL. I like the fact it has two sd card slots, so storage should never be an issue.

I also like that canon took a chance on just making it lower megapixel for ideal HD recording. Let us be honest, if you want to take pictures, use a real camera. I’d much rather have better video quality and sacrifice still photos. I know many of people complain about this, but it looks to seem right. You are to get “larger” pixels for higher quality low light recording. It is also nice that Canon included the HD CMOS Pro censor in this model. The same one found in the higher class G10, saving you quite some bucks.

Overall, I am happy with my buy and feel Canon has put out a competitive product with great results. I have already bought a lens hood and expanded battery to compliment the camera. (Stock battery is too small and leaves a obvious gap at the edge. A BP819 should fit the bill nicely. I hope this review was useful. I know many of reviewers commented on its other features, so that’s why I omitted many of the other points. Thanks for reading.

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141 of 141 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Best Mid Range Camcorder Excellent for Low Light, November 4, 2011
By Scuba Steve (Reston, VA, USA) See all my reviews This review is from: Canon VIXIA HF M40 Full HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro and 16GB interior Flash Memory (Electronics) Well, stating that this is the best mid range camcorder is a pretty assert, but to be just, it is not my assertion that award was just bestowed on the M40 this week by CamcorderInfo.Com .And by mid range, they mean video cameras priced between $500 and $1000. What makes this camera an more favourable deal is that you may get all three variants (M400, M40, and M41) for under $500.

Keep in mind that majority reviewers of camcorders look at specifications , then make a subjective judgment about the quality of the video. The CamcorderInfo.Com people (with whom I’m not affiliated) do broad lab based testing to measure, as an example, color accuracy, sound, and low light performance in controlled and consistent conditions. The fact that they rate this camera so greatly is high praise indeed. They have a great eleven page review on the M40 if you’re interested.

So why did they like this camera so much? Put simply, its sensor. This camera’s sensor is bigger and more optimized for HD video than the competition. Most of those other cameras use a quarter inch sensor, while this camera has one that’s one third of an inch size. When you compute sensor area, that’s a heck of a difference. Canon also has optimized the hardware and software to concentrate this sensor on HD resolution.So it does it well. Many other cameras not only have a smaller sensor, they integrate it so it can record HD and higher than HD resolution still pictures. Canon didn’t do so here. Yes, you may be able to take still photos with the camera, but at full HD resolution only (19201080) not bigger. Canon appears to decided to not sacrifice video quality to get a higher megapixel ranking for still pictures. Hey, you’re purchasing a video camera.Right?

So what are they then doing with such a big sensor? Grabbing more light, suppressing visual sound, and to get better color accuracy. More remarkable is that this camera has the same sensor as CamcorderInfo’s “price be darned” buyer camcorder of the year Canon Vixia HF G10 ($1499). Yes, purchase an M400, M40, or M41 and you’ll get a sensor that’s in the best buyer video camera of the year.

So what do you sacrifice? Mainly, 60p. This camera shoots at 60i.With modes for 30p and 24p. Many other mid range cameras shoot at 60p. Does that make them better? Well, that depends on your handling. If filming indoors is vital to you (e.G., birthday parties, school plays, indoor sports), then 60p of black video is not all that useful.And bright 60i video with correct colors can not be beat. Personally, I filmed my daughter’s gymnastics in a moderately black gym and with the fast motion, the video was jaw dropping.

You also give up the aforementioned high resolution still pictures, but Truthfully, I think that is a gimmick. The zoom is restricted to 10x.Which is another concession Canon made to otherwise bring you a top notch video camera at this price. For me, 10x is overkill from the cheap seats at my daughter’s events, but your mileage my differ.

Frankly, I think that this camera is to get discounted because many buyers buy either depending on price alone or with looking at specifications. Specifications like 60p jump off the page. The fact that this camera’s sensor is so superior to most of the competition is a far more subtle advantage.That possibly may hurt the sales of this line. Well, hey, that is good news for you. When I 1st started looking at the M41, it was $799. I just picked it up for $499.And an M40 for $449. Awesome stuff. Get a camera that beats the rest of the mid range and its price is below the mid range.

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So what is not to like?

1) The software. You get two packages a video move utility and a video browser/editor that also will include a move capability. You may be able to only decide to install one. I opted for the video browser/editor, which installed good on Windows seven Pro 64bit, but then could not work..and I’m seemingly not the single ranger. , I uninstalled and just installed the move utility.Which just moves the files. It is also not configurable. Of course, you may also just connect the camera to your PC and drag the files off yourself, but that is a bit more work.And the move utility does a great job of keeping track of what you have already copied off.

This software issue really disappointed me, but to be frank, the software included with most cameras is pretty bad. Sony sells a great video editor Sony Vegas (multiple editions), but doesn’t bundle it with the Sony cameras that I considered. In fact, the software that they do bundle is seemingly also not matched with 64 bit OSes.So factor in that you’ll most likely have to purchase editing software if you want to play around with the video. Really, the M400/40/41 line lets you to cut videos, introduce fades, and add titles in the camera, but I’d favor to do it on my PC with more able software. No worries, you have your choice of a large range of able video editing packages for well under 100 beans.And most of them trump anything that could ever be bundled with a camera.

2) The battery.Which is small. In fact, it’s considerably physically smaller than the recessed cavity into which it fits. I smell Canon’s marketing and sales departments at work with this choice. Oh well, the included battery works well for my use (i.E., 60 to 90 mins of filming), but I could see how someone else may feel compelled to get a second bigger capacity battery.

3) The lens.Which maxes at 10x, but many people assert suffers from vignetting at greater than 5x when the aperture is large open. It is also not large. You may be able to address many of these issues with an aftermarket large angle lens (bulky) and by playing with F stops in manual mode when you’re shooting against a monochromatic background, but Canon may have done better. That said, these issues do not really annoy me and the camera’s low light potential are perfect for me.So I’m in a forgiving mood.

4) The LCD screen.Which is resistive (not capacitive), so it takes either a firm push or you have to use a fingernail. On the positive side, you may be able to use it while wearing gloves. Also a plus it is bright. Lighter than the LCD on the costly G10, although with fewer pixels.

5) The Menus.Which aren’t intuitive. I had to read the manual cover to cover to see what the camera could do.And now that I know, I will plod through menus looking for what I need. Amazing, because the menus on my Canon 40D are awesome.

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So, if I did not scare you away.And low light is a big deal to you.Which model should you get?

That depends. If you have lots of high speed SD cards, the M400 can be the ticket. It has no interior memory. Instead, it has two SD card slots and supports relay recording between the cards. Really, all three models have two such slots.And support relay recording. The M40 adds 16 GB of interior memory and the M41 ups that to 32 GB and gives you a viewfinder, which is nice for sunny days.

I first bought the M40 since I did not want to find myself in the stands and realize that I did not have an SD card in the camera, but then returned it and picked up the M41 since my wife seemed to miss having a viewfinder. That said, I hear many people who have the viewfinder still end up using the LCD most of the time. Whatever you decide, you generally get the same camera otherwise.With the awesome sensor from the HF G10.

On the other hand, if you shoot nearly entirely fast moving action in decent lighting conditions, you can be better served by a camera that supports 60p or suffers less from vignetting.But check the CamcorderInfo website to see how each camera does shooting video rather than relying on specifications alone.

So why five stars with the warts? Because I just do not see any other choice anywhere near this price that will give you such a great low light sensor and the resultant high quality video. It is the current mid range low light king.And I feel that it is only just to rate it depending on the current competition in the price range. If low light potential aren’t a priority for you, then I could drop the ranking to four stars. If you were familiar with the term vignetting before this review and look for it in the corners of your pictures and videos, you most likely could rate lower.

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BTW, if you do choose to purchase either an M400, M40, or M41, do yourself a favor and switch the camera off AUTO mode. AUTO mode is locked to 1440×1080 at seven Mbps.And this baby can do 1920×1080 at all the way up to 24 Mbps.But not in AUTO mode. Many other useful menu things are hidden in AUTO mode.Like the one that changes the powered IS from “push and hold” to “toggle on/off”.

Cheers,
Scuba

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107 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Best Low Light buyer Camcorder, PERIOD!!!, June 1, 2011
By Icyman See all my reviews This review is from: Canon VIXIA HF M41 Full HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro and 32GB interior Flash Memory (Electronics) do not listen to the negative comments. People generally have something to complain about and their own preferences. But, this Camcorder has the lowest lux ranking I have seen. I have the Canon HF M41. A viewfinder is a must have for me. I looked at costly camcorders. They all have their strong points, but for me, to get good footage in low light is the 1st priority. All those nice features the other brands have are great but not a must have. The low light of this camcorder is nothing short of Amazing. It has the same sensor as the XF105, a $4300 professional camcorder, . If someone tells you the difference is small and not a big deal, do not believe them. How many times have you been disappointed with low light grainy recordings ? I bought a $39 shoe mounted light and works beautifully. This is my fifth camcorder. My 1st was the original Hi8 from sony. That one and the three that followed gave me grainy low light video. We all hate grainy video. Now I do not have to deal with that anymore.

If you are on a budget and the viewfinder is not a must have then think about the M400 or M41. The M400 has no fitted memory. Personally, I could find myself prepared to shoot and realize I dont have SD card with me. Who took my SD card??? Follow me.

One bonus to having the M4xx series over the G10 is the M4xx camcorders have a lower resolution LCD but it is lighter than the G10. I dont have problem with looking at the LCD in direct sunlight. Go to the avsforum web site. Camcorder section under “other interest”. Look for the “Canon HF M4xx Owner’s Thread” or the G10.Owner’s Thread. Good information and links to uploaded videos made with the camcorders.

Some of my video in low light situations really looks lighter on screen then it did for real. And not grainy. I bought a $13 large angle lens on amazon. It works well but do not zoom with it.

Another vital issue for people new to SD cards and speed prerequisites, A class four card is fast enough. Many people confuse MB with Mb. 1MB = 8Mb. This camcorder records up to 24Mbps which equals only 3MBps. I have seen many posts with people using the wrong terms. B=byte / b=bit.

I spent too much time researching this camcorder. Hopefully, My comments will assist.

Enjoy!!!

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