Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom Buy Price: Too low to display Online
Nice little beast but poor software
Great camcorder, but get a bigger battery such as the BP-827, the default one makes a nice backup.
The software provided sucks, and you have to figure out by yourself which program does what: The main interface can upload videos, but not play or edit them, as it does for photos. It also creates a clutter of Start menu shortcuts in Windows that you don't need since these programs are called by the main program, ZoomBrowser. About the Pixela video editing software provided, well, let's just say that it's better forgotten...
Only 15 music tracks in wave format are provided to use as soundtrack.
There is also a Canon online photo storage offer that you probably don't need if you already have a blog or email provider.
The good thing is that the AVCHD format of this camcorder is supported by Windows Media Player 11 (at least on my Vista Ultimate machine). Not sure if it's native to Windows or if it came with other software I installed. The MTS file extension was not supported, though, you need to add it: Open a MTS file from Windows Explorer, choose "Select an installed program", select Windows Media Player and the checkbox to remember it.
Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom Buy Price: Too low to display Online
Transferring the videos using the software provided is very cumbersome (cantbearsome really): You need both the USB and power cables, and clicking your way through a few screens on the camcorder before the transfer can start. I could start the photo transfer from either the camcorder or the computer, but only from the computer for videos.
My suggestion: Don't install any of the software, it's easier to just copy the files from a card reader to your hard disk using Windows Explorer. You can get a multi 23-in-1 card reader for about $20, finally get rid of this useless floppy drive, and add a front USB port to your PC!
The camcorder in this offer does not ship with any card, you need to buy one separately. 16GB is good enough for medium quality. If you need higher quality or continuous shooting, you should probably get two cards, like a 32GB card for long capacity and a smaller one as a backup while uploading the videos from the first card. Transcend SDHC Class 6 cards are from a good brand at decent prices.
One more thing: This camcorder is VERY small and light, and its true HD resolution means that it is hard to shoot without making jumpy videos, you need to hold it with 2 hands or more. The built-in stabilizer can only help so far, and will not save you from the butterfly effect: A wing beat on the other side of the planet WILL shake your video. On the other hand, nobody can see the difference if you shot your video drunk or sober, so enjoy the beer. I found a tripod helpful (when shooting from a static location is OK), any should do because the camcorder is so light.
If you need a bag, the Lowepro Edit 110 is just the right size and fits the camcorder with the largest battery, an extra battery, the power adapter, the remote and as many SDHC cards as you need. The camcorder manual also fits in, but it's a pity it's so thick, as it includes 3 languages (English, French, Spanish). There are 23 languages on the camcorder's menus. Cables won't fit. BTW, the camcorder ships without a HDMI cable, you need to get your own if you have a AVCHD-compatible TV and you want to playback on TV directly from the camcorder. Not necessary if your TV has a card reader or is connected to your computer.
Lastly, check your computer rig, you may need an extra large disk (1-2 TB) to store these videos, and more than one if you need to keep the original AVCHD videos for post-production: DVD backups just won't do for this kind of files. If you don't need to keep the AVCHD files, burning DVDs is the best way to archive your movies. Just remember that even in HD, DVDs are highly compressed (meaning losing a lot of the quality of your original AVCHD files.) $13 will get you a very basic USB IDE/SATA external adapter, a cheap way to use obsolete hard disks to archive your videos.
Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom Buy Price: Too low to display Online
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