Canon VIXIA HF R400 HD 53x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom Camcorder and 3.0 Touch LCD

I am in awe! I got my first video camera in 1983 along with a separate VHS recorder. Then a VHS camcorder in 1989, a Sony Hi-8 camcorder in 1999, a Sony digital tape camcorder in 2005 and now the Canon R400. My family has nothing but Canon digital still cameras for many years now and all work great. No different with this camcorder. You go with what is available at the time to get your kids growing up, Xmas gatherings, Little League games, graduations, and weddings. I paid big bucks at the time for those other camcorders. Now I get EVERYTHING and more in a package under 10 ounces. Better zoom, better low light, more scene modes, flash memory, High Definition, longer batter life, easy to use menus, beautiful colors, multi-connectivity, etc, etc, etc. I know smartphones and digital cameras can do video BUT this machine is built to do the best quality video of all like a digital still camera is optimized to get the best quality photos possible. Other machines take acceptable images for fun and the here and now but you only get one shot at weddings, college graduations, class reunions, or a trip to some far off land. I want the best possible images to preserve, copy, share, and enjoy years in the future. For under $200, you get it all! From my history, the quality features, portability, and low cost are an investment in your life's journey thru time. With flash memory so inexpensive now for huge amounts of recording time, I did not need the same camcorder with an internal memory and Wi-Fi for my needs. Cost is not that much more if one can use these features. You may have a smartphone but this little camcorder gives you so much bang for your buck, you just can't pass it by if you have any inkling of doing quality videos.

Is working perfect. Good in it's light. Zoom is great. Hopefully they will update this camera in the ffuture. Because we bought the last camera in the world!

I owned a first generation HD Vixia camcorder in the past and I sold it because it was very slow to initialize recording, play back images and videos, and displayed a noticeable shutter lag while taking stills. The output, except in low lighting, was excellent. It took nice, crisp AVCHD .MTS videos with a variety of recording options. It also had a built in video light, a flash unit and a dedicated physical shutter button for taking still images. I sold the camera because I thought that the MP4 files created by my Canon Powershot SX50 would be equivalent, but I was wrong. The SX50 can only acquire 1080 24 fps or 720 30 fps videos--nor does it have a microphone input; with these limitations I regretted selling my original Vixia, but didn't have the money to buy an expensive prosumer video camera--so I did some research and decided to buy this one. WHAT'S BAD: I find the touch screen overly sensitive and you can easily pick the wrong setting if you have big fingers like I do. The dedicated photo shutter button is gone, instead you touch a place on the screen to take a still picture which is awkward if you like to take both stills and movies. There is no light or flash. Low light performance is poor. Battery life is middling. I took the camera to a trip to an acquirium and the auto white balance had diffciulty maintaining good white balance under those shooting conditions. The still images this camera takes are not of a high quality, if taking stills of events is important to you bring a goood still camera with you as well when you are shooting video. I like to use stills and the Ken Burns effects in addition to my video footage sometimes. Manual settings are very limited. WHAT'S GOOD: The AVCHD video quality is crystal clear and stunning in good lighting situtions. The zoom is quiet and works well and is speed variable depending on how much pressure you exert on the switch, which was consistent with the older model I had. There are a variety of special video effects modes, but they aren't available for all settings, but produce an interesting variety of different film looks; you'd probably be better served by acquiring in regular color mode and then applying these types of effects in your video editing software, but if you want to capture quick clips for posting on the web right out of the camera you can go for it. The 60 fps setting is good for acquiring fast moving subjects, but you'll have to output 30 fps movies for most sharing sites. I am using Pinnacle Studio and didn't see a noticeable degredation of image quality converting from 60 frame AVCHD to 30 fps MP4 for posting on the web and you can render out higher definition movies for viewing on your computer or streaming to your high def TV. The onboard mics are adequate for stereo acquisition if you are close to your subject, but there is an input for an external mic. THE VERDICT: Better than a cell phone camera for capturing video and good in most circumstnaces for home movies, the price for value is actually very good. If you want to be a big shot INDY filmaker you'd do better to save up for a better camera or look into DSLR movie making where you can set everything manually and have a wide selection of lenses to use. For indoor shooting with average or low light invest in a decent video light which can be be attached to your camera with any number of inexpensive brackets to your tripod mount. If you're planning on doing talking head videos for posting on the web don't only invest in a light, but also buy a decent condenser microphone or lavalier mic.

I was going to be going on my first cruise ever and I wanted every way possible to make and capture the memories. I already had 2 digital cameras, a point and shoot and then my expensive DSLR for distance shots, but I wanted to capture the moments in video and sound too. This is why I bought the Canon VIXIA. When making larger purchases I always tend to do my research and read other reviews which is why I always try to do reviews so that I can help others make informed decisions. This camera is very simple to use! Its is nice and compact and not heavy. It's great for my small hands. The viewing screen rotates so you can turn it whichever direction you need in order to see what you are recording. The audio picks up fairly well. I like the fact that you can transfer your videos from the SD card to your computer or by USB. You can use it with iMovie so for those of you that like making videos or just editing your videos, this will be great. You can put a large SD card in and capture hours of video. It does have a mic input if you wanted to hook up a microphone. It isn't wi-fi capable, but that wasn't a huge deal to me since it is so easy to transfer your videos to your computer. I am very happy with this camera and my family has been able to make and capture many memories that we can watch for years to come!

November 15, 2013 Update Lately I have been using the Slik Mini-Pro Dq Table Top Tripod with the Vixia as much as possible. What I do is spread the legs without extending them, and tilt the head 90 degrees. After the camera is attached, I press the ends of the legs of the tripod against my chest. What this does is put the screen where it is easily seen, and give the camera a very sold base. Now no more chance of motion shake, no wavering of the camera, etc. The camera is stable and once I have the horizon properly aligned it stays there. I have one hand holding the legs of the tripod tight against my chest and the other hand is operating the controls. If I want to follow the action in a sports event, for example, I keep the tripod anchored in place in turn/twist my body as necessary to follow the action. This works very well and gives me much more professional looking video. The tripod is small, about 8"x3", so it is easy to carry along with your camera. Much simpler than using a large tripod that you have to set and which keeps you in one position. I can walk wherever I want with my tripod, either in hand or pressed in place. If in hand, it is just a matter of lifting the camera with tripod attached and press the legs against my chest. Because this works so well, I am using the Vixia more than I anticipated. Original Review This is my first camcorder. I now have 3 cameras that shoot video: Canon 60D, a DSLR; Canon SX280HS, a point and shoot that I bought for traveling and when out an about in town and don't want to carry all my camera gear; and now the Vixia HF R400. The video shot by all 3 is usable but that shot by the Canon 60D is the best, which is not a surprise. It is known for shooting excellent photos and video. But what did surprise me is that the video shot by the SX280HS, selling for less than the Vixia, seemed a bit sharper and clearer than the video shot by the Vixia camcorder. This is not meant to discourage interest in the Vixia. If you want a basic camcorder for family video and YouTube, the Vixia is a relatively inexpensive way to achieve your goal. But you may also want to consider the Canon SX280HS from Amazon. It costs less, shoots video that is at least as good as the Vixia and takes photos of a much higher quality. The Vixia has a longer optical zoom reach--35X vs 20X--but the difference is not all that great when you consider the difficulty of focusing when you go beyond 20X. I am not sending the Vixia back to Amazon, but I anticipate using it less than the SX280 because the SX280 is a much better multi-purpose camera. I can walk around with it confident that when the opportunity arises I can take both very good video and very good photos. I bought the Vidpro ST-60 Sport Digital Camera/Camcorder Case for the Vixia and it is a very good fit, even with the slightly larger extended battery, and there is room in the case for a spare battery, battery charger, SD cards, etc.

Bear in mind, I used this for film making, if you aren't looking for a camera for that, this may not be the review you should read. I purchased this camera over a year ago. Before that I used a Sony hd Handycam, which was good but it took a memory stick instead of a memory card. The most I could get out of the Sony was 40 minutes in the highest quality. With a 64 gigabyte memory card, I got 4 hours and 44 minutes. The quality is impressive. It's amazing outdoors and decent in indoors with good lighting. It's a simple to use. It also has filters, I personally wouldn't reccomend them because I can just the tones and color of the footage if I want them to look a certain way, but you may want them. Bear in mind, you cannot film on the highest quality with filters. Now, it can record in Avchd(.mts) and Mp4 file formats. I didn't notice a difference in them. I use .mp4 because my editor can process them better. It is durable. It has held up fine in over a year's use. As my film teacher told me, "if it holds up 6 months with no issue. Odds are that it can last years". Of course, this doesn't mean you can be rough with it. I have only dropped it twice and luckily have had no issue. Now, my only complaints. Do not trust the battery meter. I had it go from 14 to dead in seconds. When I am hired to videotape something, I have to leave it plugged in to be safe. The bottom of the camera that is used to attach to a tripod is plastic instead of metal. After a year's use. The plastic has chipped off some and the camera is barely able to sit on a tripod. For a budget filming maker, I only use it for still shots and I tape it to the tripod when I need to pan. I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants a easy to use camera that they can carry out. I use it as a backup camera currently. I also carry it when I walk in case something interesting happens. I assure you that if you treat this camera good, it will not fail you.

This is an excellent camera in most respects. Previous reviews sing the praises of the video quality and sharpness as well as the excellent optical zoom. But... buyer beware. If you want to hook up an external microphone and record music or something with sensitive dynamics, be aware that you cannot turn OFF the automatic gain control (AGC). Unfortunately, even when you have this camera in full manual mode (which Canon calls "P" mode), AGC is still active. This means that even though you control recording volume with your powered external microphone, the internal microphone of the camera reads ambient sound and boosts lows and suppresses highs. This inability to turn off AGC makes using an external microphone for sensitive dynamic conditions (recording classical concerts and recitals) useless. I confirmed this with Canon - AGC cannot be disabled even in "full manual" mode. Hence I returned the camera and will look for another option. This is a shame - even less expensive Zoom video recorders - that have marginal video quality - have their full manual mode be that - fully manual. That Canon doesn't do this is unfortunate.

I made a video review on You Tube just for posting here on Amazon. Turns out Amazon wants to host the footage rather than link to the You Tube video - soooo... I will just post a link to my video review here.... ---[...]--- I really like the camera. It is very small, yet offers some big features like 60P video, connection for external mic, intelligent optical image stabilization. And the touch screen is very responsive along with intuitive. I have not read the manual, it just made sense on how to use it. Auto focus is fast and zoom is very long. It could be a bit wider but it will work in most inside spaces. It is bright even in dim areas. The battery only comes with 5 minutes of charge on it, and you need the camera along with the provided charger to charge the battery on the camera. When charged it said I had 111 minutes left. The picture is very clear and crisp with great color. I called Canon before buying this to confirm that the only difference between HF R400, R40 and R42 was the hard drive - they said "Yes that is the only difference." So with that in mind and knowing that a SD card with 32 GB of storage is like $15-$20 why would you get the 40 or 42 over the 400? To me that is just a waste of $100 or $200. The HF R400 is the better deal.