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"Cute as a button. Does the job." on by yvanh
Pros: Compact, ready to roll in an instant.
Cons: Manual needs proofreading.
Summary: Bought this camera for use in a professional teaching environment where brief recordings are made, reviewed and deleted. The 2 1/2 hour (approx.) standard recording capacity (via the internal 8 GB) is more than enough for my needs as is the relatively low drain on the battery pack (no tape, no HD). Fit and finish are typically Canon-clean (lens barrel is metal, most other surfaces are plastic). Stereo mic works very well (have not tried the external mic functions). One megapixel sensor (great for standard resolution video) is not terrific for stills of course but that is of little importance in my case (and probably in yours). None the less, there are cursory shutter, white balance, multiple shot options available etc. The camera will capture video in 16:9 or 4:3 (and its equivalents in stills). It's not HD, but the 16:9 format makes for a nice touch on the LCD screens that are showing up in board rooms these days. Also, the unit comes equipped with a remote. Handy for presentations, but the sensor (located on the corner of the fold-out LCD) has a somewhat narrow range. If you're looking for a neat little camera that will fit in a briefcase or a purse (it's about the size of a hot dog) and that will be ready to shoot within an instant, this is it.
In the con department, the manual is not correctly indexed. There will be much page flipping for a while. Also, the remote functions are not clearly explained. Then there's the proprietary battery pack. Works fine, the power reserve indications are accurate, etc. Charging time (via the camera) is quite long and then there's the other thing Canon is (in)famous for: accessory costs. A spare battery pack will set you back approx. $75.00.
Overall, recommended. -
"Picture not stunning - but great usabilty" on by 3street
Pros: Ease of use - the manual functions and the effects are actually useful and easy to implement unlike on many camcorders. Browsing clips you have shot is also a pleasure as everthing is very intuitive. Very small and light. Mic in socket. Battery life
Cons: The video quality isn't knockout when viewed on a big screen. Highlights tent to bleach out in sunlight. Low-Light performance isn't great either - though I thought it was better than some reviews have described it as being.
Summary: This camera is a well-made and well thought out product as you would expect from Canon. I'm very impressed with it's operating system.
However, when I first got it home I shot a little video out in my garden and was quite disappointed with the quality. I have some DVDs I burned from analog video8 that I shot with a mid-price Canon I had about 17 years ago, which always amaze me with how good the quality of them is. I sort of expected this to impress me too, but I can't say that it did. However, I recently purchased a large screen television so it was a much more critical viewing environment than I've been used to and when I played the shots back on a smaller screen they did look much more impressive. It is a standard not a high definition camera after all.
I've seen a lot of criticism for the FS10's low-light performance, but when I compared it to my old Hitachi digital8 camcorder it was substantially better. I found that by turning a few more lights on, I was getting reasonable results. You have to remember that although it looks like one, it's not an expensive camera and most other cameras at this price don't have great performance in this field either.
I was also a little disappointed that the files it saves (.mod) wouldn't directly play on either a Mac or a PC, but it turned out that after updating imovie 08 it interfaced with it very well even when using a card reader insted of hooking the camera itself up.
In summary, it's the features, its size and its usability that make this camera a winner - anyone who's waited five minutes for a tape based camera to wind from one end of a tape to the other will appreciate how quick and easy the SD system is. Also the battery life is fantastic because there is only the zoom motor to drive. Having a mic in socket is a definite plus and the sound quality is excellent. All in all its got a lot going for it - but the picture quality won't blow your socks off. There are many applications - such as shooting for use on Youtube, or for general family use - where it's more than good enough though and I'd definitely reccommend considering the FS series if this is the area your budget is in. -
"doing all the job" on by mnais
Pros: very & good performance
Cons: actually I didn't find any except still photos
Summary: It is nice according to it's price
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"Power Adapter issue" on by gillionaire
Pros: Nice Product, good images if configured correctly, zoom control is very good (as digital zoom anyway)
Cons: 5 months after purchasing the product, the adapter blew-up with no apparent reason. Had a replacement, avoided the wall socket where it puffed white, thick smoke. A couple of weeks after, it blew-up again.
Summary: Good product+bad accessory=hellovan expensive paperweight indeed. Adapter must be ordered from the US of A from a supplier never heard by anyone, even friends from the same block his store is located. Canon discontinued producing the part because... you guessed it... faulty electronics. Local Canon outlet said the warranty doesn't carry over to the replacement. Nice.
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"A small Camera that takes an okay video" on by georgebrad
Pros: This camera is Great at taking pictures and videos. The quality video is not prefessional but is pretty okay. I like this camera because it has such a long battery life and I barely have to even touch the memory.
Cons: so what happens if you want to make a DVD? Here comes the hard part. What we did was at first we used the software that CANON provided, bad idea. for some reason the program can't get through it's mechanical head that we want a DVD not a CD.
Summary: So if you are looking for a Camcorder that is not professional but not mediocre and you want to film no longer than 2 hours than your pretty good with this Item
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