The lens performs surprisingly well. Not only does the SuperRange optical image stabilization system work satisfactorily all the way out to the end, but the lens focuses quickly and holds the lock in both dim and bright conditions. Images look sharp, too. On the downside, high-contrast edges show more fringing than usual. The stereo microphone sits beneath the lens and generally delivers good audio quality. However, in recent models, Canon changed the wind-filter option from a forced-on to automatic, and ever since I've found it far less effective. The microphone attenuation (zoom mic) works pretty well, too.
Canon provides a 890mAh battery with the HF11, the BP-809, which is rated for about 55 minutes of typical recording time; it just doesn't feel like enough, so you'll probably want to carry a spare or get the optional double-capacity battery, the BP-819. The larger battery likely ruins the svelte lines of the camcorder design, however.
As with the HF10, the HF11 incorporates a smaller, 1/3.2-inch 3.3-megapixel CMOS sensor than the HV30 and the Sony CX7, but the video still looks quite good: properly exposed, nicely saturated, and sharp. As expected, in low light the video displays more noise and a somewhat compressed tonal range, but retains a significant amount of detail and fares above average compared with the rest of its class.
For the most part, the 24Mbps video is indistinguishable from the 17Mbps except in low light; when viewed on a large-screen plasma TV, the higher bit-rate video displayed significantly more luminance noise than the lower bit rate. The lower bit-rate video looked slightly softer, however, which leads me to believe Canon simply needs to optimize its noise-suppression algorithms for the new mode. The difference between the two was still noticeable, but not as pronounced, when viewed on my calibrated CRT display. Even when extracting individual frames, I didn't really see any fewer artifacts that would impact video editing. On the upside, I didn't hit any software incompatibilities with the 24Mbps files.
An excellent choice for flash-based HD recording, the HF11 gives the CX7 a close run for the money--we've yet to review the CX12--and is a clear champion if you don't like the Sony's touch-screen interface. But then the real question becomes which model is the better deal: the Vixia HF11, HF10, or HF100. The HF10, which has the attractive black body (over the HF100) and can be found for well under $1,000, gets my vote. You can pick up an extra 16GB card for a 32GB total for less than the price difference, and I'm not sold on the value of the higher bit rate, at least not in this implementation.
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Canon Vixia HF11:
