Has anyone here tried Canon VIXIA HF R30 (LEGRIA HF R36) family of camcorders? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: marmad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 08:24:15 am
content: I'm looking for a cheap HD camcorder with external mic input for doing video for the web - and I wondered if anyone here had any experience using this Canon model (or one of the family that share the same specs - e.g. the NTSC VIXIA HF R300 - or PAL LEGRIA HF R306) for this purpose?I know they are suppose to have abysmal battery life (and mediocre low-light performance) - but aside from that, any other major drawbacks or problems?

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2013, 12:02:31 pm
content: I have a HF M301 (not entirely sure if it is the same family) and I am very pleased with it. The low-level sensitivity is not the best, but a single battery was able to keep up with a day of walking around and filming scenery - roughly it was powered up for 2 hours total (the filming was actually less).I bought it refurbished for almost half price last November, therefore it was a great bargain for me.

author: marmad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2013, 02:20:41 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on January 18, 2013, 12:02:31 pmI think the M-series has a slightly larger CCD - but I'm sure the two series share many similarities. Thanks for the feedback - good to hear you're pleased with it.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2013, 02:36:55 pm
content: Quote from: marmad on January 17, 2013, 08:24:15 amFYI, "low light" actually means ordinary indoors light too. It's not just for night time.I was staggered at the difference my HF G10 (with it's big low noise sensor) makes inside compared to my previous Sanyo HD-1010, which had a halfway decent sensor on it actually.I also have a canon HF M40 as a B-Roll camera. Same sensor as the HF G10.I'd shoot for the M model if you can afford it. Look for discounted older models.Anything that has a max x10 lens is going to have a decent sensor in it generally.I got the older M40 over the newer model M50 because the bastards changed the to a smaller battery pack. I wanted compatibility with my HF G10.Dave.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2013, 11:49:22 pm
content: Quote from: marmad on January 18, 2013, 02:20:41 pmI saw at Canon's page that bothR30andR300have a smaller sensor thanmine, therefore this usually reflects on overall image quality/sensitivity.All of them have a smaller sensor than Dave'sM40andG10, though.Another detail: I got cameras without internal memory, as they tend to be cheaper...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2013, 11:54:33 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on January 18, 2013, 11:49:22 pmI saved money on my M40 with that.I've used the internal 32GB on my HF G10 a few times when I forget the SD card, so it's handy.But annoying in that it doesn't automatically switch over if there is no SD card.Dave.

author: marmad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 19, 2013, 02:44:03 am
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on January 18, 2013, 11:49:22 pmYes, I normally wouldn't buy one with internal memory - it just so happens that, at the moment, you can get the 8GB one at the same price as the one with no memory - and the whole series is quite cheap (here in the US) because the new Canon models are due out within the next couple of months.It just seems that this Canon line is the only reasonably decent, budget camcorder with external mic input that I can find.