Canon FS10 Flash Memory Camcorder with 8GB Internal Flash Memory and 48x Advanced Zoom Review
I was able to buy the Canon FS10 for 8.00 as a referb from the manufacturer. I wanted a flash memory camera to replace my Sony Handycam DV.
Benefits:
1. No moving parts in the FS10
…DV tapes are a pain, and hard drive camcorders sound worse than laptop computers, which get destroyed if you use them on your “lap” …the FS10 flash memory is great–nothing moves–so nothing breaks. 8 gig on board and 8 more only cost .00. I bought the Trancend SDHC 8 gig class (6)…That looked like the best card for the money. The “class (6)” is a reasonably fast speed. I wouldn’t use less, and you probably would be wasting money with a higher speed card with the FS10, as you probably wouldn’t note a difference in performance. Bottom line: it’s 100 times faster than DV Capture. Note: the camera does not automatically switch from internal memory to the card, you must do this manually. Be aware of your shooting time in relation to the quality of recording selected. The highest quality XP, lasts just under 2 hours for each 8 gigs, much longer in the lower quality settings.
2. Above average low light performance.
Compared to the Handycam, the crappy low light performance was really less crappy. In fact, quite good if you use a little imagination and compromise. The FS10 will record in zero light quite well up to about 3-feet away, using the on board light–that’s pretty good for your routine late night back office spy work, but if you are aiming the camera at a person, the light is rather blinding. I used it to record my music act in a poorly lit bar. In color, using the night setting, everything lit up well and was grainy. On another night, I set the camera to the “night” setting and also the “black and white” setting and the picture was much better. The camera has several other settings to compensate for lighting. Compared to my old Hanycam, night vision is much better. My friend has a 00 dollar camera, he uses professionally, and he uses good photography lights to make his indoor videos come out right. For 8.00, I’m not going to beat my head, trying to find a cheap camera that films great in low light. I’m just going to light my subjects if I need crisp images. Otherwise, the FS10 performs just fine.
3. Remote Control
I like the remote control. I had the camera situated about 15 feet up on a wall in a club, and I could just tap the record on/off button from the floor…very cool. You can manipulate all the functions of the camera via the remote.
4.Software:
Most of the reviews made me nervous here. But…I use windows XP. The Pixela Image Maker 3 quickly converts the stored footage to an (mpg) file, which transfers easily to my Sony Vegas Pro 8 editor. Make sure you specify Pixela’s (settings) to send your project information to the specific place you want to work (like an external multi terabite drive!)so you don’t clutter up your C-drive with a ton of your work. Expect to use your own editor, so shop wisely and make sure it works with (MPG) files–most should. I don’t know about Windows Vista or Windows 7 yet as I’m waiting for 8 and 3/4 to come out before I jump out of XP.
5 Mikes:
There are a set of stereo mikes on he front of the camera and a slot to plug in an external mike on the left side of the camera. The regular mikes compress the sound if it is too loud. The ultimate solution to high volume sound with this camera would be to use high quality condenser mikes going through a small mixing board and then into the camera. It’s nice to know that that possibility exists, but the front-end mikes were ok on the blasting show I recorded the other night–again, this cost less then the usual 00 a night video crew–I’m not expecting MTV quality video in this scenario. The video I captured, however, was used to successfully canvas another venue for my band to perform at–good enough!
6 Audio:
The “AV Out” works fine to your AV in on a TV for instant playback or you can just stick the included AV cable RCA ends into a sound system so you can hear the recording better, while watching the footage on the screen. Though, the transfer to the computer is so fast, I just upload and listen to the sound and watch the video on the computer. The overall sound quality is about the same as my old Handycam–its ok. As mentioned in (5) the camera has the potential to accept processed sound from an external mixer if you want better sound.
7. Zoom and auto focus:
Great. I read about some camera’s making noise on the recording and or sluggish focus–on the new cameras! No problems noted here. You can change the speed of the auto focus if needed. The zoom goes to 2000x, but I just used the default zoom setting, which gives the best quality.
8. Feel:
At first site, this camera was not that great looking. But I liked the over-all reviews on the FS10 better than any of the other 1001 various reviews I read. So i put sexy looks aside and went with my intellectual gut feeling. But now that I have the camera, I note that it is actually very solid; good small size; and easy to work with. It has become more and more attractive as I see that it delivers what it should for what it is. I am glad that I got this camera as a referb for 8.00. I also added a 3-year warranty for 30 bucks…that I don’t feel I will need, but I feel better having it. I don’t think you will lose sleep if you can get this camera at (that) price as it’s original new cost is around 0. At 0 and above, however, I might be looking for an HD camcorder. Nevertheless, the complaints about poor quality and other problems associated with using HD camcorders are just as bad–if not worse in the HD market verses the SD market. I decided to get this standard definition camera, because after reading all the HD camcorder reviews, I felt those cameras weren’t worth the money or headache for really not that much more value. This camera works great with current 2010 technology–easy to load to computer–easy to load to YouTube, etc. I’ll get an HD camcorder when I get Windows 8 and 3/4.
Canon FS10 Flash Memory Camcorder with 8GB Internal Flash Memory and 48x Advanced Zoom Feature
- Capture video to 8 GB hard drive or SDHC cards
- 48x Advanced Zoom; image stabilizer
- Widescreen HR recording
- 2.7-inch widescreen LCD
- USB 2.0 compatible for fast file transfer
Canon FS10 Flash Memory Camcorder with 8GB Internal Flash Memory and 48x Advanced Zoom Overview
Canon FS10 Standard Definition 8GB Flash Memory Camcorder From their long history of optical excellence, advanced image processing, superb performance and technological innovation in photographic and broadcast television cameras comes the Canon FS10 Standard Definition 8GB Flash Memory Camcorder! With the light, compact Canon FS10, you can have stunning video with the ease and numerous benefits of flash memory. Canon offers the best in flash memory with their Dual Flash Memory technology. Record to both the camcorder’s 8GB internal memory and a removable SD/SDHC card, extending your available recording space and offering added flexibility in file transfer and playback. The Canon FS10 Standard Definition 8GB Flash Memory Camcorder is just the thing for catching more of your life’s most special moments! Specifications 1/6″ CCD image sensor 2.7″ widescreen 123K LCD display Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen 1152×864 maximum resolution 8GB internal flash memory SD/SDHC memory card slot Zoom ratio: 48x advanced zoom (16:9 mode), 37x optical zoom, and 2000x digital zoom Zoom speed: Variable, 3 fixed zoom speeds Focal Length: f=2.6-96.2mm Minimum focusing distance: 10 mm (wide)/1m (tele) Programmed AE: Auto, Program, TV, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, and Fireworks White balance: Daylight, Tungsten, Auto, and Manual Electronic image stabilization Audio: Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2) 3.5 mm Stereo mini-jack microphone terminal USB 2.0 out Includes Lithium coin battery (CR2025) Battery pack (BP-808) Wireless controller (WL-D88) Compact power adapter (CA-590) Stereo video cable (STV-250N) Wrist strap (WS-30) AC cable Interface cable Pixela ImageMixer 3SE disc Digital video solutions disc for Windows and Macintosh Dimens 2.4″H x 4.9″D x 2.3″W Weight: 9.2 oz. Vendor warranty: One year
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