Canon Vixia HF11 – Latest and better member in HF series
Thumbs Up:
Attractive, comfortable and compact design; fast focus; excellent video quality.
Thumbs Down:
Manual focus is useless. Wind filter is not as good as previous Canon models.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Canon Vixia HF11 is a flash-based High Definition camcorder that has 1/3.2” 3.3-megapixel CMOS sensor. The effective still image resolution is 2.76-megapixel (1920×1020) and video resolution is 2.07-megapixel (1920×1020). The maximum shutter speed is 1/2000. The HF11 has 32GB internal flash drive and an expansion slot for SD/SDHC memory card. The camcorder features SuperRange Optical (lens shift) image stabilization, 200x digital zoom, night mode, manual exposure, record search/review, and auto date/time.
2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD has a resolution of 211,000 pixels. Zoom lens has a focal length of 4.8-57mm with an aperture of F/1.8-3.0mm that provides 12x optical zoom. The lens filter size is 37mm. Canon Vixia HF-11 has Instant AF. The shooting programs include Fireworks, Spotlight, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Night, Sports, Portrait, CINEMA, Tv, Av, Program and Auto.
Video recording options are: MXP (24 Mbps) 2 hours 55 minutes, FXP (17 Mbps) 4 hours 10 minutes, XP+ (12 Mbps) 5 hours 45 minutes, SP (7 Mbps) 9 hours 35 minutes and LP (5 Mbps) 12 hours 15 minutes. White-balance presets include Manual, Auto, Fluorescent H, Fluorescent, Tungsten, Cloudy, Shade and Daylight.
Canon Vixia HF-11 supports Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2 ch) and has mini-Advanced accessory shoe with connectors for 3.5mm stereo mini-jack and 3.5mm 4 pole mini-jack. The HF11 supports Type-C High Definition videos of 1080i, 480p and 480i formats.
Razzle Dazzle:
Canon Vixia HF11 is 2.5 inches tall, 2.9 inches wide and 5.1 inches deep and it weighs around 15.1 ounces with battery and SD card. The Vixia HF11 will easily fit in small handybag. Its plastic body feels solid while taking in hand.
Inside Dope:
Canon has launched new Vixia HF11 to follow its HD flash-based AVCHD Vixia HF10 camcorder. The new product, the Vixia HF11, is more powerful and has better features than its predecessor. Canon Vixia HF11 has compact black-colored sleek model and it offers good features, excellent performance and great video quality. Like its predecessor HF10, the new HF11 will be on your shortlist to become primary camcorder. Canon Vixia HF11 has inbuilt 32GB memory and latest 24mbps shooting mode. The Vixia HF11 will get a tough competition by Sony Handycam HDR-CX12, Mini-DV based Canon Vixia HV30 and hard-disk based Canon Vixia HG21/HG20.
Canon Vixia HF11 does not suffer with any usability issues. It has 2.7-inch LCD display, which is smaller as compared to other models in its class. The HF11 has easy to operate and large control. A stereo mic is located beneath the lens. Joystick and Function buttons sits on the bezel of LCD display. You can use the joystick to navigate through shooting options. However, you have to hold the camcorder steady while selecting options. We were disappointed about the display screen, it’s too small to show the menu options.
Canon Vixia HF11 has 32GB inbuilt flash memory and an expansion slot for SDHC cards. Comparatively, the Vixia HF110 has low inbuilt memory so it also costs less. The Vixia HF11 records video of AVCHD format at maximum rate of 24Mbps to hold 3 hours of video of 1920×1080 pixels resolution and minimum at 5Mbps to hold 12 hours 28 minutes of video. The AVCHD camcorders have highest resolution of 1440×1080 pixels at 12Mbps speed and the Canon has brought a new change in the same. You can record best quality videos in Class 4 SDHC or Class 6.
Canon Vixia HF11 has 12x optical zoom, which is better than 10x zoom of the other camcorders in its class. The features for video includes wind-screen filter, Instant AF, video light, 3 fixed/1 variable zoom speed options, and shutter- and aperture-priority exposure modes. In addition, the features for still photographs include exposure and burst bracketing options, flash and exposure metering. The HF11 has some connectors including USB port, mini mic and headphone jacks, mini-HDMI port and component port.
SuperRange Optical image stabilization works well even at fully extended lens. In addition, the lens quickly focused and holds lock in bright and dim light conditions. The images are also sharp. We were disappointed that the high-contrast edges exhibit a lot of fringe. The stereo mic delivers nice audio quality, but Canon has changed wind-filter option to automatic instead of forced-on. We did not found any effect of this option. The microphone attenuation is also good.
The CMOS sensor of Canon Vixia HF-11 is smaller than that of the Sony CX7 and the HV30, still the video quality is sharp, nicely saturated, properly exposed and overall good looking. The video shows little compressed tonal range and noise in low light, still retains a lot of fare details. While viewing at large plasma TV screen, there is a visible difference between 17Mbps video and 24Mbps video. 24Mbps video showed more luminance noise than that at 17Mbps. Moreover, the 17Mbps video looked softer. We prefer Canon to optimize its algorithms for noise-suppression to create a new mode. The difference was still visible while viewing at small size CRT display or TV. On the brighter side, there were no artifacts even on extracting individual frames. In addition, there are no incompatibilities by software for 24Mbps file.
Canon Vixia HF11 has 890mAH lithium ion BP-809 battery that has a life of 55 minutes of recording type. The battery life is not enough, so you can think of double capacity BP-819 battery. However, it is not possible to plug in that in the HF11.
Nitty Gritty:
Canon Vixia HF11 is an excellent option for HD flash-based camcorder and it will win the competition with Sony Handycam HDR-CX7 over price tag. Now, the real question comes – which Vixia model to buy – HF100, HF10 or HF11. We will recommend you for the HF10 as it has attractive black body and costs less than $1000.
