Hi all, thanks in advance for your opinions. I bought two cameras to try them out and then I'll sell one. I'd like your opinions on the two systems. They are quite different and both have positives and negatives. <BR> <BR>I bought a Canon Vixia HF100 with a wideangle lense. <BR>HD, 24 &amp; 30 PS, 60i <BR>12x zoom, SD card <BR>small unit easy to transport and pull out at any time. <BR><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGjEYQKLs64" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGjEYQKLs64</a> <BR>The downside on this thing is that the focus is done with a button through a menu and it's not that easy to control. Also my PC is not that powerful and it was quite tough to do that three scene edit. <BR> <BR>The second camera that I purchased is a Canon GL2. Now this one is funner to use because of all the features on it. It uses MiniDV cassettes and transferring the recorded data is done real time. The cassette is played and the computer captures the data. The positive is that the files are easy to process on my pc. <BR>larger unit, not as easy to transport around, shoot the kids... <BR> <BR> <BR>I'm honestly pretty torn between the two. <BR>I also have an older Canon ZR40. <BR> <BR>thoughts....?

If you have been frustrated editing with the HF100 on a short attempt, wait till you try to do a whole vacation! <BR> <BR>post your computer specs. I've done a complete upgrade of my computer to get an acceptable editing experience for the HF100. The avchd codec is very cpu intensive. That said, it also produces stunning results. <BR> <BR>Do you have a high def tv and a blueray player? If so, the HF100 may be worth the hassle. Its high def capabilities are phenomenal on the right tv. A playstation 3 will also play the HF100's files natively (just burn to a dvd or move to a usb thumb drive).

That's the dilema alright. I'm super stoked with the image that is produced by the hf 100 and really like that I can just transfer via SD card. Just too intensive. <BR>The GL2 is just an awesome camera but transferring sucks and the colors aren't as hot as with the HF100. <BR>I think I'll stick with the GL2 though because I think the end product will be better than if I try to hack through with the AVCHD files with my PC. With a bit of color correction, the images are quite nice...not as vibrant though. <BR>I'm running an HP Pavilion dv9000.

I usually try to avoid mini-dv tapes like the plague (which is why I love the HVX200's P2 cards so much), but in this case it sounds like the GL2 is a better camera for you. Dealing with logging and capturing with mini-dv, as well as real-time capturing, is a pain in the neck, but dealing with all of that is absolutely nothing compared to having a camera that doesn't offer you a good shooting experience. What good is recording to a card if you can't record good images in the first place?

I bought a Hfs100 2 months ago and love it. As far as focus you can use the manually dial just under the lens on the left bottom to do it, this works better than the toggle on the screen. I had a computer built for this reason although. It has a Intel i5 750 @2.67, 4gb of ram, It has the top of the line Nvidia graphic card. The system is running in the stock form. I am using Vegas pro platinum for editing(80.00 at Amazon). It works great and easy to use. I am not a computer nerd by any means, I would say I am a average user. I am going to have the guy who built the system double the ram and install the water cooled fan system so it really kicks but.

Hey Don, the HF100 doesn't have the manual focus wheel like on the HFS100. I think what I'll end up doing is I'll sell the HF100, get used to the GL2. Once I'm certain that I want to be filming a bunch then I can do the jump to HD and get something a bit more advanced. The GL2 seams like a really great MiniDV 3CCD camera with alot of different features that I can learn with. Plus this way I won't have to spend a grand to get a new computer.