THE CANON VIXIA HF200 REVIEW

 First impressions: Small (same length) and just a bit bigger/wider than the JVC. Early comparisions find the JVC winning with a better strap (combination strap and handle) vs the rather cheap setup for the canon. Battery on the canon takes 155 min to charge using the cable, it was only 110 min for the JVC battery.  The canon user manual is huge, but somehow less user friendly. There's no quick start guide, just guess or do a lot of reading. The JVC was an instant setup. No matter what, the JVC turned on instantly when you opened the viewing window. On the canon it stays off unless you hit the power button, which ironically adds another step and makes it take longer. I think you're supposed to leave it on and just shut the window, then open it again when you want to use it. That seems like it would suck a lot more battery, but maybe not.

CONS: the canon won't show you camera settings unless you're in video only or camera only modes. And the manual states that all settings will default back once the camera is off. That better not be true in real life, if I set it to FXP or MXP for quality, I don't want it reverting back each time I close it up (it does save those settings I discovered). The buttons and features are not intuitive like the JVC. The JVC really is an intuitive, easy for anyone to use type of camera, this canon will require study and memorization to keep on top of it. Perhaps more work than I want to do.

 The JVC has a nice smaller easier charging cable, this Canon has one of those 2 cable systems with the huge power adapter in the middle. It will not fit nicely in my camera bag. That practically requires you to plunk down $60 on a compact battery charger. On a good note, the charger takes only 105 min to charge the small battery vs 155 min if you use the cable.

The canon only takes one SDHC card, whereas the JVC allowed 2. The card doesn't slip as easily into the slot in the canon, you have to push pretty hard to make it stay in there. The JVC slots were easy to get to and easy to insert.

At the moment my heart rests with the JVC, but in the end, it will come down to which camera takes better indoor shots. We would use ours indoors about 90% of the time, it's critical for us. If you're more of an outdoor user, I can already recommend the JVC just from ease of use, simple concepts, simple functions and ultra compact size. It's also cheaper. 

PROS: We spent an entire evening doing test footage on the Canon Vixia HF200. I have to say, it's very impressive. The indoor shots are about 75% better than what's produced by the JVC. There is still noise in the image (grainy) but it's quite a bit less than the noise of the JVC indoor tests and nothing that would force an explanation to the viewers about why the picture is bad. The Canon indoor images are really quite good. Even though the image sensors are reported to be the same size, the Canon is somehow able to do something better with the same sensor size and produce a much better image.

I've read that the Canon HFS100 produces even better indoor shots, but I don't see how they could be worth $400 more than the price of the HF200. For this price range I'm absolutely convinced, after watching a ton of youtube videos on other camcorders, that the Canon HF200 has the best indoor HD video in its price class.

Hookup to the imac was exactly the same because they take the same SDHC cards. Super easy.

Outdoor video on the Canon is also amazing. While at least equal to that of the JVC, I think the menus have more options for changing settings when you're using the Canon. This can give you greater flexibility when taking shots. The optical image stabilization on the canon is quite superior to the JVC digital stabilization. When zoomed all the way out, I can still see a picture that doesn't make me sick.  The JVC zoom was farther, at 20x vs 15x on the Canon, but it wasn't really usable unless you had a tripod for stability. The Canon also has a wind cut feature which seemed to work fine. There was a bit of background hissing, but it's not that bad, and it may have actually been in the environment and not the camera, unsure.

The Canon has a surprising number of menu options, but they aren't easy to find. The layout and general thinking of the menu system is quite different than the JVC. I have to say the JVC is much more intuitive, user friendly and generally easier and more logical to get around the menus. Once you get used to the Canon you'll be pleased with all your choices as there are more than the JVC has. The Canon has 3 main settings. Video only, Photo only, and combination video/photo. They're confusing because on the video only I was able to take still shots (I think maybe the quality was just lower), and on the combination video/photo you can't get into the menu settings. That's a major drawback to me, although if you want to do everything completely on automode then that's probably you're best option. If you like to tinker with the white balance, shutter speed options, or recording levels then you'll want to be on video only to make those adjustments. If you change back to the combo mode it will retain your settings. The manual makes it sound like you lose everything but you don't (at least not so far).

According to the JVC website, all JVC Everio camcorders records at 1080i, 60i, which is ok for the price, but the Canon allows for true 24p and 30p recording in addition to the 60i option. It may require some fancy editing later to pull it off, but you can end up with true 24p if you want. The evening indoor test shots we took that looked so good last night were actually at the 60i level, the 24p and 30p make them even better. 24p is better for low light, but it seemed that fast moving children were almost (but not quite) trailing in the image. There was a difference but I can't put my finger on it.

The Canon is about 25% heavier than the JVC, which is like saying 4 peas weigh more than 3 peas. They're both amazingly small and light. But that extra weight actually makes it a bit steadier and easier to hold than the much lighter JVC. The handstrap is a frustration. For my small hands I can't get it tight enough, and for my husband's very large hands he almost can't get one in at all. Eventually that velco will probably get bad. The strap is removeable and you can just use the wrist strap, but it changes the way you have to hold the camera because there isn't a grip on top of the camera, just a place to rest your fingers. The JVC built in rubber hand strap/combination wrist strap is a genius design that everyone should use.

 Pulling a still shot out of the video footage on the Canon was disappointing. At least at the 60i recording level. They were a touch better than the JVC, but not nearly good enough. The actual dedicated still shots from the Canon are pretty good, but again, my 10 megapixel Nikon has better everything in that department. Could you rely just on the Canon? Yes, if you were seriously tight on space that would be ok, but you'll miss out on the ability to blow up a beautiful mountain photo. They're just ok.

The location of the record button on the Canon is pretty nice. It's an easy move of your thumb from the battery where it rests during filming to jump over and shut it off with the button. Other reviews have been annoyed by the button placement but I like it.

If you turn off the JVC all the way it will turn on instantly when you open the LCD screen. The Canon won't turn on that way unless you have it in the standby mode. If it's all the way off you have to push the power button which is in a groove on the top of the camera. It can't be done with the right hand you have locked in the handstrap, you'll have to reach over with your left hand to do it. It adds another step to the "turn on" process. At first I found it very annoying but once you're used to it, it's not so bad.

The JVC and Canon are pretty much the same length, the Canon is just a little wider. It still fits quite nicely in my Crumpler 5 million dollar home along with the needed cables and charger I'd have to buy. To use the Canon power adapter you'd probably need the 6 million dollar home.

GO TO THE JVC HM200 REVIEW

If you want further reviews or to purchase any of the camcorders mentioned here, these are the direct links to the products at Amazon.com

JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black)

Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom

Canon VIXIA HFS100 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home Photography Messenger Bag - I love this bag! You could also consider the Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home if you have a lot more gear.

Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card with Card Reader TS8GSDHC6-S5W - this is best so you don't have to plug in the cameras to get video onto the computer. Works really slick!

GO TO THE SUMMARY AND FINAL CONCLUSION PAGE