topic Re: Vixia HF G30 in Camcorders

Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:22:11 GMT

Im thinking of purchasing the new HF G30 for an upstart offroad and racing youtube page. I would like to have the same clarity and picture as the 7D but with out the weight. I like the bigger sensor in the G30 than the XA10 but i love the idea of the handle/grip that comes with the XA10. As far as i can tell the prices of those two cameras are fairly close so which one is the better value for function? I really need some help on this one before I drop that kinda cash on a new camera. Thanks in advance.

Re: Vixia HF G30

Tim — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:14:01 GMT

Hello HammerDownProd,

If we were to suggest one of those camcorders and you were looking at the VIXIA HF G30 versus the XA10, then we think the VIXIA HF G30 would be the better choice for your business. It is going to give you the same level of HD quality and it's considered the flagship model of the VIXIA line. The best value for the money we think would be the VIXIA HF G30.

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:17:01 GMT

Thanks Tim I appreciate it.

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:18:43 GMT

Is it still looking like end of June before its available to public?

Re: Vixia HF G30

Mykolas — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:53:12 GMT

HammerDownProd,

The HF G30 is still expected to be available sometime in June.

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:14:59 GMT

Mike or Tim, any updates to when this camera will be available for purchase?

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:16:45 GMT

available for purchase in June? i this the enter button a little to soon. sorry about that.

Re: Vixia HF G30

Richard — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:03:17 GMT

Hi HammerDownProd,

We still expect this camcorder to ship sometime in June. If you haven't seen it, you may click here to see the press release for this camcorder.

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Tue, 28 May 2013 16:18:05 GMT

Hey guys are there any videos on Canon's Youtube page talking about this camera? I did a search and nothing turned up. So I did a general search and only found a very few things pertaining to this camera. Other than the press release where else can I find information on it? Like maybe some hands on demo's?

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:38:25 GMT

Well its out now has anyone gotten a chance to use enough to give an opinion?

Re: Vixia HF G30

jct — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 06:26:55 GMT

I've had the G30 for a week or so, and can give you my impression so far. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed. I'm a hobbyist, not a pro, so I never thought I had the most critical eye. But, there is a significant and noticeable vignette effect when zooming in to full telephoto. About the last 10% of the zoom begins to have noticeable darkening around the edges. At full zoom, it leaves a "hot-spot" in the center. This shows up on the recorded video. I've tried disabling image stabilization, removing the UV filter, removing the lens hood, and setting it to full automatic. Nothing helps. It's distracting enough so that I'm sending the camera back for an exchange, though I have a gut feeling they may all be like this. For $1700, it's just not acceptable.

In addition, the recorded video is quite dark in my opinion, even in full daylight. I had to set the assignable buttons to raise the exposure +.5 or +.75, which really should be used on all outdoor shots I've tried it with. That has to be done every time I turn the camera on, there is no way I found to make it a permanent setting.

Other than that, the images are exceptionally sharp and clear, great image stabilization, fast focus, and I love all the options and settings. The camera has some heft and feels reasonably well built. I do wish there was an external button that could be used to take a still photo, but you have to use the LCD screen for that. I generally just use the viewfinder, so pulling out the LCD is not something I want to take the time to do.

I'm hoping I just got a bad one and that a replacement G30 will eliminate the vignetting and dark video. But if not, I'll return it for a refund. I can get similar video quality at 1/3 the cost.

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 21:17:04 GMT

I havent' noticed any darkening around the edges of the video yet and Ive done some outside and inside recording. I have noticed though that at full auto, 720p at 35 fps, its not near as clear as my little GOPRO Hero3 black edition at the same settings. Im a little concerned about that. I have a shoot this weekend and I am batteries short. Im trying to figure out how to extend the life of the battery to its full capacity so Ive got some charging and discharging to do between now and saturday. Ive ordered 2 BP-828 batteries and due to weather they have not arrived yet and I leave tomorrow. So hopefully they will come tomorrow in the mail. If not im stuck using one freaking battery for 4-5 hours of racing. Wish me luck.

Re: Vixia HF G30

TheDiveO — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:36:17 GMT

From my own experience with the HD Hero 3 Black Edition I have to say that the GoPro firmware does a lot of in-cam denoising and sharpening. As soon as you switch on Protune you will see how Hero optics perform in reality. I'm using the Hero 3s heavily for diving and thus the need for Protune so I can switch the non working WB off. GoPro optics are bad and when I compared my G30 to the H3 the G30 clearly performs two orders of multitude better. Even in full tele my 35Mbits footage from the G30 clearly beats my 45Mbits GoPro H3 Protune footage. I wouldn't dare to even remotely compare the bottle bottoms of the GoPro lenses with the G30... 🙂

Re: Vixia HF G30

HammerDownProd — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 13:37:29 GMT

Well after many events with both cameras and learning the hf g30 exensively i can say that the result footage is quite astonishing. I now have all the kinks worked out and it is awesome. I think it simply was that I was still so new to the camera and needed to spend more time learning it. Full auto mode is mostly what i shoot in but i have made myself use the manual mode quite often to get the seat time in on it and I can say its very simple to use. i love a product with this much technology and this much simplicity to go with it. Very user friendly.