I love my Vixia HF R42 as a camera, but the interface for connecting with a computer is so difficult and trouble-prone. Having left the non-standard Canon USB cable at home by mistake, I am now in France trying to upload videos to my computer. The only way seems to be via WiFi to my Android phone, then to the computer via standard USB. Clumsy at best.
After several hours following directions in the manual, I've gotten the camera and phone to connect via WiFi. But there appears to be no upload choice available for Android - only for iOS. Why? When I try the Playback option, none of the choices work either: The Android screen shows "SD AVCHD 1/2 ->" and the first two videos I ever shot with this camcorder. Pressing the arrow button does nothing. Pressing the thumbnail does nothing. Trying to scroll down flicks the screen momentarily, then snaps back to the first video thumbnail.
May I make a suggestion? A strong suggestion: STICK WITH STANDARDS! Use a standard USB plug/socket. Use the interface provided by the OS of whatever device you're connecting to, rather than creating non-standard interfaces with no other alternatives available. Just let see the list of files the way my OS (Android, iOS, Mac OS, or Windows) normally shows them. Don't insist that users learn a totally new interface to make it "easier". It's not easier, because I already know how to use my OS-of-choice. No learning curve, no ad-hoc error-prone, untested software.
Every Japanese video camera I've used has the same kind of problem, so I expect it's a national obsession with the idea that "unique is better". So I don't expect my suggestion will be acted upon. But meanwhile, how the heck do I get the videos off my camcorder???? I wanted to share with friends while I was traveling, but now I suppose it'll have to be stale news when I get back. Oh, well.
