Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom - 2009 MODEL Review

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(More customer reviews)The video quality is superb, as is ease of use. Here are a few hints and things I noticed. The battery out of the box will not power-on the camera and needs some minutes of charge to even show 0%. You can operate the camera from the charger but the battery is not being charged, says the manual.
There are two 1920x1080 picture quality modes: MXP at 24 mbps and FXP at 17 mbps -- and three at 1440x1080: XP+, SP and LP, at 12, 7 and 5 mbs, respectively. I believe it defaults to LP out of the box, which is 1440x1080 at 7 mbps. I suggest you select FXP to get true 1920x1080 resolution. Upping to 24 mbps might be a good idea only if you are going to do a lot of post editing -- I can't see an improvement over FXP. Recording times with a 16GB card are 1:25, 2:05, 2:50, 4:45 and 6:05, respectively.
When the camera is OFF, pressing the DISP button (on the camera body) will show battery capacity in minutes and percent. Pressing DISP when ON turns the LCD to max brightness. IOW, you can set the LCD brightness for normal indoor use with the menu and instantly set it bright for outdoor use. Handy.
The CINE mode seems to digitally soften the image; there may some color change but I didn't notice it from the shots I took in a park. The PF30 and PF24 rates show a jerkiness when panning as you would expect from a lower frame rate. I think these rates are simulated because all recording is done at 60i. For example when I played back PF24 stepping one frame at a time I saw the same image for 3 steps, then the next. (The "3 steps" varies with both PF24 and PF30.) OTOH, PF24 is useful in low light situations as it permits the HF200 slow the shutter speed down to 1/6 sec.
Previous Canon users will find the menu system easy and familiar, similar even to their still cameras. The joystick is "big" and has a positive, definite feedback feel to it. Menu navigation seems easier and clearer than earlier Canons I've used. There is even a Large Font choice. Good!
The Power On button is deep in a groove that makes it unlikely to accidentally turn on. But with your right hand in the nice grip you have to use the left to press it On - my fingers don't reach. No loss, you need the other hand to open the LCD panel anyway. The zoom lever on top is a middle finger control. The adjacent Photo button is for a trained index finger. Record, at the back, is thumb operated. You can also use an LCD panel button to Record.
The Quick Start feature means you can close the LCD to save power (runs at 1/3 normal) and be ready to shoot in about 1 sec after opening it. Note, if you close the LCD panel while recording it will continue to record -- so slamming it shut does not stop the shot.
The still photo features are quite amazing. The resolution is 3 megapixels, but a very good 3mp! You can shoot continuously at 3 or 5 frames/sec. And you can shoot at the same fast frame rates with flash! The flash is actually a high-power white LED, not a xenon tube. There is a separate warm-white LED for video that works OK to 5-6 feet.
There are the usual auto white balance, auto exposure, instant focus features and so on that you can read about above. There's face detection for proper focus. They all work very well. I like the Vivid color setting for most all shooting - video and photo. It is a slight pump in saturation that helps if you mainly view using your laptop LCD. Instant AutoFocus is aptly named. There is a fairly large IAF sensor next to the lens for this purpose. The 15x zoom, a first for me, is fully useful all the way out. Impressive.
Battery life (BP-809) takes a definite second place to 16GB storage. I just checked and it indicates 100%, 94 minutes. But you can of course buy larger batteries. (I use the smaller BP-808 battery from my FS100 SD video cam as a backup.) With the Quick Start feature (can be turned off) power is used between shots and this will generally use more juice that actual recording. Figure 3 to 5 times battery vs video: one hour of video needs 3+ hours of battery cap. Unless you buy a charger you must charge in the camera. Only one sample so far, but it seemed to take a little more than an hour to charge from 0%.
The supplied Pixela software is minimal. You can combine up to 99 shots into an M3TS file. It can be played on video players like Popcorn Hour and the WD HD TV player. (I have both and strongly recommend the $99 WD over the $230 PCH. The PCH can connect to Internet servers, its main claim to fame.) These players can also play the MTS format directly copied from the SD card but there is a 1-2 sec delay between each shot. Pixela lets you pick and chose shots, trim a given shot, and add titles and audio. I don't know how to get past the 99 shot limit with Pixela -- I made about 170 shots in the park yesterday.
All in all, I luves it.


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Westinghouse LVM-37W3 37-Inch 1080p LCD Video Monitor Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me start off by saying that this is my 4th Westinghouse TV(monitor). I've spent this last year replacing all of the CRTs in my house with flat panels (as opposed to "flat screens" which usually indicates bulky CRT/tube TVs). The logic was, I wanted to get rid of the weight and the bulkiness of the CRTs and I definitely wanted to upgrade to the High Definition picture and connections. I researched for about 6 months before deciding on the Westinghouse brand. There are several equal or better brands but some of them are twice the cost of the comparable Westinghouse and I am more of a bargain hunter. Okay, I'm thrifty.
I bought my first 37" Westinghouse (an LVM37w1) in January of 2006. I had heard of the Westinghouse brand, but it was only based on alarm clocks and other appliances that we had around the house as kids. I was spending over a $1,000 on this first purchase, so I crossed my fingers AND purchased the 4-year replacement warranty. Overall, I was ecstatic with the first TV. My only complaint was of a peripheral nature, the LVM37w1 is a monitor, not an actual HDTV(television with tuner) so I had to go out and purchase a separate used HDTV tuner(for ~$75 off Craig's list) in order to watch Hi-definition television.
I was so happy with the first Westinghouse TV, in June 2006, I bought my second one, a 32" HDTV (with an HD tuner built in). Again, I crossed my fingers and paid extra for the 4-year extended warranty.
This October, 2006, very happy with my previous purchases, I went ahead and completed my LCD flat panel for CRT swap around the house by buying one 42" Westinghouse LCD HDTV monitor (the LVM42w2) and one 37" Westinghouse LCD HDTV monitor (the LVM37w3). I didn't buy the 4-year extended warranties this time because I feel like the 1-year factory warranty is good enough. If you're going to have problems with your LCD, like dead pixels, it's invariably right out of the box. Thru my research, I've learned that pixels will rarely, rarely die out two or three years later.
I moved the original 37" LVM37w1 into my home office and hooked it up to my computer. I was able to instantly get the phenomonal 1920x1080 resolution using a cheapo $5.00 VGA/VGA cable. Some of my friends thought the monitor would be too large but trust me, once you work on your computer with a 37" monitor with a crystal clear picture, you will NEVER go back to a little 19" or 20". For example, this review I am writing is overly long but I can see the entire review on my 37" monitor in huge, perfectly defined 1/4" high text. It's wonderful.
So now I have experience with FOUR Westinghouse monitors (from 1-1/2 months up to 11 months) serving as computer monitors, televisions (with separately purchased HDTV tuners) and DVD monitors for movie night ... and I couldn't be happier with my choice of monitors. (NOTE: make sure you use an UP-CONVERSION DVD player as opposed to just a progressive scan. It makes your DVDs look fantastic and converts them to 1080i).
I think the moral of the story is:
- Buy from a reputable source. That way you can return them if necessary.
- I bought local. The stores I bought from gave me a 14-day return policy if I noticed any dead pixels. They claimed that the # of pixels had to be grouped in 10 or more, but their policy allowed a universal return, meaning even if I didn't like the color of the outer bezel, I could return the set. Therefore, if I had even noticed ONE dead pixel, I would have returned the set and stated that I didn't like the color of the bezel!
-NOTE: Out of my four monitors, three are 1080p(meaning 1920x1080 resolution) and one is 720p (meaning 1320x768 resolution). That means that I had over 7 MILLION pixels that could have been "dead" (meaning that the pixel was locked in on one color --- typically blacked out) and yet, after scouring all four sets, I never found a single dead pixel. The easiest way to check for dead pixels is to hook it up to your computer and run it thru its paces as opposed to trying to located them off a paused DVD or TV screen.
Sorry about the extended length but I hope this helps.

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With 37 inches of pure HD entertainment, you'll have trouble deciding what to do on it next. The Westinghouse 37" 1080p monitor is a true 1080p monitor, combining leading-edge technology with stylish design, to deliver the ultimate in entertainment enjoyment. The LVM-37w3 is ideal for all viewing environments, with greater versatility than plasma, especially for daytime viewing. Designed to be future-proof, this big 1080p monitor is equipped with 6 HD connections. If you're into maximum entertainment, it's the only display that should be connected to your HD cable box, satellite or multimedia PC.

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