Canon Legria HF M31

Playback (7.25)

The playback mode on the HF M31 looks identical to what you get on the HF S21. The only difference is the screen is a whole lot smaller, so selecting and navigating through your clips is a bit more tedious. Thankfully, the camcorder offers numerous clip arrangement views that makes it easier to find the particular video you are looking for. Clips can be arranged by date or scenes with specific faces (using face detection), or you can go into 3D Flip View which stacks clips from the same date on top of each other (somewhat like iTunes' Cover Flow display—if you're familiar with that).

Regular clip layout in playback mode.		The VCR controls take up a lot of the screen.

Aside from its regular playback set-up, the HF M31 also has 1080/60p output via its HDMI terminal and it includes an HD-SD downconversion option. The downconversion feature requires an SD/SDHC memory card to be inserted in the camcorder, as it essentially copies an existing clip from one media to another during the conversion (i.e. from the internal memory to a memory card). There is also a web upload conversion feature that works the same way (except it compresses video to a smaller, more easily uploadable format).

Connectivity (6.88)

For a fairly compact mid-range camcorder the Canon HF M31 has a good amount of connectivity options. On the right side of the camcorder you'll find a long rubberised flap that pulls open to reveal a Component output, USB port, and HDMI terminal. We really don't like the placement of these ports, however, as they are right behind the camcorder's hand strap. The strap often gets in the way when you're trying to connect cables to these ports.

Component-out, USB terminal, and HDMI-output.

Two other ports and a memory card slot are located inside the LCD cavity. The external mic jack and AV-out port are not protected by port covers, but the LCD panel does provide cover to these ports when it is closed. Next to these ports is a hard-plastic door that flips down to open the SD memory card slot.

External mic and the dual AV-out/headphone jack.		SD/SDHC card slot

On the back of the camcorder, to the left of the battery is the DC-input. This input is unprotected, which is a shame, but we like its placement (it's always good if the DC-input is easy to access). The final connectivity feature on the camcorder is its top-mounted accessory shoe located just above the battery compartment. The shoe is powered (hot), but it only fits certain Canon accessories (they must fit the S Mini Advanced Shoe size). This is the same accessory shoe you'll find on all of Canon's high-end and mid-range camcorders from 2009 and 2010.

The DC-input is unprotected on the back of the camcorder.		The accessory shoe is hot, but it only fits Canon-proprietary accessories.

	Canon HF M31	Panasonic HDC-HS60	JVC GZ-HD620	Canon HF S21
AV (Composite, RCA)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HDMI	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Component	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audio Input (3.5mm)	Yes	No	No	Yes
Headphones	Yes (shares with AV)	No	No	Yes (shares with AV)
Accessory Shoe	Yes (Canon mini proprietary)	No	No	Yes (Canon mini proprietary)
FireWire	No	No	No	No
S-Video	No	No	No	No
LANC (Wired Remote)	No	No	No	Yes
Card Slot	SD/SDHC	SD/SDHC	MicroSD	2x SD/SDHC
DC Power	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	No	No	No	No
GPS	No	No	No	No
Docking Station	No	No	No	No

Canon HF M31 Comparisons
Panasonic HDC-HS60	JVC GZ-HD620	Canon HF S21