Canon Vixia HF S21 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Ease of Use

The HF S21 isn't the easiest camcorder to use, but Canon did make some improvements by adding the LCD touchscreen. Now, don't get us wrong, Canon's touchscreen was often just as imprecise as touchscreens featured on other manufacturer's camcorders, but the advent of touch focus and AF/AE tracking features really are helpful for beginners. It also helps significantly that Canon has two ways to adjust everything—you can use the touchscreen, or you can use the control dial.

We're surprised Canon didn't make the dedicated auto mode more obvious on the HF S21. The mode dial that was featured on last year's camcorders is slightly changed, as it now has just two options: Dual Shot (dedicated auto mode) and Manual mode. Dual Shot mode is represented by a green icon of a camcorder and a camera, which may not make any sense to first-time users. Let's spell it out for them because Canon doesn't—green means auto mode. We kind of wish Canon would go back to having its dedicated auto mode labeled as its 'Easy' button or have that listed on the mode switch. We think that would be easier for a novice user to find the first time they pick up the camcorder.

Handling

On the surface, the HF S21 looks nearly identical to last year's HF S11, but there are some significant differences. Most noticeably, the HF S21 has a larger LCD (3.5-inch compared to 2.7-inch last year) and it incorporates touchscreen technology. Now, this touchscreen definitely has some problems and we often found ourselves tapping touch-buttons multiple times with no response from the camcorder. There were also plenty of things we really liked about the touchscreen as well—like Canon's incorporation of an iPhone-like, swipe system in playback, as well as the new touch focus and tracking features that make excellent use of the touchscreen setup.

From the left, the HF S21 looks no different than last year's models.

We would probably complain about the touchscreen more if the HF S21 didn't have its excellent control dial for precisely setting manual controls. The dial succeeds in every area where the touchscreen fails. It is perfect for setting a manual focus, and it is very easy to use while you are shooting (your fingers don't block the screen when you use it). Canon even improved this dial over last year, as you can now set what function the dial controls by holding in the button on the front of the dial for a few seconds. This means you don't have to go into the camcorder's menu at all when you want to switch the dial from exposure to focus control—you can do it all on the fly.

From the back you can see the larger LCD and the viewfinder that are new to the HF S21.

The right side of the HF S21 is actually a bit uncomfortable to hold, which is a shame because last year's Canon's were very comfortable. Instead of being perfectly rounded, the right side has a sharp, boxy contour that digs into the top of your palm when you hold the camcorder. We're not exactly sure why Canon had to design the HF S21 like this (maybe it has to do with the second SD/SDHC card slot?), but it really is a lot less comfortable than last year's HF S series. Still, the camcorder does have an excellent hand strap and the grip on the camcorder is strong and tight.

The HF S21 was a bit less comfortable than last year's models.

Canon also updated its optical image stabilization system this year and we are very excited to bring the HF S21 into our labs for a test. The new OIS system now features a standard, dynamic, or powered setting, with the powered setting specifically designed for stabilizing very shaky or zoomed-in footage. The Power OIS button is located on the LCD panel.

Portability

At 520g (with its battery pack), the HF S21 is a bit heavier and larger than last year's HF S11 camcorder. This puts the HF S21 on the larger side of things when it comes to consumer camcorders, but this is clearly not a model for people who are looking for the most compact camcorder on the block. Canon definitely sacrifices size for better video performance and more controls—not to mention a huge, 3.5-inch LCD.

When you consider how many features are packed inside, we actually don't mind the size of the HF S21. The addition of the second SD/SDHC card slot also makes the camcorder a bit more portable, as you don't have to worry about packing as many extra memory cards (you can just leave it loaded with two cards at a time).

Weight & Size
Weight	520g (1.2 lbs.) with battery pack
Size	75 x 74 x 148mm (3 x 2.9 x 5.8 inches)

Battery

The HF S21 ships with the BP-808 battery pack, which is different than last year's camcorders (they came with the BP-807). The battery compartment isn't enclosed, so you an easily load larger batteries into the camcorder if you want longer-lasting performance.

The Canon HF S21 with its provided BP-808 battery pack.

LCD & Viewfinder

Canon made some big improvements with the LCD screen on the HF S21. When we say 'big,' we're talking an increase to a 3.5-inch screen (from 2.7-inches on last year's models). The bigger screen also has a superb resolution of 922,000-pixels. This size increase is very important because Canon also implemented—for the first time—a touchscreen system on the HF S21. Having lots of screen space is key to working with touchscreen interfaces.

Both Samsung and Sony have also bumped the LCDs on their flagship models up to 3.5-inches in size. Samsung actually has the strongest LCD specs, as its screen offers a 1.15-megapixel resolution. It is great to see all these large, beautiful LCDs on consumer camcorders.

The 3.5-inch LCD uses touchscreen technology.

The HF S21 is Canon's only new camcorder to include an electronic viewfinder (EVF). The EVF doesn't have great specs (0.27 inches, 123,000 pixels), but it is a really good feature to have on a high-end camcorder. The viewfinder can also extend, which is a nice touch by Canon, although it cannot pivot. Frankly, we're rather surprised to see Canon include a viewfinder on a model from 2010, but it is definitely a pleasant surprise.

The HF S21 is Canon's only new camcorder to include a viewfinder.

Menus

Since the HF S21 incorporates a touchscreen LCD, Canon also had to completely redesign its menu system. We liked the style of Canon's menus last year, and the HF S21 incorporates a similar theme. The way you navigate the menus is entirely different, however. You access the menu by pressing the function button, which brings up the screen shown below.

Function menu

Think of this first menu as a quick menu, as it has two pages of frequently-accessed options. To get to the next page you must swipe or flick the screen and scroll down to the next page. Sometimes this swiping works wondrously, but other times we found ourselves accidentally selecting an option instead of scrolling to the next page. Whatever option you select from this screen will then be available as a quick-access button on the LCD when you go back to record mode (the button will be in the lower left corner of the screen). So, if you select focus from the menu above, you'll see a Focus button on the LCD when you switch back to record mode. The same thing would apply if you selected exposure or menu from the screen above.

You can access the main menu from this function menu screen by pressing the menu button on the LCD. This brings you to the screen shown below:

Main menu

This main menu screen should look familiar to anyone who knows last year's Canon products as it has the same color scheme and overall design. Now, however, you scroll by dragging your finger up and down on the LCD rather than use a joystick to move between tabs. To switch to one of the other menu tabs, you just tap on the icons at the top of the screen. We're not crazy about this menu system because we found the dragging system a bit difficult to use. It was hard to select a specific option because the dragging wasn't very precise. It was good, however, for quickly scrolling through the menu system from top to bottom.