Canon Vixia HF S21 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Auto Mode

Auto/manual mode switch

The HF S21 has a number of new automatic controls thanks to the brand new LCD touchscreen on the camcorder. Canon took a page out of Panasonic's book and implemented an AF/AE tracking feature that allows the camcorder to follow a subject throughout the frame and keep it exposed and focused properly. Canon claims the subject doesn't have to be human in order for the HF S21 to track it either—it can be anything that is in motion (like a kite, car, ball, etc.). We'll get a better idea how well the tracking feature works when we have more time with the camcorder, but in our limited experience with the HF S21 the AF/AE tracking did appear to work quite well.

In addition to this tracking feature, you can also perform a touch focus with the LCD. You simply touch the portion of the screen you want to bring into focus rather than setting the focus manually with the dial or focus buttons. These are the kinds of controls that work very well with touchscreens.

With Canon's smart auto mode, the camcorder automatically selects a scene mode based on the scene conditions determined by the camcorder. This is a new feature for Canon this year, but it isn't something we're overly excited about. As for the camcorder's auto controls, we noticed a strange issue with the auto exposure system. When we moved from shooting very bright scenes to darker scenes, the auto exposure produced a snap-like compensation effect rather than altering the exposure gradually. The strange thing is, we didn't notice this issue when we went from dark to bright scenes—those adjusted fine—it was only the other way around. This issue may have something to do with a setting that was engaged on the camcorder, we're not sure, but it happened in both auto and manual modes.

Low Light Modes
The HF S21 doesn't have any dedicated low light modes, but it does have an auto slow shutter setting as well as a few scene modes that are effective in low light.

Scene Modes
The scene modes included on the HF S21 are: Portrait, Sports, Night Scene, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Low Light, Spotlight,  and Fireworks.

Zoom

The traditional way to control zoom on the HF S21 is to use the top-mounted zoom toggle, but you can also use the zoom buttons on the LCD touchscreen. The zoom buttons only appear if you select them from the menu, and they are part of the LCD, but they work decently. The zoom speed can't be controlled variably with them, however, which is a downer.

The zoom toggle is unchanged from last year.

If you don't like variable zoom speed control, you can set the zoom toggle to one of three constant zoom speeds in the camcorder's menu.

Zoom Ratio

Canon didn't added any new zoom features on the HF S21. The camcorder has a 10x optical zoom lens that can be expanded to 40x or 200x using digital zoom settings.

Focus

Focus is the manual control that has probably undergone the most radical changes for the HF S21. Canon's new LCD touchscreen means the camcorder now has a touch focus feature as well as an AF/AE tracking feature. You can still manually set focus using the control dial or by pressing buttons on the LCD screen.

The camcorder's peaking features seem to work better now that the LCD has more pixels to work with, and the larger screen really helps with setting a precise focus (everything is easier to see). If that's not enough for you, the HF S21 also has a digital magnification focus assist setting to help out as well.

We still think using the control dial is the best way to get a good manual focus, but the touch focus and focus tracking options are also good features to have.

Exposure Controls

-11 to +11

Aperture Controls

f/1.8, f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8, f/3.4, f/4, f/4.8, f/5.6, f/6.7, f/8

Shutter Speeds

In Shutter Priority mode (60i mode): 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000

White Balance Controls

Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Tungsten, Custom

Gain Controls

Gain Limiter: 0dB, 6dB, 12dB, 18dB

Exposure

Exposure can be set using the control dial or by tapping buttons on the LCD touchscreen. As with focus, we prefer to set exposure using the control dial.

Aperture

The HF S21 has an aperture-priority mode (called Av). With the camcorder's touchscreen setup the aperture is now set by sliding your finger along a row of aperture values. This system isn't bad, but we thought the joystick was more precise. The good thing about sliding, however, is that you can switch between different aperture settings much quicker than you could with a joystick.

You can also set aperture using the control dial, which, as with most of the camcorder's manual controls, is our preferred system of adjustment.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is also adjustable in a shutter-priority mode (called Tv). Shutter speed is set in an identical manner to aperture on the HF S21 and it can also be set with the control dial.

White Balance

The HF S21 has the same white balance presets as previous models from Canon. This means the camcorder actually has quite a few preset options. All of the presets, as well as the custom WB option, are set using the LCD touchscreen.

Gain

You can set the auto gain limiter on the HF S21 (just like last year) and you can do so by going into the camcorder's menu or by using the control dial.

Color & Image Controls

Color/Image Control	Description
Image Effects	The HF S21 has a set of color and image controls that you can adjust, as well as a number of color presets that you can use.
x.v. Color	For recording in the expanded xvYCC color gamut.

Other Manual Controls

Control	Description
Zebra Pattern	Shows you areas in the frame that are 'blown-out' or over-exposed.
Color Bars and Tone	Displays a test pattern along with an audio tone (for assisting with calibration).
Onscreen Markers	Displays guide lines to assist with framing your image.