Quirks & foibles of the Canon Legria HF G25 (Vixia HF G20)

After several weeks testing and reviewing the Canon Legria HF G25 (Vixia HF G20) camcorder, these are seven Things I Have Noticed that might be considered foibles or quirks about the way it operates and handles.

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Published by Tubeshooter magazine:

[gachitadamunga]

Just got this Cannon, and your videos about it are a major help. Big, big thanks to you.

[seoirse]

It seems more like a "Run-n-Gun" type camcorder... great for low budget documentaries or even when the shooter is moving around a lot. Thank you for pointing out these "quirks"

[computerjantje]

Thank you very much for this video. it will be very helpful in my decision which camera to buy

[UKAirscape]

Thank you. I haven't done any measurements but for all my current shooting requirements I have found the Duracell DRC827 has sufficient power and is cheap enough to buy another if needed.

[UKAirscape]

Yes the 'i' means interlaced but don't worry about that - if you're shooting for eventual delivery to a video DVD then this is the format you should use. It doesn't matter that it shows up as interlaced when editing, that would still be correct for final DVD Video.

If you then want to render a file for viewing on a computer then you would tick the 'deinterlace' box (alternately set to 'progressive') when exporting the file from Final Cut.

[patrickdevlin]

Thank you so much for making these videos. I found the extreme detail of your videos of the HF G20 extremely helpful. Very well done my friend. Cheers.

[trevorish]

Got it sorted - Bought an SD card and copied the built in content onto the card in slot B. Then put the card in a cheapo USB card reader which showed up straight away in iMovie - A pain, but in the end a cinch. Thanks for your help. - Given that there are many Mac users who shoot video, it is so short sighted on Canon to ignore us like they do!!!

[UKAirscape]

At least they replied. I've sent Canon a query about the G30 / XA20 batteries and no response except an automated email...

But it is odd and I'm not the only one to see the issue; someone else commented on it on one of my videos here, so it's not as if my camcorder's faulty.

[UKAirscape]

Yes, motion will look smoother generally with interlaced footage, especially when played back on a TV (eg via DVD or Blu-ray).

I'm no FCP expert, unfortunately, but am sure that "somewhere" in the render settings will be the deinterlace / progressive option. It may not be available *during* edit, just when rendering out the final file.

As regards the sound, I'm baffled. Is the sound at the correct level when played back on the camcorder itself? ie is it just in FCP that the issue occurs?

[RiederProductions]

Hmm, wrote Canon and asked them if they had any comments on this issue. This is their answer:

"Thank you for contacting Canon product support regarding the zoom and focus of the VIXIA HF G30.

All of our Canon USA camcorders, including the VIXIA HF G30, have the capability of simultaneous focus and zoom.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with the VIXIA HF G30. Thank you for choosing Canon."

Odd since I linked to this video showing it.

[UKAirscape]

Hi,

1) There's a button marked "Disp/Battery Info" next to the SD Card slots, this turns off the display icons in 2 stages.

2) To make a backup, you need two SD cards, it doesn't work with internal memory and one card. Press FUNC then MENU then the middle 'filmstrip' icon; scroll down to 'rec media for movies' and select it; select Card A then press 'Double Slot Rec'.

3) I'm not a Mac expert but Final Cut X or Adobe Premiere should be able to import the files I think. Possibly even iMovie?

[UKAirscape]

Yes, sort of good for run-n-gun. Certainly very portable and with the lens ring and scroll wheel on the back, reasonably quick to set focus / exposure for any given situation.

On the other hand, the poor response of the touchscreen - you have to really push it - means any other adjustments (audio, turning zebras on and off, getting to the WFM as described) is fiddly and frustrating.

I wouldn't normally use autofocus but I have to say the face recognition for AF is very impressive too.

[UKAirscape]

I don't quite understand what you mean by "lost" and "a significant amount". Can you explain more specifically what happens. Does the volume level decrease? Does the sound stutter and break up?

Regarding the interlace issue, see my previous reply plus, as you have established, you can also shoot in 30p to ensure no interlacing.

[UKAirscape]

The support plate will come with the tripod so it will depend on what tripod you buy. That in turn very much depends on how big your budget is! You can buy some very cheap tripods and go right up to hundreds or thousands of pounds for broadcast-quality gear.

I have a Libec TH-DV950. It's a basic semi-pro tripod; it does the job and is about the right size and weight but it's not very adjustable for dampening. My suggestion for a more costly, pro tripod would be the Sachtler Ace.

[RiederProductions]

Very informative. I'm a bit surprised that you cannot zoom AND focus at the same time. That's almost a deal breaker for me when the G30 hits the stores. Very sad indeed.

[UKAirscape]

Hahaha, thanks for the comment about my accent!

I can't make a recommendation without knowing what your intended use is. The G30 certainly has more features but it's quite a lot more expensive too (and slightly larger, which might be a factor).

I'd say, if the G25/20 does what you need a camcorder to do then get it, if spending more on the G30 wouldn't get you any benefits for your kind of shooting.

But if 50p/60p, WiFi, 20x zoom and the other tweaks are important, then yes, get G30.

[UKAirscape]

Good luck; let me know how you get on! Enjoy your trip.

[UKAirscape]

I just spotted this on the web: "A Timeline (Compound Clip/Project) can only be a broadcast standard, so you can't manually set it to Prog/Interlaced. That has to be done in the Browser first, then set up a Compound Clip/Project to automatically conform to the first video clip dropped into it"

That sounds to me like all timelines are set to Interlaced (which shouldn't be considered a problem for editing). When you export though, there must be deinterlace somewhere...?

[UKAirscape]

It's weird isn't it? The old Canon XHA1 (I think) had the same issue. I don't know yet if the G30/XA20 models have the same restriction as they have an all-new lens assembly.

[nelofont]

¿Time-lapse in the Canon Legria HF G25? ¿Intervalómetro?