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Note: this camcorder was first sold in Apr 2008. There may be newer versions available.
Canon Vixia HF100 Camcorder
Canon Vixia HF100 Camcorder
D+
HQ Grade: D+
A is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of camcorders.
B means they are good, with some standout features.
C means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.
  • 4 out of 5
"An excellent camcorder"
  • 5 out of 5
"Best in Show"
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Question Possibly Answered (5 points for the best answer)
v. tack (vtack) 1 pts
June 16, 2008 1:41 PM
1 people rated this question helpful, 1 people rated this question not helpful Subscribe for Email Updates for this Question

can I transfer the video info directly from a card reader into a portable hard drive without a lap top

I bought a canon HF 100 camcorder. I can get a 250 g portable drive drive for less than $100 and it would be great if I can transfer info from the SDHC card via card reader into the portable hard drive without the lap top or a pc. So when I travel I can shoot as much as I want and load them into the hard drive. I don't have to spend more money on extra flash cards. I wonder if I can do that and if there is any software issue?
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Answers This question has replies but the author has not yet indicated whether it's answered after a long time. Can you answer the question, or post a clarifying follow-up?
by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58448 pts
June 24, 2008 1:11 PM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Well, there's a good reason to have extra flash cards. INSURANCE. Any memory card can fail or become corrupted. And when you're on vacation the last thing you want is to lose your videos. If your card goes bad, swapping another one for it at that moment is of advantage so you can keep shooting. Then, later when you're in front of your PC, you can use a utility like "F-Recovery" to get back your data and recover your card.

But as for if you can offload your videos onto a portable hard drive, I think that depends on the PHDs software and if it has a card slot for just such an opportunity. But it's certainly possible and probably has more to do with the PHDs capability, rather than the card or camera's ability to do so. The camera can easily be set to streaming - like it would to offload to a PC - and then it's the PHDs software which would take over from that point.
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v. tack (vtack) 1 pts
June 24, 2008 3:26 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
James,
Thank you for your help. I just found a card reader with built-in 120 g from Wolverine ( it is a portable hard drive). It is supposed to allow one to load all the photos and video from a flash card into its hard drive. I may try it if full refund is not an issue( in case it does not work). I may also try products such as Simple Tech portable hard drive from local circuit city or best buy.
The Wolverine cost about $170 and I can get three 16 g SDHD cards for about $190 , but the total g is ( 48g) still less than the Wolverline's 120 g.
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by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58448 pts
June 25, 2008 2:35 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Well, 120G isn't really 120G. It's probably closer to 118G of usable space. But with some math figuring that the camcorder companies use, they can legally market it as 120G, even though it isn't.
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v. tack (vtack) 1 pts
June 25, 2008 12:09 PM
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Again, Thank you for your input.I will put in an update once I have tried some of these portable hard drives.
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v. tack (vtack) 1 pts
September 3, 2008 8:26 PM
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Recently I found a 16 g SD card, class 6 for $40. I think I am not going to bother w any external hard drive and just buy these SdD cards. Besides they are so much easier to carry/transport.
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by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58448 pts
September 3, 2008 8:47 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I'd be skeptical of a deal like that unless it was a major manufacturer. Cheap deals usually yield cheap product which means lots of corrupted sectors and lost video.
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Predrag 10 pts
December 3, 2008 4:28 PM
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SDHC card prices have been plummetting rapidly over the past few months. 8GB can be had for below $10 these days (1 hour of high-quality full HD video). Very soon, they'll be cheaper than MiniDV cassettes.
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