The Canon VIXIA HF M300 is one of Canon’s flagships for the entry-level camcorder category for 2010.  This High Definition (HD) camcorder doesn’t have an internal flash or hard disk drive but instead records directly to an SD/SDHC memory card.  This light weight, compact and sleek camcorder effectively combines quality with portability.  The Canon HF M series includes the HF M 31 and HF M30 that features a 32 and eight GB internal flash drive respectively.

This camcorder comes with new and great features that will provide convenience and versatility to the camcorder’s performance.  It features a Smart Auto, Touch & Track and a touch screen LCD panel that will provide convenience for beginners and point-and-shoot applications.

This camcorder runs on a 1/4-inch imaging sensor equipped with an RGB Primary Color filter.  It records in AVCHD format full HD quality.  Video mode yields a resolution of 2304 x 1296 or 2.99 megapixels.  Its still photography mode provides a 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio.  16:9 produces 2304 x 1296 resolution or 2.99 megapixels and the 4:3 produces 2100 x 1575 or 3.31 megapixels of resolution. 

This camcorder offers five video quality modes.  MXP mode records in 24 Mbps, FXP in 17 Mbps, XP+ in 12 Mbps, SP in seven Mbps and LP in five Mbps.  The resolutions for the different modes are as follows, MXP and FXP at 1920 x 1080, XP+, SP and LP at 1440 x 1080.

Color performance is average for this camcorder.  For those familiar with the Canon camcorders, the HF M300 has an identical performance to the Canon HF20.  They share similar imager sizes and lens kit.  This camcorder shows good performance when recording in low light environments.  Low light conditions produce crisp images with less noise and color errors compared to other camcorders in its category.  Bright light performance, however, is not as impressive.  Compared to other camcorders in its category, the HF M300 produces less impressive images with significant amount of noise.

The camcorder’s main recording media is the memory card inserted in its memory slot.  This camcorder doesn’t have an internal hard drive or flash drive.  Less components mean less moving parts.  This camcorder is compact, lighter and less expensive than those camcorders with built-in internal drives.  A 32 GB SD/SDHC memory card can accommodate up to three hours of video in MXP mode, four hours in FXP, 5.5 hours in XP+, 9.5 in SP and about 12.5 hours in LP mode.

This camcorder has three frame rates.  Selections include 60i, 24p progressive and 30p progressive.  Both the 24p progressive and 30p progressive convert to 60i frame rates before saving to the media or SD/SDHC card.

At the left side of the device is the improved LCD screen.  The screen has a touch screen capability.  The 2.7-inch LCD panel has a resolution of 0.211 megapixels.  This widescreen color LCD panel provides easy access and navigation thru the camcorder’s menu system.  Near the bottom left of the panel is the Powered IS button that will increase the camcorder’s level of stabilization compensation on top of its Dynamic Super Range Optical Image Stabilization system.  This button also doubles as a web upload button when in playback mode.  This camcorder doesn’t have a viewfinder; therefore, you must monitor all playback thru the LCD.

Inside the LCD cavity, you will have access to the ports and the SD/SDHC memory card slot.  Beside the memory card slot are the ports for external mic and for the dual AV-out/headphone jack.  Just above the ports are the Display/Battery Info button, the Playback/Record Mode switch, the built-in speaker and the battery release switch.

The top of the device looks simple and organized.  At the middle, you will have access to the zoom toggle slider, the photo shutter button, video snap button and the power button.  At the rear is a cover that houses the camcorder’s accessory shoe.

The camcorder’s lens is a genuine Canon 15x HD video lens with an 18x Advanced Zoom and a 300x Digital Zoom capabilities.  Focal length range is from 4.1 to 61.5 mm and it has a filter diameter of 37 mm.  The lens dominates the front of the camcorder with the instant AF sensor at the bottom left, the built-in stereo microphone at the bottom center and the video light and built-in flash with red-eye reduction setting at the left.

One of its best features is its Smart Auto AE setting.  The camcorder’s DIGIC DV III image processor will automatically identify and analyze the subject’s brightness, distance, exposure and movement and adjust the settings to optimize video results.  This is perfect for a point-and-shoot application and its output is one of the best in the auto modes offered by camcorders in its category.

Another neat feature of this camcorder is its Touch & Track that provides precise tracking of the selected subject with a simple touch on the LCD screen.  Tapping the desired subject in the LCD screen will tell the camcorder to adjust its focus and exposure to the subject’s environment.  This feature will identify different subjects including pets, people, things, cars and others.

One of its main competitors in its category is the Panasonic HDC-HS60 camcorder.  The Panasonic camcorder holds the edge in bright light recording performance.  The Panasonic camcorder produces less noise and has a better color accuracy performance.  The Panasonic camcorder also features a massive 120 GB internal hard drive and has two SD/SDHC memory card slots if you need memory expansion.  The Panasonic camcorder has a larger imager with its 1/2.6-inch CMOS sensor that provides an effective resolution of about six megapixels.  The larger LCD screen of the Panasonic camcorder at 3.5-inches has a resolution of 0.922 megapixels.  The Panasonic camcorder offers a 24p native frame rate recording option that is not in the Canon camcorder.  Canon holds the edge in zoom capability with its 15x optical zoom compared to Panasonic’s 10x.  The Panasonic camcorder costs $100 more and weighs 200 grams more than the Canon camcorder.  For consumers with an extra budget to spare, the Panasonic camcorder is a better choice than the HF M300.

The Canon HF M300 is a compact and light weight camcorder perfect for a point-and-shoot application and for documenting vacation trips and small gathering.  It doesn’t have an internal recording media drive and will require users to invest in SD/SDHC memory cards.  This camcorder, with its Smart Auto and Touch & Track features will be perfect for beginners assuring great video results with less tinkering of the camcorder’s settings.

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