Improving Canon Low Light Performance with the Vixia HF S200

Not every camera can be everything, especially not at an affordable cost. And while the Canon Vixia HF S200 is hands down an amazing camcorder to have, some are having issues with it's low light performance. When it comes to taking stills with your Vixia HF S200, you can always use the build in flash - but what about regular video recording in low light - can the Canon keep up?



Well, the answer is yes, but it will take a bit of work. It's amazing that since the Canon Vixia HF S200 does everything else so easily that people get quickly discouraged when it doesn't perform off the bat in low light situations. Well, that's why there are settings on your Vixia HF S200, and if you will be doing a lot of low light video recording, you will want to whip out your manual and get acquainted with some of them.



If all you are looking for is a camera that can perform great in low light situations, and you don't care about all of the other features offered with the Vixia HF-S200, then you will probably be happier with the Sony HDR-XR520V. But for the variety of features and all the strong points of the Canon HF S00, it's well worth it to learn a little about low light situations - as you can still get very good quality video even in low light situations.



The easiest way to get good video with the Canon HF-S200 is in the "P" mode, although you will notice that noise may be an issue. It will really pick up background noise - but you can always edit, and add music to cover that up later. The best way to get great low light video out of the Canon is to go ahead and put the camera in full manual mode (locked exposure - not auto exposure), and use a tri-pod. Having the camera in full manual mode will help reduce the amount of noise in shots while still giving you great image quality.



All in all, it's a Canon, so you will get the best colors and resolution of any camera in it's class and price range. And even though it may take some work, you can even video in candlelight and get excellent video with minimal noise. And all it takes is just a little light, (low light outdoor scenes look great!) and the Canon will take over all the decision making to give you excellent quality videos. So unless your hobbies have you routinely taking videos indoors in lowlight situations, and you don't have the five minutes it takes to learn about the various settings, then the Canon Vixia HF-S200 is definitely the camcorder for you, even in low light situations.



Stefani is a wife, mother, entrepreneur, freelance writer and business photographer. For more info on her favorite camcorder visit What You Need To Know About the Best Flash Camcorder on the Market