Here is the review for the Canon Vixia HF G40 released a little over a year ago.
Canon says is ideal for “advanced amateur filmmakers, wedding videographers, and student reporters.”
I picked up the Canon Vixia HF G40 about a month ago. Searching for in depth reviews and didn’t see the info I was looking for. Finding a lot of videos that went over the specs and a few open box reviews but nothing really substantial. While this post suffers from the same substance lacking content, I will be creating a video review soon. It’s there I will go into detail how I setup the Canon Vixia HF G40 to use with my 5D MIII and 7D.
I wanted a 3rd camera for filming events. Mostly Wedding ceremonies. I needed a setup in the back of the ceremony and let it run to get an overall shot for when I am shooting alone. In considering the Canon XA30 but from all that I read the Canon Vixia HF G40 is the same camera without the XLR inputs. Audio is recorded off camera and only use the cameras audio to sync in post so I did not see a need to spend the extra dough.
When you open the box you can expect the following.
Canon Vixia HF G40
Lens hood (with Lens Barrier)
Battery Pack BP-820
Compact Power Adapter CA-570
Wireless Controller WL-D89
High Speed HDMI cable HTC-100/S
Interface Cable IFC-300PCU/S
Stereo Video Cable STV-250N
Weighing in at just around 2 pounds and measuring around 7.5 x 3.5 x 4.5 inches, the G40 is pretty compact but still substantial enough to feel like a solid piece of equipment.
On the front we see a 20x lens that is a 35mm equivalent of 26.8–576mm. There is also a 400x digital zoom, but that will degrade the quality of the video so I never use it.
The heart of the Canon Vixia HF G40 is the DIGIC DV 4 image processor and the new HD CMOS PRO Image Sensor which is the same sensor the XA35 and XA30 models use. That gives us high quality video and better low light performance and low-luminance noise rating of +3 dB. A big improvement over the previous models.
To save those videos Canon has provided us with dual SD card slots that allow relay recording or dual recording. Relay recording will continue to the next card when the first card is full. Dual recording will record a duplicate video in mp4 format. Great for those times when you have a quick same day edit or just want a back up created dynamically on location. The Canon Vixia HF G40 records in 1080p/60p video in MP4 or AVCHD formats in 24/30 fps. At 24 frames per second you would get what is considered cinematic quality. You can also set the G40 for slow motion or fast motion but beware it is easy to forget to switch it back.
To see what is happening Canon put an impressive 3.5-inch OLED display. Still difficult to see in the bright sun, my hoodman hanging around my neck helps check focus and exposure.
Wide DR Gamma mode on the G40 helps achieve a wide dynamic range of 600% to produce excellent tonal gradations. It also reduces the chance of blown-out highlights. There are controls to cut the contrast and sharpening to get you closer to a raw out put but unfortunately there is no raw available. Still, the ending result is stellar.
The optical image stabilization system features an impressive Dynamic Image Stabilization mode. That helps stabilize the camera across all zoom levels. Even zoomed into 20x, it is possible to get very stable shots.
When it is complete, I will link the YoutTube video review.
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