Review: 5 Reasons Why the Canon VIXIA HF R600 (now HF R800) is the Best Priced Camcorder for Vlogging

This camera is now discontinued. The new version is the VIXIA HF R800. It is almost the same camera, but it only includes a few new software tweaks to improve navigability and a brighter LCD screen. Read the new review here.

The Canon VIXIA HF R600 has three editions, and each one of them is good for vlogging. Here I will tell you about the good and the bad about choosing the Canon VIXIA HF R600, R60 or R62.

The first thing you need to know is that these three versions have the exactly same basic features; each of them just add WiFi and some optional features:

• The Canon VIXIA HF R60 adds WiFi, NFC and 8GB internal storage.
• The Canon VIXIA HF R62 adds WiFi, NFC, bigger battery (204 min continuous recording) and 32GB internal storage.

You can get around 2 hours of continuous recording with the R600 and R60. With the R62, you can record for around 3 straight hours.

The R600 is the cheapest and it’s followed by the R60. The R62 is the most expensive version.

Why is the Canon VIXIA HF R600 Good for Vlogging?

You can record 1080p60/30/24 video – Something common between camcorders is lacking the possibility of recording at a rate lower than 60fps. However, the Canon VIXIA HF R600 will let you play with different rates to achieve a cinematic feeling in some of your videos. This adds some usage versatility to this camcorder.

It can record directly MP4 video, making it easier for vlogging – It will save you a lot of time if you record in MP4, as you will be able to upload your videos directly to YouTube. The AVCHD format is hard to edit, and you need a powerful computer. Being able to record in MP4 format saves you all the trouble of having to convert the video before editing.

When recording in MP4, there are cameras that can go at a faster rate than 35Mbps. However, this is a really good rate for the price. The image quality recorded by this camera is high.

It has a fully articulated screen – You can see yourself while you vlog. While this might not be essential, it does help you making sure you’re being focused by the camera during recordings.

Touchscreen makes setting the camera faster – You can navigate the menus faster with a touchscreen. It will also allow you to set a focus point while you record. This can come in handy when video blogging if you need to change the focusing point.

An external microphone lets you have the best audio – Audio is more important than video when vlogging. This is something you should always remember. Nobody keeps watching when they can’t hear you. This is why I don’t recommend getting a camera without external mic port for vlogging.

F1.8 aperture makes it good in lower light – This camera performs well in low light for its price. The f1.8 maximum aperture helps the camera capture more light when it’s completely zoomed out. Since its widest focal length is 32.8mm, you can still capture a decent amount of light when recording at a normal focal length (50mm), which you will be using a lot for vlogging.

However, remember that camcorders are not good in low light. When you record in indoor, you will need the most lighting you can get.

In general, the value you get for the price is really good – You are getting great image quality, mic port, touchscreen and flip screen for the lowest price you can think of. You won’t find another camera with this combination of features under $200. It’s the best cheap camera you can get for vlogging.

What’s Bad About the Canon VIXIA HF R600?

When it comes to downsides, there are just few things we can say apart from having lower image quality than more expensive cameras:

It does not have a real manual mode – Unlike the Canon VIXIA G20, G30 and G40, this is a consumer-level camcorder. This is the reason why it lacks good manual settings. It doesn’t display the aperture, shutter speed and gain in every mode either.

You won’t care about this at all if you don’t know cameras too well. Manual mode becomes useful when you learn more about them. With manual mode you are able to set the best settings for the situation you’re in, so the camera will perform the best possible. This is true as long as you know about aperture, shutter, and ISO.

Its huge zoom is not useful when vlogging – A big part of the price you will pay is thanks to its large 32x zoom. This is a little bit extra money that you will pay for something that will not add much usefulness to your purpose for vlogging. Nevertheless, the camera is still at a really nice price range for its quality.