Yeah, i seem to be hard on my cameras (some of you may remember an experience i had a few years ago with my DSLR that resulted in this... https://vimeo.com/10886269). The demise of my Canon camcorder last week was not nearly so dramatic - nor was it caught on camera...haha.
i had used it and noticed a slight problem in focusing but chalked it up to the low contrast scene i was shooting. later that nite, i had the camera in a canvas bag, along with my tablet, as i sat with neighbors around a fire. In the dark i didn't notice the bag had slipped off the lawn chair onto the grass. The next day i immediately noticed a slight rattle. really? i couldn't imagine it had fallen that hard since i never even heard a thud when it fell... and a fall onto grass from just over a foot seemed unlikely to cause a problem...maybe the tablet had landed on it? I tried the camera and it seemed ok. i shot some video of cows thru my windshield and, of the 4 clips i shot, i noticed one in which it could not focus. i took it to best buy (i had the protection plan) and it was sent in for repair. yesterday i stopped back there to see if it was too late to add more information...i remembered the camera had been getting noticeably hot the last few days i had used it. They checked the status of the repair and learned it was going to be replaced due to the problems it had. They wrote up the replacement paperwork and, if i had known which camera i wanted, i could have gotten it yesterday. Instead, they are hanging onto the forms and i can come back and make my selection when i know what i want.
Sooooo...if you had 299.99 to put towards a new camera, what would you buy? Canon now has the HF R400 (the latest version in the same line). Should i be concerned that the HF R300's poor focus and heating that occurred prior to the fall may be repeated in the HF R400?
And, Steve, I think I know what you may suggest...
BTW, i just checked the camera's status thru a link i was given when it went in for repair and it says "Hooray! We have completed work on your device. Stay tuned - we will let you know when you can expect to have it back in your hands." Now that doesn't quite sound like they are replacing it, does it? Maybe i should run over to the store and grab something new before they figure out it really isn't supposed to be replaced!