Canon FS100 different quality settings? Differences examined

Most camcorders come with a countless number of confusing settings for consumers to fiddle with, one of these is the video quality.  My Canon FS100 has three variations -- SP,LP and XP. These each use different bit rates with SP at 3mbps, LP at 6mbps and XP at 9mpbs. Obviously the bigger the bit rate the better quality video. Ever since I had it I have stuck it at XP because I am a firm believer in good quality video but I have wondered how much of a difference it really makes.

To test this I have shot the same footage with the camcorder simply changing the quality setting each time, I have labelled each video so you can compare them like by like and see the difference.  After I looked at the footage, which must be seen in High Quality on Youtube otherwise it’s not that good, I struggled to see any massive difference between each one. You can just make out the slightly sharper image of the XP compared to the rest but I’ll leave you to decide.  I’ll still carry on using the XP setting because it will make me feel better but whether it really makes a difference -- at least on a small screen it doesn’t.  It may make a bigger impact on a 40″ LCD TV but for my needs that is not important.

Does your camcorder have different settings? Do you ever change between them? Let us know by commenting below and helping the community.