Camcorder Reviews

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Purchased this Camcorder in January 2003. Did lots of research on comparable Panasonic and Sony models - was totally confused, finally went with the Optura Xi. Am very very happy - yes, it is bigger than the very small models. But I find it very comfortable to work with. The optical stabilizer is great - even video from a moving boat looks good. Another surprise - even though they say you won't use the still camera much on a video camcorder - I found myself using it all the time, so I was happy I had the 2 megapixels on the Optura. Not as high quality as my digital still camera - but great for web and viewing on the laptop screen. As a recent switcher from PCs to Mac - I have also been delighted with the ease of connectivity and use with my new PowerBook.

Just passed one year warrant period, the eye piece viewfinder didn't work anymore. It seems that the sensor for the foldable screen went bad. Sent back to California Canon service center, and was charged for [money]. The customer service agent was very arrogant about Canon quality, and showed no sign of concern for my problem.

Recently half of screen became distorted during replay. Don't want to waste another [money], so tried lots of cleaning and changed the tape from TDK to Sony. The problem seems to be under control.

If it goes bad again, I will trash this junk, and buy a Sony.

My main draw to the Canon Optura Pi was the optical (rather than digital) image stabilization. Canon is the only camcorder manufacturer that offers this feature in this price range. The image quality is excellent, although the camera calibration can take some getting used to. Experiment with white balance settings, etc. until you find something that works well. The LCD screen is a little too bright, but otherwise looks good. This camera integrates flawlessly with my Macintosh G4 and iMac DV computers. My only complaint about this camera is that occasionally the picture can become blocky and behave erratically. However, I have discovered that this is a problem with ALL DV camercorders and is due to flaky DV cassettes. So, choose your tapes wisely! In every instance of picture glitches, the problem has corrected itself within a matter of minutes. As I said, this is probably the best camcorder you can get in without spending $2500 or more

The Optura Pi is one fantastic video camera! I had never purchased a Canon product before, but I am very impressed with the Optura Pi. You buy a camcorder primarily to shoot moving video. This is one machine that doesn't disappoint. Best features: optical image stabilization(a high end feature usually found only on the most expensive models); superb canon lense(second to none in the industry); large 3.5' LCD with high end resolution(200k pixels); excellent detail and color reproduction( RGB filter); manual overrides for controls ( useful for more experienced videographers); solid construction (many Sony and Panasonic models in the same price range have a cheap, plastic feel); amazing low light performance(although the jarring motion inherent in the low light setting may turn some people off). Cons: no manual focus ring(just a non mechanical option ring); overly touchy zoom control(be careful!); poor ergonomics for the zoom control( you have to reach back with your pointer finger to activate the zoom); low pixel count(360k for the CCD-all the better models are going mega pixel, but then, you pay for it too); blank tape is expensive( but this applies to all digital format camcorders). If you want to take digital stills, buy a dedicated still camera.You'll get way better quality for way less money. Progressive scan is not a significant feature for most people-record in "movie" mode( the Pi's successor 100MC is without Prog Scan). In summary, the Pi delivers excellent detail and color reproduction in all kinds of lighting situations. It feels like a high end camera and performs like one too.Unless you are willing to pay for the performance of a 3CCD camera, this is the one to get. Act fast; the PI has been discontinued. If you're lucky enough to find it at a vendor who made a special factory purchase, you'll get a fantastic deal!

As many camcorder fans, I was excited by the Canon Press Release about Canon Optura 40 Camcorder, pre ordered it and received it late May. After opening the box, the camera looks great: compact, slick, nice looking lens. However, after a couple of time trial shootings, all these nice impressions were gone for good! A few Major disappointments:
1) Poor video image. The video image has too much "digital" jaggies both in regular daylight and lower light environment shooting. When you play back on the TV, you see the "fluttery" effect all the time. When you pause the image, the jaggies are very obvious and horrible. This is even worse when you shoot in the low light environment.
2) Noisy zoom lever. The zoom lever on the top on the camera body was not a well made (or designed) part. When you zoom in & out using the lever, the noise is very obvious and annoying. This noise was clearly recorded heard from the tape when you playback.
3) The still camera quality is less than a regular 2.0 MP digital camera.
4) The strap that holds your hand of video filming is not in the right position to make your hand comfortable.
5) The 2.5" view LCD screen has too much info displayed and this made the small 2.5" LCD very noisy.

I contacted the Canon USA for my questions. No clear answers were given about the image quality. I compared Optura 40 with Panasonic PV-GS200, the Panasonic has far more better video image quality. Big disappointment for me.

Most of the negative comments I read about the camera are from people that don't know how to use the camera. It takes a little time to go through the menus and read the cryptic (non-detailed) manual. And, not all the features are described in the manual.

- The camera does very well in low light indoor situations if you put it in "Indoor" mode.

- I barely noticed the camera motor noise during quiet scenes. I think the only reason I noticed it is because I was listening for it.

- The camera fits very nicely in my hand, with the strap and zoom switch in just the right positions.

- This is my first digital camcorder and it was very easy to learn how to use the basic features. Some of the advanced features took some trial and error to figure out.

- My only disappointments were that it did not come with a tape or firewire, the manual is poor, and the included 8MB card is ridiculous (buy a 256 or 512).

I did a lot of research before selecting this camera, and I am confident I made the right choice. I would have given it 4.5 stars if I had the option.

The Optura 30/40 has two default settings that need to be changed. The first is that in Easy and Auto modes, shutter speed can be a slow as 1/30 second. This causes video to blur, ghosts with fast movement, and blur (grain?) in low light. Go to Auto Slow Shutter (A.SL.Shutter and turn it OFF). The shutter speed will be no slower than 1/60, creating much sharper video.

The second is that audio is defauted to 12 bit. Change this to 16 bit for better audio.

I am extrememly pleased with my Optura 40. It's great in low light, is user friendly, stabilization works well in both 5:4 and 16:9 modes, and the 14X optical is all I'll ever need. The quality of the video and audio is great. It's comfortable in my hand and feels "solid". I like it being a top loader since I use both a monopod and tripod when I can.

Negatives include: In 5:4 mode, tele isn't wide enough (but is fine in 16:9), the cover for the S-video jack seems cheap, and I wish it had optical stabilization. However, it does have better stabilization than my Nikon Hi8 camcorder that has optical stabilization--so it has excellent electronic image stabilization. Also, the 34mm filter/adapter size is unusual. However, step up rings are available (e.g. 34mm to 37mm)and with the fast selling Opturas 30/40 and Eluras 60/65/70 having 34mm filters, I suspect that they're be plenty of 34mm filters available shortly.

I bought this camera just a day before my trip to Alaska and it worked out great. Since there was not much time to read the thick manual, the controls were intuitive enough to operate. The video quality was great.
Pros:
- Great size. Very compact
- Great video quality with 2 Mega Pixals
- Easy to operate.

Cons:
- Still pictures come better in light. Not good if the light is less
- Red eye reduction does not seem to work well for still pictures
- In the video, the sound recording seem to pick up wind and other noises more than you actually hear.
- Some times still pictures are not in focus.

I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who is in the market for a camcorder. I purchased the optura 300 several months ago and have been utilizing it heavily ever since. The camera takes excellent movies of both indoor and outdoor events. I could not be happier with my choice. I did purchase a longer-lived battery which has worked out well. I keep the standard battery charged as a backup, but the larger battery has never died on me even during days that I shot a significant amount of footage.

I would like to point out of few issues I have had with it:
1) The instruction manual leaves much to the imagination, especially with how to download the recorded motion pictures onto a PC. There are many other gaps in the manual.

2) This camera is not for the technologically challenged. I would guess that this is not limited to this specific camera, but is an issue with the entire class of cameras. To burn DVDs and do any kind of editing, the user must have a video capture card & firewire installed on their PC. In addition, downloading movies onto a PC requires LOTS of hard drive space. I installed a 2nd hard drive for this purpose. In addition I needed to install a DVD RW drive so I could burn DVDs. I also upgraded my RAM. Although all of these are easy installs in newer PC's, it can be a daunting task just for a person to figure out what is actually needed not to mention knowing how to actually install it. Combined with shortcomings in the manual, I could see this being fatal for some users. If you are technologically challenged, I would recommend the cameras that burn directly to DVD.

3) At the extreme end of the zoom, the camera seems to have trouble focusing and is very shaky. This is not that big of an issue as long as the user keeps this in mind while framing the video.

4) I am not really happy with the quality of the still images captured by this camera. These images can be saved onto a flash card or onto the digital tape. With perfect lighting, the images are good, but I have found that when the flash is needed, the images are completely over exposed. The red-eye reduction feature does not work at all to reduce red eye.

Please do not let these negatives taint my review. I love this camera but I wanted to put all the issues that I have found with it out there.

I bought this goodie for less than $700 bucks from onecall.com, an authorized canon dealer so this qualifies me to a get a free 128MB SD card.
PROS: Really compact compared to lot of other cameras i compared with that had the same features, it really fits in my jacket pocket. Out door videos are amazingly great, had to be with 1.3MP of video quality, the other option i was looking at was sony 330 but that was way too pricey for me.
Still shots are exceptional although you cannot compare it with a stand alone digital still.
Menus are not complicated, even my wife can use it without hassels.
I had read reviews about the motor noise from the tape but i found that it had absolutely no noise when you record at the desired sound level in a quite atmosphere.
I know lot of reviews state that the microphone placement is bad as it sits right on top of the view finder but i didn't find this to be a serious problem as it picks up the subjects sound very well. The only problem with the mic placement is the sound variation when you speak vs. the subject speaking.
Zooming capability is amazing, the zoom is really smooth when compared to sony.
Image stability is excellent as long as you stay with in the optical zoom, once you hit the digital zoom(beyond 40X) you need to be really still, the manual provides you with few tips to increase the stability. Also, i rarely go to the digital zoom as 10X optical is more than enough for my use.
lots of predefined shooting modes.
This goodie provides a lot of digital effects.
The previous review said that s/he acciendtly recorded MPEGs instead of DV, but the on screen icons give you a clear indication of the media you are recording on, so no problem their as long as you see the on screen info.
LCD resolution is fantastic and i liked the fact that it is not too big, there by minimizing my battery drain.
The best feature i personally like compared with sony pc101/105/109 is that this one has all its control on the body, sony has a touch screen menu option and you could mess up your screen if you are not really careful.
Cons: The most outstanding problem i found with optura 300 is the low light recording. This provides 3 various low light recording but in the dark the super night shot mode any moving images create a drag effect and the recording resoultion is also grainy. Having said that the indoor + low light mode is adequate when shooting inside a home with no day light. The only problem is when it is pitch dark sony seems to be doing better.
Battery life is terrible, the battery provided with canon lasts 30-40 minutes, so i had to go in for an upgrade on the battery.
but i guess all camcorders have the same problem.
Overall it is a great camcorder for indoor and outdoor use.

2 1/2 stars.. Good feel and Features saves it from a 2 star rating. With minimal low light performance, this camera would have been 5 stars.

I tried both this camera and the Elura 65/70 side by side. While I prefered the feel and overall features of the Optura, the low light is so bad on the Optura, that I ended up selecting the Elura 70. Overall, the Elura has better video performance for less money. And isn't video performance the top reason to buy a camcorder?

Low light is relative.. I'm talking regular indoor lighting, not near dark stuff. I tested it with 300 watts of artificial light ins a 25x15 room and the colors were dull/drab and noticably darker and less colorful than the elura. What's worse, as you lower the light, movement/pans of the camera leave echos of objects! Below 60 lux, the camera is pretty much useless without an accesory light. I find this unacceptable in a $899 camera. I will say that nantural sunlight does wonders for performance, but this only helps when filming near windows or in a sunroom and does nothing at night.

Don't even consider the night modes, they slow down the frame rate and look worse anything you would film in standard mode. And to those that may ask, yes, auto slow shutter is off(which i recommend for any Canon camcorder).

I think the cultrip is the RGB filter... which produces more accurate colors but decreases luminance levels. This is why single CCD cameras genreally use Complementary filters... and why if you want RGB, yuo should get a 3 CCD Camera. I suppose that Canon thought that the 2mp CCD would make up for this weakness. It doesn't. I would have loved this camera with a Complentary filter. I'll sacrifice a negligable amount of color accuracy in bright light for tolerable indoor performance anything. The truth it's hard to tell the difference in the colors, but it's easy to tell the difference indoors.. and indoors, it's brightness and Color that are so bad! The Elura 65/70 performs MUCH better indoors producing reasonably well at normal lighing conditions.. and even as low as 15 lux.

Still Performance is OK, but the overall quality isn't much better than the 1mp elura.. except that the pictures are 1623x1224 rather than 1280x960... While good for a camcorder, they are still no substitute for a digital camera. Don't buy either for stills! The Elura takes suprisingly good photos without a flash, but an external flash is available.

After trying both cameras, I loved the 30.. and it was difficult to part with it. I ran the same tests over and over, and even tried a different Optura, thinking that mine may have been defective.
The bottom line is: If these cameras were the same price, I would have taken the Elura... with the Elura being cheaper, it's a no brainer.

Good Luck

Optura Likes: Excellent auto focus, focus ring, overall feel of Camera is the best that I've felt. Integrated flash, 2mp CCD, Top Loader, Exposure setting.

Dislikes: INDOOR PERFORMANCE IS VERY POOR. Menu Dial is in awkward position. Price.

NOTE: Canon was SO close with this camera. I'm not saying it's not a good camera.. it's feel and performance are great.. it just performs at the bottom of the bell curve on indoor performance... even when compared to cameras half the price.

I recently purchased the Optura 30 at a local retailer after months of research. I must say that I am happy with all of the camera's features except the night mode, which was suppose to be improved. The Optura 40 has Super Night mode, but I haven't been able to find the camera in retail stores to test it out.

Aside from the poor low light feature, the Optura 30 is a great camera. It takes great digital stills (2.0 megapixel) and pretty good Motion JPEGs.

I recommend this camera!