It Beckons to be Used
Written: Oct 09 '02 (Updated Oct 09 '02)
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Pros: Easy to carry around, simple to use, surprisingly good crisp color.
Cons: Picks up too much wind noise.
The Bottom Line: It's not perfect, but it takes great pictures and because it's so compact you will get a lot of use out of it.
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| vivalounge's Full Review: Canon Elura 2 Mini DV Camcorder |
I have a Canon IXY DV which is the Japanese version of the Elura 2MC. The difference between the Elura 2 and the 2MC is that the 2MC has a feature that allows you to capture still images onto a memory card (more on that later). My wife and I received the camcorder as a gift almost a year ago from her cousin who works for Nissan and takes frequent business trips to Japan. We were thrilled when we got the camera. We were less thrilled when we saw that the instructions, the wordings on the camcorder and onscreen displays were all in Japanese. I've spent many months travelling on numerous trips with a relative's Sony Hi-8 cassette video camera so I am familiar with most camcorder functions. However, I can't read or write Japanese and the only phrase I know is, "I'm sorry, I don't understand Japanese."
Despite my illiteracy, the camcorder has an automatic mode that is virtually idiot proof. This isn't unique to Canon. My Sony had it too and I believe most camcorders do as well. Recording, zoom, standby, playback, taking digital photos, changing the tape, changing the battery, recharging... all the basic functions are intuitive and easy to learn and remember.
We learned the other functions by downloading the Elura 2MC instruction manual from Canon's website and basically teaching ourselves. I still can't "read" Japanese, but I can now identify Japanese characters for things like "low battery" and "image stabilization on". This allows me to switch occasionally to manual where a ton of features are at my disposal. Manual focus, exposure, shutter speed, image stabilization, editing to a VCR, dubbing and adjustments to accomodate playback on a widescreen tv. It also has set "programs" that will help you shoot better in low or bright light, shoot in black and white, as well as digital effects so you can do fancy fades and wipes. Furthermore it comes with a wireless remote that is not only useful for playback, but you can take it with you to use as a precision self-timer. Finally, you can easily download and upload images and video to your computer.
Having said that, despite being familiar now with all the features of our camcorder, we rarely use them. Sure we can use the multi-image split screen mode if we want to but we don't. The camera is almost always on automatic mode.
Even just using automatic mode, the Elura takes very good quality pictures. Daytime outdoor color is very rich and vivid. The picture tends to get more grainy with less light. Indoor pictures with dim lighting will come out very grainy no matter how many manual adjustments you make. Then again, I've never seen any camcorder take great low-light shots.
It also has a 10X optical zoom, which is pretty standard, and a 40X digital zoom. In case you don't already know, optical zoom is what counts in terms of camera and picture quality. Optical zoom is a real zoom that brings the subject closer to the camera... digital zoom is just taking an image and blowing it up.
The camcorder also just feels nice. Compare it to a Sony or JVC which has sharper edges and points. And because it's so small, it's easy to take with you so you'll actually use it. Personally, I do not want to carry around a big camcorder. I'm sure if I had one, it would be collecting dust.
I can't really complain about the battery life. Using the LCD screen will suck battery power faster. I usually record using the viewfinder and get about an hour. I also received the larger BP-412 (Japanese version of BP-422)battery with the Elura and that's good for more than three hours. Recharging doesn't take long at all. The smaller one takes about an hour to recharge, the larger one about two.
Now for the bad. There are two things about the Elura that I'm not thrilled about. The first is with taking still images. The 8MB memory card can hold either 60 or 100 images depending on the quality setting. Regardless of the setting, the pictures are about 300K pixels. That's less than a third of ONE Megapixel. It's only suitable for pictures you paste on websites or attach to emails. Also, the "shutter" button is on the side of the camcorder. Unless you're holding the camera very steady, the movement of your index finger depressing the button can tilt your camcorder as you're taking a picture. Furthermore, the memory card itself is very delicate. Despite great care, I have lost images on the memory card due to "error reading messages" and perhaps need to buy a new one. The only thing stopping me is that I doubt I will ever use the MC function again. If I were buying this camcorder for myself I would not get the MC. Get the Elura 2 and a reasonable quality digital camera and you'd probably be better off.
My second and biggest complaint with the camcorder is that the built-in mic picks up a lot of wind noise. It has a wind screen function but it's sorely inadequate. For months I doubted my mastery of self-taught Japanese character recognition... in the end I realized that the Elura's wind screen function simply sucks. You can attach an external mic, but who wants to walk around with a mic attached to a camcorder.
So the bottom line is this. In terms of usefulness, picture quality and portable convenience I think the Elura is one of the best quality small camcorders you will find. In terms of audio quality it's not. And again, I would recommend the Elura 2 over the 2MC.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Gift
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Epinions.com ID:
vivalounge
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Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 6
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