Months Later - Still Glad I Bought It!
Written: Jan 27 '03
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Pros: Unbelievably compact, feature rich, can snap image from paused tape, good quality filming.
Cons: Low light colors aren't exact to subject, some controls on remote, auto lighting not great.
The Bottom Line: Buy it for casual use with family, not professional use for work.
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| blaird's Full Review: Canon Elura 40MC Mini DV Camcorder |
My 8yr old fights in taekwondo competitions and I really needed a camcorder small enough to slide in my pocket at a moments notice, instead of having to put a larger camera back into a case, or on the floor where someone could just steal it while I'm preoccupied.
I also needed a camera that would allow me to pause a tape in play mode, then snap a digital image of the paused frame, to the camcorders digital card. This saved me from trying to snap a picture of a my sons kick at the exact time (which I'd always miss). Being that I'm a web developer, this camcorder has enough still image quality/size for me.
Any complaints I've heard about it prior, like low light compensation causing it to run slower, I just adjust manual light settings. As far as complaints about short battery life, I just bought more and larger batteries, or complaints about mic noise, I just use an external when needed. I don't know all the technical stuff about CCD's, and all that, but I do know that I've had it for 6 months now, and can't go anywhere without it, and have no problem taking it along.
My only complaints are: at times, the camera displayed the light to be brighter or dimmer than what was actually being filmed. All I did was focus it on another subject (let it register) and bring it back to my previous subject to correct this.
Also, in low light, the colors aren't exactly matching the real subject colors as I'd like, but I can live with that since I film mostly in normal lighting. And with such an small device, with so many moving parts, I worry about wear and tear after a year passes.
And last, whenever you want to record from an external device (VHS/DVD) to the camera, the record button on the remote has to be used instead of the camera's record button. I guess to keep the camera compact, some of the (not commonly used) controls had to be placed on a remote. That's all!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1000
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Epinions.com ID: blaird
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Reviews written: 1
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