Canon Optura 20: Easy, Functional, and Fun!
Written: Feb 03 '04
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Pros: Very simple to use, connect, and "fiddle" with...
Cons: The battery could be better, but I know this one is better than most...
The Bottom Line: If you like useful gadgets then the Optura 20 is right up your alley.
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| lambchops's Full Review: Canon Optura 20 Mini DV Camcorder |
After consulting with a few professional video editors, my options in mini-DV land were incredibly diminished. Turns out that Canon and Sony are the two best brands of cameras. However, Canon manages to do the same thing as Sony for $100’s cheaper. Therefore, I knew I was getting a Canon.
Simple enough, right? Well…pretty much. In addition to knowing what brand I was getting, I’d set a price limit of $800 on my purchase. For this amount of money, I found that I could get a good deal of camera with great optical zoom, a large viewer, and for that matter a slew of features. Turns out that with a little help from a surprise open-box model I ended up spending just $620 on my cute little Canon Optura 20.
First things first…this is not a professional camera. It is completely and totally a consumer model. But with that said it offers everything I wanted in a video camera and a whole lot more—all in an easy to use, neat, tidy little package. Canon really is the most viable option when it comes to video cameras. The lesser price tag on this unit does by no means equate to a lesser product.
In comparing the various Canon models, I chose the Optura 20 for a few reasons. First and foremost, I am a computer nerd and as such have a penchant for fiddling with buttons and other things that I probably shouldn’t touch. I also have a tendency to “up buy” in the hopes that I may use something and not wanting to miss out on something that I might not ever use.
The most immediately striking thing about the Optura 20 is the color LCD screen as it measures 3.5 inches. This is very large, but is also an unnecessary luxury (or extra bonus) as far as camcorders go. The minimal size and weight are also immediately obvious. The camera rests easily in the palm of my hand and at 1lb 4oz it isn’t at all difficult to hold for long periods of time.
But aside from those plainly obvious aspects, the Optura 20 is chock full of neat-o technical doodads. First there are actually two different methods by which you can save information. First is of course the tape. But second is by way of a SD/MMC card slot (a 8MB card is included). The reason this second method proves so useful is that the Optura 20 doubles as a 1.33 megapixel digital camera. The resolution isn’t great (1280 x 960) but it is definitely enough for all uses on the web. As expected, the MiniDV can be transferred to VHS by was of AV cables. That’s no big deal. Canon on the other hand has made it possible to transfer easily to your computer via USB 2.0 and 4-pin IEEE 1394 Firewire. It’s all very simple to install and play around with though the programs included with the product are nowhere near enough to really video edit. Also included are s-video (which I have yet to utilize), microphone connect, and AV cable connect.
As expected, the Optura 20 also includes an image stabilizer (good for shaky-handed folks like me) and a bunch of mostly useless effects. I have yet to utilize the vast majority of these outside of the usual “color”-- art, black-and-white, sepia, mosaic, mirror, ball, cube, and wave. In addition to these, there are built in fades/transitions including the non-too-subtle trigger, vertical wipe, window, flip, tide, puzzle, beam, zigzag and jump. I guess these are all fun in a kitschy sort of way—maybe I’ll use them when we have kids. I’d just prefer to play with the nifty 16x optical zoom and ignore the pixilated mess of 320x digital zoom. Remember folks—digital zoom isn’t good for much of anything.
Canon powers this camcorder with a rechargeable lithium ion battery. It “officially” lasts 2.5 hours using the viewfinder and one hour fifty minutes using the LCD screen. I generally use the LCD screen and get about the expected time out of it. I suppose I’d like it to be more—but a larger battery would certainly make it more difficult to hold in the palm of my hand. I purchase (yeah—I know, big rip off) the extended warranty (it comes with a 1 year parts and labor) for the camera thus ensuring that for the next four years I will get replacement batteries for free. Lithium ion doesn’t promise to last forever—and it won’t.
Would you like to add a little extra to the camera? An expansion slot is easily accessible on the top of the Optura 20. Add in that special directional mic (which I won’t buy so I can’t speak about) or that video light (which I won’t buy so I can’t speak about).
Finally, Canon imaging technology (DIGIC DV) is at the forefront of imaging. It is intended specifically for the digital medium. This single, multi-tasked, chip integrates six key elements—CCD control, auto exposure/auto white balance/auto focus, signal processing, JPEG compression/expansion, memory card control, and display. The benefit of the DIGIC DV is improved speed (no time lag), image quality, and improved battery life. I guess I can vouch for all three in the case of the Optura 20.
My Optura 20 also features a bunch of light settings not found on most cameras. For example, you have the super night mode which enables night shooting and an assist light. It works well. I would have liked it to work a tad better but then again this isn’t a professional camera and there is the option to utilize the expansion at the top of the camcorder. Also easily available are the usual auto in addition to sports, portrait, spotlight, low light, and color night modes. Speaking of recording in different conditions, Canon has also included both 12 and 16 bit sound modes. The 12 is good if you’d like to record sounds to edit into the movie. 16 bit is preferable if you just want the usual, high quality sound.
All that technical junk aside, I will say that I really do love my new camcorder. I like the fact that it integrates a digital camera (though I do have a 3.1 megapixel Olympus C-3000 from a few years ago) into the mix. I also appreciate the size and portability. I love the huge LCD screen and couldn’t imagine a camera without image stabilization. Finally, the ease of connecting the camera to my laptop PC is amazing. There really is nothing I would currently change about my Canon Optura 20.
Other models I investigated but rejected for numerous reasons were the Canon Optura 10 and Canon ZR70MC. And while I appreciate Sony, their product is incredibly overpriced in comparison to Canon. They were excluded from contention because their Sony Handycam DCR-TRV33 ($649.99) had far fewer features and far less zoom capability (only 10x optical). Same goes for the significantly pricier DCR-TRV38 and DCR-TRV39 not to mention the outrageously stickered models (well over $1k) none of which are even close to the same zoom ability as Canon. I could be missing something but since folks who do this for a living recommend Canon and they are cheaper than Sony then its clear what the logical choice would be.
Definitely, a highly recommended camcorder.
Quick Specs:
Warranty Part/Labor: 1 year
Product Weight: 1lb 4 oz
LCD Screen Size: 3.5” color
Manual Focus: Yes
Night Recording: Yes
Optical/Digital Zoom: 16x/320x
Connections: USB 2.0 (included), s-video, firewire, etc…
Battery: Li-Ion
Battery Life: 2 hours 30 min (viewfinder), 1 hour fifty minutes (LCD)
Speaker: Yes
Remote Control: Yes
AC Adapter: Yes
Audio Recording: PCM Digital
Auto Date/Time Stamp: Yes
Digital Image Stabilization: Yes
Format: MiniDV
Flash Memory: Yes-MMC/SD card
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 620
Recommended for: Trendsetters - Hip and Stylish Gadgets
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Epinions.com ID:
lambchops
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Member: Shelly T.
Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan
Reviews written: 1172
Trusted by: 842 members
About Me:
Bye-bye CL hat. Hopefully I'll write some new reviews some time soon!
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