Canon Optura 20 MiniDV Camcorder with 3.5-inch LCD and 16x Optical Zoom
List Price: $999.99
Details
- Nick low-light recordings with Super Night Mode
- MiniDV camcorder and still camera with 1.33-megapixel CCD
- 16x visual zoom lens (digital zoom to 320x) and image stabilizer
Description
CL) AA) CANON OPTURA 20 MINI DV CAMThe Canon Optura 20 camcorder is ready with a full range of sophisticated features to capture outstanding video and digital photos. It features foremost-quality Canon optics with a 16x optical zoom, image stabilization, a 1.33 megapixel CCD, and campaigner photo capabilities. The Optura 20 improves on its counterpart, the Optura 20, with Wonderful Night Shooting mode, a larger 3.5-inch LCD, and higher aptitude battery.
Lens and Optics
The powerful 16x optical zoom lets you grab your subject with razor-sharp detail even from a distance, while the 320x digital zoom takes you even quicker, revealing details too small to see with the naked eye. When capturing digital still images, the lens provides a 15x visual zoom--the equivalent of a 41-620 mm lens on a 35mm photo camera. The Optura 20 also features a 1.33-megapixel CCD and an likeness stabilization system that compensates for camcorder shake, even while panning and zooming.
Canon's DIGIC DV system makes it practical to achieve accurate color for both video and digital photos. Since video and photos have unalike color requirements, DIGIC DV utilizes two different color techniques to overstate video quality on a TV and still image quality for print or computer display.
Digital Stills
With its 1.33-megapixel unalterability, you can capture digital stills up to 1280 by 960 pixels (for 4 x 6-inch prints). In addition, the Optura 20's Simultaneous Photo Record featureenables you to record stoned-quality video to a MiniDV tape and e-mail-ready digital photos (640 x 480 pixels) to a reminiscence card at the same time. You can also capture a rapid succession of photos right-minded like the motor drive on a camera. With a single press of a handle, the Opture 20 records 30 VGA (640 x 480) frames at a class of 3 frames per second or 20 SXGA (1280 x 960) frames at 2 frames per blemished.
Images are stored on the included 8 MB Secure Digital memory credit card; the camcorder is also compatible with MultiMedia (MMC) cards.
More Features
The Optura 20 also offers a Wonderful Night mode and Low Light Plus mode, allowing for continued recording even in accepted darkness. An assist lamp in the front of the camera illuminates the subject condign enough to allow excellent image quality while retaining the desired minded or effect. The Optura 20 is also bundled with a higher capacity battery, the BP-512, for longer unending shooting.
Other features include:
- The Advanced Accessory Shoe allows you to add elective lights, flashes, and microphones.
- Manual controls include core, AE shift, shutter speeds, and white balance.
- Direct type feature with optional Canon Card Photo Printers CP-200 and CP-20 and distinguish Canon Bubble Jet Printers.
Inputs and Outputs
The Optura 20 standard DV IEEE1394 refuge (also referred to as Firewire), which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. It also features USB 1.1 connectivity for transferring still photos
MiniDV Organization
MiniDV is the preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, greatly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 520 words of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 percent clearer fancy than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the volume of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording at the same time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
Size and Contents
The camcorder preparations 3 x 7.3 x 3.6 inches and weighs 1.4 pounds (625 grams). This parcel includes the Optura 20 camcorder, 8 MB Secure Digital reminiscence card, battery (BP-512), power adapter (CA-570), wireless planner, shoulder strap, stereo video cable, USB cable, Digital Video D CD-ROM, and DV Messenger software CD-ROM.
Customer Reviews
All that & moreThis camera is perfect for my 18-year old. Absolute condition & works great. He can't thank me enough! I can't thank the seller enough. (Thanks again, by the way)! The par he gave was extremely helpful as well.
Junkpile is the next Rest for this Baby
Over the last two years, the camera has gotten progressively worse. It is out of commitment and the Stuck in low light mode problem has gone from once in every five startups to about 9 out of ten. The only factor that keeps me from giving it a one star rating is the large screen and prevalent ease of use. When it is working , it is the best small camcorder I have used. (not that I have hardened very many) I have been looking for a solution to this problem, but when my daughter takes the Optura 20 to day-school and calls me in the middle of the day to ask how to fix this, it is time to give it the old heave-ho.
I have tried a new CR-2025 freestyle, but that didn't work. I have tried jiggling things after starting, and before starting. Nothing seems to effort every time. Since it has progressed over time, it seems to be connected to a sensor cleanliness and firmware junction problem. But I wish that I knew more.
Noteworthy for sports analysis
I bought this camera in antediluvian 2004 and have had no problems that other users have experienced. Maybe I just got providential. My main use for this camera was golf swing analysis. I looked for 3 cardinal features: Manual shutter speed of at least 1/2000, manual indistinct, and a larger LCD screen, because at that time I didn't have a laptop and planned on doing enquiry at the driving range through the screen.
The Optura fills all of those criteria perfectly. Since I bought this camera, I've also bonus a laptop to the mix and the firewire port works great.
One other interesting property with this camera that I didn't know when I purchased it is the analog to digital converter. You can snitch up analog A/V, change a setting in the menu, and the camera will convert it to digital and put out the a/v through the firewire. So I can record TV shows (yes, golf swings.. such as the CBS SwingVision), in tangible time. Pretty cool.
The ONLY con I have experienced is that it's not a very good low light camera. I do have to fanatic the shutter down to about 1/250 when I'm inside in a dome. But outside during the day whether overcast or outgoing it works great.
Low light-hearted problem WARNING!!!
A gigantic warning for anyone out there looking at this camera!! We dont use ours often and one day it started loading up and being stuck in its low fire mode. this means any amount of light in the room causes it to wash out and not for publication as blur. When I looked into this issue, it turned out that there were plenty of others out there that had the same problem with the Optura 20. It will expense you $150-300 to fix. its sad, becuse in so many other ways it was a great camcorder- but a flaw like this can devastation it all.
Bad Iris:Stuck in Low Light-footed Setting
Evade this product and perhaps all Canon Camcorders at any cost!
The IRIS is stuck in the low light placement like many others have posted.
Search CNET and other forums as well for many other reports of this problem.
Canon Client Service has been very poor in responding to this
and say that this is an unknown problem! You will have to shell out
almost the rate of the camcorder to get this repaired or otherwise
live with a bad paper-weight.
