Compare Prices on Canon 3423B001AA
This review is for people who have current sense about this technology and have done even a TAD bit of research before buying. I have been in the video/film/animation industry for 15 years and have ragged tons of equipment for everything from multimillion dollar productions, to rogue gorilla documentaries. This camera is for people who want to flip originate something minute and compact, shoot some video for memories and thas that. Glowing worthy ALL camcorders under 800 dollars are going to shoot interlaced video, and this one does as well. it has complete manual overide for focus and exposure. I read a review where a lady was complaining about filming a recital and the camera was going in and out of focus. No jam, position it to manual and dilemma fixed. There is no more .MOD file problems.. all files are read as .mpeg files now (you can download the newest software from the website) **EDIT** its advance to my attention that some people are collected getting the .MOD files extension. I am running windows XP service pack 3 on a PC and the program it installed is pixela imagemixer 3 version 4 and it automatically shows up as .mpeg 4 files.. so i dont know whats up and why that works for me, as i did nothing special or extra for that to happen..
now onto quality.
It is acceptable. Outrageous light gives you grainy pictures and some ghosting. You will obtain this on radiant mighty ALL camcorders in this class. do NOT put a question to that if you employ another 100 dollars you will acquire a contrast. If you want to glance a noticable inequity you will need to step up to the 800-1200 dollar range. Im sorry but thats honest the facts. Another thing to be on the lookout for is called a frame buffer. Which EVERY camcorder over 100 dollars Should have.. you know, that telltale effect in video where when the camera moves wait on and forth the recount starts "waving like a flag in the wind".. we're ample with that. The zoom on this camera is CRAZY righteous.. in general, optical zoom is valid, digital zoom is terrible.. this cameras optical zoom rivals most everything out there.. things i dont like. When you play your recorded videos on the camcorder, it will fair play the next file without stopping, in one long stream.. this is chilly, but i dont like not having the option to concept one at a time. you HAVE to run it in to the wall power when you transfer files to the computer. i dont like the picture button on the slay of the barrel.. the plot i ALWAYS destroy up holding this camera is like how you beget a glass of water if you were pouring it out.. with my thumb on the top of the barrell.. i NEVER fill it "properly" (like a glass of water that im drinking) .. its so exiguous that holding it like that is almost cumbersome and unecessary.. In short i Admire this thing for the convenience.. on standby it will boot up in 2 seconds.. AWESOME.. no tape, the itsy-bitsy size, helpful battery life, relatively colossal LCD camouflage,external mic input and headphone all satisfactory.. needing a jog for computer connection, poor coarse light performance, awful management of video playback not so satisfactory.. all in all i REALLY like it...
if you want the convenience of a Little camcorder available at a moments search for, recording to a card instead of tape, a regular def video (most everything i shoot is for web or regular DVD which is regular def anyway) and a notice thats not poor. this is for you
Now, if you want a video camera for capturing high def home videos for permanent memories to support forever and possibly burn to blu-ray, seriously, take a high def, 3ccd progressive scan camcorder. Inquire to pay around 1000+ dollars, but thats what you glean. i dont understand the complaints that this is whats expected from this camcorder. You cant drive a civic around complaining it cant go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds..
I have several Canon digital cameras, so when I decided to grasp a camcorder I immediately went to Canon. I waited a month for this novel version. I wanted a diminutive camcorder--and this is definitely runt.
I am a bit disappointed in the quality of the videos. For movies taken in elephantine light I can hardly mumble the inequity between these movies and the ones I pick with my Canon PowerShot A570 IS digital camera! Although, the sound is definitely better with the camcorder. For movies in gloomy light (I filmed my son's Jazz concert), there was a astronomical inequity so I decided to sustain the camera.
I would agree with the previous reviewer in that the control buttons on the LCD mask are practically useless in black settings. I couldn't gape them during the concert I filmed.
I also have a bit of wretchedness holding the camera because it is so puny. I removed the "grip belt" strap it came with because I could not gain it to fit securely and collected allow me to adjust the buttons at the same time. It felt like the camera was going to saunter off my hand. I now employ the extra wrist strap that comes with the camera and while it doesn't perceive as "chilly", I'm not fearful about dropping the camera.
My biggest hassel has been that the camera saves the movie files as MOD files which are a afflict to work with! They will not import into most video editing programs (including Adobe Premiere Elements!), and the widescreen videos will not play correctly in Windows Media Player unless you convert the file.
The camera comes with a software program to transfer, edit, and thought the movies--but it is awkward to exercise and even with the conversion I smooth could not accumulate the movies to import into Camtasia Studio 6, which is the program I exercise the most. So, after two days of internet searching this is what I found that works for me.
1. I utilize a card reader to transfer the movie files onto my computer. This is grand easier for me than using the program that comes with the camera.
2. I downloaded a free copy of SDCopy, and I exhaust it to convert the MOD files to mpeg files. If I check the "widescreen" box on the converting window the converted movies will play widescreen in Windows Media Player.
3. The converted movies will import into Adobe Premiere, but they will not import into Camtasia Studio 6 (which is my goal) . I can consume Adobe Premiere to convert the files to avi files, but the process takes too long for me so I found a better and easier draw.
4. I purchased a MOD converter. The one I decided on was Daniusoft Mod Converter for $29. It works well. With a MOD converter, I can convert the MOD files to a bunch of other types that will import into other programs as well as play on other devices such as an ipod. I exhaust it to convert the files I converted with SDCopy into .avi files that will import into Camtasia.
Bottom line: Do your research and resolve if this is for you. The FS100 received so many kindly reviews that I can't succor but wonder if the video quality of that camera is better than this one. Perhaps someone will post information that answers that seek information from.
I bought this camera a couple of weeks ago and it is miniature. Smaller than I expected, but that is not a awful thing, it is easy to carry around in a vest pocket or coat pocket. I didn't download or employ any of the software provided with the camera, I have Sony Vegas on my computer. One thing that I do recommend is downloading the free SDCOPY software you can bag on the gain. Check the widescreen box and it will convert your .MOD files to mpg files lightning swiftly. Now you should be able to work with them in unprejudiced about any editing software. Utilize a card reader for the SD card instead of connecting the camera to the computer, makes life easier. I consume a cheap one that came with my SD cards.
Zoom is grand, and a proper hand or tripod is highly recommended for longer shots. Posthaste to open up, the auto lens shroud is astronomical, battery life also expansive.
I really perceive no problems with this enormous slight camera, other than uncouth light filming could be better, but not many of these cameras are ample in outrageous light.
