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More…If you already own a Canon digital camera, you'll feel right at home with the company's DC50 camcorder ($720 as of April 24, 2007), thanks to the similar control systems. If you're unfamiliar with Canon cameras, you may find the DC50 a bit intimidating at first. But getting through the initiation phase is worth it: This camcorder takes outstanding video as well as still photos, and makes lots of useful controls available for both modes. The DC50 records onto -R, -RW, or -R dual-layer discs, recording up to 36 minutes total on a dual-layer disc at its best quality setting. That's less shooting time than you'd get on a tape or hard-drive model, but you can remove the Mini DVD disc from the camera and play it on most home DVD players (after finalizing the disc) without further intermediate steps.
Canon DC50 Mini DVD Camcorder
Pricing
$199.95 - $599.89 From 5 Vendors Get Best Prices »
| Video image quality | Superior |
| Still image quality | Superior |
| Battery lifeTime for the camcorder's battery to go from fully charged to exhausted while recording to tape or disc with the LCD active. | Fair (90 minutes) |
| Overall design | Good |
| Video/still image recording media types | Mini DVD-R/-RW/-R DL, Mini SD Card |
| Image stabilization type | Optical |
| Electric viewfinder | Yes |
| Manual focus | No |
| Remote | Yes |
| Flash shoe | No |
| Inputs/outputs | A/V in, A/V out, FireWire, USB |
| Weight (ounces) | 17 |
| Dimensions (inches) | 2.4 by 3.5 by 5.1 |
Pros
Top-notch image quality
Optical image stabilization
Cons
Some controls are awkward to use
Canon DC50
DC50 Mini DVD Camcorder Review, by Tracey Capen May 17, 2007
In tests performed by the PC World Test Center, the DC50 earned top scores for video quality in standard light and under low-light conditions. Its audio scores were about average for the 11 camcorders we tested. Casual outdoor videos looked pleasing, with nicely saturated colors and sharp details. For instance, the DC50 did a fine job of capturing kiteboarders zipping around in a roaring 30-knot wind in late afternoon sunlight, despite the difficult lighting and fast action. The DC50's windscreen setting performed quite nicely in capturing the kiteboarders. Though the camera's front-mounted microphone pointed directly into the wind, little of that noise carried over into the recorded clip. The sharp, bright 2.7-inch wide-format (16:9) color LCD worked well in full sunlight, though the camera's color eye-level viewfinder was still preferable. Switching on optical image stabilization vastly improved the video.
Operating the DC50 has its ups and downs. The start/stop, zoom, and photo buttons are sensibly positioned for one-handed operation. The power switch doubles as a record/playback selector, which works fine once you remember that fact, but the switch is enigmatically labeled 'Mode'. Fortunately, most of the other buttons' labeling is logical. Typically you select a setting by pressing the Function button and then using the camcorder's tiny joystick to scroll through an on-screen menu of minuscule (and somewhat cryptic) text. Buried at the bottom of the Function list is yet another menu of camera setup options.
What the DC50 lacks in intuitiveness, it compensates for in specialized controls. A dedicated button lets you jump to Quick Start mode, essentially a sleep status that instantly powers the camcorder up or down. It's faster than the camera's still relatively snappy 3-second cold start time. A tiny and nearly hidden switch offers access to either Program mode or Full Automatic mode; the latter mode disables most of the settings found in the Function menu. Four on-screen grids (single or multiple horizontal and vertical lines in gray or white) simplify the task of keeping those horizons level. In addition, you can use the eight scene modes for video or still photography.
Since it can take 5-megapixel still images, you might consider the DC50 a legitimate replacement for a good digital still camera; but matched against a good-quality 5-megapixel fixed-lens camera, the DC50 couldn't equal the still camera for image sharpness, though its color fidelity was every bit as good. The DC50 does provide most of the exposure controls you'd expect for handling still photography, including shutter- and aperture-priority modes, histograms, and auto-bracketing.
Canon bundles Roxio's Windows-based MyDVD software with the DC50. The camcorder supports Windows XP but not Windows Vista. Another limitation: Canon provides no support for downloading video from the camera's DVD to a Mac; you can download still images, however.
The DC50 is a poor choice for a technology-challenged user, but for someone with experience shooting video, the DC50's image quality and many custom settings more than outweigh its slightly awkward controls.
Tracey Capen
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: franlob
Strengths: 5 megapixel still camera with many photo options. Remote helps navigate menus. Image stabilization feature.
Weaknesses: High sticker price for standard-definition camcorder. Hard to understand manual and software.
Overall: What makes the Canon DC50 unique is the 5 megapixel still photo capability with many options, including continuous shooting mode. You can record photos on a microSD or on a mini DVD. The camcorder fits comfortably in the hand. The viewfinder sits back, away from your face, and can be angled for a better view. The remote option is a helpful alternative to using the joystick.As a first-time camcorder user, I am finding it difficult to learn how to use it without outside help: the manual and software instructions are hard to follow. On camcorder playback, the video images and colors looked good. I haven't finalized my first disc yet, so I haven't played my video on a DVD player or computer. The DC50 comes with a Canon mini DVD-R. When I went to purchase a mini DVD-RW, I was told that not all brands, such as Sony, will work with the Canon.
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Reviewed by: neikusc
Strengths: Camcorder works good if you record during day time indoor or outside and good quality.
Weaknesses: The software is unfriendly, but that is not a big problem.
Overall: After researching on many similar camcorders from different manufacturers,I purchased DC50. What a great choice !!!This is my very first camcorder and nothing to complain about; easy to operate. I LOVE IT !!!
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Reviewed by: polunma
Strengths: slim, light, good video quality
Weaknesses: unfriendly software, complicated function setting
Overall: This camcorder is very slim and record very nice quality of videos, though I find the color saturation is not as good as Canon DSLR. The recording time for a single mini-dvd-r is about 30 minutes, which is enough for making home-videos but not long enough for recording an event. Moreover, the software is not very easy to use, and the function setting of the camcorder needs some time to get used to.
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