Canon DC220 user reviews

1.5 stars

"Spend your money elsewhere..." on December 6, 2007 by zenbezier

Pros: I see no reason to buy this camera.

Cons: Too many to list here, see my review.

Summary: To cut right to the quick, there is far too much effort expended trying to work with this camera. I've used a lot of different consumer and "prosumer" level dv cameras and this thing is a nightmare. Probably the most glaring issue is the warning regarding finalizing the disc. You're warned in many places that if the camera is disturbed during finalization (basically "closing" the disc for playback) ALL INFORMATION MAY BE LOST. Same holds true for finalization in high temperatures. For an "entry level" camera to be so fragile seems ridiculous given the idea that first time users are the target market. Strike one.

The joystick feels very cheap and flimsy as does the zoom control. A first time user may not notice this but anyone thats been around dv cameras will feel it immediately. The zoom control is poorly designed in that it's way too easy to bump by mistake during shooting. If you happen to be shooting on a tripod, changing the disc is inconvenient in that the eject button is located too far down on the body making it hard to get to. When you do get to it, the hand strap gets in the way of the disc door. Strike two.

For about another hundred bucks you can enter the world of triple chip cameras (provided you don't mind mini dv tapes) and get something that gives you a far superior image, even in low light applications. Strike three.

I suppose that if you're bent on being able to shoot and then go right to a DVD player to watch what you just did, maybe the dc220 will work for you (provided you don't move the camera during disc finalization!) but other than that, I would recommend you spend your money elsewhere. There's just got to be a better way to get footage directly to DVD...