CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/06/2002
- Updated on: 11/12/2002
- Released on: 09/15/2002
Even with its extra still-photo features, the Optura 200MC is a fairly rudimentary still camera. Those nitpicks aside, the 200MC is a solid, stylishly compact camcorder, and with a street price of less than $1,100, also a reasonably good deal.With its matte-silver finish, compact dimensions, and magnesium-alloy body, the Optura 200MC is a handsome, well-built, easily portable camcorder. With battery and media installed, it weighs a moderate 1 pound, 6 ounces.
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| The cassette hatch opens from the bottom of the camera--a drawback for tripod users. | You'll find the playback controls behind the LCD. |
Because the upright Optura 200MC is as tall as it is deep, you must use a mildly bothersome, spread-fingered grip to reach both the zoom and the record button. Much less forgivable, the camera lacks a neck strap or any provision for attaching one--no lugs, nothing. We ended up tying a spare neck strap to the swiveling hand strap with a square knot and feeling proudly Luddite about it.
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| Shooting and menu controls are clustered on the back of the camera. | You can access exposure, focus mode, and effects controls quickly with the four-button pad on the back of the camera. |
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 You can capture photos or MJPEG video clips on an SD/MMC card. |
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In addition to capturing DV-format video to tape, the 200MC can record M-JPEG video to the included 8MB Secure Digital card. Canon adds EXIF 2.2 support, a USB port, and a panorama mode to this model as well, to enhance its utility as a still camera. In conjunction with Canon's free Windows XP plug-in, DV Messenger, it can also stream live video through the FireWire port for videoconferencing.
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 Included accessories. |
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Like many other camcorder optics, the Optura 200MC's 10X zoom lens covers a range from barely wide-angle to extremely telephoto, which often makes interiors and group shots a pain to capture. Investing in Canon's WD-34 wide-converter lens attachment will give you a wider view.
 Look, Ma, no accessory shoe! You'll have to buy Canon's kludgy SA-1 adapter to mount video lights and microphones. |
The 200MC's built-in flash comes in handy for still photos of subjects up to 10 feet away. You can capture still pictures at either 1,280x960 or 640x480 resolution. At the higher resolution, the camera's continuous shooting mode can record up to 10 images at two frames per second.
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 Input/output ports. |
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The camera's 2.5-inch LCD displays a reasonably sharp image with average visibility in bright outdoor light, and the color viewfinder is also fairly sharp. The 200MC's top-mounted stereo microphone easily picks up good-quality sound from all directions and over fairly large distances. However, capturing sound from all directions isn't always desirable in a video camera, and you'll have to use the adapter we mentioned in the Features section if you want to attach a directional mike.
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| The included battery will hold up for about an hour, but if that's not enough for you, invest in Canon's larger BP-522 lithium-ion cell. | The zoom toggle works smoothly, and the focus ring on the lens provides better control than would a dial or a switch. |
 Under tungsten light, with the camera set on automatic white balance, our video was warm-looking with a slight magenta cast. |
 Camera's stills had a decent dynamic range and level of detail but showed more noise and artifacting than pictures from a good dedicated still camera would (image shown at 100 percent). |
 Under low incandescent light, the Optura's built-in flash gave our still shots a strong blue cast when used with automatic white balance. |
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