- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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14 out of 23 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Would be a reasonable buy at $299.00"
Pros: Decent DV Video, nice small size
Cons: Completely useless as a still camera and only average DV Video. AVI card video is nearly fiction too.
Summary: MiniDV Video performance is OK -- nothing to rave about -- and in low light situations I would have expected more from this high-end 4 megapixel handheld. The mini video light is a cute gimmick but exactly that. Beyond 2-3 feet it's nothing but an annoying light in the subject's eye.
Card (AVI) video -- is a complete disappointment. Blurry, dark and low contrast even at the large setting. Careful, if you use this mode, you've lost the opportunity to capture the moment. Really bad. My Sony T1 Cybershot's MPEG mode is vastly superior. A real disappointment.
Finally, still Photography is just plain fiction with this camera. I'm using a high speed gigabyte SD card to enable setting at the very largest file size and super fine. Two major problems: There's a lag between a fully depressed shutter button and the actual exposure. Half way down to focus -- wait for the right instant -- complete pressing the shutter and .. missed the shot -- every single time.
Secondly, the camera doesn't focus properly even in spot focusing mode. And for a 4 megapixel camera, it's blurry by me.
White balance -- forget about using "Auto" unless you like everything to be the color of a ripe tomato.
General -- the little plastic doors covering the ports -- maybe it's been too long since I spent $1000.00 on a camera, but try them yourself. They feel cheap and seem as if with one wrong move, their 'tethers' will snap and the covers will be lost.
If priced at $299.00, I'd say this would be a reasonable value. At $1,000.00, I feel completely ripped off and I'll steer clear of anything Canon from this point forward.
- 5 replies to this review
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Optura 600 is an outstanding camera.
Still images are very sharp,video is excellent, Widescreen mode is outstanding too. Only disappointment is mamual focus. -
I'm not sure what camera this reviewer was examining, but I doubt it was the Optura 600. Based on my experiences with the Optura 600 thus far, I would dispute almost every one of his criticisms. This is one outstanding camera.
Still images are very sharp. Direct comparisons with my 3.2 MP Nikon 995 reveal higher resolution and sharper images than the Nikon, even at some pretty low light levels. Nothing blurry about these images. There is also less lag in snapping the picture than with the Nikon. Note: buy a .5 or 1 Gb SD card and set images at Superfine resolution. Default is set at "fine"
Video is excellent, even in auto mode. Widescreen mode is outstanding with very sharp, well balanced saturation that shows very well on a 42' plasma screen.
It pays to spend some time reading the manual, which is very clearly written. There are lots of options that are not intuitive just by playing with camera.
I have not tried the AVI vedeo that is saved on the SD card.
As for ergonomics, the camera feels very natural to me; I have a medium size hand. Unlike person in CNET video, I found it more comfortable to put only 3 fingers through the strap, with thumb and pinky staying outside. Forefinger could easily reach zoom and the switch that changes from video to still images.
Only disappointment was viewfinder, which was occasionally dark and lacked color of LCD image. For those of us that need glasses to see LCD claarly, I would prefer a good viewfinder image.
All in all, I am very satisfied with this camcorder; it exceeded expectations. -
Most of this users gripes with this Camera seem to be due to ignorance.
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Highlighting these glaring weaknesses is very helpful to those in the market for a camcorder. At the very least it helps the consumer know what to be looking for and what questions to ask when shopping. User opinions are well worth reading before accepting the Editors' rating.
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I just tested the camcorder. You can program the photo to continuous mode which instantly allows you to click literally continuously. However, if you move the camera it is of focus.
