Quick Review Camcorders: Canon Optura 50

The high quality video performance on the Optura 50 is due to several features. Canon is renowned for their excellent lenses. Most of their middle and upper-end camcorders also feature the DIGIC DV processor, which uses separate color controls for video and stills. The result of all this engineering means great looking video, with very strong colors and above average crispness.

We test every camcorder’s low light performance at two light levels just so you’ll know what your video will look like in a dimly lit room (a shooting environment that you encounter more often than you might think). The Optura 50, we’re sorry to report, does not perform nearly so well in low light as is does in bright light. The image turns grainy and loses its color information fairly quickly. This has been a problem area with Canons in the past, and we only hope it will improve with time.

While the Optura 50 does not feature an outright Easy mode, as some Canon and Sonys do, the camcorder is still very easy to operate. Automatic controls are good; the adjustments are accurate, but slow. Handling on the Opturas has been great, historically, and you’ll have no problem finding the proper buttons or navigating the menu. There is one definite button placement issue, however, also found on the Optura 60 and the entire Canon Elura series. The Menu button and the jog dial are located on the far side of the LCD panel, towards the front of the body. When the LCD is open, it can block the buttons from view, and when the panel tilts upward, it can actually cover over the buttons, preventing any access. This is a small detail, but significant if you want to make changes on the go.

If you wish to exert some manual control on the image quality, but are inexperienced with camcorders, you could be in luck. There is no full manual control mode here; rather, the Optura 50 allows you some measure of control, while compensating with automatic adjustment of the other controls. This is the essence of a Priority mode. The Optura 50 features two: Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. In Shutter Priority mode, you can shift the shutter speed up or down, and the camcorder adjusts the correct aperture. You get the point. Think of it as manual control with training wheels – not a bad way to learn, but it’s not the two-wheeler the big kids play with.

Still features on the Optura 50 are identical to those on the Optura 60. It can record in three resolution sizes (max. 1632 x 1224) to an SD card. There are several manual control options that aid you with image quality, including more hand-holding options like Evaluative, Center-Weighted, and Spot Metering.

Ports on the Optura 50 run the gamut, meeting pretty much any requirement: USB, DV, microphone input, S-Video, and A/V in/out (shared with the headphone out). This camcorder does support analog to digital pass-through, allowing you to convert those old Hi8 tapes to digital. The Optura 50 does have an accessory shoe, but it’s cold, unlike the smart shoe found on the Optura 60.

The other differences between this and the Optura 60 are minor. The more expensive 60 includes a video lamp and 14x zoom (over the Optura 50’s 10x zoom). Neither of these have much impact on performance. If you choose to upgrade, it should be for the accessory shoe. If that is not a priority, the Optura 50 represents some of the best that Canon has to offer in the consumer camcorder market.

Canon Optura 50: THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 207.65

Likes

-Manual controls -Still features -Image Stabilization

Dislikes

-Lack of focus ring -Low light

Canon Optura 50 Compared to the...

Canon Optura 60 Rating:207.65	Panasonic PV-GS150 Rating:220.99	Canon Elura 90 Rating:204.88	Hitachi DZ-MV780 Rating:176.45	Sony DCR-HC42 Rating:182.55
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Optical zoom -Accessory shoe -Video light	-Ports -Manual control -LCD -Video performance -Low light performance -Portability -Handling	-Video performance -Optical zoom specs -Ports	-Portability -Ports -Wide angle -VCR Mode	-Ease of use -Automatic control -LCD -Ease of use  -Optical zoom specs -Wide angle -Widescreen
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-Imager specs -Video performance -Automatic control -Manual control -Still capability -Low light performance -Ease of use -Image Stabilizer -Audio -LCD -Still capability -Ports -Portability	-Accessory shoe -Still features -Audio -Widescreen	-Widescreen -Handling -Portability -Wide angle	-Digital still capability -Optical zoom specs -Widescreen Mode
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Affordability	-Ease of use -Automatic control  -Optical zoom specs -LCD -Handling	-Automatic control -Audio -Ease of use -Still features -Low light  -VCR Mode	-Video performance -Low light performance -Handling -LCD -Manual control -Automatic control -Ease of use -Audio	-Video performance -Low light performance -Ports -Handling -Audio -VCR Mode