Quick Review Camcorders: Canon Optura 600

The Optura 600 sports an enormous 1/2.8” CCD with 3.5 effective MP. The picture was absolutely beautiful, with an incredibly crisp color definition and evenness around the entire spectrum. Other camcorders, like Sony’s DCR-DVD403, may produce richer colors, but the Optura 600’s are more accurate and unquestionably sharper.

Canon seemed to shake their reputation for poor low light performance with the Optura 600. While most of their models tend to pick up a lot of noise and lose color information in even moderately low lit conditions, this cam managed to put in a decent showing, with a fine, dark grain (preferable to larger or bluish grain that many Sonys display). At an even lower level, the Optura 600 lost most of its color but managed to stay in focus, which many competing camcorders, like the Sony PC-1000 and Panasonic PV-GS250, could not do.

Operating the Optura 600 is not without its problems. From an ease of use perspective, it’s as good as any Canon. A clearly marked EASY mode greenlights the purchase for novices. For the more intrepid, the menu systems are relatively clear, and navigating through them with the jog dial is simple. The problem lies in the layout. Because the Optura 600 is so small, yet also must have all the functions that qualify it as Canon’s top of the line consumer cam, buttons tend to be jam-packed across the body. The problem is compounded by the somewhat disappointing choice to make the 600 a matchbook-style body (upright) rather than a traditional (horizontal) body, which likely would have provided some more room for interface. As it stands, the bevy of buttons on the right side is difficult to reach, especially when your hand is tightly strapped in. Poorly placed buttons may seem like something you can live with in the beginning, but design problems are likely to wear on your nerves after a while.

The automatic controls are fairly good. Strictly point-and-shoot users may want to check out comparable Sonys. Canon includes a number of Program AE modes, which are preset adjustments for shooting in tricky lighting environments like the beach, the snow, sporting events, and several others. For those looking to gain a bit more control over image quality, the Optura 600 may or may not suffice. There is no full manual control mode; this is something Canon does not provide on their consumer cams. They do, however, give you limited exposure control (in EV steps), focus, and white balance. There are also Shutter and Aperture Priority modes, which allow you to make controlled adjustments to shutter speed (1/8 to 1/2000) and aperture in F-stops (f/1.8 to f/8.0). But you can’t make them both at the same time. Priority modes allow for one manual adjustment, then automatically compensate with the rest.

Still features on the Optura 600 are great. The resolution sizes include 640 x 480, 1280 x 960, 1632 x 1224, and 2304 x 1736, and record to SD card. There are three light metering modes, three auto focus methods, four drive modes, a flash, and an auto focus assist lamp. This is an excellent feature set, and the performance in camera mode is hard to beat. If you’re looking for a true hybrid camcorder / camera, you may also want to look at the JVC GR-X5 and GZ-MC500, but the Optura 600 put on quite a show. SD cards are a great medium for stills, as the price is always dropping, while capacity is always growing.

The Optura 600 is very portable. In fact, this is one of its main features. However, it may not have the professional feel that you might expect from a top-of-the-line model. All the jacks and ports are there, but the lack of an accessory shoe on top might turn some people off. Overall, we love this camcorder, but be sure to pick one up and try it out before you buy. The 600 does not fit all hands, and with a $900 price tag, it may not fit all wallets, either.  

Canon Optura 600: THE BOTTOM LINE... Rating: 230.33

Likes

-Still Performance -Video Performance

Dislikes

-Handling -Manual Control -No Accessory Shoe -Button Placement

Canon Optura 600 Compared to the...

Canon Optura 60 Rating: 209.25	Panasonic PV-GS250 Rating: 228.04	Sony SDR-S100 Rating: 204.24	JVC GR-X5 Rating: 224.72	Sony DCR-PC1000 Rating:213.72
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Audio -LCD -Optical Zoom Specs -Handling -Button Placement -Affordability	-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Handling -Manual Control -Wide Angle -Affordability	-Video Performance -Manual Control -Handling -LCD -Wide Angle -Portability -VCR Mode	-Low Light Performance -Digital Still Capability -Automatic Control -Handling -Wide Angle	-Video Performance -Automatic Control -Handling -Digital Still Capability -LCD -Ease of Use -Wide Angle -Widescreen
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-Manual Control -Automatic Control -Ports -Ease of Use -Widescreen Mode -VCR Mode	-LCD -Optical Zoom Specs -Widescreen Mode -Audio	-Ease of Use -Optical Zoom Specs	-Video Performance -Optical Zoom Specs -Audio	-Low Light Performance -Portability
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Imager Specs -Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Digital Still Capability -Wide Angle -Portability	-Ease of Use -Portability -Ports -VCR Mode -Automatic Control	-Low Light Performance -Ports -Digital Still Capability -Audio -Automatic Control -Widescreen Mode	-Manual Control -Ports -Portability -Widescreen -VCR Mode -LCD	-Manual Control -Audio -VCR Mode -Ports