Canon Announces Three New Standard Definition Camcorders: The FS31, FS30, and FS300

by Jeremy Stamas
Published on Jan 5, 2010 8:00 AM




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Canon Standard Definition Camcorders

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January 5, 2010 – Canon announced three new entry-level standard definition camcorders today. Two of them—the FS31 and FS300—will be available in the US, while the FS30 will be released in Japan only. All three camcorders have the capability to record to SD/SDHC memory cards, but the top-line FS31 comes with 16GB of internal flash memory and the FS30 is packed with 8GB of internal memory. The FS300 comes with no internal memory, but it has the same 1/6-inch CCD sensor, 2.7-inch LCD, and 37x optical zoom (41x advanced) as the FS30 and FS31.

These three camcorders represent minor upgrades over Canon's 2009 line of entry-level standard definition models—the FS21, FS20, and FS20. The new FS models have the same sensors, same zoom ratios (37x optical, 41x advanced), and same LCDs as last year's models. The only significant new feature of the 2010 models is the inclusion of Canon's Dynamic EIS stabilization setting. The Dynamic setting, while still a digital function, should help stabilize your image in high-shake situations.

All of these new standard definition models have 1/6-inch, 680,000-pixel CCD sensors. This is actually a slight downgrade from last year, where Canon's top-line standard definition model, the FS21, offered a 1.07-megapixel sensor.


The Canon FS31 standard definition camcorder

Unlike Canon's new high-end models, the FS31, FS30, and FS300 will not use touchscreen LCD technology. The camcorders will be controlled using the traditional joystick navigation system that has been a staple of Canon camcorders for years.


The FS300 comes in three different colors.

The FS31 comes in silver and will be available in March 2010 for around $349. The FS300, which comes in silver, red, or blue, will also be available in March and should retail for $299. The FS30 will only be available in Japan, and neither its release date nor pricing information has been announced (the FS30 will also be released in Europe as the FS36).