Canon DC100 Camcorder Review

Audio (4.0)
Audio features for the Canon DC100 are limited, with the user restricted to the in-camera microphone positioned on the front of the camcorder, directly beneath the lens. There is no audio input. The built-in microphone picked up camcorder noise, such as DVD rotating and other mechanical shifting, like there was no tomorrow. Normally, careful users will find a slight amount of camcorder noise present in their recording if using an in-camera mic. But in the case of the DC100, it sounded as though a helicopter was landing in the midst of our testing. Audio monitoring is accomplished via the playback speaker positioned on the top of the camcorder.

VCR Mode (8.0)
Playback with the DC100 is simple and intuitive, and Canon has thoughtfully placed basic controls (Play/Pause, Stop, Rewind and FF) just below the actual LCD screen. To enter playback, you simply press down on the mode button until thumbnails of clips appear, 6 clips to a page. The touch pad lets you move from image to image, and Rewind and FF buttons page back or forward respectively. On the downside, accessing the thumbnail pages takes a while, given the speed limitations associated with reading DVD media. When playing the clips, you can rewind at rates of 2.5x, 5x, 15x or 25x, and fast forward at 1.5x, 5x, 15x, and 25x. There are no in-camera editing features, and editing is best left to software anyway.

Still playback is similar to VCR playback and entered via the Mode switch. Pressing towards T(right) on the Zoom Toggle selects photos. By then pressing W (left on the Zoom toggle, you can zoom up to 5x into the image and pan around it using the touchpad. You can also review stills in a slide show presentation, entered from the Function Menu.

A screenshot from the VCR mode.

VCR modes on most DVD camcorders function the same way. Sony puts the playback controls on the touchscreen, which some people may find easier, but the playback options are more or less the same as Canon's. Panasonic DVD camcorders give you the option of recording to DVD-RAM, which has more in-camera editing flexibility. But in all frankness, editing should occur outside the camcorder, on your computer.

Ports (3.0)
Ports are limited on the Canon DC100: one on the left side and one on the right. The port on the right side of the camcorder body may initially be hard to find. Its is embossed on the bottom of the camcorder, and the port itself is easily covered by the front connection point for the hand strap. Located in the lower front corner, beneath the DVD compartment build out, is the uncovered DC in port. Once found, this port is a bit of a hassle to engage due to the strap, and moving the camcorder tended to unplug the cable easily. On the left side of the camcorder, directly behind the LCD screen’s top corner, is a port cover that snaps open easily from a tab located along its front edge. This port cover swivels neatly out of the way on a pivoting hinge at its bottom back corner to reveal the AV out port. This camcorder does not come with the USB 2.0 port found with the more expensive DC40.