Canon DC22 Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on Nov 29, 2006 12:00 PM
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The Front (6.5)
The Canon DC22 (Review, Specs, $409) has a slimmer appearance than many DVD camcorders, and resembles its close relative in Canon’s DVD camcorder line, the DC100 (Review, Specs, $305.1). Like those camcorders, the 10x optical zoom Canon Video Lens appears at the top front of the camcorder body which is rimmed with a silver lens hood. The lens measures 37 mm in diameter, has a focal length of 4.05 mm to 40.5 mm, and a maximum aperture of F/1.8.
The lens placement is directly above the onboard microphone which is visible as a microphone screen near the base of the front of the DC22. Onboard mic placements like this are hardly ideal, as they inevitably pick up the whir of the drive, and the sound of any adjustments you make while shooting – but it’s a common plight for consumer camcorders with no microphone jack. To the left of the onboard microphone is a DC-in terminal, which occupies the extreme lower left corner of the body. It’s an unusual position for a DC-in port, but it keeps the power cord out of the way during a shoot. Above the DC-in port and facing forward is a small, round LED video light, and above that is the remote sensor behind a black plastic cover. The remote sensor is compatible with the remote control unit that ships with the DC40 (Review, Specs, $539.99), and it’s more useful than most controllers, offering near complete control over the camcorder. A slender, vertical flash sits above the remote sensor, and it is flush with the surface of the lens hood.
The Right Side (8.0)
The right side of the Canon DC40 doubles as the DVD drive bay and as the main grip area for hand-held shooting. The DVD compartment hinge lies at the front of the body just behind the lens, so that the hatch opens towards the user. The hatch release switch is on the lower back side of the camcorder, and the hatch opens widely enough to make swapping discs easy. When the DC22 is tripod-mounted, the hand strap gets in the way, and the hatch can catch on the tripod head. We managed to open the compartment with the camcorder on a tripod, but an additional millimeter of space between the base of the hatch and the base of the camcorder would have made a huge difference.
The hand strap runs along the base of the right side and is low enough to give the hatch plenty of room. This strap is thin in comparison to the Sony straps we love for their generous padding and is not as comfortable against the back of your hand. However, this Canon strap is serviceable, and places the right hand in a good shooting position with controls easily reachable.
The Back (7.5)The lion’s share of the Canon DC22’s controls are located on the back side of the camcorder, which forms a rather elegant-looking curve that follows the contours of the DVD drive bay. While that curve gives this camcorder a stylish appearance, it’s not entirely helpful when it comes to usability; the two switches at the base of the curve are practically hidden from view. These switches are the DVD compartment release, at right, and the movies/still images switch at left.
Moving up the left side of the back is the Power switch, which has three positions, and is both used to power the DC22 on and off, and to toggle between record and playback modes. At the center of the switch is a tiny green release button that lets the switch slide up and down. Pressing the Power switch down toggles between playback and record modes. Above the Power switch is the joystick, labelled the Multiselector in Canon’s DC22 Instruction Manual. The Multiselector is used for navigating menu and Function options, and making selections. It’s easy to use, but slightly smaller than the joystick controls found on Panasonic’s consumer camcorders or JVC’s newer Everios. Pressing in on the center of the Multiselector selects a given option, while moving it up, down, left or right moves the user through menus and submenus. Three LED indicator lamps are beneath the Multiselector. At far left is the CARD access indicator, the CAMERA mode indicator is at the lower left corner of the Multiselector, and the PLAY mode indicator is at its lower right corner.
A small electronic color viewfinder protrudes slightly from the top of the left side of the camcorder’s back, and its position cannot be extended or adjusted in any way. A dioptric adjustment lever that’s also very small lies on the underside of the eyepiece. Below the viewfinder is another LED indicator lamp that illuminates when the disc is being accessed by the camcorder.
On the right side of the back are two more important controls. To the right of the Multiselector is the slender Start/stop button. It’s easy to reach with your right thumb when shooting hand-held, but is not marked in red or labelled. That omission could result in a few moments of confusion for novices and strikes us a peculiar choice. Above the Start/stop button, to the right of the viewfinder is the 3-position recording mode selector switch, called simply the Mode switch in the DC22 manual. This switch includes settings for P (Programmed Auto Exposure mode), Auto, and SCN (Special Scene Recording Programs).
The Left Side (5.5)
The major feature of the left side of the Canon DC22 is the 2.7-inch LCD, which has a resolution of 123,000 pixels, can be opened to 90 degrees from the body, rotated through 270 degrees, and placed screen side out in the LCD cavity for multiple viewing angles. Below the screen on the LCD frame are VCR buttons. It’s certainly a convenience to have these controls external, rather than buried in a touch screen menu (Sony) or set as one of many joystick Functions (Panasonic).
When the LCD is open, the LCD cavity reveals the enclosed battery, which rests in its own compartment. The small battery is not expandable because it fits into a very compact space, so to extend your recording time in the field you’ll need to purchase additional BP-208 battery packs from Canon. The battery release switch is at the lower right corner of the LCD cavity. Just above the battery release switch is a print/share button, and above that is the USB terminal. Needless to say, the location of an important terminal in the LCD cavity is hardly ideal since it means the USB cable will block the screen.
Outside the LCD cavity are several other features and controls, with the MiniSD card slot and AV terminal hidden behind a port cover next to the back edge of the LCD frame. This port cover follows the rounded contour of the DC22’s back and is so subtly integrated into the body that it can be difficult to find. The cover is opened by pulling at its inside edge, a task most easily accomplished with the LCD open. Above the port cover are three buttons labeled WIDE SCR/PLAYLIST which toggles between 16:9 and 4:3 in movie mode and activates playlist in playback mode, MENU, and Function which accesses recording options in movie or still photo mode. Ahead of these buttons, the onboard playback speaker is concealed in the body, behind a few indentations that serve as a speaker mesh.
The Top (7.0)The top of the Canon DC22 has only two controls, both of which are at the right rear side of the top for easy access during hand-held shooting. The zoom toggle has a rocking lever design, and can be reached comfortably with either an index or middle finger. It’s not as sensitive as some zoom levers found on consumer camcorders, notably Sonys which make better levers of a similar design, but it does allow for several zoom speeds in variable zoom mode. The PHOTO button is just down slope from the zoom lever, above the Mode switch.
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