Canon DC330 Camcorder Review

by Jeremy Stamas
Published on Dec 18, 2008 11:00 AM

 
Intro Performance
Format
 Auto / Manual Controls
Still Features Handling and Use
Audio / Playback / Connectivity Other Features
Conclusion & Comparisons Photo Gallery
Specs and Ratings


Compression (4.00)
The Canon DC330 uses the MPEG-2 compression to capture standard definition video. MPEG-2 is commonly associated with standard def camcorders that record to any type of non-linear media (DVD, flash memory, internal hard drive). It is an older compression, and with the popularity of HD video on the rise, it will soon enter retirement. Nevertheless, MPEG-2 is still commonly used and it should be familiar to many users.

The camcorder has three different quality settings for video recording: XP (9Mbps), SP (6Mbps), and LP (3Mbps). The lower quality settings do allow for extra recording time, but we recommend doing all your taping in XP, unless you don't care much about the quality of your video.

Media (5.00)
The DC330 records video solely to DVD—it does take SD/SDHC cards, but only still images can be saved on them. The camcorder is compatible with the following discs: DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-R dual layer. DVDs are relatively cheap, but they don't offer much recording time (see chart below), scratch easily, are difficult to extract footage for editing, and must be finalized before they'll work in an external player. Dual layer discs are more expensive, but they offer nearly double the storage space (although they may not work in older DVD players).


The DC330 records video solely to DVD.

The DVD-only recording significantly handicaps the Canon DC330 versatility. In comparison, the Sony DCR-DVD810 offers three media options for video: DVD, Memory Stick PRO Duo cards, and 8GB of internal flash memory. This allows the Sony to have more flexibility where media is concerned and videos can be recorded using a specific media depending on what you plan to do with them.

Here is a table of approximate recording times:

  XP SP LP
Single Layer DVD (1.4 GB) 20 min 30 min 60 min
Dual Layer DVD (2.8 GB) 36 min 54 min 108 min

Editing (5.00)
Editing footage from DVDs is difficult and you cannot simply drag and drop files off the discs like you can from an external hard drive for flash memory card. The Canon DC330 does come with a Corel Application Disk that helps you transfer video and pictures from your camcorder to your computer via USB, but the software is compliant with Windows only. To edit the MPEG-2 footage, you'll have to find your own software that will work with the video (Avid Liquid and Adobe Premier both worked for us) and if you're working with a Mac you'll probably have to use a conversion program to get the files into a workable format (we found MPEG Streamclip worked extremely well).

Interestingly, the step-down Canon DC320 has no USB connection, which is one of its only differences in comparison to the DC330.



<< Performance | Auto / Manual Controls >>