Canon DC40 Camcorder Review

Compression (5.0)
The Canon DC40 (Review, Specs, $539.99) compresses video onto DVDs in the MPEG2 format in three qualities: XP, SP, and LP. These qualities correspond to the maximum bit rate or the amount of data per second. XP likely records at the maximum bit rate for DVD compression, 9Mbps. The SP mode has a maximum of 6Mbps, and LP mode has a maximum of 3Mbps. We use the “maximum” because, as in many non-tape camcorders, the DC40 uses a variable bit rate. This means that the data rate goes up or down according to the amount of motion in the image from second to second. If there is little motion, the camcorder will refresh the pixels less frequently, thereby saving space and energy. If the image is constantly moving, the camcorder must increase the data rate. In XP mode, a standard DVD will hold about an average of 20 minutes of video. SP mode holds 30 minutes, and LP holds 60 minutes.

DVD compression is significantly reduced compared to MiniDV, which has a bit rate of 25Mbps. Of course, more goes into good compression than just bit rate, but it is a major factor.

In order to play back the DVDs on anything but the camcorder, you’ll need to finalize the discs. There are also two methods of finalizing the video: Video mode and VR mode. Video mode allows playback on most DVD players, but makes the discs forever after uneditable on the camcorder (of course, you can still edit it on your computer). VR mode gives you more in-camera editing flexibility (which is an over-rated feature anyway), but will render the footage unreadable by many home DVD players.

Media (5.0)
The DC40 captures video to 8cm mini-DVDs in the DVD-R and DVD-RW format. These are the two most popular formats for DVDs, and you’ll have no trouble finding them. Panasonics and Hitachis both accept DVD-RAM, which gives you more in-camera editing capabilities but cannot be read by many home DVD players.

Editing (3.0)
The Canon DC40 is a DVD camcorder, which means it has some inherent editing difficulties. As with most camcorders, the company provides some rudimentary editing software. What you may not know is that this is virtually the only software that you can use to extract footage off the DVDs. Sony and Panasonic DVD camcorders create .MOD files, which, through an awkward process, can be manually changed to .MPG files. The audio track is lost, but the file can then be imported into quality editing programs like Adobe Premiere.

Canon, on the other hand, creates three files for each clip, including .MOB files. These are much harder to import into editing programs, essentially limiting you to the bundled software, which includes The Digital Video Solutions Disc (with Zoom Browser as the chief program) and Roxio MyDVD. These programs offer all the basic editing functions, but the interface is maddeningly disorganized. Also, you get precious few options for output quality, a problem if you’re just looking to get the best possible footage ready for another, better editing program.

If you’re seeking more editing solutions, or are an experienced editor, you’re probably already aware that MiniDV is the most widely accessible format. Hard drive camcorders are next, but the quality is severely lessened. But the Canon DVD camcorders are problematic in this regard.