Canon DC50 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on May 28, 2007 12:27 PM
|
Advertisement
|
||||||||||
Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (7.0)
The Canon DC50 is a very good performer in Auto Mode, and putting this camcorder into cruise control is as easy as flipping the mode switch (located on top, just forward of the zoom rocker) from P to Auto. In Auto Mode, the DC50 takes care of most settings, but it is not as restrictive as Easy Mode on Sony’s camcorders. The options you retain access to are: the video light and clip review (via the joystick), video and photo quality settings (via the Function Menu) and Auto Slow Shutter, Digital Zoom, Zoom Speed, and Widescreen select, via the Admin Menu. This means that in Auto mode you have access to some basic camera setup features, but you can leave image adjustments like focus up to the DC50.
In full Auto Mode, the DC50 performs quite well. As it makes adjustments, the transitions happen smoothly and do not feel jarring as is sometimes the case. Focus is very quick and accurate in bright light. Exposure adjustments are also good but display a noticeable lag of about several seconds. Auto white balance was more accurate than on most camcorders – an area in which Canon and Panasonics tend to outshine the competition. While the DC50’s auto adjustments do not feel quite as refined as Sonys, which respond quickly and smoothly across the board, it produces a picture that has better color accuracy.
In addition to Auto Mode, the DC50 includes a wide selection of Scene Modes (Program AE modes that customize the camcorder’s automatic adjustments to suit a given lighting situation), that are available when the Mode switch is set to P. These modes can be accessed by selecting the top option in the Function Menu, followed by the Set Scene option at the far right side of the options display. The Scene Modes available on the DC50 mirror those on most consumer Canons and cover a useful range of recording options: Portrait (for recording nearby, static subjects), Landscape (distant static subjects), Sports (fast-moving subjects in bright light), Night, Snow (for recording subjects in bright, snowy landscapes), Beach (same as Snow but optimized for the beach), Sunset, Spotlight (for recording subjects in front of darker backgrounds), and Fireworks.
In addition to the Scene Modes, the DC50 includes Aperture Priority (A) and Shutter Priority (Tv) modes, which specify how the camcorder makes automatic exposure adjustments. The Scene Modes allow you to elect either automatic or manual control over focus but not to other image parameters. The priority modes allow you to access all manual controls except shutter speed (Av mode) and aperture (Tv mode), but it also allows you to keep the camcorder in auto after setting an initial shutter speed or aperture, respectively.
The DC50 also features a suite of Image Effects and faders, available in P Mode only. Image Effects includes presets that will tweak the character of the recorded image slightly including: Vivid (deepens color saturation), Neutral (tones down color saturation), Low Sharpening (decreases sharpness of edges and outlines, Soft Skin Detail (like Low Sharpening, but only in “skin tone” areas of the frame. Soft Skin-type options are perpetually troubling to us because they make certain assumptions about what constitutes “skin tone” that are by definition inclusive of only some skin coloration. Canon is far from the only culprit in what amounts to a racial bias in camcorder technology, but we wince every time we see this option featured. The last Image Effect allows you to create your own color preset along the lines of those above, but it is more a rudimentary manual control rather than an automatic preset.
Finally, under Digital Effects (the fourth option from the top of the Function Menu) are faders and filters. The faders include Fade-T (fade-in/fade-out) and Wipe, while the filters include Black and White, Sepia, Art (which give footage a posterized look), and most fun of all, Mosaic (Pixelvision-lite). In combination with full Auto Mode, the presets, AE and Scene Modes on the DC50 offer lots of options and respectable performance.
Overall Manual Control (6.5)
Canon’s approach to manual controls is quirky on both its prosumer cams, like the XH A1, and its consumer models, including the DC50. Some shooters prefer the Panasonic joystick interface, which differs from Canon’s in that it allows for true one-handed operation. Others would opt for Sony’s ingenious CamControl multifunction dials which offers a single controller operation key adjustments like exposure and shutter speed – but only in higher-end HD models. Canon offers yet another example of streamlined and compact interface design that combines fast access and simplicity.
To put the DC50’s manual controls through their paces, you’ll first need to place the camcorder in P mode, using the Mode Switch (on top of the lens barrel, just in front of the zoom lever). Next, locate the Function Button (labeled FUNC) on the upper left side of the lens barrel. This button is your gateway to the bulk of the camcorder’s image controls – in both the Function Menu, and the nested Administrative Menu. The Function Menu appears as an “L” on the LCD, with submenus stacked vertically on the left edge, and options for each submenu are listed horizontally across the base. The top submenu includes Program AE (P), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av), and Scene recording modes. P mode offers access to all of the camcorder’s manual controls, while the priority modes adjust exposure in tandem with your shutter or aperture adjustments. The Scene recording modes provide access to a few manual control options including focus but are essentially specialized auto modes.
In the Function Menu, you’ll also find white balance, Image Effects, Digital Effects, video, and photo quality settings, aligned from top to bottom at the left side of the display. At the base of the Function Menu list is the Administrative Menu icon where less-used camcorder settings are located. These include Auto Slow Shutter, Image Stabilization, and Markers.
A few important controls are even closer at hand in P, Tv, and Av modes. Pressing in on the joystick brings up a simple menu at the lower right corner of the LCD screen where you’ll find options for video light, effect activation, last scene review, manual exposure, and manual focus. The Canon manual control interface “L” takes a little getting used to, but it’s surprisingly intuitive when it comes to operation. It offers control accessibility that matches any comparable DVD camcorder on the market – though a few important items are missing.
Notably, we would have liked to see manual gain control (only seen on consumer Panasonics), color bars, and zebras. A LANC jack would increase the versatility of the DC50 – but Sony is the only manufacturer to provide this option on a handful of its high-end models. Finally, the joystick is a fine controller but not as good as a dial – or better still – a ring, especially for fine adjustments to focus. Yet again, you’ll need to spend a good deal more for either of those luxuries, which are found only on HD camcorders selling for a grand or more. In its standard definition DVD niche, the Canon DC50 is very competitive when you consider both the quality of its physical interface and manual control suite.
Zoom (6.5)
The Canon DC50 has a primary zoom controller, a secondary fixed-speed zoom controller on the LCD frame, and a remote control with zoom buttons. The primary controller is a nicely designed rocking lever at the top rear end of the body. It is positioned for comfortable hand-held operation, and it protrudes from the body enough to allow for good leverage and range of motion. The rocking lever-style zoom controllers are the best available on the consumer market, and this one is among the best in terms of sensitivity.
The primary zoom lever’s default setting allows for variable speeds depending on finger pressure, but it can also be set to three fixed speeds by selecting the Function > Menu > Camera Setup > Zoom Speed. Speed 1 moves at a slow crawl, Speed 2 is a bit faster, and Speed 3 moves the zoom at a constant medium speed. When any of the fixed speed settings are selected, they also govern the speed of the secondary zoom buttons. These buttons on the lower edge of the LCD frame are labeled W and T, and double as Rewind and Fast-Forward buttons during playback. The onscreen buttons offer a good alternative when the primary lever is difficult to use, as when holding the camcorder at a high or low angle. When the master zoom speed is set to variable, the onscreen buttons default to a fixed medium speed, equivalent to speed 3. The ability to select zoom speeds is rare among consumer camcorders and is a nice inclusion on this and many other Canons.
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The consumer camcorder world is full of trade-offs. One trade-off is that as imager size increases, optical zoom power decreases. The odd result is that the most powerful optical zooms – ranging up to 40x - are found on bottom-end camcorders with 1/6” imagers. The Canon DC50 has a much larger 1/2.7” sensor that delivers much better image quality than entry-level models but only a 10x optical zoom. To achieve the same optical zoom power as an entry-level camcorder, the length of the lens element would have to scale up along with the imager – and the camcorder’s body would have to be much longer.
In addition to the 10x optical zoom, the DC50 has a digital zoom option that can be capped at 40x or maxed out at 200x in the Camera Setup submenu. Digital zooms magnify the pixels available at the peak optical zoom power of the lens, and for this reason, the resolution of digitally zoomed video drops quickly. The 40x cap is a useful option that guarantees image quality will not decline too far. At 200x, the image on this camcorder is very grainy, but the 40x image may be usable for some purposes.
When digital zoom is engaged at 40x, the horizontal zoom indicator that appears at the top left corner of the LCD is divided into a white optical zoom segment and a light blue 10x-40x segment. Maxing out the digital zoom adds a dark blue segment representing 40x-200x digital zoom territory. The colored segments are another useful quality control tool if and when you engage the DC50’s digital zoom – though we would have preferred a numerical zoom indicator as well.
Focus (4.0)
We found the automatic focus on this camcorder to be better than most consumer camcorders in its price range, but there is no spot focus option as on Sonys. This makes a workable manual focus option all the more important, and the Canon delivers well for a standard definition camcorder. When the Mode Switch is set to P, depressing the center of the joystick brings up a small menu at the lower right corder of the LCD screen. Pressing down on the joystick toggles through the “pages” of this menu, with the manual focus select page labeled Focus.
Once you have reached the Focus option, pressing up on repeatedly on the stick toggles between auto and manual focus, with manual focus indicated by the appearance of the letters MF at the top of the screen. The left portrait and right mountain icons also become highlighted – and show that pressing in their respective directions will move the focal plane closer or further from the lens. While we prefer rotary focus controls, like dials or rings, this joystick works well enough – though again, a numeric, or at the very least a horizontal bar focus indicator would have been a useful inclusion. While this camcorder does not include a focus assist option, capping the zoom at 40x and moving into digital territory while manually focusing works in much the same way.
Pushing in on the joystick activates this mini-menu with
exposure and focus controls.
Exposure & Aperture (7.6)
The Canon DC50 offers two methods for adjusting exposure manually. In Program AE (labeled P in the Function Menu) mode, exposure can be adjusted in EV steps via the joystick on 23 step scale. In Aperture Priority (Av) mode, the aperture of the lens can be set to f/1.8, f/2.0 f/2.4 f/2.8 f/3.4 f/4.0 f/4.8 f/5.6 f/6.7 f/8.0. After setting the aperture manually, it is then possible to leave exposure in auto mode or to make EV adjustments just as in Program AE mode.
The difference in Av is that whether the camcorder’s exposure is set to auto or adjusted manually, the aperture remains fixed, while exposure adjustments affect shutter speed and gain. It is not possible to set shutter speed and aperture independently on this Canon – however, the control options offered by the DC50 should foot the bill for casual shooters. In Av mode, you are able to make adjustments to both aperture and exposure very efficiently, and pressing the center of the joystick toggles between control over aperture and exposure.
Shutter Speed (6.35)
The DC50 allows shutter speed control in Shutter Priority mode (Tv) on a range that includes settings at 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000 second. Ads with Av mode, in Tv mode exposure can be set either to auto, or adjusted manually while shutter speed remains fixed. Exposure again is modified in EV steps, though in Tv mode it is aperture and gain that shift. When the camcorder is set to Av mode, pressing the center of the joystick toggles between control over shutter speed, and the options governed by the joystick menu including exposure. The ability to toggle between two vital image adjustments virtually instantaneously is a huge boon and one of the smarter aspects of the Canon manual control interface.
White Balance (7.5)
Canon tends to be generous in the white balance preset department, and the DC50 includes options for Auto, Daylight (sun), Shade (outdoor), Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Set (Manual). In keeping with its generally speedy interface, these presets are second from the top of the Function Menu, right below AE modes, labeled AWB if white balance had previously been set to auto. After selecting AWB, moving the joystick left or right moves through the horizontal display of presets, and the manual option is identified by a standard icon and labeled Set Eval. WB. Pressing the center of the joystick locks in the manual setting within anywhere from a fraction of a second in good lighting, to a few seconds in low-contrast environments. The manual preset is quite accurate, and the wide assortment of automatic presets makes the DC50 better than most consumer camcorders for matching the picture to any lighting condition.
The white balance options
Gain (0.0)
The DC50 offers not manual control over gain, in line with the majority of consumer cacmorders. Only Panasonics allow independent gain control.
Other Manual Controls (3.0)
Image Effects - Image Effects are found third from the top of the Function Menu and allow mild image color and sharpness tweaks. The options include several presets - Vivid (increases color saturation), Neutral (tones down color saturation), Low Sharpening (reduces in-camera sharpening along contrast lines and borders), Soft Skin Detail (softens "skin tones" fora more flattering look - though these settings are geared towards only a certain skin tone range), and Custom. Custom gives allows you to change Color Depth, Sharpness, Contrast, and Brightness through a +1, 0, -1 range.
The image effects menu
Digital Effects - The Digital Effects submenu lies just below Image Effects in the Function Menu, and bundles the camcorder's fader and filters options. The list includes Fade T (fade-in/fade-out), Wipe, Black and White, Sepia, Art, and Mosaic.
Auto Slow Shutter - When this setting is engaged, the camcorder's automatic shutter speed floor drops from 1/60 to 1/30 in low light situations.This has the effect of doubling the sensor's light gathering capability. The option can be found in Function Menu > Menu > Camera Setup > A. Sl Shutter.
Wind Screen - The Wind Screen option is located in Function Menu > Menu > Camera Setup > Wind Screen, with options for Auto and Off. This setting reduces the effects of wind noise on the onboard microphone.
Markers - The DC50 includes two types of marker overlays, each in either white or grey: Level and Grid. Level displays a horizontal line across the mid-point of the screen with a center hatch mark. The Grid option overlays a nine-box grid over the image, and is especially useful for composing shots according to the "rule of thirds." Markers are found in Function > Menu > Display Setup > Markers
Scene Modes - Canon's Scene Modes, more commonly known as AE Modes, include Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks. Each Scene Mode is optimized for the lighting scenario described by its name.
|
Advertisement
|