Canon DC50 Camcorder Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on May 28, 2007 12:27 PM 
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Ease of Use (8.0)
Unlike last year’s DC40 (Review, Specs, $539.99), the DC50 (Review, Specs, $649.99) will invite a broader crowd seeking camcorder simplification. The DC50 has notably fewer buttons, a rear-mounted joystick, and a manual/auto switch. Canon has watered down the barrage of dials, switches and controls in favor of a menu-heavy operating system. The auto white balance has its own row, and the administrative menu can be accessed directly from the function menu. Mounting a joystick on the back of a camcorder allows for one hand operation, and once you master its directional configuration, manual controls will not seem as daunting. The manual/auto switch enables the shooter to actively choose whether they feel like cruising in autopilot or manning the controls.
Although the video/still mode switch in the back is in a bit of a tight spot, it won’t take long to acclimatize to the layout of the DC50.
Handling (5.75)
At first glance, the DC50 will steep you in a cloud of oblivion—is it a DC40? DC220 (Review, Specs, $318)? DC230? All of Canon’s DVD camcorders are crafted from the same blueprints, save a few minor alterations here and there. They’re tall, thin, and shaped like a snail shell. The only black sheep in the family is the recently announced AVCHD HR10 (Specs, Recent News, $0), which sports gaudy copper highlights and a two-tone gray body.
The DC50 is dwarfed when stacked next to the Sony HDR-UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95) or Panasonic HDC-DX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99). It’s one of the smallest DVD camcorders on the market, which is probably the reason Canon has not revamped its architecture to a significant degree over the past couple of years. The UX1 is a delight to hold—thick, padded hand strap, even weight distribution, and whopping 3.5” LCD screen. On the opposite pole, the DX1 is a disaster to hold—massive DVD hatch, cheap hand strap, and preposterous junk in the trunk battery. The DC50 falls between the two. It’s definitely lighter and easier to hold than the DX1, but it lacks the solid feel of the UX1.
The DC50’s hand strap is thin and cheap but welcome to Canon’s fleet of consumer camcorders—even the HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903)’s hand strap is pretty feeble. The inside of the strap is lined with soft fuzzy fabric, which lightens the blow in the comfort department, but not by much. The strap is slung too low. If you hold the DC50 normally, then let go of it, the camcorder flops to the side at almost a 90 degree angle to the palm of the hand. This is not the case with the UX1, which remains securely fastened even when the hand strap is loosely fitted.
The top ridge of the DVD hatch features a thin raised plastic strip that is not rubberized. On an 87 degree day with a hand full ‘o suntan lotion, the DC50 will gradually slip out of your hand, unless you can palm the entire body. The pinky has a tendency to stray into the lens’s field of view because of the DC50’s stunted length, and the index finger extends a good inch past the zoom toggle. If you shift the DC50 up in your hand, the grip becomes more unstable, but at least your fingers will rest upon the tape hatch and zoom toggle.
Now let’s talk about something admirable—the rear-mounted joystick. Sony has its annoying smudge-ridden touch screen menu, Hitachi opts for an ADD victim’s nightmare with its free-for-all menu button selection cluster, and JVC mounts their joystick on the LCD, giving the cold shoulder to viewfinder freaks. Canon and Panasonic hold the title with rear-mounted joysticks, allowing for one-handed menu operation and viewfinder-friendly shooting. The DC50’s joystick is small and takes some refinery to avoid inadvertent selections, but you’ll soon come to appreciate its versatility. We would have like to see the function button located on the back within the vicinity of the joystick, but it’s a bit cramped, due to the vertical mode button. The LCD screen is a wee 2.7”, but at least it’s not a touch screen. Depending on the amount of automatic and manual features you select, the minute screen could accumulate a festival of icons, but the display button instantly purges them.
Aside from the issues we had with the grip, the DC50 is one of the most user-friendly DVD camcorders out there.
Menu (7.0)
The DC50’s menu is nothing flashy when compared with the Sony HDR-UX1’s, but it’s heartier, more logical, and easier to use. Instead of bumbling around with a smudgy touch screen interface, all the action is controlled in the back using the rear-mounted joystick. This allows for one-handed camcorder operation and gives the shot setup process a nitro boost. You’ll see the same menu structure on almost every consumer Canon, even the current king of the ring, the HV20.
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The function menu |
The main menu |
In the startup screen, you can begin making adjustments by simply pressing the center of the joystick—once you get the hang of its finicky movement. Here, a small sub menu appears on the bottom right side. Left cues instant playback, and right toggles the video light on or off. Image effects can also be toggled on or off by pressing up. Down scrolls through each different screen. The next menu screen displays manual exposure. Press up to activate the control, and left and right to adjust. Scrolling down once more displays the manual focus. Just like manual exposure, manual focus is activated by pressing up on the joystick and left and right to adjust. In auto mode, only instant playback and video light are available. To exit the submenu, press the center of the joystick again.
To access the function menu, press the function button above the LCD screen. A vertical list of functions appears, in addition to a horizontal row of options corresponding to the highlighted function. To select a function option, press the center of the joystick. At the top you’ll find the program AEs: P, shutter-priority, aperture priority, and fireworks. Next in line are the white balance settings: auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent h, and set. After that, you have your image effects: vivid, neutral, low sharpening, soft skin detail, and custom. Digital effects sit right below: fade-t, wipe, black and white, sepia, art, and mosaic. The video quality setting is next, offering XP, SP, and LP. You can also choose your picture size in video mode: fine/1280x720, and normal/1280x720. Now, onto the administrative menu, the last icon on the list.
Here you’ll find camera setup, composed of the following settings: auto slow shutter, digital zoom, zoom speed, image stabilization, widescreen, self timer, and wind screen. Next is disc operations with two options—disc info and disc initialize. The following icon represents the display setup, and here you can adjust brightness, LCD mirror, TV screen, marker, language, and demo mode settings. After that, you’ll find the system setup pane, featuring wireless remote, beep, power save, standby, and file number settings. Last is the date and time setup.
In photo mode, the quick joystick submenu is identical. In the function menu, the only differences are the light metering, shot, and picture quality settings. The administrative menu is almost identical except for the AF assist lamp, focus priority, ND (neutral density filter), and review options found in the camera setup. In addition, you can select what media to record to in system setup.
Portability (5.5)
The DC50 is not a bowling ball, but it’s also not a feather. Weighing in at 480g (1.1 lbs.), this camcorder’s bulk will hamper a swift stroll through the local American Legion parade. With dimensions of 62 x 90 x 130mm, the DC50 will not fit in a pocket or small bag. We recommend a padded carrying case to protect your $899 investment. Also, due to its specific battery type, the DC50 is incompatible with any battery aside from the one it comes with. It would be wise to purchase another battery or two for those long field trips.75 minutes can go by pretty quickly, and with 20 minutes of recording time in XP mode on each DVD, you’d better stock up in the DVD-R department as well.
LCD and Viewfinder (5.0)
The 2.7” LCD screen has a 123K resolution, but it still manages to provide a colorful image, thanks to the DC50’s 1/2.7” imager. Along the bottom of the LCD panel, there is a row of playback controls: rewind, fast forward, start/stop, and stop/playlist. The rewind and fast forward buttons also double as a zoom toggle when the camcorder is in recording mode, but nothing beats the buttery top-mounted zoom toggle. As mentioned earlier, the LCD hinge is not the burliest design and is susceptible to hyperextension if too much pressure is applied to the LCD screen. You’ll find the same hinge on the ZR line, despite the $500 price gap. Flipping open the LCD screen has never been easier, thanks to the cavernous battery slot located at the base of the DC50. Canon is killing two birds with one stone utilizing this design.
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For what you are given, the DC50’s viewfinder is acceptable to say the most. Canon is notorious for equipping their consumer camcorders with deplorable viewfinders—read the ZR830 and ZR850 reviews. The DC50’s 0.27” wide, 123K resolution viewfinder provides a great image. It extends approximately 1/2” from the back of the camcorder and is angled up for ergonomic viewing. We would have preferred a retractable viewfinder with a rubberized eye cup instead of the DC50’s immobile hard plastic growth, but compared to Canon’s other models, this one is an improvement. It’s a good thing the DC50 employs a LCD cavity battery chamber, for the viewfinder would be rendered useless with added bulk in your face.
Battery Life (9.15)
The Canon Dc50 ships with the BP-208 battery. We tested this battery for duration by continuously recording with the LCD open and no manual controls engaged. When the disc needed changing, we plugged the DC power in, removed the battery, swapped discs, replaced the battery, removed the DC power, and hit record again. (Yes, you can be thankful that you don't have to run these tedious tests yourself.) When all was said and done, the battery lasted 91 minutes and 52 seconds (1 hour, 31 minutes, and 52 seconds).
