Canon DC50 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Jan 22, 2007 6:00 AM
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control
In auto mode, most of the control is handed over to the camcorder, and only a limited number of options will be available in the Function menu. Auto controls on Canon camcorders are, historically, very good. Our impromptu testing on the DC50 (Review, Specs, $649.99) showed the same excellent performance as last year’s DC40 (Review, Specs, $539.99). It had a very fast auto focus, at least as fast as the new high definition HV10 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $814), which comes with a whole separate sensor dedicated to focusing. The DC50 showed a fast auto exposure, too, particularly in dark areas where light was spotty – which really impressed us. Again, this was all from the picture on the LCD, which can play tricks with image quality. But the large CCD and improved processor indicates that we should believe what we saw.
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The rear-mounted controls, including joystick (left) and the buttons on the left side - Function, Display, and Quick Start (right). |
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Overall Manual Control
A number of improvements have been made since last year in regards to handling and menu design, which we’ll get into a little later in the review, all of which affect your interaction with manual control. But the actual list of manual controls has remained the same as in years past.
Because this is the top tier standard definition camcorder for 2007, at least so far, it comes with all the manual controls you would have found on their Optura series: aperture and shutter priority modes, exposure compensation, white balance, focus, zoom, and a small host of color controls. Aside from gain, this is about all you could ask for on a consumer camcorder. Of course, improvements need to be made to the focus control, which is entirely lackluster, and independent aperture and shutter speed would open up your shooting options a little more, but this is a great package for most users.
Zoom
The zoom toggle sits on top of the body, perfectly positioned for the index finger. It’s a tall, wide control that offers lots of grip and gives a good pressure. The optical zoom range extends to 10x, and the digital zoom can be capped at 40x or 200x. The DC50 also carries over a feature introduced last year: zoom speeds. A simplified version of a feature found of professional cams, this allows you to fix the zoom speed to fast, medium, or slow, regardless of finger pressure on the zoom toggle.
Focus
Focus control is still the weakest of all the manual controls on the DC50, not unlike most consumer camcorders. Activated by entering the new mini-menu (more about this in the Menu section below) that appears in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, the focus control consists of little more than pushing the joystick left and right until the picture looks “in focus.” There is no onscreen scale or numerical indicator to tell you where in the focal range you are. Your only arbiter is the LCD, which has the relatively low resolution of 123K, hardly a high-res image. Poor focus controls seem to be the norm for consumer camcorders, and they don’t get stepped up until you hit the $2000+ price point. But that doesn’t make it right.
Exposure & Aperture
There are two ways to correct exposure on the Canon DC50, the first, and simplest, is the exposure compensation tool, found in the 3-page mini-menu (push in on the joystick to make it appear). Exposure compensation in on “page 2,” and entails a scale of +/-11 increments. Each increment is an unspecified EV (exposure value) step. For most users, you won’t need to understand this in any more depth than this: smaller numbers make it darker, bigger numbers make it brighter. The real power of this control is that it can be used in addition to any setting that you’ve already made, like fixing the aperture or shutter speed.
The second control is aperture, or the width of the iris. Iris control is good because it can shift the depth of focus. To engage aperture priority, go into the Function menu and change the top-most option from “P” to “A.” Then exit the Function menu. The aperture value is located in the upper left corner of the screen. Push in on the joystick, then toggle up and down to shift it. Aperture values include: 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, and f/8.0.
Shutter Speed
The shutter speed can be controlled in shutter priority mode, which, like aperture priority, is selected in the Function menu. Change the “P” option on the top line to “S.” Then exit the Function menu and use the joystick to toggle between shutter speeds. Options include: 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000 of a second.
White Balance
The white balance options are very easily accessible in the Function menu. Settings include AWB (auto white balance), Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Set (for manual settings). This is the widest selection of white balance presets available on a consumer camcorder, and are found on several Canons. Presets are generally accurate, though we found the automatic settings to do an even better job on the DC50 (not untypical). To make a manual settings, point the camcorder at a white surface, then select the Set option and push in on the joystick. The icon will blink for a few seconds as it adjusts.
Gain
There is no manual gain setting on the DC50.
Other Manual Controls
Most upper-end Canons, including the DC50, offer “Image Effects” in the Function menu. These are settings that give you some measure of control over color. They don’t come close to matching what you’ll find on pro camcorders, but they can prove helpful if you’re looking to create a certain effect. The danger is in overusing them, as most of the settings are less than subtle. Four of the controls can only be turned on or off – that’s their range. They include: Vivid (for higher saturation), Neutral (lower saturation), Low Sharpening (to decrease sharpening), and Soft Skin Detail.
There is a fifth option here, Custom, which lets you create your own image effect over four parameters: Depth, Sharpness, Contrast, Brightness. Each of these can be set to a +/-1 increment. Clearly, this is not the equivalent of having After Effects on-board your computer, but it’s something fun to play with, and can give you a look you weren’t expecting. Just don’t rely on it too much.