Canon Elura 80 Camcorder Review

by Nathaniel Hansen
Published on May 10, 2005 12:00 PM



With a price drop of roughly $50 USD, and with the inclusion of a few features like 16:9 mode, Canon hopes to draw more consumers to their entry level Elura, the Elura 80. Introduced in January 2005 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Elura 80 replaces the Canon Elura 60. Other notable differences over the Elura 60 are the decrease in size (however slight), increased optical zoom capacity from 14x to 18x, and the removal of the S-Video port. But since the hardware and software setup on the insides are identical, the Elura 80’s actual performance should be on par with the Elura 60.

Video Performance (7.5)
Equipped with a 1/4.5 inch 690K CCD (identical to the CCD on the Elura 60), the Elura 80 is set to perform similarly. The Elura 80 also shares identical imager specs with both the Elura 85 and the Elura 90, making it a better deal than these camcorders as far as video performance is concerned. Just remember: when you pay for the upgrade, you’re not paying for better video quality.

The test results for bright light levels (and lower light levels) of the Elura 80 are nearly identical to those of the Elura 90, and similarly, last year’s Eluras. As mentioned in the Elura 90 review, there are some small variations that can be pointed out, but these are subtle and barely noticeable at best. For instance, the blues and violets of the Elura 90 appear a tad stronger than those of the Elura 80, while the opposite is true in the case of the yellows and greens. Canon consumer camcorders usually perform very well at optimal light settings, but are typically riddled with noise at indoor light levels; all in all, no change here.

Video Resolution (10.27)
We captured video footage of a standard resolution chart with the Elura 80 in both its 4:3 and widescreen mode and exported its stills to Imatest Imaging Software in order to calibrate this model’s real resolution. In 4:3 mode, the Canon Elura 80 gave us approximately 400 lines of resolution and 256.9 lines of horizontal resolution, yielding a real resolution of 102,760. In 16:9 mode, the camcorder provided approximately 486.3 lines of horizontal resolution, with approximately 245.5 lines of vertical resolution, yielding a real resolution of 119,386.65.

The Front (7.0)
The front of the Elura 80 can be visually split into two halves, with the lens and microphone on one half, and a bunch of unused space on the other half. Ok, technically that’s not true, since the dark red panel that stretches from top to bottom of the right side is surely covering the automatic adjustment sensor.

The Right Side (9.0)
The Elura 80’s right side is home to the top-loading tape mechanism’s door. Users won’t really notice it until they eject their tape. At the front of the right side, a color matching port cover hides easy access to A/V/Headphone, DV, and USB ports. The decently sized strap runs horizontally along the bottom of the right side.

At the back of the right side are several features worth mentioning. The mode switch sits above and to the right of the mode dial. Users can switch between Manual [P] and Easy mode. The mode dial, below the mode switch, can be set to Power, Network, Play, OFF, and Camera. Directly above the mode dial is the DC input, covered by a small gray port cover.

The Left Side (9.0)
The left side of the Elura 80 is where users will spend most of their handling time. The left side is home to the LCD, the Jog dial, and the Menu button. Additionally, under the LCD, users will find buried myriad buttons, many of which cause me to question their placement. Users will need to acquaint themselves with the jog dial and menu button placed towards the front bottom of the Elura 80’s left side. If I had to criticize any aspect of the Elura camcorder line, it would be the placement of these two buttons, which work in tandem. With the LCD open, it’s difficult to easily access the jog dial and menu button. If the LCD is opened and not rotated, this isn’t an issue. But considering that Canon manufactures one of the worst LCDs in the industry, it will certainly be an issue since users are forced to constantly move the LCD to prevent solarizing.

 

Beneath the LCD, users can attempt to interact with a host of buttons that activate various features. There are 10 buttons in all, and many of them don’t deserve camcorder real estate. The VCR playback controls are on top, and double as Record search and night mode. Beneath are digital effects, focus/data code, and exp/end search. Further down are drive mode/Widescreen/Record pause, LCD Backlight, and Card mix/slideshow. At the very bottom of the button panel, users will notice the SD media slot. The port snaps open towards the bottom, and is loaded from the Elura 80’s bottom.

Overall, I like the design of the Elura 80, but I am displeased with the placement of many of the buttons, especially the menu and jog dial.

The Back (7.5)
The battery terminal is the dominant feature on the back of the Elura 80. Above the battery port rests the extendible color viewfinder. To the right of the viewfinder is a strap lock and battery release button. To the right of the battery port, users can engage the record button and interact with mode dial.

The Top (9.0)
The top is home to several features, and it is rather busy for such a small camcorder. At the very front of the top, users can attach a light to the cold accessory shoe. There is no microphone input, like on the Elura 90, so it’s not clear whether a mic accessory would even work on the Elura 80. To the right is the tape eject switch and a small ridge for better gripping when holding the Elura 80 with the right hand. At the back of the right side of the top, there are three very important features. The zoom toggle comes first, with its flat design and ridged surface. Behind the zoom toggle, users can take a photo with the shutter button, or print/share via the print share button. Despite the seemingly busy top, in the end the Elura 80 is thoughtfully planned and intuitively laid out.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (6.0)
Adopting Easy as their pseudo-noun of choice, Canon has followed Sony’s move to define automatic mode as simple and, well, easy. When set to easy mode, via the mode switch on the right side of the Elura 80, users will surrender control over white balance, exposure, shutter speed, and focus. The Elura 80 is empowered with Canon’s DIGIC DV processor, so most adjustments are intelligent and accurate.

White balance on the Elura 80 is managed quickly and seamlessly. Even the astute videographers will be hard-pressed to note the shift. With the exception of dramatic color balancing after moving indoors to outdoors, and vice versa, the Elura 80 handled white balance with precision and ease.

Exposure on the Elura 80 is less seamless than other automatic counterparts, but this is to be expected. There is a slight adjustment lag when making dramatic shifts in exposure, and the Elura 80 seems to struggle in indoor lighting conditions all the way around.

Shutter speed is also adjusted automatically on the Canon Elura 80. Users should be sure to turn off the automatic slow shutter if they want to avoid a stuttering, fake 24P look. It’s very difficult to assess or evaluate automatic shutter adjustments, as the feature is closely tied visually with exposure.

Focus on any camcorder is best controlled automatically. Adjustments are, for the most part, made quickly. Again, the Elura 80 really lags in indoor light, which makes its automatic adjustments particularly tedious. However, in my opinion the office from which I write and evaluate this camera is very well lit, with plenty of lamps and sunlight spilling in via a large window.

Overall Manual Control (6.0)
The Elura 80 enables users to manually control all the features mentioned above as well as Zoom; zoom, focus, shutter speed, exposure, and white balance can be controlled manually. Manual shutter speed is nice, and a must in this price range. It would also be nice to see some actual F-stop readings on the camcorder, but what are you gonna do.

Zoom Control (7.25)
Zoom control is manually controlled via the zoom toggle located on the top of the right side. Users can easily achieve several variable zoom speeds in either direction, wide angle to telephoto. Both the index finger and middle finger fall naturally onto the Elura 80 zoom toggle when holding the camcorder with the right hand. My complaint with the zoom control is that the user doesn’t knowing where on the z-axis he or she is. The only icon is a jumpy triangle that stops under the telephoto symbol... while the zoom keeps going! With 18x optical zoom under the hood, it’d be nice to know its limits.

Users will notice the zoom slow when it approaches its max optical zoom, as it does on all camcorders. This is perfectly normal. The zoom will slow considerably when it reaches approximately 16x, but as mentioned above, there’s no way of knowing how far along the z-axis you actually are.

Focus (5.5)
Focus is not a recommended manual feature for the easily irritated. Users can manipulate the focus, but doing so is tedious at best. Users can engage the manual focus by pressing the focus button under the LCD, on the left side. The MF icon will appear when pressed, and to toggle the focus users “simply” have to make adjustments via the small jog dial awkwardly positioned in front of the LCD screen. There are no indicators or helps, just your eyes and a worthless LCD, so good luck.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.75)
Exposure can be manually adjusted on the Elura 80, but it takes some getting used to since it’s not very intuitive. By pressing the EXP, or exposure lock button, the exposure will remain constant, regardless of changes in available light. Next users can adjust exposure accordingly using the jog dial, moving between an open iris (0) or a closed iris (-11).

Shutter Speed (3.0)
The Canon Elura 80 has a default shutter speed of Automatic; however, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000 shutter speeds are available. By jogging to that feature within the menu, users can select the desired shutter speed. Users can also manually engage an automatic slow shutter feature that slows the shutter to 1/30 (I’m guessing at this number... it’s not printed in the manual) for improved low light shooting.

White Balance (7.0)
White balance is perhaps the most important manual control feature for image quality on the Elura 80. It can be set by jogging to the white balance option within the menu via the jog dial. Once selected, users can choose from Auto, Set, Indoor, and Outdoor. By selecting the Set option, users are immediately engaging the manual white balance feature. The icon will start flashing, so be prepared by having the camera focused on an all white, well lit surface. Once the icon stops flashing, the while balance has been calibrated and saved.

Gain (0.0)
There are no manual gain options on the Canon Elura 80 camcorder.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
There are no other manual control features of note on the Elura 80.

Ease of Use (6.0)
The Canon Elura 80 is an easy camcorder to use, and with the advent of the EASY mode, it’s even, um, easier. Users can be confident that when placed in Easy mode, the majority of adjustments will be made seamlessly and accurately.

The overall design and layout of the Elura 80 is intelligent, with the exception of the jog dial and menu button placement. Additionally, the LCD impedes overall ease of use, as users will have to constantly rotate and adjust the LCD to compensate for solarizing.

These complaints aside, the Elura 80 is an easy camcorder to use, when in the appropriately titled Easy mode.

Still Features (6.5)
The Canon Elura line has some decent still features, mostly related to transferring after a photo is taken. The inclusion of an SD media slot is good; although, no media is included, so interested users should expect to spend an extra hundred bucks to take photos with the Elura 80. Once the camcorder is set to card mode via the media switch, users can take photos at 1280 x 960 and 640 x 480 at superfine, fine, and normal settings. Like other Elura models, the Elura 80 has print/share functionality built in, allowing users to plug in to their computer/print station and print/share photos via the print/share button on the top of the Elura 80.

Still Resolution (4.6)
Using Imatest Imaging Software we were able to test the Elura 80’s still resolution. Stills are captured on a Multimedia Card at 1280 x 960 and 640 x 480. At its best the camcorder provided a resolution of 461,580.1875 (0.461 MP).

Still Performance (5.25)
Still performance on the Elura 80 is very good for its price range. The image quality is equal to that of the Elura 90. This makes sense as the two camcorders share an imager; if you compare the results of the Elura 80 with those of this year’s Optura camcorders, you’ll find that the Eluras hold their own here as well. While the Opturas have the slight upper hand in the sharpness department, the Eluras are stronger when it comes to color. While not up to Panasonic 3 chip quality, these Eluras certainly beat most manufacturers’ lower-end lineups.

Low Light Performance (3.75)
The low light performance of the Elura 80 is very similar to that of the Elura 90 and presumably that of the Elura 85. The Elura 80 unfortunately suffers from the same problems that the Elura 90 does in this environment. Compared to last year’s Elura 60, which shares the same imager as the Elura 80, the camcorder shows a brighter image at 60 lux though one marred by noise. The noise is perhaps equal in intensity on the Elura 60, but in this case it’s more accentuated because the image is brighter.

That said, you’re not getting better low light performance if you decide to upgrade to a more expensive Elura this year. Rather you’re getting some more zoom, maybe a wider angle, video light, built-in flash, or included still media.

Anyway, at 15 lux, these noise problems continue with the Elura 80, as we saw with the Elura 90 earlier this year. Noise is accentuated, though the image is brighter. This isn’t the greatest low light performance, though it’s not the worst either. I would look to some of Panasonic’s cheap 3 chip camcorders for better colors, and perhaps less noise.

Zoom Power/Ratio (18.0)
Zoom power has been steadily increasing industry-wide this year, and the Elura line is no exception. Canon boosted the total optical zoom to 18x, which is a modest jump over the Elura 60’s 16x. Admittedly, there are many other camcorders with nearly twice the optical zoom, but users will find their images shaky and practically unusable at anything over 25x.

Wide Angle (7.6)
In 4:3 mode the Elura 80 displayed a wide angle field of vision of 38 degrees, and one of 46 degrees in its widescreen mode. When you buy the Elura 90, it ships with a wide angle lens attachment; not so with the Elura 80.

LCD 4:3 standard aspect

LCD in widescreen mode

VCR Mode (6.0)
Compared to the easy VCR mode of the less expensive ZR line, the Eluras’ attempts at VCR playback are pathetic. Of course the functionality is identical: fast forward and rewind, etc. But the VCR controls are buried beneath the LCD, forcing users to watch material with the LCD open, instead of rotated and recessed. Granted, most will be hooking the camcorder up to a TV, so this isn’t a huge deal, but I’d like to see VCR controls moved out from under the LCD.

LCD/Viewfinder (7.0)
The Elura 80 is stocked with a standard 2.5-inch 123K pixel LCD screen. Unfortunately, its poor construction is Canon’s biggest camcorder flaw. LCD monitors on Canon consumer camcorders solarize, requiring constant manipulation of the LCD. With the exception of Sony (touch screen menu aside), there are no good LCDs on the market today. These manufacturers have practically rendered the age old viewfinder useless, but have failed to provide users with an adequate LCD.

The itty-bitty viewfinder can be extended about an inch, and rotated 45 degrees. Considering the poor LCD construction, users may consider using the viewfinder.

Audio (6.75)
The Elura 80 has a stereo microphone positioned at the front of the camcorder, under the lens. It is, for the most part, out of the way of fumbling fingers. Users can expect to pick up some handling noise (common on all consumer models) and the occasional machine noise. Canon removed the mic port on the Elura 80, but still included a cold accessory shoe (for lights?).

The Elura 80 does include an A/V/Headphone jack and a headphone volume control within the menu. Additionally, users can engage the wind cut feature, which drops the dB level to avoid the loud popping noise often caused by wind hitting the microphone diaphragm.

Handling (8.0)
The Elura 80, like all the Elura models, handles pretty well. Eluras are slightly chunkier in size due to the top-loading tape mechanism, which I like. With the exception of the jog dial and menu button, the toggles, buttons, and dials are well placed and easy to reach. The biggest handling complaint I have is with the LCD screen, which could impede a good recording session. The LCD solarizes, requiring users to adjust the LCD to get an accurate representation of what’s being recorded to tape or card.

For the most part, users will be pleased with the way the Elura 80 handles. As with any camcorder, users are encouraged to try it on for size at their local electronics store. No matter what the review implies, positive or negative, if you don’t like the way it handles, it may not be for you.

Portability (6.0)
Despite the slight reduction in size from the Elura 60, the Elura 80 is weighty. You’ll want to get a carrying case that protects when your camcorder is thrown in a back pack. It’ss easily worn around the neck, but a long day of recording at the fair will have you scheduling a trip to the chiropractor if you’re not careful. This camcorder is portable, but not one to stuff in your front pocket.

Battery (6.0)
With the included battery fully charged, the Elura 80 unfortunately recorded for only a little over an hour (1 hr., 32 sec).

Compression (8.0)
The Canon Elura 80 uses DV compression, storing video to MiniDV tape at 29.97 frames per second. Additionally, for still photos, the Elura 80 uses JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression.

Media (8.0)
The Canon Elura 80 accepts MiniDV tape and SD media.

Editing (8.0)
Yes, for those who care, the Elura 80 does have some internal editing functionality. Why it’s included, I don’t know. Edits made in camera are permanent, so users are encouraged to find a digital editing program (many are free, like Avid DV, or iMovie) so that they don’t permanently affix cheesy George Lucas wipes and fades to their home movies.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (7.5)
Canon has included a 16:9 high resolution mode on all their camcorders, and with the image stabilization turned off, the overall resolution is boosted by nearly a third. Users can access the mode by pressing the Widescreen button under the LCD.

Widescreen aspect squeezed into a 4:3 frame

Standard 4:3 Aspect

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
There are no alternate frame rates on the Canon Elura 80.

Ports (8.0)
AV/Headphone, DV, and USB ports are hidden on the front right side. The DC port is discreetly tucked under a port cover on the back of the right side. There is no mic jack on the Elura 80. All the ports are easy to access, and well placed.

Other Features (5.5)
LCD Backlight
The Canon Elura 80 has a LCD backlight feature illuminating the LCD in bright situations. Located under the LCD, the button would be better placed on the LCD itself.

16:9 High Resolution Widescreen
As mentioned above, the Canon Elura 80 has a 16:9 widescreen mode. When played back on the proper source, the letterbox should disappear. Note the included chart photos, which demonstrate the increased image area.

Comparisons
Panasonic PV-GS35
Panasonic usually offers better manual controls, and this is the case with the Canon Elura 80. Panasonic’s PV-GS35 might be a better option for the manual control freak. The PV-GS35 is slightly less expensive with a similar hardware set up, and a far superior (by quantity anyway) 30x optical zoom.

Sony DCR-HC32
With a slightly superior optical zoom of 20x, and a far superior LCD (touch screen menu aside) the Sony DCR-HC32 is an expensive alternative with fewer usable features. Both camcorders have an EASY mode, with the Sony including an extra spot focus and spot exposure function.

JVC GR-D295
The JVC GR-D295 captures 1024 x 768 stills to SD card, and includes a little more manual control than the Elura 80. With a smaller CCD, and the removal of the 3-D noise reduction feature, the Canon Elura 80 will likely perform better than the JVC GR-D295.

Who’s it For
Point-and-Shooters (7.0)
The Elura 80 is a great camcorder for the point and shoot consumer.

Budget Consumers (4.5)
A good choice for budget consumers looking for advanced features. But if you’re really strapped, check out the ZR models.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid (5.5)
There are some adequate transferring solutions provided on the Elura 80, but the removal of the LED and the Flash sort of dull the point.

Gadget Freak (3.0)
Not really gadget freak material.

Manual Control Freaks (3.0)
Why are you reading an entry level consumer camcorder review anyway?

Pros / Serious Hobbyists (3.0)
Sure, for the pro on vacation. However this model is not intended for professional use.

Conclusion
The Canon Elura 80 has some great features, like the 18x optical zoom, the top-loading tape mechanism, the headphone jack, and the chunky size. It’s a good camcorder with a few exceptions. The LCD and the subsequent placement of the menu button and jog dial are legitimate complaints. Get to the store and compare any Sony LCD to any other LCD in the store, and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. The removal of the LED, the Flash, and the S-Video port are significant downgrades. However Canon has dropped the price.

The performance under optimal conditions produced pleasant colors both in video and still mode. Low light performance, as predicted, was less than adequate, and unfortunately the Elura 80 struggles to make automatic adjustments in what I consider to be well above 100 lux of indoor light.

As always, users should try before they buy and read alternate viewpoints, even if they’re from varying publications.