Canon Elura 85 First Impressions Camcorder Review

Canon's Elura 85 (Specs, $325) replaces last year's Elura 65 (Specs, $497.7), and with only very few changes added, users might be better off finding a deal on last year’s model. Canon upped the optical zoom on this model by 2x, capping out at 18. Additionally, Canon includes a 16 MB SD card, a Flash embedded in the Elura 85’s front, and their new 16:9 mode, which was introduced last year on the Optura 400 (Specs, $999) and 500. These minimal upgrades, important to the departments of camcorder physiology, may not prove convincing to the probing consumer.

Video Performance
The Canon Elura 85 carries an identical Digic DV processor to that of the Elura 65, in addition to having the same CCD imager. The Canon Elura 85 has a 1/4.5 inch CCD that has 690K effective pixels in 4:3 Mode and 920K effective pixels in 16:9 mode, so long as the Image Stabilizer is turned off.

Canon’s lenses keep the consumers coming back year after year. The Canon video lens on top the Elura 85 has an 18x optical zoom, a 34mm filter diameter with a minimum focal distance of 3.5mm and a maximum focal distance of 63mm. Canon’s camcorders historically do very well under good lighting conditions, and we expect the Elura 85 to be no different.

Keep checking in for the full review of the Canon Elura 85, which will thoroughly explore video performance elements from one extreme to the next.

The Front
The Elura 85’s front is dominated by the lens, with the infrared remote sensor, flash, and LED located to the lower right side. Directly under the lens are the stereo microphone and Canon logo.

The Right
The right side of the Elura 85 is home to the top loading tape mechanism (hooray!) and the strap. Additionally, the port covers are to be found on the right side, housing DV, USB, DC and AV/Headphone terminals.

The Back
The Elura 85’s back side houses the battery pack and mode dial/record button.

The Left
Towards the front of the left side of the Elura 85, users can access the jog dial and menu button. This is poor placement for such important buttons, but we’ll cover that in Handling. The rest of the left side is home to the LCD and its hidden playback and special feature buttons. When the LCD is flipped out, users can access the VCR playback, SD Card slot.

The Top
The top of the Elura 85 can be divided in two. The right side makes room for the tape eject switch to the front and the zoom toggle/photo button at the back.

Picture and Manual Control
Automatic Control
Focus, exposure, white balance, and shutter speed are all controlled automatically on the Canon Elura 85 when switched to easy mode. The Digic DV processor makes relatively quick work of these functions, provided there is plenty of light.

Canon has adopted a new naming system for their automatic mode, calling it: “easy mode.” No longer is the automatic mode identified by a random square. Good move, Canon.

Overall Manual Control
For access to manual controls, users simply slide the program selector switch to the ‘P,’ for program, which unlocks the menu to manual control options. Focus, exposure, white balance, shutter speed and zoom are all controlled manually. Most require some interaction with the jog dial, and this can be a little tedious.

Zoom
An extra 2x of optical zoom are included on the Canon Elura 85, making the total 18x. Zoom can be controlled via the zoom toggle on the top right side of the camcorder body, and it works quite well, slowing only slightly when nearing the maximum zoom capacity.

Focus
Manual focus is included on the Canon Elura 85, and users simply need to access it through the main menu and jog dial on the front left side of the camcorder body.

Exposure
Canon includes their standard manual exposure set up, with exposure steps ranging from -2 to +2 in.25 increments. Users can access the manual exposure by pressing the menu button and scrolling to the appropriate camera set up function. Users can then tweak the jog dial up or down to set the exposure level. The level is displayed on the LCD with a bar and associated number.

Shutter Speed
Canon included six shutter speed options on the Elura 85: 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000. They are accessed through the menu, within the camera setup feature.

White Balance
White balance is manually adjusted through the main menu by accessing camera setup. White balance options of indoor/outdoor, auto, and set. To “set” the white balance, users simply select that option once they have a desired “white” displayed in front of the lens. It must take up the entire frame. Once selected, the set option will flash, indicating it is calibrating the white balance.

Gain
There are no manual gain controls on the Elura 85.

Still Performance
The Canon Elura 85 includes a still photo mode utilizing SD card technology. Additionally, Canon includes a 16 MB SD card for users to get started with. The same DV Photo Plus still photo mode found on last year's models is available on the Canon Elura 85. Imaging hardware is identical to last year’s model, and still makes excellent use of print-and-share technology. The Elura 85 captures 1.23 Megapixel stills at a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 960 pixels. MPEG video can be captured to SD media at 15ps with resolution options of 320 x 240 and 160 x 240. The Elura 85 also includes an automatic flash, found on the front right side of the camcorder body.

VCR Mode
VCR mode on the Elura 85 is standard, with user access found under the LCD. All playback controls are labeled and accessible when the LCD is flipped out.

Low Light Performance
There will be no talk of low light performance in this review, as it is a first impression. No conclusions or comments are being offered until the full review of the Canon Elura 85 is released later in the year.

LCD/View Finder
The LCD on the Elura 85 measures 2.5 inches, includes 123K pixels and folds out from the left side. A .33-inch 113K color viewfinder sits atop the back end of the Elura 85. It can be rotated and pulled out for easy access.

Audio
Both 16-bit and 12-bit PCM Digital Sound audio recording is boasted by Canon on the Elura 85. The stereo microphone is located beneath the lens and should be enough removed from the handling area to avoid interference. The AV port also doubles as a headphones jack allowing users to monitor audio levels during recording, and listen in stereo during playback.

Handling
Handling the Elura 85, I did notice the slight reduction in weight and size. The Elura 85 is a plump little camcorder, but it is easily handled whether using the strap, or holding it with two hands, from the waist. For the most part, the buttons and toggles are ergonomically positioned and can be reached without looking, with the exception of the playback buttons located under the LCD. Similarly, the menu button and adjoining jog dial are poorly placed at the front of the camcorder body, on the left side. Considering that most users utilize the LCD when shooting, this is an awkward place to have such important controls: when the LCD is open, accessing these buttons is a challenge.

Ports
DV, USB, AV composite in/out, and DC ports, placed in various locations, are well hidden by port covers. The DC and battery ports are on the back side of the Elura 85 while the AV, USB and DV are in terminals located at front right. The S-Video terminal found on last year’s model has been scrapped, so users hoping to attach a detail signal as opposed to analog are out of luck. Canon also removed the hot shoe functionality, replacing it with a cold accessory shoe.

Other Features
The Canon Elura 85 includes a new 16:9 mode, identical to the one introduced on last year’s Elura 400 and 500. Night modes are available on the Canon Elura 85, as well as a flash for use during still mode.

Conclusion
The Canon Elura 85 is a good little camcorder with a few inconveniences to which most users will quickly adapt. It’s unfortunate that Canon removed the hot accessory shoe, replacing it with a cold one, but it’s great that they threw in the 16:9 mode. I am sad that they didn’t move the jog dial and menu buttons, as that had been the major complaint by this publication. Canon’s wee optical zoom increase deserves a nod, but they’ll have to up the ante a lot to catch up with Panasonic’s big optical zoom push. I think users can expect bigger changes next year for the Elura line. It’s time for some changes in the design and layout and the internal specs also deserve some attention. As the Elura 85 has the same imager as last year’s models, with no improvements made for low light performance, users can expect more of the same from Canon this year.