Canon FS200

Ease of Use (5.35)

The Canon FS200 is pretty simple to use, although its dedicated auto mode isn’t as obvious to locate as it could be. We wish Canon would put a big ‘auto’ button somewhere on the camcorder, rather than call the auto mode ‘Dual Shot’ and label it with a nondescript green icon. Still, even though it may not be simple to find, the Dual Shot mode is certainly easy to use.

One of the best things about the FS200 is the fact that it doesn’t have too many buttons. This makes the camcorder look quite simple for first-time users and they won’t be daunted by an overabundance of controls. The camcorder handles fairly simply overall and its menus are easy to understand, although their design feels very outdated. We like the way the navigation joystick handles, but it isn’t the best for setting manual controls—it is simply no match for a lens ring or control dial. It is easy to use, however, so beginners should take comfort in that fact.

The thing that is most difficult about the FS200 is the fact that you need to import video files using special software before you can play them on a computer. You can use Canon’s provided software to do this, but the point is you have to do some kind of importing (just like you need to do with AVCHD footage on HD camcorders). The MPEG-2 files are saved in .MOD containers, which means you can’t simply ‘drag and drop’ the clips from a memory card and into your computer’s media player. The importing process is fairly quick and painless, but it does mean you have to install and learn new software before you can get your videos onto a computer.

Canon did not give the FS200 a menu overhaul like it did with its new HD camcorders in 2009. This means the menus on the FS200 feel a bit dated and they aren’t much different than last year’s models. Still, the menu setup isn’t terrible, and the FS200 does have some better organization than last year’s Canon FS100.

Options on the FS200 are still spread out into three different menus: the Function Menu, the Main Menu, and the Joystick Menu. The Function Menu is probably the one you’ll use the most and it is accessed by pressing the ‘FUNC.’ button on the LCD panel. The Function Menu, which is available in both still and video mode, houses options for setting the white balance, shutter speed, image effects, digital effects, and video quality. You can also access the Main Menu from the Function Menu (the last option on the left column). All menu navigation on the FS200 is performed using the joystick on the LCD panel.

The Main Menu feels the most outdated on the FS200. It has cheesy little icons, an awkward color scheme, and the all-caps text simply isn’t eye-catching. The Main Menu is organized into five submenus—Camera Setup, Memory Operations, Display Setup, System Setup, and Date/Time Setup. The menu is fairly simple to navigate despite the fact that it doesn’t look very stylish or attractive.

The last menu on the FS200 is the Joystick Menu and it is the only menu that can be accessed during video recording. To open the Joystick Menu you must press up or down on the navigation joystick. This opens a small list of options on the right side of the LCD: video light, digital effect activation, pre record, backlight, exposure, and focus. This menu is meant to be readily accessible so you can adjust things like focus or exposure on the fly, but it can be confusing to use. Everything is selected and controlled using the navigation joystick, which can be frustrating and difficult. This drop-down menu system is much better, however, than the directional Joystick Guide featured on last year’s Canons.

Our main gripe with Canon’s menu setup is the fact that all the options are spread out into three separate menus. This can make it difficult to find the specific control you are looking for, particularly if you don’t have much experience with the camcorder. We are happy to see Canon did at least some renovation to the FS200’s Joystick Menu and it is much improved over last year’s FS100, FS11, and FS10.

Function Menu	Joystick Menu

Auto Mode (7.13)

The Canon FS200 has a dedicated auto mode called Dual Shot mode (represented on the control dial as a green icon with a camcorder and a camera). In this mode you can shoot video and take photos, although you cannot do both at the same time. Dual Shot mode also locks you out of the camcorder’s menu system so you can’t fiddle with any of the FS200’s settings or controls. It is essentially a replica of Sony’s Easy mode and other simplified auto modes featured on other camcorders.

For the most part, the camcorder does a pretty decent job in auto mode, but we noticed a few problems. Autofocus worked quickly, but we noticed the image popping in and out of focus at times—particularly when there are multiple objects within the frame. It wasn’t awful, and this problem was rare, but it did occur a few times during our testing. The camcorder’s auto exposure was better and it worked well to provide smooth transitions between light levels. Sometimes the exposure shift was a bit choppy, but in most situations the camcorder handled the exposure levels very well. The camcorder has a backlight feature that can be turned on manually to help deal with difficult exposure situations as well.

The FS200’s auto white balance wasn’t bad, but we recommend using a manual white balance when possible. Sometimes we noticed the auto white balance taking a few seconds to calibrate the color tones correctly, although once it did this the colors generally looked accurate.

Low Light Modes – The only low light modes offered on the Canon FS200 are an auto slow shutter feature and the Night scene mode. Both of these options simply allow the camcorder to use shutter speeds slower than 1/60 of a second (which is generally the slowest shutter you can use before you start seeing motion trails and choppy footage). The auto slow shutter lets the camcorder use a 1/30 of a second shutter speed, while the Night scene mode allows the camcorder to drop to even lower shutter speeds.

The FS200 also has a small video light on the front of the camcorder. The range for this light isn’t very good—about two feet—but it will allow you to shoot video in total darkness as long as your subject is really close to the camcorder. Be forewarned, however, using the video light will quickly drain your battery life.

Scene Modes – There are a variety of scene modes available on the FS200: Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, and Fireworks.

Other Auto Features

Noise levels were only average