Canon FS200

Motion (3.50)

Poor motion performance is one of the biggest problems with cheap standard definition camcorders. These cams simply don’t capture video with the amount of detail that HD camcorders do, and their motion videos show far more signs of artifacting, frequency interference, and lack of sharpness. None of these camcorders, including the Canon FS200, offer any alternate frame rate recording options (like 24p or 30p). All of Canon’s HD models include 24p and 30p record modes.

Among the SD camcorders we tested, the Canon FS200 appeared to have an average motion rendering performance. The video didn’t look very bad compared to similar models, although there was a lot of artifacting present. We found the Canon FS200’s motion video to look very similar to the Panasonic SDR-S26’s test footage.

The JVC GZ-MG670 had the best looking motion video among the SD camcorders we tested. This may partially be due to the camcorder’s HD upconversion feature that allows for 1080p output via an HDMI cable. This does not mean the camcorder records HD video, it just has the ability to output the SD video as a 1080p signal via HDMI. Since the quality of HDMI cable is so much better than regular Composite AV cables, this may be why the JVC GZ-MG670’s video looked better on our HDTV. Still, the MG670’s motion didn’t look that much better than the other standard definition camcorders, it just had slightly less artifacting and interference.

The Samsung SMX-F34 managed one of the sharper images amongst the SD camcorders we tested, but it had some severe problems with motion rendering. There was a ton of artifacting in its test video and we saw lots of pixelation forming on both rotating pinwheels. This is likely due to the lower bitrate used by the Samsung compared to the other models shown here (the Samsung records at a maximum bitrate of 5Mbps, while the other models record approximately 9Mbps). The footage was rather smooth, but all of these camcorders appeared to capture smooth motion.

The Panasonic SDR-S26 captured similar motion to the Canon FS200, although its image looked a bit brighter and had more color saturation. Both camcorders showed nearly identical levels of artifacting and each captured a fairly smooth image. More on how we test motion.