Canon FS200

Video Sharpness (3.51)

The sharpness scores for the Canon FS200 may sound abysmal, but you have to remember it is a standard definition camcorder. Compared to other SD cams, the FS200 managed some decent numbers—it is just when you compare its sharpness scores to high definition models that it starts to look like a weakling. The Canon FS200 measured a horizontal sharpness of 300 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 225 lw/ph in our testing. These numbers are in the middle of the pack when compared to other SD models. Both the JVC GZ-MG670 and Samsung SMX-F34 did better, while the Panasonic SDR-S26 was worse.

In comparison, a low-end HD camcorder that records a full 1920 × 1080 video image usually manages horizontal and vertical sharpness between 500-600 line widths per picture height in our testing (roughly double what the Canon FS200 earned). More on how we test video sharpness.

Stabilization (1.30)

The Canon FS200 is equipped with a digital image stabilization system (DIS), which can result in degraded image quality when used. Unfortunately, the DIS also didn’t work very well to stabilize the camcorder’s recorded image, although it wasn’t as bad as some of the digital stabilization systems featured on other standard def cams. More on how we test stabilization.

In our low shake test, the FS200’s digital stabilization reduced the shake by only 10%. When we cranked things up in our high shake test, the camcorder reduced slightly less of the shake, just 6%. Neither of these results is very good, but at least Canon’s stabilization system was able to do something to reduce shake. The DIS featured on the Samsung SMX-F34 did nothing to improve the shakiness of its video, while the Sony DCR-SX60 managed nearly identical results to the FS200.

One thing we should point out here is the impressive stabilization performance by the Panasonic SDR-S26—the only one of these camcorders to include optical image stabilization (OIS). So, not only does the S26 offer better stabilization results, but using its OIS also shouldn’t degrade the image quality like a digital stabilization system can. As for the cams that offer DIS, the JVC GZ-MG670 appeared to do the best job reducing shake (JVC as a whole usually has good digital stabilization systems on its camcorders).