Canon Optura 60 Camcorder Review

The Canon Optura 60 has similar specifications to last year's Optura 40, but its featured optical image stabilization may not make up for its poor low light performance when compared to last year’s Opturas. We had high hopes for this year's ZRs, but sadly the Canon Optura 60's performance is disappointing. The camcorder does offer some additions, including more accessible manual controls and a bunch more preset features, but I’m not sure these additions can fill the absence of what was lost, especially when the camcorder is bracketed by two of Panasonic’s most relatively affordable 3 CCD camcorders.

(7.0)
The Optura 60 is equipped with the same 1/3.4 inch CCD as last year’s Canon Optura 40, though you might not be able to tell. While there are only subtle differences between these two camcorders’ results at 3000 lux, discrepancies are extremely noticeable in low light conditions.

Video Performance (7.0)
At 3000 lux, our equivalent of a bright light environment, the Optura 60 produced good accurate colors. While not as vibrant as many tones represented on the Optura 40, the Optura 60’s tones weren’t marred by some of the inconsistencies witnessed on last year’s model. Particularly, the poor, overly-orange yellow tile of the Optura 40 has been fixed. Additionally, though the Optura 60’s colors were slightly less vibrant than the 40’s, they also appeared crisper and with less apparent noise. Both camcorders show good gray scales, though the Optura 40 shows slightly more brilliant whites. As said before the differences between these two camcorders become more apparent under low light levels.

Video Resolution (12.6)
Imatest Imaging Software reveals a camcorder’s true resolution by measuring the calibration to stills taken from video footage of a standard resolution chart. In 4:3 mode the Optura 60 gave us approximately 423.7 lines of horizontal resolution, with approximately 297.8 lines of vertical resolution, generating a real resolution of 126,177.86. This model’s widescreen mode gave us approximately 466 lines of horizontal resolution and approximately 265.9 lines of vertical resolution, producing a real resolution of 123,909.4 pixels.

The Front (9.0)
The front of the Canon Optura 60 includes some nice features, including the camcorder’s focus ring, video light, and camera flash. Canon has found room to include the camcorder’s S-Video and USB ports here as well. The front of the camcorder flaunts its very compact design; it really packs these features in. Oh, and did I mention the camcorder’s stereo microphone? It’s even in there too.

The Right Side (9.5)
The right side of the Optura 60 is gripped during handheld recording. The camcorder’s ersatz suede strap runs along the bottom edge of this side. Running along the right side of this area is a port cover which covers the camcorder’s Microphone input, A/V input/output/headphone terminal, and FireWire (DV Terminal) port. Opposite this port is the camcorder’s mode dial, which can switch between Network (computer connection), Play (VCR mode), Off, and Camera (both for recording to tape and card). Above this mode dial is a small port cover which hugs (and forms) the upper left corner of the camcorder’s right side. It conceals the camcorder’s DC input port.

The Left Side (8.0)
The left side of the Optura 60 features the camcorder’s 2.5” LCD screen, which rests within a panel which folds out to reveal a cluster of buttons. This cluster of buttons is primarily used for playback, but some key features are located here as well. For example, the camcorder’s menu system can only be accessed from here, though after access it is navigated with the jog dial located on the exterior of the camcorder. Also, audio levels, flash options, and the camcorder’s SD card are adjusted and accessed with these buttons. Above the LCD cavity are two buttons and a second mode dial, which switches between Auto, Program (manual), Tv (shutter priority), Av (aperture priority), Night mode, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Slow Shutter, and Special Scene mode (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, and Fireworks). The other buttons include a Focus/Data Code and an Exposure/End Search button. Towards the front of the camcorder, to the left of the LCD panel, are two controls: the camcorder’s jog dial and function button.

The Back (7.0)
The back of the Canon Optura 60 features the camcorder’s viewfinder and battery compartment. Above the battery compartment is a small button which turns on the video light, which is followed below by two LEDs that light depending on what the camcorder is doing (one for charge and one for power). Below these LEDs is the primary record button and mode dial.

The Top (8.0)
The top of the Canon Optura 60 contains its accessory shoe as well as the means to open the camcorder’s tape mechanism, adjust the zoom, take photos, and print them. Fortunately, the camcorder’s zoom toggle is located directly under the user’s index finger which makes adjustment easier. Closest to the edge of the top towards the back of the camcorder is a small switch which controls whether video is recorded to the card or the tape.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (6.0)
Automatic controls are available on the Optura 60, in both Program mode (manual mode) and Auto mode, but in Auto mode these features are locked into place. Automatic adjustments are available for audio levels, shutter speed, iris, white balance, and focus. Automatic adjustments are okay. They’re accurate but there is a significant lag time between adjustments when zoomed in. Even at its widest setting, the camcorder takes a bit of time to adjust exposure and focus.

There is an Auto Slow Shutter control, available in the camcorder’s menu system. This function allows the camcorder to go down to 1/30 of a second in camcorder mode and 1/15 of a second in digital camera mode in order to compensate for lower light levels. Some trailing may appear.

Overall Manual Control (6.5)
Manual controls on the Optura 60 are a bit more advanced than on other Canons this year. For one thing, the camcorder has a focus ring which makes a big difference in the user’s ability to quickly and accurately focus. Also, focus, exposure, and white balance are all controlled easily with a jog dial located outside of the LCD cavity. And audio levels can be manually adjusted, which is a really nice feature, especially if you’re trying to capture something loud.

A jog dial is used to navigate the camcorder’s menu system, as well as the camcorder’s manual control menu (accessible by pressing the Function button above the jog dial). This is similar to the arrangement on last year’s Opturas. It is a pretty good, though since it requires two hands on the camcorder, it’s not quite as good as Panasonic’s new navigational tool.

The new manual control menu found on the Optura 60 is great, and not included on the Elura models. It offers white balance control, image effect (Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Soft Skin Detail, and Custom), digital effect, fader, multi-image screen, and card mix, all described in the Other Features section further below. Focus and Exposure manual options are available with the external buttons above the LCD cavity. Shutter speed and iris adjustments are available in Av and Tv modes.

Zoom Control (7.5)
The zoom control on the Optura 60 is disappointing. The toggle is similar to those on the Elura models, but it's frankly not as fluid as the toggle on the ZR models. On top of that, there is only a 14x optical zoom. Variant speed zooms are easy to achieve, but switching from a zoom in to a zoom out cannot be done fluidly.

Focus (9.0)
Focus on the Optura 60 is nicely controllable using the camcorder’s focus ring. The ring is small since the camcorder is compact–not as big as the PV-GS250’s ring, but it is still quite easy to control. The only downside to the focal control on the Optura 60 is that no numerical focal lengths are shown on the LCD screen as the ring is turned. Manual focus adjustment is in itself very easy to access. An external button is pressed and the ring is turned.

Exposure (Aperture) (6.5)
Exposure can be adjusted in two ways. One way is through the Program mode. In Program mode, when the exposure button is pressed a small meter is shown on the top left of the screen. Exposure offset options from -11 to +5 appear using this method. The second method is through using Av mode, or Aperture Priority mode. Similar to many Canon digital cameras, this mode allows for the manual setting of the F-stop, in this case from f/1.8 to f/8.0. The F-stop can be adjusted using the camcorder’s jog dial. The exposure offset options available in Program mode are also available in Aperture Priority mode, which really gives you a lot of room to play around with the exposure.

Shutter Speed (5.0)
Like exposure, shutter speed can be adjusted in two ways. One way of adjusting it is through the exposure offsets available in Program mode, since exposure as a value is a combination of both shutter speed and iris; each exposure offset represents an adjustment of both shutter speed and iris opening. What we recognize as noticeable shutter speed variance symptoms–trails, small depth of field–won’t be too noticeable using the exposure offset function, but if the user switches to Shutter Priority mode slower and faster shutter speeds (from 1/8 to 1/2000) are available.

White Balance (7.5)
There are tons of white balance options on this camcorder. White balance adjustment is made in the camcorder’s function menu, made available by pressing the function button above the camcorder’s jog dial. After it’s pressed, the jog dial can be used to navigate and select the white balance options, which include: auto, manual, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, and fluorescent halogen. The Optura 60 offers more white balance options than most camcorders this year.

Gain (0.0)
There is no gain control on the Canon Optura 60.

Other Manual Control (3.0)
The Optura 60 offers manual audio level control which is really a nice feature and a necessity in higher-end camcorders.

Standard Menu

Function (manual control) menu

Ease of Use (7.0)
There are two major factors weakening the Optura 60’s ease of use. Firstly, the camcorder lacks an easy mode; also, there are lots of little secondary options and things which may take some time to learn to operate smoothly. But once the user is acclimated to the Optura 60’s setup, certain aspects of it stand out as tremendously convenient. For example, the camcorder’s secondary mode dial, which switches from Shutter Priority mode to Aperture Priority mode to Program mode to Auto mode, etc., is very convenient. This dial is very similar to that on a digital camera. Also, the camcorder’s jog dial provides an easy way to access and adjust many features. Shutter speed, Iris, and exposure offset options are all controlled by this dial. It also controls the camcorder’s manual control menu system (from which one can access white balance options) and picture effects. Furthermore, the Optura 60’s focus ring bumps the camcorder into another whole realm of ease of use. And the camcorder has a top-loading tape mechanism which is handy, though the zoom control is a tad difficult to operate.

Still Features (7.0)
The Optura 60 captures still images at resolutions of 1632 x 1224, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480. Image qualities of normal, fine, and super fine are available. The Optura 60 offers a variety of metering methods available in the camcorder’s manual control menu. They include Evaluative, Center Weight Average, and Spot Metering. In the Evaluative mode, the camcorder evaluates different zones in the image as well as brightness and darkness and adjusts metering to the most prominent subject. The Center Weight Average method averages the intensity of light in the entire image, but gives more weighting to the center object. Spot metering gives sole metering weight to the center object of the screen (there is a central box during visualization), and basically functions as a more extreme version of the Center Weight Average mode. Additional photo options include continuous shooting in three modes: continuous, high speed continuous, and exposure bracketing. Continuous and High Speed Continuous modes take a certain amount of photos as a certain rate (between 2 and 3 frames per second) depending on the resolution in which you’re shooting. As for digital effects, black and white is only available in photo mode.

Still Resolution (7.8)
In order to test the true still resolution of the Canon Optura 60, stills were captured of a standard resolution chart and exported to Imatest Imaging Software. The camcorder captures still images at 1632 x 1224, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480. At its best the camcorder generated a still resolution of 780,300 (0.780 MP).

Still Performance (6.5)
The still performance of the Optura 60 is very good. At all resolutions the camcorder produces stills that showcase extremely crisp and balanced colors, lines, and gray scale. The only thing that is missing is a bit of vibrancy, usually only reserved for 3 CCD camcorders, in color and in gray scale. That said, the Optura 60 does hold its own to some 3 CCD camcorders, though for a good indication of what three CCDs can do, take a look at the stills from the PV-GS150 for a comparison.

Low Light Performance (4.0)
We test all of our camcorders at relatively low light levels of 60 and 15 lux, in order to reveal performance deficiencies that aren’t always apparent in optimal lighting. That said, however, 60 lux isn’t that dark; it’s probably the equivalent of a slightly dimmed indoor room. 15 lux is substantially darker, though within the recommended range of recording.

The Optura 60 performance is strangely poor in low light. It features an imager similar to last year’s Optura 40 but performs substantially worse. Not only are the Optura 60’s results under these conditions darker than the Optura 40’s, but they show slightly more noise, and are generally less vibrant in color.

At 15 lux, the differences between the Optura 60 and Optura 40 become incredibly pronounced. The lack of brightness that the Optura 60 suffers from results in an overall loss of color information that makes the image almost unusable.

When compared to the 3 CCD camcorders of a similar price, the Optura 60 shows extreme versions of the above trends. The Optura 60 showed comparable amounts of noise to these 3 CCD boys, but unlike them it shows an incredible relative lack of color.

To get an idea of just how disappointing the Optura 60’s low light performance is one needs to look no further than how the camcorder performed compared with this year’s ZR series. While the ZRs have made substantial improvements over last year’s horrific showing, this Optura 60 has suffered a great degradation. While the Optura 60 shows better crispness and less noise than the ZR models in low light, its colors are, surprisingly, very much inferior.

Zoom Power/Ratio (14.0)
The Canon Optura 60 has a zoom ratio of 14x, with digital capabilities up to 280x.

Wide Angle (8.0)
The Optura 60 has a wide angle measurement of 40 degrees in 4:3 mode and 50 degrees in 16:9 mode.

VCR Mode (7.0)
The VCR mode on the Optura 60 is pretty nice. The mode can be accessed with the camcorder’s primary mode dial; the most important playback buttons are located underneath the LCD screen. There is a fair amount of options in either card or tape playback mode. In card more there are slide show options as well as various printing options. Using the zoom toggle during still playback allows the user to zoom in on the photo in question and move all over the photo to examine it. There are also a myriad of audio options in tape mode, including audio dubbing. In dubbing mode one can dub over an already recorded channel. Once recorded, this signal can be placed over the other signal, played solely, or mixed at a set percentage. Digital effects, fades, and multi-image displays are also available in tape mode. Images from other sources, such as TVs, can be recorded onto tape using the Optura 60 by way of the A/V input.

LCD/Viewfinder (7.0)
The Optura 60 features a 2.5 inch LCD screen with 123K pixels and a .33 inch color viewfinder with 113K pixels. These are pretty standard specs. The only big problem with the Optura 60’s LCD screen, and a common problem concerning most Canon LCD screens, is the fact that it solarizes when viewed from an angle. But the LCD screen can rotate completely around and lock into place, forming a small monitoring screen for playback.

Audio (8.0)
Audio on the Optura 60 can be captured in either 12 or 16 bits. Audio dubbing is available in addition to a number of dubbing options for equally mixing the dubbed signal with the original or at a set mix. The camcorder features an intelligent accessory shoe on its top for phantom powering of an external microphone or video light. One of the really great things about the Optura 60 is its offer of manual audio level control. This is an extremely useful function, especially if you are recording in a loud environment. There is also a windscreen function which can be turned off or left in an automatic function.

Handling (8.0)
The Optura 60 handles like a dream. Everything is in the right place. The zoom toggle rests directly beneath the user’s index finger; the focus ring provides convenient control in a compact form. As for manual control, focus and exposure are accessed by external buttons, and in the appropriate modes, shutter speed and iris control is relatively easily controlled using the camcorder’s external jog dial. While a combo-ring like that on the PV-GS400 would be better, for the Optura 60’s size, the jog dial does well. On top of all this, the camcorder also has a top-loading tape mechanism.

The jog dial on the Optura 60 is on the front left, unlike the back left on last year’s Optura 40. In a way this is an improvement because now users can easily jump between the focus ring and jog dial. But if you want to slant the LCD upwards towards your face, it kind of obstructs access to the jog dial. This isn’t a problem if the LCD isn’t rotated.

Portability (6.0)
The Canon Optura 60 measures 2.8 x 3.2 x 5.2 inches, making it extremely compact for what it offers. This is one of the smaller camcorders which offers a focus ring, top-loading mechanism, comfortable handling, and many external manual controls. This is really a powerhouse among compact camcorders, though some of the features, most notably the focus ring, might be hard to operate on such a small scale. Better small than not at all, I suppose.

Battery (8.0)
The NB-2LH battery that ships with the Optura 60 records for one hour and twenty minutes (80 min.) with the camcorder’s LCD open and without zooming or using manual focus. This is pretty much an average amount of recording time for a camcorder in this price range. Since the battery port is in the back of the camcorder, bigger, longer-lasting batteries should be available.

Compression (8.0)
The Canon Optura 60 uses standard DV compression to MiniDV tape. MiniDV compression is certainly the standard of video quality against which all other compression formats are judged.

Media (8.0)
The Canon Optura 60 records video to 6.35mm MiniDV tape in both SP and LP modes. The camcorder records 80 minutes in SP mode and 120 minutes in LP mode. Still JPEGs can be recorded to SD card, ranging from 32 MB to 1 GB.

Editing (8.0)
Video footage recorded to MiniDV tape can be edited very easily using a FireWire connection and any of many compatible editing software suites. Editing is done using the Optura 60’s FireWire input/output located underneath the LCD screen. MiniDV camcorders always score fine in this section, and it is really here to evaluate camcorders which use compression methods such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 and which do not have the editing capabilities of MiniDV camcorders.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (7.5)
The Canon Optura 60 offers Canon’s “High Resolution” Widescreen mode. This mode is only available when recording to tape. In this mode, a widescreen image is squeezed into the 4:3 aspect of the tape for later expansion during visualization. Fortunately, the camcorder letterboxes and stretches out this squeezed image on the LCD screen for optimal visualization on the camcorder. It seems every manufacture has copied this widescreen mode, seen on last year’s Canon Optura 400 and 500, except JVC which still doesn’t offer “stretched-out” on-camcorder visualization.

Standard 4:3 Aspect

16:9 Image squeezed into 4:3
aspect for editing

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
The Canon Optura 60 does not offer recording in 24P (24 progressive) or any 24P-like effect to stimulate cinema-like capture. Video is captured at the rate of 60 interlaced fields per second each, with 525 reported lines of resolution.

Ports (8.0)
The Optura 60 includes pretty much any port you’d ever need. There is an S-Video terminal. A headphone output doubles as an A/V input/output terminal. A FireWire port, DC input, a USB port, and a Microphone input are also included. Since an analog input is available, analog to digital pass-through is also an option. This allows users to digitize analog footage with the Optura 60 functioning as a middleman between your old analog camcorder and a computer. Every port is very well-placed except the DC input, which might get in the way if you wanted to record with a power source plugged in.

Other Features (7.5)
ND-- The Optura 60 ships with a built-in Neutral Density Filter. It can be set to either off or auto. In auto mode the filter is activated automatically in bright lighting to prevent over-exposure.

Optical Image stabilization-- The Optura 60 offers optical image stabilization. This is one of the big improvements over last year’s models.

Auto Slow Shutter-- As mentioned earlier, this function automatically lowers shutter speed in low light situations in order to allow more light into the camcorder. Levels down to 1/30 are available, though manual shutter speed options can reach even slower speeds (1/15 in card mode).

Auto Focus Assist Lamp-- In card mode, when the photo button is held down half-way, this lamp shines to help the camcorder more accurately focus on its subject.

Mic Attenuator-- This effect weakens the microphone’s intensity.

Focus Pri-- Short for Focus Priority, this feature forces still photos to be taken only after focus has been achieved, as opposed to exactly when you push down the photo button.

Photo review-- This feature allows for 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 second previews of just-captured photos.

Image effects-- New from last year’s model, these effects--vivid, neutral, low sharpening, soft skin detail, custom–allow for further customization of the image. Vivid emphasizes the contrast and color saturation to record in crisp colors. Neutral tones down the contrast and color saturation to record in neutral hues. Low sharpening records subjects with softened outlines. Soft Skin Detail softens the details in the skin tone area for a more complimentary appearance. Custom allows for manual altering of brightness, contrast, and sharpness.

Digital Effects and Faders-- A number of fades and digital effects are available on the Optura 60. Digital Effects include black and white, sepia, art (solarize), mosaic, ball (convex), cube, wave, color mask, and mirror. Fades include normal black or white fade in or out, and also wipe, corner wipe, jump, flip, puzzle, zigzag, beam, and tile.

Comparisons
Panasonic PV-GS150 and Panasonic PV-GS250
The Optura 60 is buttressed in price on both sides by Panasonic’s two most heavy-hitting, yet affordable, 3 CCD camcorders this year. This is a bad spot for the Optura 60 to be in. Both Panasonics feature focus rings that are similar if not better than the Optura 60’s, they feature as much manual image control, and they offer independent adjustment over shutter and iris control. Last year, I would have said that the Optura offered solid navigational control, but this year, with Panasonic’s new joystick system, I’m not so confident. The Canon does feature a slightly better zoom toggle and offers more image and still preset options and such. It also allows for manual audio level control which is nice. The Canon is smaller and perhaps a bit easier to use generally in the long run, but frankly, this Optura can’t hold a candle to the Panasonics’ low light ability.

Canon Optura 50 (Specs, $449.99)
The Canon Optura 50 only features a 10x optical zoom to the Optura 60’s 14x. It has a cold shoe to the Optura 60’s hot shoe, and lacks the video light that the Optura 60 has. There is also a focal length difference: the Optura 60 has 4.6-64.4mm, and the Optura 50, 4.6-64mm.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters (5.0)
The Optura 60 is small enough to be enjoyed by the point-and-shoot demographic, but it is certainly not designed for it, though it does include an auto mode.

Budget Consumers (3.0)
For an average street price of $799, the Optura is decently priced for what it offers. The only real downside to this price is that the camcorder isn’t a 3 CCD camcorder, and when some 3 CCD camcorders are offered for the same (and sometimes even lower) price, the Optura 60 loses some edge.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid (6.0)
The Optura 60 offers lots of still options and performs well. It shows excellent crisp colors, though not quite as bright and vibrant as many 3 CCD camcorders.

Gadget Freak (5.0)
This camcorder has a number of gizmos that might satiate the gadget freak, such as a focus ring, all kinds of ports, and a decent widescreen mode.

Manual Control Freaks (7.0)
The Optura 60 offers a wealth of manual controls to rival many Panasonic camcorders. It even has some slower shutter speeds and a myriad of white balance options. The only problem is that the shutter speed and the iris cannot be adjusted independently.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists (5.0)
This one is a good back-up camcorder for the serious hobbyist.

Conclusion
The Optura 60 has a lot to offer, but it comes with a fatal flaw. The camcorder does feature a focus ring, nice still options, manual control that is easy to access and ample, manual audio level control, and a slew of new present and still options. But its low light performance is substantially lacking, even when compared to last year’s model. That said, the Optura 60’s optical image stabilization might convince buyers to overlook its terrible low light performance, but that's really up to you. The Optura 60 also unfortunately holds a particularly precarious and damning spot as far as price goes, as it sits right in between Panasonic’s PV-GS150 and PV-GS250, two of the best buys on the market today. Considering the drastic color differences between these 3 CCD camcorders and the Optura 60, I can’t see anyone opting for the Canon.