Canon Optura 600 Camcorder Review

The Optura 600 represents the flagship of Canon's 1 chip MiniDV camcorders, the king of the Optura line. Retailing at around $1100 (up approximately $400 from the Optura 60), your money might be well-spent. The 600's huge 1/2.8" CCD promises excellent video performance, a category the Opturas have traditionally faired well in. Matchbook bodies seem to be all the rage, combining portability and deed. Many matchbooks, however, present handling issues, and may annoy those expecting a professional feel to match the large price tag. We hope the Optura 600 brought its "A-game," because we dropped it in the middle of the ring to face off against the top MiniDV consumer cams of the year.

Video Performance(7.85)
The Optura 600 sports an enormous 1/2.8” CCD with 3.5 effective MP. The camcorder also uses Canon’s RGB Primary Color Filter for a boost in video performance. The difference these specs makes becomes obvious when you compare it to the Optura 60. The picture appears sharper and the colors are richer. The grayscale is also much more sharply defined.

Because this is Canon’s top of the line consumer camcorder, we held it up against the top models from other manufacturers. Compared to the GR-X5, one of our top video performers this year, the colors are a shade darker, and overall you might say that the Optura 600’s spectrum is more even. The black/white contrast looks better in the JVC GR-X5, however. The colors from the Sony DCR-PC1000 appeared less rich in comparison, though again, they were brighter overall. Finally, the Panasonic PV-GS250 gave the Optura 600 some real competition for color richness. The picture was sharper overall in the Optura 600, but the color differentiation looked just as good in the PV-GS250.

The Optura 600 holds up very well against the competition, and has produced one of the best pictures this year.

Video Resolution (17.0)
Video footage from the Optura 600 was taken in both 4:3 and its native 16:9 mode. Stills from that video were exported to Imatest Imaging Software in order to determine the camcorder’s best possible video resolution. In 4:3 mode, this model yielded approximately 471 lines of horizontal resolution at its best, and 358.8 lines of vertical resolution (with 0.58% clipping), yielding a best possible resolution of 168994.8. In 16:9 mode, the camcorder produced approximately 502 lines of vertical resolution at its best, and approximately 279.6 lines of vertical resolution (with 0.56% clipping.) with a best possible video resolution of 140359.2

Note - In Imatest Imaging Software, clipping occurs when the exposure of the still exported to the software is to low for Imatest to provide a precise calculation. With clipping there is a percentage for miscalculation. The chart used for the Optura 600 was lit with a light intensity of 10236 lux and clipping still occurred.

The Front (8.0)
The front of the Optura 600 is a tall, slender, and elegant affair – picture Gary Cooper on his way to the ball. At the top is the looming, monocular lens, with a 34mm diameter. Underneath the lens sits the remote sensor. Underneath that is a long, concave strip of gleaming plastic. What’s it for? We don’t know, but useless strips of plastic seem to be a trend on matchbook cams, if this and the DCR-PC1000 are any indication.

Along the left side is a flash and a video light. At the bottom, tucked under a hard plastic cover, are the jacks for A/V in/out and DC power.

The Right Side (6.0)
The right side is an explosion of buttons, certainly more than a single hand can reach. From front to back, the buttons include: the zoom toggle, the photo shutter button, the video / card toggle, the mode dial, the audio level button, the video light on / off button, and the menu button. At the far rear is the headphone jack.

The hand strap runs from the middle rear to the underside of the camcorder, which can make for some precarious situations if you put the Optura 600 down to rest without flattening the strap. One careless moment could easily sit it on top of the strap's thick padding, knocking it over in turn. The hand strap also restricts movement and access to all of the buttons, making me wonder why they put one on in the first place. Panasonic wisely decided to include only a wrist strap on the SDR-S100. Handling a matchbook cam is hard enough without impeding movement.

The Back (6.0)
The rear of the Optura 600 is jam-packed with functionality, though it’s not any easier to reach with your shooting hand than the right side. At the top is the viewfinder, a rather disappointing feature which does not telescope and leaves no room for your nose. Underneath the viewfinder is the power on/off / playback / network mode dial, with the record on/off button nested in the center. Further down are the Function button, the Focus / Data code button, and the Exposure / Endsearch button.

Hugging the left edge are two hard plastic port covers. The top port is for SD/MM cards, and can only be opened by opening the LCD panel first (a small but notable inconvenience). The other cover reveals USB and DV ports. Finally, the battery release switch sits at the bottom left corner.

The Left Side (7.0)
From the outside, the left side of the Optura 600 is neatly bisected into the LCD panel and the battery. The visual effect is quite striking – like the front, a simple elegance. Opening the LCD reveals more buttons and jacks, which seem to be hidden all over the body. From front to back, they include: the LCD backlight button, the record pause button, the digital effects menu button, the VCR buttons (play / pause, stop, back, forward), and the microphone input. One particular element earned my vexation. A tiny bit of plastic protruding from beside the viewfinder is meant to be a catch for the LCD when it locks closed. The bit protrudes relatively far out, and seems destined to be snagged on a finger and snapped off, dooming you forever to an LCD screen that cannot close properly. A small complaint, but on a $1000+ camcorder, every little bit counts.

The offending plastic clip, destined for breakage

The included battery fits neatly into the body, unlike the Optura 500, which bulged slightly. Thankfully, Canon has left room for expansion if you want a longer life battery.

The Top (6.0)
The top of the Optura 600 is sparse. In the middle is the Photo / Share button, to be used in Network mode for printing stills. To the rear is the built-in microphone. This may have been better placed at the front of the body, but the engineers may have felt that such placement might pick up the sound of the user’s fingers rubbing against the zoom toggle.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (6.0)
The Optura 600's automatic controls are not great, but they get the job done. Automatic exposure works well, making quick and accurate adjustments, but the white balance has hard time adjusting between different indoor color temperatures. The focus, too, has difficulty in full zoom, even in good light.   

The mode dial is the same one found on the Optura 50 and 60. The most popular AE modes get their own icon: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Slow Shutter, and Night. The last setting, “Scene,” allows you to choose AE for more specific environments, which you may find the occasional use for: Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, and Fireworks.

Two others settings on the Mode dial, Aperture and Shutter Priority, are a cross between manual and automatic controls. They allow you to adjust one control, i.e., the shutter speed in Shutter Priority, while the camcorder adjusts the aperture accordingly. Think of it as training wheels before you take the big step to full manual mode (which you won’t find on the Optura 600).

Auto Slow Shutter, activated though the primary menu, allows the camcorder to slow down to 1/30th of a second in low light situations.

Overall Manual Control (6.5)
The Canon Optura 600 offers no full manual control mode. What manual control is offered is fairly limited, considering the large price tag. You have an Aperture Priority and a Shutter Priority, but no independent aperture and shutter control. Program AE modes are numerous, but don’t really cut it for people who know exactly what they want in terms of picture quality.

Main Menu

Function Menu

The Function button pulls up a quasi-manual control menu. There are several options for white balance settings, Image Effect, Digital Effects, and Still options. Image Effect gives you control over color depth, sharpness, contrast, and brightness. You can set your own levels or choose from the presets of Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, and Soft Skin Detail. The Image Effects are interesting, but somewhat gimmicky and not easy to manually adjust on the fly.

There is no gain control, although the picture in low light indicates that it must be calling upon an unspoken but substantial amount of automatic gain.

These are all the same manual control features found on the Optura 60. If I’m buying this camcorder, I want to know why some of that extra money (about $400 more) has not bought me some more options for quality control in video.

Zoom (6.5)
The zoom (10x optical, 200x digital) is one of the few accessible buttons once your hand is strapped into the Optura 600. Located towards the upper front of the right side, the zoom toggle is a sliding switch that falls naturally under the index finger. The amount of control the toggle offers is excellent. From about 1x to 5x, putting light pressure on the toggle creates an extremely slow zoom. It speeds up a little from 5x to 10x. Faster zooms are, of course, available by pushing the toggle a little harder.

Focus (5.5)
Manual focus is exceptionally poor for what the price range indicates is an upper-end camcorder. Pressing the Focus button on the rear of the body will activate manual focus, indicated by the letters “MF” (there’s a hint of how I felt) in blue letters. There is no scale, and absolutely no metering system for the point of focus. You simply turn the jog dial up or down until the picture looks to be in focus on the LCD. Even the token effort of a scale (as found on JVCs) would have been preferable, as the LCD is hardly a accurate estimation of how the shot will look on a good monitor.

Exposure (Aperture) (6.5)
Exposure can be adjusted in two ways. In any mode except Aperture Priority, pressing the Exposure button on the rear of the body will bring up a simple sliding scale. The small indicator bar on the scale can be moved left or right with the jog dial. The length of each side of the scale is relative to the aperture that has already been automatically determined. For instance, if a dark shot has set the aperture very wide, the scale will not allow you to push any higher; you have the option of moving from -11 to 0+. If the shot is brighter, and the scale opens up on both ends, creating the maximum scalability of -11 to +11. It’s a crude method, to be sure.

In Aperture Priority, your options get a little better. Aperture can be set at 1.8, 2.0, 2.4, 3.4, 4.0, 4.8, 5.6, 6.7, and 8.0. In this mode, the shutter speed will automatically be adjusted to compensate for your aperture setting. Sometimes this feature is useful, but a full manual mode would be better.

Shutter Speed (5.0)
Shutter speed can only be adjusted when in Shutter Priority, a rather limiting control. The shutter speeds range from 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000.

White Balance (7.5)
There are several automatic settings on the Optura 600: Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent (for warm color temperature), Fluorescent H (for daylight-type color temperature), and Manual. Manual white balance worked well, and was relatively accessible in the Function menu.

Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain on the Optura 600.

Other Manual Control (3.0)
The Optura 600 features manual audio level control; this tends to be something Canon offers on their Opturas.

Ease of Use (7.0)
Canon camcorders have earned their reputation as easy to use, second only to Sony. That’s not to say that there is no learning curve. There are lots of buttons, something Canon seems to be fond of in their upper-end cams. And the interface can take some time to internalize, particularly the Function menu, used mostly for manual control. Fortunately, the jog dial is an excellent navigation tool, far superior to the diminutive four-way navigation pads and inoperable joysticks found on most JVCs and Panasonics.

The Mode Dial does have a clearly labeled “AUTO” mode for the technologically trepidacious. And though the slew of buttons may intimidate the new user, the more adventurous among you will be happy to find that everything is labeled clearly. If something seems confusing, pushing the button will make it immediately clear what that button does. Light? Ah, yes! That turns on the video light. You get the picture.

For advanced users, the most popular shooting modes are available on the mode dial, including Aperture and Shutter Priority. The Function menu immediately calls up white balance and image effects. There should have been more on this menu, like gain and independent shutter and aperture control, but full manual mode on consumer cams has never been Canon’s strong suit.

Still Features (7.5)
Still features on the Optura 600 are only slightly better than the Optura 60. There are four resolution options rather than three: 640 x 480, 1280 x 960, 1632 x 1224, and 2304 x 1736. Each of these can be shot in SuperFine, Fine, and Normal. Stills can also be taken and saved to the SD/MM card while in movie mode, but the stills can only measure 640 x 480, a size which makes you wonder why they put this feature on at all.

Three light metering modes are available: Evaluative, Center Weight Average, and Spot. The Evaluative mode divides the image into zones, evaluates the lighting conditions, and adjusts as needed. The Center Weight method, as the name suggests, preferences the subject in the center of the picture. The Spot Method creates a frame in the center of the picture; exposure is set to the subject within that frame.

There are also three AF (auto focusing) methods not found on the Optura 60. They include 9 Point AiAF, Center Point, and 9 AF frames selection. The first, 9 Point AiAF, automatically picks from one of nine zones in the picture and focuses from that zone. In Center Point, the center subject is the point of focus. In 9 AF frames selection, you can choose from the nine zones. This last method can only be activated when in Program mode, Shutter Priority, or Aperture Priority.

Other features include Drive mode, which can be set for continuous shooting, high-speed continuous shooting, and AE Bracketing (in which the still is captured in at three different exposures: dark, normal, and light, in 1/2 EV steps). Motion JPEG movies can also be shot at 320 x 240 and 160 x 120.

The menus appear to be bulked up, compared to video mode. The Function (manual control) menu has seven main items, up from four. The primary menu has numerous options. Auto Slow Shutter is available to slow the shutter down to 1/15. Auto Focus Assist Lamp lights the video light when needed in darker environments. The Focus Priority button is a safety feature which prevents the photo from being taken until focus is achieved. Finally, the Neutral Density (ND) filter can be set to automatic to prevent overexposure. All of these features can be turned off, as well.

Still Resolution (10.0)
The Optura 600 is capable of capturing stills at several dimensions: 2304 x 1736, 1632 x 1224, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480. Stills were taken of a standard resolution chart and exported to Imatest Imaging Software in order to determine the camcorder’s best possible resolution. At its best, the Optura 600 gave us 1017918.7 (1.0 MP).

Still Performance (8.5)
The Optura 600’s still performance was stunning. The colors here were nearly as bold as they come, easily outmatching color performance in comparable MiniDV cams. The color chart shows evenness across the spectrum, with brighter greens and yellows than the Optura 60 was able to muster. There was, however, some issues with noise. Much like the Sonys, the Optura 600 showed a tendency to add a blue noise to the picture, evident most clearly in the blue-violet part of the spectrum. And unlike the fine, dark grain of the high-performing GR-X5, the Optura 600’s grain appears to be stretched horizontally.

In comparison, the GR-X5 had better yellows and greens, but muddier blues and violets. The PC-1000 was a muddy mess, though the picture was reasonably sharp. The PV-GS250 was much grainier overall, but showed stronger whites. Its colors were also duller. 

This was a great showing on Canon’s part, and indicates a strong future for hybrid camcorders.

Low Light Performance (5.75)
We tested the Optura 600 at two light levels, 60 lux and 15 lux, to gauge its low light performance. “Low light conditions,” environments in which the camcorder may have trouble achieving focus and correct color information, occur more frequently than new users might think, and performance in these conditions should be considered one of the most important factors in purchasing a new camcorder.

At 60 lux, the Optura 600 performed rather well. Much of the color was still present, and the grayscale was still sharply defined. The whites remained exceptionally crisp. The Optura 60 performed less well and was slightly out of focus. The PV-GS250 was darker and also a bit out of focus. The DCR-PC1000 was darker, but was at the disadvantage of showing duller colors even in bright light. The GR-X5, with its Automatic Gain Control (AGC), was much, much brighter with remarkably little noise. AGC is a default setting in most JVC camcorders. Because it is an automatic control, we score JVCs with the AGC engaged. 

For comparison's sake, we also tested the Optura 600 at 1/8 shutter speed. The picture was much brighter, but shooting a moving subject at this speed would cause substantial blurring.

15 lux is what you might call the “widow-maker” portion of our testing. Here is the point at which most camcorders fail. At this light level, the Optura 600 lost most of its color information and picked up a significant amount of grain. It did, however, remain in focus. The Optura 60 had a great deal more noise, which indicates that the larger CCD on the Optura 600 has once again shown its benefits. The PC1000 had roughly the same amount of color, but lost focus. The PV-GS250 had slightly darker colors and slightly more noise. The GR-X5, even with AGC engaged, was not much better, with equal amounts of grain but richer colors. 

Overall, the Optura 600 performed slightly above average, but is not what we would consider a high-performance camcorder for low light.

Zoom Power/Ratio (10.0)
The Canon Optura 600 is capable of reaching up to 10x optical zoom and 200x digital zoom. The digital zoom can be capped at 40x. Zoom control is tight, giving you the ability to make extremely slow zooms from about 1x to 5x. After that, the slowest rate is a little faster, but still very controlled.

Wide Angle (8.6)
Wide Angle measurements were taken of the Optura 600’s 4:3 and 16:9 modes. In 4:3 mode, this model’s widest angle was 43 degrees, while it measured 46 in widescreen mode (16:9).

4:3 Aspect Ratio on LCD

Widescreen Aspect Ratio on LCD

VCR Mode (7.0)
The Optura 600’s playback functions are relatively straightforward. The VCR buttons are located inside the LCD cavity, clearly labeled, and decently sized (or what passes for decently sized in a rapidly shrinking world). In movie mode, you have the End Search feature, which locates the end of the last recorded scene. Audio dubbing is also available, as are a number of fades and digital effects.

In still mode, photos are viewed one by one using the forward and back buttons. A slide show is also available, but I’m disappointed that they have not picked up the several-thumbnails-to-a-page method found on many other camcorders. High-res photos can take several seconds to load on the LCD, and a thumbnails page would speed up the whole process. Calling up the Function menu will also give you options for printing and transferring the photo currently on the LCD. The main menu gives you the ability to perform an operation to the entire series of photos.

LCD/Viewfinder (6.0)
The Optura 600 sports a 2.5” LCD, non-widescreen and with a strong tendency to solarize. We are all hoping that this is the last year Canon releases camcorders with this easily-fixed design flaw. The viewfinder appears to be a rather thoughtless, throwaway design to appeal to the hold-outs (like us) who insist on an alternative to the LCD. The viewfinder does not telescope outward, and is placed in such a way that you must smash your nose up against either the camcorder’s body or your own hand. The DCR-PC1000 suffered from this same problem. Matchbook bodies simply lack the space that traditional bodies have. One look at the PV-GS250 will show you what a horizontal body and some smart design can produce.

Audio (7.5)
Audio options on the Optura 600 are good. The big features are a microphone input and manual audio levels – two attributes you should expect from a camcorder this expensive. The microphone input is located in the left rear, under the LCD panel. Unfortunately, the Optura 600 has no accessory shoe, so you or your suddenly inconvenienced friend will be forced to hold the external mic. Audio levels can be viewed or made to disappear via the Audio Level button under the mode dial. To turn on the manual audio level control, you must go through the main menu and disengage the auto function. During recording, the jog dial is then used to make level adjustments. The Optura 600 also comes included with a Mic Attenuator, which automatically lowers the volume as necessary to compensate for distortion.

Handling (4.0)
Now we arrive at the main event, the primary grievance, the thorn on an otherwise beautiful rose – handling the Canon Optura 600. Firstly, in Canon’s defense, a good matchbook camcorder is not easy to design. Finding space for the user’s fingers becomes more difficult. Finding space for the features and ports that an upper-end model demands is even harder. Portability, battery design, LCD and viewfinder – they all become areas of potential complaint from critics like us.

And yet… we cannot hold our tongues. Our job is to report on their success or failure. In this arena, I believe they have failed. Our photos will illustrate the diminutive size of the Optura 600 in relation to what appears to be a massive hand. It’s not; this is a normal sized hand trying to get a decent drip on the camcorder.

The hand strap may be the biggest problem. I’d recommend taking it off and never looking back. Once you lock your hand into this camcorder, you’ll understand how absurdly difficult it is to reach the buttons. The mode dial? The Menu button? Forget about it. You’d better have a left hand handy. Even the record on / off button is difficult to reach. I had to cock my thumb back to the breaking point just to get some footage. I can move my hand into a better position for hitting this button, but then I loose my grip for getting good leverage on the zoom toggle. Don’t forget to pack some lens tissues, because your fingertips are sure to fall right into the lens while you get the hang of using this camcorder.

There are some good points. I like the weight distribution. Also, the electronic image stabilization eliminates some of the steadiness problems associated with matchbook bodies. The zoom toggle is smooth. And, of course, the camcorder is very compact, which may be the key feature for some buyers.

Be warned that the LCD solarizes when tilted. This can prove to be an issue when shooting on sunny days or with strong light from behind the user.

Portability (6.0)
The Optura 600 was designed for portability. Only slightly larger than the DCR-PC1000, this camcorder could easily fit in a purse, bag, or large pocket. And unlike the PC1000, there is no need for a docking station; all the ports and jacks are built-in. The battery on the Optura 600 fits perfectly into the streamlined body, an improvement over the unsightly bulge in the Optura 500. The total package, with battery, weighs 15.9 oz. (450 grams).

Battery Life (10.9)
We tested the included BP-308 lithium-ion battery for its maximum recording time. No quality control options, such as zoom or menus, were utilized during recording. With the LCD open, the battery lasted for 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 33 seconds (109 minutes) of continuous recording.

Compression (8.0)
The Optura 600 uses standard MiniDV video compression, the standard by which we measure all other camcorders. Stills are recorded in JPEG format at three different quality settings: SuperFine, Fine, and Normal.

Media (8.0)
Video on the Optura 600 is recorded to 6.35mm MiniDV tapes in SP and LP mode. Stills can be recorded to SD or MM cards.

Editing (8.0)
MiniDV tapes are the most preferential video recording medium, as every major editing program can capture and work with the footage. The same cannot be said for camcorders that record to flash memory or hard drives. The Optura 600 ships with Digital Video Solutions, a strictly rudimentary editing software.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (7.5)
The Optura 600 advertises itself as having true 16:9 widescreen, using the entire width of the CCD for the highest resolution possible. If this is true (and our tests seem to confirm it), and if Canon has pushed it as a selling point, why have they manufactured it with a non-widescreen LCD? If you want people to shoot in widescreen, let them see it. Sure, it may cost a half inch in body length, but the handling is such a problem anyway that it wouldn’t have done any serious harm. As it is, the LCD frames the picture with black bars on the top and bottom. The image fills the screen without the bars on a widescreen TV.

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
There are no scan rates on the Optura 600 other than the native 60i.

Ports (8.0)
Ports on the Optura 600 are good, considering the compact size. In the front is the composite A/V / S-Video in-out (which allows for analog to digital pass-through) and DC power. A headphone jack resides on the upper right side. In the back are ports for an SD/MM card, USB, and DV. On the left, in the LCD cavity, is a microphone input. The MiniDV tapes load from the bottom.

These are similar to the ports found on the Optura 60, but the Optura 600 has a dedicated headphone jack, rather than sharing it with the A/V. These ports are also comparable to the competition, but the Panasonic PV-GS250, the Sony DCR-PC1000, and the JVC GR-X5 all have accessory shoes on top.

Other Features (7.5)
Image Effects - Image Effects can be used in video mode or still mode. They include: Vivid, Neutral, Low-Sharpening, Soft Skin, and Custom. The Custom setting lets you dictate brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color depth.

Digital Effect - The slightly more than standard feature set of digital effects includes Faders (Fade, Wipe, Corner Wipe, Jump, Flip, Puzzle, Zigzag, Beam, and Tide), video Effects (Black & White, Sepia, Art, Mosaic, Ball, Cube, Wave, Color Mask, and Mirror), Multi-Image Screen capture, and Card Mix (which allows you mix stills and video using Chroma Keys and pre-loaded images). While briefly amusing, these are absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel effects and should best be left to editing programs.

Night and Super Night Mode - Night mode functions by slowing down the shutter, rendering your moving subject an unrecognizable blur if you choose to enact this feature. Super Night mode does the same thing, but turns on the video light for some extra luminance.

Stitch Assist - This feature works with the software bundle to stitch together a series of photos taken along a common horizontal point, digitally creating a panoramic shot.

Electronic Image Stabilization - This stabilization system is less preferable than optical image stabilization because it degrades the image.

Wind Screen - This feature is to be used outdoors to cut high-end wind noise.

Comparisons
Canon Optura 60
The Optura 60 is the next step down from the Optura 600 in this year’s Optura line. The imager is smaller (1/3.4” vs. 1/2.8”), but the horizontal body may make handling easier. Nearly all of the same ports and features are included. Additional changes are found in still features; the Optura 600 has the additional resolution size of 2304 x 1736 and three AF (Auto Focus) functions. The Optura 600 showed improvements over the 60 in every performance category, indicating that you really are getting what you pay for.

JVC GR-X5
The surprise performer this year, JVC’s darling little cubicle, the GR-X5, sports three 1/4.5” CCDs, giving it absolutely brilliant video and still performance. The manual control set is excellent, but handling the boxy design may be just as difficult as the Optura 600. The zoom, however, is definitely better on the GR-X5. Still features are about equal, but the GR-X5 had a larger max. resolution. Video performance was almost neck and neck, but the GR-X5 finished ahead due to the clarity of its picture. The GR-X5's low light performance was definitely stronger, due entirely to the Automatic Gain Control standard on many JVCs, making the X5 more of a go-anywhere, shoot-anything camcorder. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the odd look of the GR-X5 turns a lot of people off, despite its incredible performance.

Sony DCR-PC1000
The PC1000’s three CMOS sensors gave this camcorder excellent video performance, particularly in terms of sharpness and color definition. The body is similar to the Optura 600, a matchbook style, but the recessed depth under the lens makes for a better grip than you could ever hope to find on the Optura. Ease of use has always been Sony’s strong suit, but manual control is definitely lacking. The touch screen menu system may be fine for beginners, but advanced users will only end up frustrated with the way controls have been buried deep down in the menus. The Optura 600 outperformed the PC1000 in most categories, particularly still performance and low light. In short, the PC1000 may be the choice of the wealthy beginner, the Optura 600, the wealthy dilettante.

Panasonic PV-GS250
The Panasonic PV-GS250 is this year’s king of the consumer cams, in our opinion. There is no better combination of price, performance, and manual control. The horizontal body and focus ring give a truly professional feel to the PV-GS250, and video performance was very good. The Optura 600 definitely outperformed the PV-GS250 in sharpness, but the colors looked just as good in the Panasonic. Still performance definitely went to Canon, as did low light. The GS250 is a 3 chip camcorder, each measuring 1/6", which accounts for the great color but mediocre low light. At around $350 less, the PV-GS250 is an incredible bargain, and remains one of our top picks. This is the camcorder for people who want a pro feel on a consumer budget, something the Optura 600 cannot offer.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters (2.0)
An $1100 camcorder is a rather steep prospect for a mere point-and-shoot, although the automatic controls are quite good.

Budget Consumers (2.0)
At over $1000, the Optura 600 is not likely to interest the budget consumer. The Optura 50 is the least expensive in the Optura series and offers several good features.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid (7.0)
The Optura 600 takes excellent stills, better than most MiniDV camcorders. The GR-X5 is still the dominant model in this category, however.

Gadget Freaks (3.0)
Nothing much to write home about here, other than the small size and large CCD. Canon doesn't specialize in making "gadgets;" they choose to concentrate on solid, performing camcorders.

Manual Control Freaks (4.5)
Canon, for all their good qualities, have yet to include a full manual mode on their camcorders. The priority modes are great for beginners, but cannot replace the great manual controls found on a JVC or Panasonic.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists (6.0)
The Optura 600 is Canon's top 1 chip camcorder. Move up to the 3 chip bracket and the GL2 would cost you nearly $1000 more, but with it comes a slew of manual control options. The 600 may suffice for serious hobbyists, but the matchbook body definitely detracts from the professional appearance.

Conclusion
The Optura 600 has proven, once again, that Canon produces some of the best consumer camcorders around at high ends. The top of the line Optura's performance was outstanding overall, with a strong showing in video performance and still performance. The large 1/2.8" CCD has obviously made some strides over the Optura 60, though that step-up comes at the cost of around $350. The manual controls left something to be desired. JVC and Panasonic have the courtesy to include a wide array of manual controls for those who want them, while Canon continues to reserve them for the much more expensive GL and XL series. We love the microphone jack and expandable battery port,  but an accessory shoe (even a cold one) would have been a useful addition to the top. The biggest issue with the Optura 600 is handling. This is not a particularly comfortable camcorder to hold. Its appears to have been designed for one-handed use, but my hands told a different story. 

For those that can afford a $1000+ camcorder, this is not a bad choice. The GR-X5 still slightly outweighs the Optura 600 as a performer, with low light performance as a major factor, but the race was close. This is doubtlessly the best Canon consumer camcorder this year, so if you feel a strong sense of brand loyalty, we recommend it heartily. If the whole field is open to you, shop around before you buy. Every camcorder in this competition - the Optura 600, the Panasonic PV-GS250, and Sony DCR-PC1000, and the JVC GR-X5 - have something to offer. Finding out what you like is up to you and your locally owned camera shop, where you can try them all out 'til your heart's content.