Canon Optura 40 Digital Camcorder Review

Canon Optura 40 is a Camcorder, digital camera and a webcam integrated seamlessly to fit into the palm of the hand with no compromise on picture quality or style and professional performance!  The price fits into everyone’s budget!  The Camcorder is easy to hold and operate and its controls are placed in convenient locations.  The body is compact and is made of high grade gray plastic that has a solid feel.  It is definitely lighter than its predecessor (3.0 x3.2 x 5.3) and weighs only 585 grams when empty.

The user will experience complete freedom of shooting, editing, printing and sharing premium quality pictures with friends and relatives, with Canon Optura 40.  Amateur photo enthusiasts will marvel at the ease of use; the shutterbug will appreciate the DV Photo plus feature; the Professional, will see that Canon Optura 40 leaves nothing to be desired!

The F1.8, 14X optical zoom lens has a focal range of 4.8-67.2 mm.  Though the zoom drops slightly when saving stills to the memory card and the lens does not have wide angle to it, the power of Canon Optics has been optimized to catch every nuance of light and shade and render images as close to the real as possible.  It is a great lens for telephoto lovers and not for indoor shooting. The lens has the same quality as the lenses of 35 mm cameras or Broadcast TV cameras.  The lens is threaded for 34 mm attachments.  The lens has a manual focus ring around it.  The focus is located on the lower left hand corner of the picture/Data code button for giving information to the user on the date, time, playback mode and shutter speed and exposure.

The Megapixel 1/3.4” CCD  with 2.2 million pixels processes true color and detail and works like a film which captures the light and shadow of an image and converts the pixels into digital data on video or stills.  It uses 1.23 million pixels for videos and 2.0 million pixels for still shots.

Below the lens are the stereo microphone and the remote control receiver.  The built in flash is a new feature in the Optura series. However, its working range is very limited and is not recommended.  It is better to use an external flash. The White LED lamp which is new in Optura series caters to Night + and Super Night shooting modes. It works in low light conditions by slowing down the shutter speed and using the white LED lamp.

To the right of the LCD panel are the two buttons: Night Mode and Print/Share buttons.  The latter works in the same way as in all Canon digital cameras and is PictBridge enabled.  The other buttons behind the LCD panel are the Rewind, fast forward, stop, audio level, mix, play/pause, digital effects buttons.  Optura 40 provides users with three kinds of digital effects—faders, effects and multi-image screens.  Faders help in transitions between scenes, effects are useful while filming and multi image screens divide the moving pictures into sequences of 4,9 or 16 for display.  This feature is available for both video and stills.

The LCD can be rotated to focus on the subject. The color viewfinder is diagonally 0.33” and the images are sharp and easy to focus.  A diopter correction slider has been provided for those whose vision is less perfect. The Auto mode aids in Point-and-shoot instances. The exposure button helps adjust the contrast and brightness.  The zoom mechanism is easy to reach and is smooth, quick and silent with variable speeds that are controlled by pressure on the button.

Optura 40’s accessory shoe is designed to accept video lamps, flashes or a microphone.  The tape loading mechanism is located at the top of the camera which makes it possible to load the tape while the camera is mounted on a tripod.  The photo button is a two stage button.  When pressed halfway, it helps focus on the subject and further pressure captures the picture on the memory card.(Photos cannot be saved on tape).

The shutter speed of Optura 40 can be manually selected.  However the range is much smaller when the images are recorded on to the memory card rather than to the tape.  It has all the standard indoor and outdoor settings with an additional “Set” mode.  This mode allows shutterbugs use white or gray cards to get great color and unusual light effects.  The neutral density filter is used to darken the image without tampering with the color and tone of the image.  The skin detail option introduced in Optura 40 softens skin tones and is great for taking zoom shots of subjects with blemishes.

This camera offers a complete range of auto and manual exposure controls for both the novice and the professional.  The compact integration of the digital camera with the camcorder is extremely useful.  The creative effects make the use of the camera great fun.  The camera is worth possessing.  

Features:

• MiniDV camcorder and still camera with 2.2-megapixel CCD
• 14x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 280x) and image stabilizer
• 2.5-inch LCD with 180-degree rotation
• Capture low-light recordings with Night Mode and record in 16:9 format
• Record for up to 225 minutes on one battery charge

Accessories: 

• NB-2LH Battery Pack
• CA-570 Compact Power Adapter
• STV-250N Stereo Video Cable
• WL-D79 Wireless Controller
• STV-250N Stereo Video Cable
• SS-900 Shoulder Strap
• WL-D83 Wireless Controller
• SDC-8M SD Memory Card
• IFC-300PCU USB Cable
• Digital Video Solution Disk for Windows/Macintosh.