( 4 reviews )
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Posted: 03-17-2008
We received this camera as a gift. We loved the features and the nice crisp image... until we tried to watch it on anything other than the camera's own tiny screen. My husband is pretty computer-savvy, but we couldn't get the camera to connect via USB without crashing the computer. Every time. The roxio "my DVD" software, in a word, sucks. You must register to use it, and it makes us re-register every time we boot up. Plus, it won't access the DVD. Finally, you can supposedly "finalize" the DVD to watch it directly on a DVD player or computer, but "finalizing" only ruins the DVD, so your memories are kaput. My in-laws got us a Canon because optics were supposed to be the most important thing about a camera. But we found out the hard way that being able to watch the videos may be even more important than image quality. Who knew that for close to $400, that was even in question? Canon should offer a product recall to everyone who bought this piece of junk.
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Posted: 09-06-2007
Received this item as a gift, was so thrilled to have it for the kids first day of school. Luckily I was playing around with it the day before and found out what a piece of crap this camera is. I recorded and then tried to finalize and found that the amera could not read the disc - amazing since it s the canon one that they even provided with the camera!! Then I lost everything I recorded. So, I tried 3 other dvd-r discs -- which are not cheap and the frikin camera could not read those either. What a piece of crap -- lost everything. I read the manual and even called the Canon people -- all they were able to tell me is geesh, that is not supposed to happen. I can only hope 6th ave. will accept the return tomorrow. Please stear clear of this item, unless you like to record things and only see them once and them loose them.
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( 23 of 23 found this review helpful ) Posted: 12-26-2006
While I have some reservations about this camcorder, I believe that it is the best mini-DVD recorder for most people. Briefly: this camcorder is easy to use, can take decent pictures and excellent video at a reasonable price. Number one on my list was that it needed to be easy enough for my technophobic wife. Operation is as simple as 1,2,3,4: Turn it on, put in a blank DVD, press record/stop, finalize the disc. There are a plethora of manual controls if you want to go beyond auto mode. You can choose from two manual modes: scn & P. Scn is for an intermediate user who knows what the outside conditions are but isn't ready to control every aspect of shutter speed, white balance & so forth. There are 8 scn settings, including sports, snow, fireworks and night. The expert user can select P mode and can control even the most obscure settings. I prefer to use auto mode most of the time and when appropriate switch to scn. Now, inspite of my 5-star rating, the DC22 isn't perfect. I'm very concerned that one of my kids will get ahold of it and it will be sionara. It is delicate. There is a lot of technology crammed into this small camera. Another gripe is that the joystick is difficult to use. You use the joystick frequently because it is the primary way to navigate the menu screens and change your settings in the function screens. I frequently have to repeatedly press down on the joystick before it will take. While these are major issues, I made my rating based on the competition. Sony gets the ratings in most magazines. I disagree. Sony camcorder use propietary technology such as the Sony memory stick which you don't find at every Walmart & Target. Also, the reviews will tell you that the Sony's that offer still photography aren't much better than a cell phone. When it comes to the lense & the chip technology, Canon holds its own. And, personally the Canon feels better in my hand. But, you can be the judge of that. Briefly, about the still quality: It is as good as you can find on a camcorder. However, the colors often appear more vibrant than they really are and the still detail is not as good as even a 3.2 megapixal Canon camera. I prefer the prints over a disposable, but I would rather have a Canon Powershot model for this duty. Here are some other nice features. It uses mini-SD cards. You should have no trouble finding 1-2 gig cards that will handle 1,000-2,000 stills at one time. It includes a standard usb cable for transferring stills. It includes a cable that does have a proprietary camera end but the other end has standard AV attachments for plugging into a tv or other video device. With this cable you can transfer video data either way. It also has a rechargeable battery that lasts 1 1/2 hours and a power cable that can be used for recharging and for general operation of the camcorder. As far as the media type, DVD-R, it is the standard. Why would anyone get a mini DVD camera that uses other formats? DVD-R is what will play on your home DVD player. If you recorded on DVD+R or even DVD+/-R DL (this recorder can use DVD-R DL) you would be limited to playing your DVD's on this DVD player or loading them onto your pc and editing them. If that's your gig, the editing software is easy to use and can create professional looking event DVD's. I recommend this camcorder for most people. If you prefer to edit your videos and create a final product with the highest quality video possible, it is still no match for mini DV players. But lets face it, my wife wants to point and shoot and play it for friends without having to do a lot of work. And the last thing I want to do is sit at a pc for hours going over raw video footage in order to create semi-professional movies. Also, don't waste an extra $200 getting the DC40. The stills suffer from the same coloration issues so even though it offers 4.3 megapixals, it won't replace your still camera. ****Revised 1/30/07**** Per request, here is my take on DVD type. I prefer to use DVD-R at the 20 or 30 minute quality. There's very little difference in quality. However, if you attempt to record at the 60 minute/per disk quality, you will notice a difference. It's easy enough to change DVD's during filming. Just open it and stick a new one in. It takes 10-15 seconds before you can begin recording again, so you probably won't miss much. The reasons for choosing DVD-R over DVD-RW and DVD-R/RW DL are cost, durability and universality. DVD-R disks will play in any DVD player... not so with the DL disks. You will need a Dual Layer compatible player. DVD-RW degrades more particularly if you erase and re-record. The surface is softer because it is made to be burned to, erased and re-burned. Therefore there is a greater risk of data loss. Now you might wonder about erasing useless video and/or editing. If I want an edited video (which I usually don't), I would copy the raw footage to a pc and then edit and burn a new (preferably full-size) DVD-R.
