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1. 

   Sue Johnson
   May 24th, 2010 - 18:17

   After doing a great deal of research I purchased the Optura 40. It was highly recommended by Consumer Reports and reviewers on this and other sites. I also purchased the Video Light since most reviewers mentioned poor low light performance as the main drawback to the camera. First of all, the light created red eye in my child, the main subject of my recordings. Without the external light video of indoor events, my main place of recording, was grainy and dark. Second of all, the automatic zoom was terrible. It was almost always out of focus. Third of all, the noise when the camera is recording is extremely loud. I had to look up tips online for how to adjust the camera so the noise wouldn’t show up on the actual tape. I have a Sony analog with low lux and 16x zoom which I held side by side with the Optura and used to record the same things. The Sony was far superior. For the price of this camera you would think you could expect good low light performance and zooming. Canon can’t manufacture a camcorder that doesn’t make loud mechanical noise? I don’t understand how everyone could say this is a good camcorder. Needless to say we have returned the item and are going to start looking at Sony digital camcorders.
   Rating: 1 / 5
2. 

   zzamazon
   May 24th, 2010 - 19:37

   As many camcorder fans, I was excited by the Canon Press Release about Canon Optura 40 Camcorder, pre ordered it and received it late May. After opening the box, the camera looks great: compact, slick, nice looking lens. However, after a couple of time trial shootings, all these nice impressions were gone for good! A few Major disappointments:
   1) Poor video image. The video image has too much “digital” jaggies both in regular daylight and lower light environment shooting. When you play back on the TV, you see the “fluttery” effect all the time. When you pause the image, the jaggies are very obvious and horrible. This is even worse when you shoot in the low light environment.
   2) Noisy zoom lever. The zoom lever on the top on the camera body was not a well made (or designed) part. When you zoom in & out using the lever, the noise is very obvious and annoying. This noise was clearly recorded heard from the tape when you playback.
   3) The still camera quality is less than a regular 2.0 MP digital camera.
   4) The strap that holds your hand of video filming is not in the right position to make your hand comfortable.
   5) The 2.5″ view LCD screen has too much info displayed and this made the small 2.5″ LCD very noisy.

   I contacted the Canon USA for my questions. No clear answers were given about the image quality. I compared Optura 40 with Panasonic PV-GS200, the Panasonic has far more better video image quality. Big disappointment for me.
   Rating: 2 / 5
3. 

   Rachel Parisi
   May 24th, 2010 - 21:20

   Canon Optura 40 MiniDV

   My family just bought the Canon Optura 40 MiniDV Camcorder w/14x Optical Zoom; it is a digital video camera. I fell in love with this camera as soon as my mom charged it up and turned it on. I immediately wanted to take the camera out and start taping the first thing that came to mind. I started with video taping my house just like I was on MTV’s cribs. I went in all of the bedrooms of the house, then I went to show off the cars, next I went into the back yard and taped the pool and all of the extensions that we’ve added on to the back yard. There were three excellent features on this camera; they were the readable buttons, flip-out side panel-viewing window, and the long battery life.
   
   The best part about the camera was the simplicity of the buttons. The buttons on the camera are located on the underneath the flip out screen. The buttons had their symbols on them and also had the function written above. After messing around with the camera for a few hours, I had remembered the order of the buttons. A slight down side to this camera is that it is for right handed people in general, which allows you to have your fingers on the buttons at all times.
   
   The next item is the viewing window on the camera. The camera has a flip-out, rotating, side view panel. This panel has crystal clear imaging that is amazing. Looking at a tape that I had taken a few months prior; I was amazed of how the crystal clear images of the tape place me back in the moment. The tape was of a parade in North Dakota. With me living in Arizona, and to feel as if I were back in North Dakota is truly breathtaking. The reason why the picture on the screen is so realistic is the vivid colors. Even in low light the picture quality is superior.
   
   Battery life is another huge plus with this camera. The battery on the camera can almost last one tape; however, this isn’t continued use. If the battery is used continuously it will last about an hour. The battery takes approximately fifteen minutes to charge up. This is a huge plus, if you are in a hurry and need another battery right away or even if it is a back up battery.
   
   There are several other wonderful qualities to this camera: compact, lightweight, comfortable eye piece, clear voice recorder, extraordinary playback, and exceptionally easy to travel with. This camera has a high rating from most of the people that own it. It is definitely worth every penny spent. It is highly recommended by most to go take a look at one soon.
   
   Rating: 4 / 5
4. 

   Anonymous
   May 24th, 2010 - 22:51

   The camera has superb color rendering. Also has a true 16:9 CCD – recordings look truly remarkable on my widescreen TV. I had no shutter issues whatsoever.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. 

   Tharv
   May 24th, 2010 - 22:52

   Wonderful! I don’t know much about video, but I just plugged it in and it worked. I am really pleased with the quality of the video and the nice way it connects to the software that came free on my computer (iMovie).

   Yesterday I took video in falling snow. I set the camera to Snow/Sand setting, and it took care of everything. Nice feature.

   The manual is minimal. I hope to find something better online.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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