I was at Best Buy yesterday looking at an Optura 30, and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to switch on the 16:9 setting. I asked a salesperson if he knew, and he very condescendingly assured me that 16:9 was what regular video was shot at and it would display in the correct aspect ratio on a widescreen or regular TV automatically. He kept repeating the word "resolution" like a mantra. When I told him I thought the image would have to either appear stretched or letterboxed on a regular TV he gave me a blank look and said it was the right resolution. Can somebody tell me how to switch modes to 16:9 on this camcorder? I couldn't find it in the menu, and I checked over and over. I want to go back with a tape and shoot some footage to compare with my GL1.

Look in the CAMERA SETUP menu for the 16:9 option.

The Optura 30 can letterbox 16:9 video on the LCD, but the video still looks squished when output to a 4:3 display. Make sure the Optura 30 is in Auto mode not Easy Recording mode. P=Auto mode, Green rectangle = Easy Recording mode.

Also, check out Chris Hurd's Optura 40 vs. Elura 70 Comparison article (http://www.dvinfo.net/canonoptura/articles/optura40elura70-1.php)

Thanks. I'll bet it was in easy mode. I didn't think of that.