your reason for getting the optura? at DVinfo.net

James Tran · April 3rd, 2005, 11:29 AM

well i was just wonder what are some of the reason why we pick canon optura over other brand/model.

i myself (amature) just order the optura 60, i've always wanted the optura 40 and was going to buy it last christmas but price gone up and many store don't carry it anymore. recently i just discover canon release the new optura 60 :D so i decided to get it. i have own 2 canon digital camera, and they do very well job. the second camera i have use the same charger that can charge the Optura 60 battery, even the battery can use as spare. i also have a 1gb sd card in hand so the only thing i really need to buy is the dv tapes.

Michael Wisniewski · April 3rd, 2005, 01:07 PM

Canon camcorders & cameras have a certain look right out of the box, it's often described as a warmer, softer image. I like that look myself, though many prefer the look of other camcorders. But, most video images can be adjusted to look like almost any other camcorder, after in-camera and post-processing adjustments,

Some other reasons:

- optical image stabilization
- high quality 16:9 mode
- shutter/aperture priority modes
- RGB filter
- Manual focus ring

And the #1 reason: I like the way the video looks!

Dave Perry · April 3rd, 2005, 06:29 PM

I bought my Xi because of Michael's points and it was affordable. I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Robert Mann Z. · April 3rd, 2005, 08:26 PM

well i placed an order for a optura 60 and it will be here tue...

it was not an easy decsion to make, there are so many of these consumer camcoders out there, and i wanted one to fit my needs

it had to be small
it had have ois

thats it, that is all i really cared about, i wanted a small camcorder that could really handle those two things, two models kept coming up, the optura 50/60 and the panasonic gs250...i also looked at the gs400, but it was a bit bigger then i wanted...

i was really on my way to pick up the gs250 when i gave the canon more consideration, what sold it for me was the chip size...

to have a 1/3.4 chip in a small package like the optura is what made me get it

canon has really come full circle with this line of cams, when the optura 100mc came on the scene it had ois, lens ring focus and 1/3 inch chip in a very small form factor, now we are 4 years later with almost the same specs but they added more pixels, high quality 16:9 with full lcd display, and bigger zoom.

an interesting note ....orginal Optura 100MC had a higher resolution lcd (200,000 pxles vs 123,000) , a faster lens wide open (1/6 vs 1/8) , bigger lens (43mm vs 34mm) and had the ability for bigger batteries

it seems they should have left well enough alone...but thats another thread alltogether...

panasonic 250 would give me 3ccd color and the ability to have a bigger battery with and external charging unit...ohh and i really don't care about still images, but when i compared the two even though pansonics was bigger pixel wise, it look bad, and i would end having to resize it to canons 2.2 to make it look good anyway so it was wash

the canon just seemed on paper to have so many good things going for it most were already mentioned

hq 16:9
ois
manual audio control
ring focus
14x zoom

the battery was one concern of mine, those nb canon batteries are just about the worse batteries...i could pick up a bunch on ebay for about 9 bucks each but with 720mAh-1000mAH thats just awefull, i really don't care for swapping out batteries every 30 minutes or less...at about 60 bucks a pop for an oem BP-2L12 1200mAh i could get about 80 mins not really good considering pansonic includes a 1360mAH battery ...which i could upgrade to 2000mAH battery if i wanted to giving me more then enough to shoot two tapes worth of footy... then there is canons best effort battery wise the BP-2L14 giving me 1450mAH of power, not really stellar, and pretty pricey...

ebay has come in handy though, there is a vendor called the blue nook, that sells a knock-off 1450mAh battery, for 20 bucks...not bad...

but i would need a charger...as canon does not supply you with one unlike panasonic...augh

one other issue was wide angle, the panasonics lens was wider 43 compared to 50, not that much but certainly noticable...this could be fixed by shooting in 16:9 on the canon or getting a wide angle lens, the panasonics image does not get wider in 16:9 because it is crop and zoom job...

the last thing you read about when comparing these two cams is low light...there seems to be a overwhelming net presence that says the gs200 has better low abilities then the optura 30/40...

i went to all the popular web sites, i went to russian, german, british sites, i downloaded images from both, tiny (why is that? why no body puts up 100% crops is beyond me) but images i can compare in photoshop...

i saw no difference, both cams look aweful in low light, but thats no suprise, my xl1, gl1 and my dvxs all look bad in low light, so after all that i waited for the first authorized vendor to get them in, and i placed my order for an optura 60...

Curtis Rhoads · April 3rd, 2005, 09:47 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Michael Wisniewski :
- Manual focus ring (only on Xi) -->>>

Ummm.... What exactly do you mean by this? My Optura 30 and my friend's Optura 40 both have manual focus rings, as did the Optura 10 and 20.

Last time I looked, these were all manual focus rings attached to a servo mechanism.

Maybe I'm just not understanding, as I'm in a lot of pain after my wife decided to try and teach me to roller blade.... :)

Michael Wisniewski · April 4th, 2005, 06:21 PM

Whoops, you're right, the other Optura's also have the manual focus ring around the lens barrel.

Aaargh, the perils of cut & paste.

John Snoddy · April 5th, 2005, 08:22 PM

True 16:9 and a solid rep. I've had my Optura 30 for a few weeks now & I'm digging it. Awesome video even on my 7 foot wide screen. Very pleased & I'm just getting started!

April 3rd, 2005, 06:29 PM	#3
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	I bought my Xi because of Michael's points and it was affordable. I'm very pleased with my purchase. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

April 3rd, 2005, 11:29 AM	#1
James Tran New Boot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 7	your reason for getting the optura? well i was just wonder what are some of the reason why we pick canon optura over other brand/model. i myself (amature) just order the optura 60, i've always wanted the optura 40 and was going to buy it last christmas but price gone up and many store don't carry it anymore. recently i just discover canon release the new optura 60 :D so i decided to get it. i have own 2 canon digital camera, and they do very well job. the second camera i have use the same charger that can charge the Optura 60 battery, even the battery can use as spare. i also have a 1gb sd card in hand so the only thing i really need to buy is the dv tapes.

April 3rd, 2005, 01:07 PM	#2
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Canon camcorders & cameras have a certain look right out of the box, it's often described as a warmer, softer image. I like that look myself, though many prefer the look of other camcorders. But, most video images can be adjusted to look like almost any other camcorder, after in-camera and post-processing adjustments, Some other reasons: - optical image stabilization - high quality 16:9 mode - shutter/aperture priority modes - RGB filter - Manual focus ring And the #1 reason: I like the way the video looks!

April 3rd, 2005, 08:26 PM	#4
Robert Mann Z. Skyonic New York Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NYC Posts: 614	well i placed an order for a optura 60 and it will be here tue... it was not an easy decsion to make, there are so many of these consumer camcoders out there, and i wanted one to fit my needs it had to be small it had have ois thats it, that is all i really cared about, i wanted a small camcorder that could really handle those two things, two models kept coming up, the optura 50/60 and the panasonic gs250...i also looked at the gs400, but it was a bit bigger then i wanted... i was really on my way to pick up the gs250 when i gave the canon more consideration, what sold it for me was the chip size... to have a 1/3.4 chip in a small package like the optura is what made me get it canon has really come full circle with this line of cams, when the optura 100mc came on the scene it had ois, lens ring focus and 1/3 inch chip in a very small form factor, now we are 4 years later with almost the same specs but they added more pixels, high quality 16:9 with full lcd display, and bigger zoom. an interesting note ....orginal Optura 100MC had a higher resolution lcd (200,000 pxles vs 123,000) , a faster lens wide open (1/6 vs 1/8) , bigger lens (43mm vs 34mm) and had the ability for bigger batteries it seems they should have left well enough alone...but thats another thread alltogether... panasonic 250 would give me 3ccd color and the ability to have a bigger battery with and external charging unit...ohh and i really don't care about still images, but when i compared the two even though pansonics was bigger pixel wise, it look bad, and i would end having to resize it to canons 2.2 to make it look good anyway so it was wash the canon just seemed on paper to have so many good things going for it most were already mentioned hq 16:9 ois manual audio control ring focus 14x zoom the battery was one concern of mine, those nb canon batteries are just about the worse batteries...i could pick up a bunch on ebay for about 9 bucks each but with 720mAh-1000mAH thats just awefull, i really don't care for swapping out batteries every 30 minutes or less...at about 60 bucks a pop for an oem BP-2L12 1200mAh i could get about 80 mins not really good considering pansonic includes a 1360mAH battery ...which i could upgrade to 2000mAH battery if i wanted to giving me more then enough to shoot two tapes worth of footy... then there is canons best effort battery wise the BP-2L14 giving me 1450mAH of power, not really stellar, and pretty pricey... ebay has come in handy though, there is a vendor called the blue nook, that sells a knock-off 1450mAh battery, for 20 bucks...not bad... but i would need a charger...as canon does not supply you with one unlike panasonic...augh one other issue was wide angle, the panasonics lens was wider 43 compared to 50, not that much but certainly noticable...this could be fixed by shooting in 16:9 on the canon or getting a wide angle lens, the panasonics image does not get wider in 16:9 because it is crop and zoom job... the last thing you read about when comparing these two cams is low light...there seems to be a overwhelming net presence that says the gs200 has better low abilities then the optura 30/40... i went to all the popular web sites, i went to russian, german, british sites, i downloaded images from both, tiny (why is that? why no body puts up 100% crops is beyond me) but images i can compare in photoshop... i saw no difference, both cams look aweful in low light, but thats no suprise, my xl1, gl1 and my dvxs all look bad in low light, so after all that i waited for the first authorized vendor to get them in, and i placed my order for an optura 60...

April 3rd, 2005, 09:47 PM	#5
Curtis Rhoads Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Orem, UT Posts: 76	<<<-- Originally posted by Michael Wisniewski : - Manual focus ring (only on Xi) -->>> Ummm.... What exactly do you mean by this? My Optura 30 and my friend's Optura 40 both have manual focus rings, as did the Optura 10 and 20. Last time I looked, these were all manual focus rings attached to a servo mechanism. Maybe I'm just not understanding, as I'm in a lot of pain after my wife decided to try and teach me to roller blade.... :)

April 4th, 2005, 06:21 PM	#6
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Whoops, you're right, the other Optura's also have the manual focus ring around the lens barrel. Aaargh, the perils of cut & paste.

April 5th, 2005, 08:22 PM	#7
John Snoddy Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Camp Hill, PA Posts: 41	True 16:9 and a solid rep. I've had my Optura 30 for a few weeks now & I'm digging it. Awesome video even on my 7 foot wide screen. Very pleased & I'm just getting started!