The Canon DC50 Digital Camcorder - Features
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Features
5 MP Still-Camera Mode
Most camcorders on the market today do offer some type of still-shot feature, but the DC50 goes above and beyond. Not only does the still-shot mode offer 5 megapixels of resolution, but it also takes very good quality shots. This isn't always the case with camcorders where many times this feature is all but worthless.
The still-shot mode offers the user a variety of settings and adjustments, such as white balance, 9-point autofocus, aperture settings, manual mode, and 8 different scene modes. Basically, this feature is equivalent to, or better than, many 5 megapixels on the market today. So, the DC50 is a viable alternative to carrying around a digital camera and a camcorder. And you can expect solid 4 x 6 inch photos.
CNet was very impressed with the quality of the still-shot photos. They said, "Details come out quite clean for 5-megapixel stills, noise remains generally low, and colors render accurately."
10x optical zoom with Image Stabilization
Because of the DC50's rather large 1/2.7" sensor, the amount of optical zoom suffers a little bit. This is the trade-off with digital camcorders, why low-end models typically offer the most optical zoom but with lower image quality. Lots of optical zoom is worthless without a good optical image stabilization system in place, and the DC50 has that.
What's the point of being able to zoom in 40x to an object if the entire frame is so "shaky" that you can't even make out the object. Typical digital image stabilization systems don't work exceptionally well at reducing camera-shake while at the same time maintaining image quality. The DC50's optical image stabilization will greatly reduce camera-shake without hurting the image quality. When shopping for a digital camera or camcorder, you should always pay more attention to the optical, rather than digital, image stabilization/zoom.
The Canon DC50 also offers up to 200x digital zoom in addition to the 10x optical, but digital zoom should be used sparingly due to the reasons above.
Quick Start Mode
This isn't the most important feature in the world, but it is a very useful and smart one. The DC50 will go into sleep mode when it's not in use in order to conserve power. If you then press the Quick Start button, the camcorder will be ready to record almost instantaneously. It is so annoying to have to wait for the camcorder to power-up again after "sleeping." And often you miss a good shot because of it.
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