ES8200V - Hi8, the MIRROR effect alone is worth getting this camera!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Cool Digital Effects

Cons: Just a few...

The Bottom Line: 
a Hi8 camcorder with exceptional digital effects - this one is a lot of fun!

Author's Review
Do you remember the video from the 80s for "Wild Wild West" by the Escape Club? If so, then you know how the "mirror effect" works. With this camera you can duplicate the cool effects that video used with the arms and legs! This mirror effect is so much fun! You can be headless, body-less or just confuse the viewer with scenery. I want to stress the mirror effect, because it's the reason I purchased this camcorder.

The Canon ES8200V is a Hi8 camcorder. This is good because it's the best quality you can get without going digital, so you're paying a lot less not only for the camcorder itself, but for blank tapes. Of course, prices change but right now tapes for Hi8 are about ½ the price of digital camcorder tapes. The ES8200V is quite similar to the ES4200V, but with more features...in fact they share the same instruction manual. I think the picture quality is quite good.

This model also features a 2.5" flip out LCD. The LCD is fairly good, but it has low pixels because you can see the little dots. Consequently you get a black & white viewfinder. BUT! It has vision correction which I thought was astonishing! I was confused that I could see clearly through it without my glasses...this is a wonderful feature!

FEATURES

IMAGE STABILIZER: The image stabilizer will help your shot look steady, providing a better playback, one that won't make people "sick" as I've heard people say about some of my earlier recordings with my old camcorder.

FlexiZone: This is focus and exposure control...when in flexizone mode (as opposed to automatic) you can use the little "joystick" on the camcorder to move the square around the screen to where you want the focus to be. This can be helpful if you want to shift focus from a far away object to a close up one, or vice versa.

DIGITAL EFFECTS: This is the BEST feature! You get some GREAT digital effects, and this isn't even a digital camcorder?! Here's a list:

ART: Adds a paint-like effect, called solarization, to the image. This effect looks pretty cool

BLACK & WHITE: Self explanitory, I like having the option of black and white!

Sepia: Sort of like black & white, it gives the entire picture a "sepia" tint...kind of brown, reminds me of old time pictures.

Negative: White appears black, yellow appears blue, green appears red, etc. Converts negative image to a positive one...basically looks like a film negative - this is my least favorite.

MOSAIC: Enlarges various pixels for a mosaic effect.

16:9: For playback on widescreen TVs

CINEMA: Porportions like a cinima screen, so you get that black bar at the top & bottom.

STROBE: converts action to a series of still images - but very fast...just like if you have a strobe light on...portions of movement are missed, but you can still tell what's going on...this is one of my favorites.

GHOST: Adds increasingly transparent blurs around moving objects, giving you a "ghost" effect. This effect is really cool (hint: Use this one for any "drunk" sequences)

MIRROR: MY FAVORITE! The image will be as if you placed a mirror in the middle of the screen. What you can create with this!!! you can magically appear onscreen, recreate effects you've seen on TV and just have a ton of laughs with it! This effect looks cool almost everywhere!

PHOTO BUTTON

The photo button is sort of misleading. You aren't actually creating a "photo", rather just pausing the picture for 6 seconds. This is the equivalent to a digital effect found on digital camcorders called "still"...except on the ES8200V you cannot control how long the picture will be paused, and in my experience it stops recording after the 6 second "picture" has been taken. Then I have to press the button to continue recording.

This camcorder has basic features such as the ability to add titles, zoom (22X optical, 700X digital), fade, and video light.

The Canon ES8200V comes with:

Power Adapter (to power the camcorder & to recharge the battery, you recharge the battery by inserting it into the camcorder, and then plugging in the AC power adapter)

BP-911k lithium ion battery (lasts 90 minutes with LCD, 125 minutes with viewfinder) There are optional batteries you can buy to give you longer battery life.

AV Cable - for TV/VCR hookup

Wireless Controller - Remote control!

Shoulder Strap & Lens Cap

2 round backup batteries (for date/time)

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE

There are just a few things I dislike. One thing is the positioning of the pause/record button. This is the button you're going to be using the most, since it starts & stops recording, but when I'm holding onto the camera, my thumb does not reach that button comfortably...even after adjusting the hand grip. I've had 2 other camcorders with similar handgrips, and have had no trouble with this before. It's a bit annoying, but easily overcome by using my other hand or temporarily adjusting my grip.

Another thing is the "custom keys". This is okay, and even considered a "special feature", but I see it more as an excuse to have only 2 buttons...you have to assign functions to the custom keys, which isn't hard...but it would be better to just have enough buttons to cover all the options. Since the only way to access the digital effects (which I love to use) is by assigning them to the custom keys, I cannot use the custom keys for anything else. The menu is not hard to use though, so this is a very minor problem as well.

The lens cap feels cheap. They could have given me a better quality plastic..it feels like it's going to break. But it did come attached so I didn't have to bother with that!

Conclusion

I think this is a great camcorder for people who are looking for a Hi8 with cool digital effects. You can hook it up to your TV and record in real-time...you can even record directly to your VCR without recording on the camcorder's tape...but the camcorder will shut off after 5 minutes. During playback, the remote control lets you relax and watch. Have fun, record memories, and get that mirror effect in whenever suitable!