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Canon Optura Pi Mini DV CamcorderLight enough to become part of your hand, the Optura Pi will become your personal imaging companion. Built tough with Canon Know-How and...
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Light enough to become part of your hand, the Optura Pi will become your personal imaging companion. Built tough with Canon Know-How and Canon technology inside it, the Optura Pi gives you surprising features and unsurpassed digital video (DV) quality. The Optura Pi is easy to use and that makes it easy to get results you've never seen before from any camcorder. ??A genuine Canon 12x zoom lens with 48x digital zoom allows you to get clear closeups. It features three modes: Normal Movie (full-motion video) Mode, Digital Photo Mode and Digital Motor Drive Mode (takes 30 still frames a second). Optical image stabilization filters out the jitters and bumps to capture crisp, stable images every time. Look into the world that awaits you when you get into CANON DV, with the Optura Pi digital camcorder.
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22 Reviews from Shopping.com
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A true camcorder
| Author's Rating: |
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Pros: Optical image stabilizer, good low light
Cons: None so far
The Bottom Line:
If you want a DV camcorder with good image quality, flexible controls, and not a lot of buzzword gadgetry, this is your camcorder.
After doing a lot of research and handling a lot of digital camcorders, I decided the Optura Pi fit my needs best of all. I'm expecting my first child soon and I expect to be shooting lots of home movies and making video clips to share on the web.
This camcorder fits very well in my hand and I can easily control all the functions with one hand. It did not take me very long to get the feel of the controls so that I very rarely have to take my eye off the viewfinder/screen to make an adjustment.
The optical image stabilizer is a big plus in the Canon line. Other camcorders boast higher pixel CCD's, but they use them to provide digital based image stabilization. The greater number of pixel's in the CCD's costs in low light sensitivity. Since the Canon's do not require the extra pixels, low light performance is very good for my needs.
I also strongly appreciate having both a traditional eyepiece as well as a large LCD viewscreen. Both work very well, though I find it easier to use the viewfinder when I want to use my arms as a stable platform for the camera.
There are a few things that others will call limitations, specifically, the lack of extra media for digital stills, and the limited digital zoom. For me, both of these are unnecessary frills on a camcorder. Digital zoom is largely a gimmick in my opinion. The Optura Pi "only" has a 48x digital zoom, but I usually leave it turned off as the optical zoom gets me most of what I need.
As for having a smart media or compact flash card for digital stills, I'm glad the camera doesn't have this unneeded hassle increasing the price. I've already got a good camera that I use for stills and even camcorders that do offer extra media for capturing stills can't compete with a true digital still camera. In my case, I take advantage of the progressive scan mode the camcorder offers if I want to grab some stills from the tape. The resolution is more than adequate for a website.
The only thing really missing is a 3 chip CCD. However, the image quality is quite excellent and it cost me half of what a GL-1 or similar 3 chipper would cost. With the way the technology is progressing, if I use this one for five years, I'd expect $1000 then will buy me a camcorder that will outperform anything today. There's no point in buying more than you need.
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