Canon MV960 Not Bad but Needs Improvement

Category: Review on Canon MV960 MiniDV Camcorder

Posted by: 11-May-2007

Strengths: Easy to use, good size

Weaknesses: Low light ability, zoom stability

If you are looking for a basic model to film your children’s soccer and Little League games, the Canon MV960 Digital Video Camera is a great purchase for you. With a powerful 25x zoom, photo capture ability, and DV/AV input, this digital camera and its true 16:9 resolution recording are perfect for outdoor activities. The size and weight make the Canon MV960 quite manageable, and the 800k pixel resolution creates a clear image. Use the 2.7” large LCD widescreen to view in real time and perfect your aim and steady hand. Even choose to shoot photos to the SD card.
However, this is where the value of the MV960 digital video camera ends. You’ll notice that, when filming in low light applications, even if using the night mode feature, images are extremely fuzzy and low quality, leaving you dissatisfied with the outcome. For this reason, the camera is not good in many indoor applications or even outdoors when it’s very cloudy or dark. Also, when using the zoom feature, you can zero in on something at a great distance. However, the image is unstable and often unfocused, jumping around and appearing pixilated or at least unclear. If you want to be able to get a clear image at a 25x zoom, you will definitely need to look at a higher end, higher priced camera.
One other issue that some find cumbersome in using the Canon camera is that the tape loads from the bottom. This involves turning the camera all different directions to avoid dropping the tape as it is loaded. Overall, if you spend a lot of time outdoors and create most of your memories in bright sunlight within close proximity, you can count on the Canon video camera to meet your needs. However, for general usage to assure that your favorite moments are well preserved, the Canon MV960 Digital Video Camera is less than worthy of the task.