The ease of the DC10

Category: Review on Canon DC10 DVD Camcorder

Posted by: 24-Oct-2006

Strengths: very comfortable, high quality stills, quick to setup and use out of the box

Weaknesses: editing limited to Canon’s proprietary software, degraded quality over mini-DV models and less battery life than expected

DVD camcorders have been around for a year or two and are far superior to the VHS recorders of yesteryear. The only in-between is the mini-DV that provides you more editing options but not the shoot and go convenience of the DVD format. The DC10 records permanently onto DVD.

The DC10 is very comfortable to hold for even small and large hands. It doesn’t weigh very much, less than a pound in fact. The body design is sleek and stylish.

Shortcomings include the inability to use larger batteries because of the physical location of the battery – under the LCD screen. The battery life is sufficient, not great, which means either purchasing and lugging around extra charged cells or limiting your filming to half an hour or so.

If you’re into editing your video you’ll find this to be a bit limited, as it is on all Canon DVD video cameras to date. Final Cut Pro, iMovie and Premiere won’t work with the DC10 films, you have to use Canon’s proprietary editing software which has it’s own limitations.

Wide-screen viewing on the LCD shows exactly what you’re shooting in wide-screen mode (16:9 ratio.) The digital still photos are much better on the DC10 than on beginner Canon models. Years of experience in the photography business really helps this Canon camcorder shine. Even in bad lighting your stills will carry a Canon quality. A continuous shooting mode allows for rapid succession shooting of photographs. You’ll be able to squeeze 8000 or so stills on one CD without recharging or swapping out the battery.