Why You Can Trust CNET Canon DC20 review: Canon DC20
The DC20 offers a f/1.8, 10x optical zoom lens, coupled with a single CCD whose image quality leaves something to be desired, particularly in low light. However, as with most DVD camcorders, what you sacrifice in features you regain in simplicity and hassle-free operation
The argument remains that tape-based MiniDV camcorders capture a better picture and offer longer record times than DVD camcorders. Still, there is something alluring about ejecting a DVD from the Canon DC20 and popping it straight into your domestic DVD player. Although DVD camcorders have some way to go before they threaten the versatility of MiniDV, for the casual user with little or no interest in editing, they're ideal. The convenience of the format is undeniable.
Canon DC20
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
However, if you enjoy editing, beware. DVD camcorders like the DC20 write video to half-size DVD disks in a linear, permanent fashion. There are ways to edit your finished footage, but not with a mainstream editing package, and not using FireWire. Programs such as Final Cut Pro, Premiere and iMovie will not work with the DC20.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for a hassle-free system and have little interest in aiming for Cannes, the DC20 may make a plausible choice. On the face of things, what you sacrifice in features you regain in simplicity and hassle-free operation. But has Canon got it nailed with the DC20, or would first-timers be better off sticking with MiniDV?
Design
The DC20 replaces the traditional MiniDV transport with a DVD burner. The chassis accommodates half-size 80mm DVDs as a storage medium. You can see how this has influenced the design of the DC20 -- the camcorder's rear edge has curvature to match the DVD inside, and the grip section is raised on the top for the same reason. Luckily for Canon, the 80mm DVD format, plus the chassis required to house it, is a pretty ergonomic match for the human hand.
At just 47mm wide, the DC20 is smaller than the early efforts of DVD camcorder manufacturers. These newer units are starting to look more and more like the petite MiniDV designs you see. The chassis panels on the DC20 are a business-like grey and silver. You won't be completely inconspicuous using this, but it steers away from the baiting glitter of some 'mug-me' camcorders.
Being shaped like a jam doughnut, the DC20 is great to hold in the hand. Longer shooting sessions might make you wish that the hand grip was wider, but the body of this camcorder is relatively light at just 410g. The record button is placed on the DC20's rear. The camera uses seperate control interfaces for the Camera and Record modes -- some camcorders use the same control for both.
The battery on the DC20 is like a small box of matches that slots into a recess underneath the fold-out LCD screen. This is a proprietary battery specially designed for the DC20 shape. The battery is removed by sliding a small catch on the underside of the chassis, which releases quickly and easily. You're likely to charge it while it's still in the camera, so unless you're swapping batteries on the move, most users will probably forget it's there.
The DC20's DVD drive has an electronic hatch, which uses small motors to unclip the loading hatch so that you can insert a disc. The disc clips into place on a plastic spindle like the ones in portable CD players. The remainder of the DC20's chassis is covered in buttons and controls. There's a surprising number of manual controls, which should please the fiddlers among us. Overall this is a surprisingly strong chassis that feels like it would happily survive the rigours of a family holiday.
Features
Although the footage (in 16:9 widescreen) shot by the DC20 is inevitably degraded by the MPEG compression methods used by the camcorder to write video to DVD, the DC20's hardware is robust and capable. The Canon f/1.8, 10x optical zoom lens is coupled with a single 1/3.9-inch interlaced CCD. Exposure metering can be set to either spot, for difficult exposures where the central part of the frame defines the exposure of the whole, or matrix, where an exposure is set based on a dynamic range estimated for the whole frame. The DC20 also includes a nine-point AiAF auto-focus system.
Shooting modes on the DC20 include Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight and Fireworks. These settings determine various shutter speeds to best suit the environment you're capturing video in. Zoom capabilities on the DC20 stretch to 200x digital, which is more than enough for any sensible video capture. Zoom any more and your footage would be pretty unintelligible most of the time.
Transport controls are on the side of the camcorder. These include fast-forward and rewind. Editing and burn features are accessed through the on-screen menu system. DVDs can only be played in a home DVD system once the DC20 has 'finalised' the disc. This process, during which the table of contents is written to the DVD, takes a few minutes to complete.
Canon has bundled a composite AV cable and USB cable with the DC20. This cable is designed to transfer still photos only -- there is no FireWire connection on the camera. This makes advanced editing more or less impossible. You could rip the footage from your finalised DVDs and then convert the DVD codec into a format you can use with a major editing suite, but to be honest this is very time-consuming and unimpressive.
Peformance
The DC20's simplicity of operation is its greatest asset. Like other DVD models we've tested, the camcorder was up and running a few minutes after it was unpacked. Recording functions are easy to understand. Flick the slide on the rear of the DC20 into Camera mode and press the record button. The camcorder will begin writing video to disc; a second press will stop it.
As with all DVD camcorders, recording time will vary depending on how complex your scenes are. Video compression methods use a process whereby the amount of data needed to describe a single image will increase as the detail of the scene increases. A blank wall with a single subject framed against it will use relatively little space on the DVD, but a crowd scene with lots of colour and movement will use lots of space. This is nothing to worry about when shooting, but does explain the slightly unpredictable running lengths of your recordings.
In our informal test, the battery lasted for more than two DVD's worth of shooting, or over an hour, which should be enough for most home filmmakers. This certainly compares well with other DVD camcorders we've tested. Because of the shape and design of the DC20's battery compartment, you're limited to a single battery size. For longer shoots, you'll have to carry another cell with you.
Once you've shot video, the DVD 'finalise' process takes a couple of minutes to complete. This is a disappointment compared to the instantaneous eject of MiniDV, but it's not Canon's fault that domestic DVD players will not display a DVD without a table of contents.
The DC20 does make some odd noises when it initiates the DVD mechanism. This is audible on quiet recordings. On this matter, the manual states: "Problem: The disc's rotation can be faintly heard. Solution: The disc is activated from time to time. This is not a malfunction." Whether this will irritate you depends on how quiet your shooting environment is. You'd be hard pressed to hear this during a child's birthday party, but if you're in the middle of nowhere recording birdsong it might be an issue. In most environments the background noise should minimise the intrusion of the drive mechanism.
Image quality
DVD-based camcorders cannot hope to rival MiniDV camcorders at the moment, but with every new generation we see slight improvements in the overall image clarity. Nonetheless, the DC20 still falls some way short of our expectations.
Compression artefacts were visible under low light conditions such as inside a house, or in the early evening outdoors. Low light performance was underwhelming, presumably because the DC20 is trying to cope with both the shortcomings of a single-CCD system and the compression methods used to write the DVD. These are high demands to place on what is an emerging technology, but if it's purely image quality that delights and inspires you, MiniDV is still the only way to go.
Fans of simple operation and convenience may find the DC20 is good enough. Certainly, it stands its ground among the DVD-based competition.
Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide