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General discussion

Any Canon Optura 600 owners out there ???

Apr 14, 2006 4:43AM PDT

I am looking to buy a miniDV camcorder for personal/vacation use. The canon optura 600 seemed to be a good choice. However, I am VERY concerned because none of my local stores carry it, it doesn't rank in any of the ''top pick'' lists, I haven't found any recent reviews on it with current comments from buyers. (I only found a few of the original reviews from when it was first released.)

I liked that it took great stills; it seemed to be a good solid camcorder that took great video and stills and performed well in low light.

However, am I missing something?? Can anyone tell me if its a good purchase decision??? No one seems to know about it. I was wondering if they're coming out with a new model to replace it or if there have been problems with this model? I hear all about the new eluras and the new ZR models, but nothing about the optura 600.

Any optura 600 owners out there??? If so, i'd love to hear from you....

Buy? Pass?? Other recommendations instead?

Please help.
thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Optura 600
Apr 14, 2006 10:23AM PDT

You can find a complete review and user opinions over at Camcorderinfo.com

It has recently seemed to be out of stock at most retailers. (Online as well)
I don't know if it is discontinued or not, but people are having a hard time finding them.
It seems to have gotten great reviews. Very good performance in good light and low light.
The only thing that it gets knocked for is its poor handling. It is a matchbox camcorder and is very awkward to hold.
As an alternative, you may consider the Sony HC96.

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Optura 600 problems
Jun 16, 2006 5:44AM PDT

Bought one in March '06 from B&H. Started having
problems a month and a half later - would turn it on
and the LCD wouldn't come on, or the auto-focus
wouldn't work. Sometimes the charger light wouldn't
come on when plugged in. All intermittently.

I sent it in to the Canon repair facility and they
tested it for a month reporting no problem found.

Now a month after getting it back from them, it's
exhibiting the same problems! It's on its way back
to Canon at their expense.

B&H stopped carrying it 2 weeks after I got mine,
told me it was discontinued. I don't think the
product was on the market a full year. Makes
you wonder why when some of their Mini-DV cameras
have been on the market for over 2 years. No
replacement for the 600 can be found on Canon's
website.

In any case, it is a real nice camera. The low-light
performance is outstanding. The auto-focus works
well in all kinds of light situations. Stills are
fabulous (4 MP CCD helps), but the shutter lag is
horrendous. Don't use this for action shots.