Canon reveals flashy new Legria camcorders

In the lead up to this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Canon has unveiled 11 new camcorders, six of which have been confirmed for Australia.

As can be seen in the spec charts below, the six confirmed cameras — three standard-def and three high-def — all record to flash memory, either built-in or on removable SD/SDHC cards. All six cameras go on sale in the middle of March this year, but prices have yet to be confirmed.

As well as upgraded internals, the new cameras bear a newly minted moniker: Legria. This is presumably because two of Canon's major competitors have funky names — Handycam and Everio — for their camcorders already, although why Canon didn't just use the Vixia name from its US line-up is an Area 51-style mystery.

The cameras which are yet to be confirmed for Australia include an HDV tape unit, the HV40, two standard-definition mini-DVD cameras, the DC410 and DC420, and a MiniDV model, the ZR960. We'd be surprised if the HV40 didn't make the trip down under as it's a direct replacement for the HV30, even though the differences seem to be limited to a new 24p recording mode and a custom function button.

At least one of the mini-DVD twins should also make the trip here, unless Canon Australia decides to beat a strategic retreat from that part of the market. The DC410 has an effective resolution of 0.45 megapixels and 41x zoom lens, while the DC420 is slightly better specified with a 0.71-megapixel recording and a 48x zoom lens.

High definition

Standard definition

	HF200	HF20	HF S10
On sale	Mid-March 2009	Mid-March 2009	Mid-March 2009
Sensor size	1/4-inch (6.35mm)	1/4-inch (6.35mm)	1/2.6-inch (9.77mm)
Resolution	3.3-megapixel CMOS	3.3-megapixel CMOS	8-megapixel CMOS
Internal storage	None	32GB Flash	32GB Flash
SD/SDHC recording	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zoom	15x	15x	10x
Image stabilisation	Optical	Optical	Optical
LCD size	2.7-inch	2.7-inch	2.7-inch
Weight	340g	340g	450g
Dimensions (WxHxD)	70x62x124mm	70x62x124mm	70x69x136mm
Outputs	Headphone, composite, mini-HDMI	Headphone, composite, mini-HDMI	Headphone, composite, mini-HDMI
Inputs	Mic, hotshoe	Mic, hotshoe	Mic, hotshoe

	FS200	FS21	FS22
On sale	Mid-March 2009	Mid-March 2009	Mid-March 2009
Sensor size	1/6-inch (4.23mm)	1/6-inch (4.23mm)	1/6-inch (4.23mm)
Resolution	0.68-megapixel CCD	1.1-megapixel CCD	1.1-megapixel CCD
Internal storage	None	16GB Flash	32GB Flash
SD/SDHC recording	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zoom	41x	45x	45x
Image stabilisation	Electronic	Electronic	Electronic
LCD size	2.7-inch	2.7-inch	2.7-inch
Weight	230g	230g	230g
Dimensions (WxHxD)	56x58x122mm	56x58x122mm	56x58x122mm
Outputs	Headphone, composite	Headphone, composite	Headphone, composite
Inputs	Mic	Mic	Mic