Customer Reviews

Canon DC40 4.3MP DVD Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this camera for general use and like it a lot. Compared to other cameras ive owned this one has very good sound recording capability. It's ergonomics are good and its pleasant to use for the most part. Using the DVD options on the camera could be a little more refined but I imagine that will mature with future generations. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a DVD camcorder to use for family or low end presentations.
The Bad: The editing software included with it is rubbish and requires shelling out more money right off the bat if you actually want to create anything reasonably professional with any footage. In my opinion its a technical support headache waiting to happen. I checked it out then threw it in the trash.
It also does not have firewire which is highly irritating and odd considering my older Canons/sonys all have firewire connectivity. MAC USERS: This means it will not work with iMovie or Final Cut Pro / Express.
Since my preference is for using OS X based editing suites I finish out the DVD and then put it in the computer directly. Rip the footage off the DVD and then import it into either FCP or iMovie. If only it had firewire...
In short: Great camera, very good sound, easy to use and pleasant to operate. Clunky, out-of-box-upgrade-requiring, low-end editing software and lack of firewire keep it from being the perfect little camera it should be.

Excellent.
Easy to use. Easy to use instruction manual too. I tried out a SONY camcorder, and found the CANON much easier.

Switching between camcorder, and still photos is as easy as flipping a switch.

Photos are excellent! I have printed out 5X7s and 8X10s. I take a lot of photos, and they come out great. The flash is small and only reaches so far. Photos may be blurry or dark if the flash can not recharge in time, or you are too far away. Turning on a light helps this.

No firewire. However, you dont' really need one. It's dvd. After you finalize your dvd, you just slip it into your computer dvd drive, or put it into your dvd player. . .and there you go. You are ready to play your home movies.

Applause for the remote control! This remote works fast. I used to have a high-end digital camera, and the remote was always slow to respond. This remote takes photos great. Get a tripod, and let everyone be in the photo! It's away. It works with both video, and still photos.

Drawbacks: Price. (Ouch) It is the top of line, right now, however. I think it blows the SONY away.
You do have to pay for the upgrade on MYDVD, if you plan on editing a lot. However, you can use any DVD editing program that you like
Otherwise, I can see no drawbacks.. I love my CANON D40

Added 10/2007 :
be sure not to drop this camcorder. I have had other camcorders in the past and have dropped them with nothing breaking. However, I dropped this twice, a short drop onto carpet, and each time the unit broke. It locked up, and could not do anything. Same problem both times. That heavens, I only had to pay to have it repaired once.

Samantha

After looking into a camcorder with DVD capability and the flexibility of good still photos, I decided to go with the Canon DC40. It has everything I wanted and is easy to use, at least up until this point (I haven't transferred photos or movies to my computer). The only drawbacks that I have noticed is that battery must be charged by plugging in the camera so you're unable to use the camera while charging your second battery and the battery life if you take stills does not last very long. You can purchase a separate charger (approx $20). Photo quality is great and DVD quality is great. Indoor settings you have to remember to check lighting or use the flash. I don't have much of basis to compare it to, but I do love the camera. It beats carrying a camcorder and still camera and the picture quality is no comparison from older generation cameras. Definitely something to have with small children.

I really do love this camera, yet, there are a few drawbacks, that I would have liked to know prior to purchasing:

1) It does take time to initialize and finalize discs (and must be plugged in and NOT MOVED to do so) which isn't horrible, but somewhat annoying.

2) Another drawback is the battery life which is pretty short... although it lasts about as long as the 30 min. discs.

3) On the side of the camera is just says DVD R/RW, but you must buy the -R and -RW discs as the +R and +RW don't work (learned after buying 5 discs at Wal-Mart for [...].) I assumed either would work since the camera doesn't specify either on the side.

4) Another thing that is odd is that the camera says it's 4.0 megapixels, and all of the reviews and manufacturers descriptions says it's 4.3 MP??? I'm sure it doesn't make much difference, but it is a bit misleading.

5) I also have a total of 4 DVD players in my house, and only one will play these little discs... and after I burned it to a regular size DVD, only one played that, but it was a different DVD player, so go figure???

All in all, though, I really do like this camera. I love the still pics it takes and I love the sound quality which is in stereo!!! It sounds so good on surround sound! There are lots of neat features on this camera and with the software... I made a little Halloween video and added titles and fades and such and made it look "old". If you'd like to see it here is the link... it's fairly short, but I got lots of compliments on it, and I'm no camera expert!!! [...]
Just copy and paste the link if you'd like to see what you can do with this package!

I've done my web research and it pointed me to buy the Canon DC40 among other dvd-camcorders in market. It was such an amazing experience using it to capture moments during my nephew's birthday party. The still shots were absolutely fantastic! The video was like no other...it was very clear and sharp. You may want to tweak the settings to get that film look versus the homevideo look on your video shots. Also, tweak the stills settings as well to get that SLR-like shots. I love this product and I highly recommend this to all of you who are planning on purchasing a dvd-camcorder. Cheers! -- Joel Pelayo

This is the machine you have been waiting for. It is so easy to use. It will do almost anything you can imagine in terms of still photography. It is as if you have the best digital compact camera.
The quality of the DVD movies are amazing. It is like looking through the window when you watch your video on the TV. It is as close to High Defonition as I have ever seen.
It is worth while to read the instruction manual first, as there are few little things that have to be done in the correct sequnece to finalise DVD's, but it is very simple.
The sound is crips and clear with out any noise interuptions. I would say that this is the best DVD camcorder available at the moment.

The Canon DC40 is a great camera in all levels of light. I just got back from Disney and filmed the fireworks show. I've never had any luck filming things like this but with this camera set on the special "Fireworks" setting it looked as good as the firework shows you see on TV. Daytime movies came out fantastic as well. The camera feels sturdy and I have no fear of it breaking. Takes really sharp vivid color photos. The option to take pictures while you film video is pretty cool but the photos don't come out as good as when you take the photos by themselves. The one problem I have with it is that it picks up a lot of wind sound. I glued a very small piece of foam, kinda like what is on earbuds, on the mic and it cut down on the noise quite a bit with no loss to voices and sounds. If your budget won't allow you to go hi-def then this is the cam for you.

I did a lot of research on camcorders before I decided to purchase the Canon DC-40. It has been everything I expected and more. The video and audio quality is far superior to our old videotape camcorder. The DC-40 gives me all the tools I need to get the best picture and sound under any condition I am shooting under. To get the same number of pixels the DC-40 offers, you might have to pay twice as much. I am amazed at how good video I get for a camera that I can carry in my coat pocket.

I like Canon,that's why I choose this Canon DC40 over Sony DCR-DVD505. Very dispoint me is this Camcorder over heat the first day when I tried to download still images into my PC. Even it claims 4.3MP, the pictures quality only equal to 2MP digital camera. Make it useless.

It does not support IEE firewire.

It only can use DVD-R and DVD-RW. Does not support DVD+R nor DVD+RW

Mydvd software comes with the Camcorder have to pay for up-grade in order to transfer Video File from Camcorder to PC or Add Video file from dvd drive to PC.

Very slow start.

But Video quality very good.

This camcorder does an excaptional job. You get what you pay for. The still pictures are very nice for being part of a camcorder. The only complaint I have is the batteries don't seem to last long.