Canon Optura S1 2.2MP MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 7.1 x 6.2 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007Y78T0
• Item model number: S1
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,692 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 7, 2006

Product Description

Product Description

Around the world, the name Canon means optical excellence, advanced image processing, and superb performance. And Canon digital video camcorders are no exception.For professionals and consumers alike, Optura camcorders are the perfect blend of performance and features. The Opturas are the leaders in Canon's line-up of single-CCD digital video camcorders, with Megapixel CCDs that give stunning results, as well as features and functions for more advanced users.With the Optura S1, you get the perfect fusion of today's style with uncompromising performance. The S1's sleek, compact design makes a fashion statement and looks right at home with the rest of your gear. Plus, its advanced digital features, superior optics and 2.2 Megapixel CCD performance deliver brilliant video and photos. It's the camcorder you've always wanted with the cool you crave.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 183 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent device, but only for its market target, November 29, 2005

By	Matteo (FL) - See all my reviews

I'm not a professional videographer. Still I might well be the pickiest man in the world when it comes to video quality. I'm the one who keeps noticing MPEG artifacts in TV transmissions all the time, because I've been doing my own DVDs for 5 years. In short, I can judge video quality at first sight.

This said, you'll never see me with a big professional camera over my shoulder, because I don't film for a living in the first place and also because I already had many experiences where I had to leave my camcorder behind because it was too bulky to carry. And I'm not talking about big VHS cams, I'm referring to the "small" Hi-8 cameras from Sony: great image, excellent sound, yet too bulky to carry to many wild adventures or long trekkings.

At this point in my life, I came to the conclusion that comfortableness proved to be more important than top-notch quality, especially for a backpacker like me who can't afford to choose between carrying a camcorder or two extra bottles of water. This mini DV camera the size of a digital still camera was worth a try.

So this is the reason why I bought the Canon Optura S1 in the first place: the smaller available camcorder in the market in October 2005 ( FBI/CIA gadgets don't count here ;) and manufactured by my favorite still camera brand. So I bought it with all this in mind. As you will see (and I really knew this before purchasing, so I'm not complaining) such small size has its trade-offs limitations, and it's up to you to decide whether it's worth to buy it or not. What follows is my personal opinion on the camera.

Pro's

* Small as hell, that's my baby!!! Can fit in a still-photo case and attach to the belt.

* Colors are *in-cre-di-bly* accurate. Now, this is a tough one when dealing with NTSC!! By far the best color-matching camcorder that I ever owned.

* Excellent image quality in daylight, and I mean it.

These 3 things said, the camera paid itself and that's enough to make me happy with my purchase. But for the sake of this review, let's move on:

Could be improved's:

* The device can act as a 2 Megapixel still camera as well, but do not expect "Canon quality" at all (and this has nothing to do with the 2 Mpx limitation). The still shots are maybe acceptable for the occasional user, probably could compete side by side with many generic brand 2 Mpx still cameras, but nowhere near a 2 Mpx Canon point&shot still cam.

* There's an included light for night filming. This certainly isn't an halogen lamp, but for something that looks pretty much like a "led", it gives a decent ammount of light, useful to illuminate faces no farther than 1.5 meters (45 feet) and that's about it.

* 10x Zoom: Actually, it's a miracle that such a small device can accommodate as much zoom as 10x. Sure, that's low compared to today's standards, but each of us knows the weight (importance) that assigns to this feature. My Hi-8 Sony TRV-66 has 20x and unless you put it on a tripod it's quite a challenge to obtain a steady frame at the full 20x. For the few occasions that you may be using the full zoom, 10x is fairly enough.

Con's

* Quality degradation is too noticeable when light gets dimmer. I'm not speaking about a dark room illuminated by a birthday candle, I'm referring to an average room at night illuminated by regular bulbs: The picture won't necessarily be dark, but the noise (video noise, for those who dominate the matter) is more noticeable than I would like.

* The "wide" angle is too narrow. Again, a consequence of the small size and lens diameter. To capture an entire scenario in the frame I would have to walk a couple of meters back that otherwise wouldn't be necessary with other camcorders.

* And this last one is really unforgivable: It doesn't include an option to stamp date/time in the frame during recording time. So you either do this during edition time in your PC (most people don't edit their videos BTW) or you have to keep saying e.g. "today is November 29th..." if you want your videos to keep some historical reference 10 years from now.

Well, I tried to be fair enough in my review. As I said, I'm very happy with this purchase because it exceeded what I expected in some aspects, but I also added the not-so-good things for you to judge objectively if this is the right camera for you.
Happy filming!

49 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dissapointed, December 2, 2005

By	Scott Stephany (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't usually purchase things sight unseen, but this camera was an exception. I had only my past experiences with Canon to go by, which I had been satisfied with.

I wanted something compact, so the size is perfect for me. I like the widescreen mode. And the camera is fairly intuitive, although I've had to reference the manual on a couple occasions.

The boxey shape reminded me of an elph still camera I purchased sometime back, so I naturally assumed it was encased in metal as well. Nope. Cheap plastic feel that I'm concerned I'll end up breaking.

But my biggest gripe is the video quality when shot indoors. Even with the light on the picture is really grainy. I'm going to put it up against my old Sony Video8 camera as a test, but I swear the old camera took a brighter picture.

We purchased this to take shots of our new baby girl. I've been really dissapointed with the indoor shooting since that's where new parents spend a great deal of time.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is very little not to like about this videocamera..., June 6, 2006

By	E. Carbone (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This camera produces excellent image quality for the price, it's very compact, and ergonomic. It's packed with features. If you are a mainstream user, it is more than adequate. There are those who will compare it to $1000-$2000 videocams and it will naturally fall short. But the fact is, it's reasonably priced, has sufficient features for most users, and can be taken anywhere because of its size. I would recommend getting an extra battery since you will only get 45 minutes - 1 hour energy if you use the LCD display and do a lot of zooming, etc. Speaking of zoom, some people think that a 10x optical zoom is less than ideal, but face it -- if you are trying to zoom much beyond that level, you are going to need a tripod. Overall, this is an excellent item, and delivers the quality I would expect from Canon.