Canon Elura 50 Ultra Compact MiniDV Camcorder with 2"LCD and Memory Capability

Other products by Canon

Product Details

Product Manual [3.64mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 5.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000095Z87
• Item model number: 50
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,797 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 25, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Boasting an ultra-compact vertical design, the Canon Elura 50 is a well-equipped camcorder with features such as a 10x optical zoom, 2-inch LCD screen, and digital still capability.

Image Stabilization
Canon's electronic picture stabilization keeps your images smooth and steady. With this function turned on, natural jerks and shaky holding will be smoothed over with a stable image.

Optics
The 1/6-inch CCD has a total of 680,000 pixels, so images come out in vibrant color and sharp resolution. The Elura 50 has a robust 10x optical zoom that provides a range wide enough for most uses, but if you need extra zooming you can zoom digitally up to 400x. There are several programmed exposure controls such as auto, sports, portrait, spotlight, sand and snow, low light, and night mode for easy recording. You can also set the camcorder to manual for greater control.

More Features

This camera can connect directly to select printers. Learn more about PictBridge.

The easy to see 2-inch LCD screen helps you frame your shot and navigate through menus, or you can use the 0.5-inch color viewfinder. You can shoot in low-light situations using the super night shooting mode, where an assist lamp lights up to help expose your subject better.

The light is also used for red eye reduction when the camcorder is used as a still camera. The Elura 50 is compatible with both Secure Digital and MultiMedia cards for image storage, an 8MB SD card is included. The special progressive photo mode eliminates video interlace to create images with little blurring.

You can easily transfer your photos onto a computer with the USB port. The standard IEEE1394 (Firewire) connection can be used for digital video editing on a computer, and standard AV and S-Video ports are useful for viewing tapes on a television or dubbing copies.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the new preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

Contents
This package includes the Elura 50 camcorder, battery pack, battery charger, compact power adapter, wireless remote controller, S-Video and stereo video cables, USB cable, 8 MB SD memory card, digital video solution disk, and DV Messenger software.

Product Description
Whether your travels take you to lush tropic rainforests, white sandy beaches, or busy marketplaces brimming with local color, Canon's Elura 50 camcorder is the one item that will never be left home. Its extreme portability means it travels wherever you do, so you'll never miss an opportunity. Superior picture quality allows you to relive all the sights and sounds of your trip just as you remembered them, with rich, vibrant color and crisp detail, without even leaving your living room. Although vacations can't last a lifetime, the Elura 50 guarantees a journey back anytime you choose.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars quality video but make sure you have enough light!, September 13, 2003

By	jemaerca (River Forest, IL, United States) - See all my reviews

if you are going to shoot videos with plenty of light and you want a very compact camera, the elura 50 could be for you. however, if you plan on shooting low-light scenes, you'll be disappointed. there's not even an accessory shoe so you can use an external light source.

pros:
- very small and lightweight: 1.9"W x 3.4"D x 4.2"H, 13.4 oz.
- very good video performance when you have enough light.
- uncluttered, easy to use menus.
- 10x optical zoom.
- 1 megapixel still capability.

- progressive photo mode.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- allows some degree of manual control.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to SD card.
- as with most canon products, the printed manual is very good.
- digital image stabilization works well.

cons:
- a couple of deal breakers for me: poor low light performance, and,
- no accessory shoe (to think that you would really need an accessory shoe for an external light given this camcorder's low-light performance).
- mic placement is on top of camcorder (most vertical camcorders do) which means it picks up the videographer's voice more readily.
- a greater capacity battery protrudes sideways from this camcorder's body, making holding this unit a bit awkward.
- the lcd is real small, only 2".
- you could do better on the still photo department. for example, sony's trv80 and trv70 and panasonic's PVDV953 have 2-3 megapixel capability but those camcorders are much more expensive.
- don't expect miracles from 1 megapixel stills.
- video too choppy with low light modes.
- motor noise can be heard when recording a very quiet room.
- the included 8MB SD card is unacceptable. be prepared to shell out more money for for more memory (at least 32MB).

at this price point, i would recommend panasonic's gs70 or sony's trv33 or pc-105. although slightly bigger, i believe these camcorders offer a better package than the elura 50. peace.

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth about Canon Elura 50, May 25, 2003

By A Customer

I just purchased the Elura 50 yesterday. Before I purchased this unit, I did some research online and found a bunch of bad reviews on its previous version Elura 40. I owned a PowerShot digital camera from Canon and because of its ease of use and good software interface with the computer, I decided to check into Canon camcorders. I walked into the store to check it out and was right away impressed with its small size. I spent sometime trying and finally decided the reviews I saw was questionable! I actually saw the one and only review posted on Amazon.com on the Elura 50 model and all other reviews were on the Elura 40. I can tell you now after buying that it is the most impressive camcorder I have experinced. The video was clear, no grainy effects, true to the color and brilliant. There was no motor sound that was suggested by other people. Whatever problems existed on the Elura 40 were not there on the Elura 50. I tested the camera using Auto on the outdoor, inside using low light setting, in quiet surroudning as well as noisy surrounding. I replayed using the camera, as well as connecting to the Plasma display. Everything was so perfect and the interface with the display unit was faultless. The video using Auto setting was impressive and the indoor shots were even more impressive. The colors were so vivid. I cannot believe my eyes the quality of the video and the sound was great. The menu and the controls are easy to use. My husband was standing 10 feet away from the camera and I could still catch his conversation on the video when I ran that on the audio receiver and plasma. I can say that the speaker sound when I did the replay on the camera was not very clear but if you think about it, why do anyone wants to use the camera for replay. It is best to run it on the TV or the plasma so that everyone can see. The great thing is when I replayed the video using the plasma, it automatically displayed using the wide screen format. I will highly recommend this unit to anyone. I decided to get this unit even with the bad reviews because the technology of these things are getting smaller and smaller and I didn't want to buy something that will be outdated in a year. I am not a video professional but the result I got was of professional quality!! This is the first time I got a camcorder from Canon, I used to own a JVC and I think Canon makes great product. I don't work for Canon and I am only an average housewife who loves to use new electronics.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Camcorder, June 10, 2003

By	"racerrex" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

I bought this 3 weeks ago and have used it in all conditions. I love it. This is my first camcorder and after reading all the reviews for various camcorders, I picked this one. So far, I have only used the auto mode and I have not seen any grainy effects like the other reviewers said. I've shot in low light and sunlight and the picture is perfect. I have already made DVDs with it and my family can't believe the quality from such a small camcorder. My only con would be battery life. It lasts about 45 minutes for me. I am just going to buy a high capacity battery then I'll be set.