Cam I See You?

Advantages: Great for special events.
Disadvantages: Pricey!

...As most top quality items do, we get a nicely packaged item, with all the appropriate information, such as the instruction manual, which is overall very easy to follow and it even includes diagrams for those of you out there who are not over technically minded. The XM2 is Canon's replacement for the DM-XM1 three-CCD MiniDV camcorder. If you have seen a Sony VX2000, you will notice that these two camcorders look quite alike. Although the image of it looks quite sturdy it actually isn't (measuring 11.8 cm x 30.6 cm x 13.6 cm) , also weighing in at 1.12 kg, it makes it all that comfortable to hold. So, no tired arms! The Canon XM2 digital camcorder is the ideal choice for recording broadcast or web content, making educational videos or registering an event like a wedding. A point worth raising is that the battery lasts for a fair...

benraiben 29.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Canon XM2 camcorder - Mini DV

Canon XM2

Advantages: Value for money
Disadvantages: Not good enough for commercial use

...Overview: I think this camera is a great all round choice for people who want a top range video camera without paying ridiculas prices. its about the cheapest you can go before you start to reduce in quality, its right on the border, Right cam for you? For instance; if you just want something to mess about with (mates and stuff): not for you, get a cheaper hand cam for about £150 Trying to start up video making company: probably not the best choice, go for something better quality Student: bang on, make high quality videos that will look great on portfolios while keeping some money in the bank. better than you average camera with great manual focus, £1300 - 1500 is probably a fair price to pay. Features: Av out (great for crane work) DV firewire out (faster import...

the7animator 27.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Canon XM2 camcorder - Mini DV

If you're not after HD, then go for this one

Advantages: Excellent lens quality, clear image, good colour reproduction, manual overrides, colour viewfinder
Disadvantages: Not brilliant in low light, mic could be better, not HD

...The Canon XM2 is the middle child of the camcorder world. Often sighted as too expensive by true amateur ?point-and-shoot? users, yet overlooked by the budding Spielberg who leap straight to it?s older brother the Canon XL2. So is this camera a stop gap in the pricing war, or are there other reasons to consider? If you're looking to get high quality picture definition from your camcorder then nothing short of 3CCD will do, and the XM2 delivers. When a camera records an image, it does so by using a light sensor behind the lens that takes the place of the film in traditional cameras. By focusing the light on this sensor an image can be recorded, but the size of the sensor dictates how sharp the image quality and colour reproduction can be. With suppliers and consumers determined to make consumer electronics smaller and smaller...

gnipping 10.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Canon XM2 camcorder - Mini DV

End of Cassttes, TDK Mini DV Tapes, Superb

Advantages: Record over and over again, high quality, Compact
Disadvantages: 2 play in video you need a dv casstee convertor

...Mini DV tapes are great... And the best thing is you can record over them as many times as you like over and over again and you still get a high quality picture. Well what about my experience: Having brought a DV Camcorder I wanted to buy DV Tapes.. So rather than just buying any DV Tape I started to do my research like I normally do when I buy any of my products. I searched online (Googling IT) for DV Tapes that where of a high quality and which had a perfect playback quality. While searching over the net I came across a few DV Tape makes such as Fuji, DVC, Sony, Maxell & TDK Having read reviews about the products like I normally do, I decided to go down to my local Argos store and buy TDK DVM-60 MiniDV Tapes for £7.99. I was expecting to buy just 1 for that price but I got 2 for that price. What a bargin! Now to my...

qasem121 14.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of TDK DVM 60 Colour Mini DV 60 min

Canon MD205 Mini DV Camcorder for all the family

Advantages: Compact. Good zoom. Good image quality Budget price.
Disadvantages: No separate battery charger supplied. Lots of PC disc space needed for film editing.

...on the computer (although it can be very time consuming). A separate battery charger was NOT supplied with my camera so the battery has to be charged from the mains supply whilst in the camera itself. I find this a bit limiting and a separate battery charger would have been a useful accessory to have. All in all I have been very pleased with my Canon MD205 Mini DV Camcorder and would recommend it as a good 'budget' camera for a family to use to create lasting memories....

Moongazinghare 27.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Canon MD205

Willing to spend £3700 to film a special event?

Advantages: Great for special events
Disadvantages: It is far too pricey.

...of analogue inputs and outputs (S-video, composite video, L/R audio) - not just DV in/out - and adds a card slot (SD Memory Card or MultiMedia Card) for still-image storage. Also included is a mini USB socket, which is useful for doing things such as downloading stills to your personal computer, which is a useful feature. As with the previous version, the size of the imaging CCDs remains the same. That being at 0.25in, although according to the manual, the number of effective pixels has apparently been increased from 300,000 to 440,000. Also according to the manual the cam is said to "deliver 540 lines resolution and a claimed improvement of 3dB in the signal-to-noise ratio - factors said to enhance colour reproduction, low-light performance, exposure range and resolution." Manual control over audio levels was an omission on the previous...

benraiben 21.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Canon XL2 camcorder - Mini DV

A beast of a camera

Advantages: Every Function you Could wish for!
Disadvantages: Hard to find said functions!

...Hi, First thing I'll say is that this camera isn't mine! It's one I use a lot at work, so if anything it probably gets more use, and on a wider varity of projects. This camera is really designed for the business and high end user. The unit itself is a reasonable size. Ist's not too large to make it difficult to use, but it is lasrge enough to make it easy to keep a smooth picture. Weight wise It's fine until you start adding extras. I often use a wide angle lens, and glare shield which can add a lot of weight to the front end of the camera. If you the add something to the active shoe, you can be fighting to keep the lens from pointing at your feet. This has never really proved a problem to me though, as when i'm using all the extra equipment, I'm normally using a tripod as well. The camera uses Mini DV tape and SD cards...

tribal_tiger 01.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Canon XM2 camcorder - Mini DV

Cheap, robust miniDV camcorder

Advantages: price, robustness, light weight, widescreen
Disadvantages: miniDV (in a tapeless world), nothing really

...Firstly the cons: it takes miniDV tapes. Despite tape offering a great archiving, robust and cheap to buy storage medium, I feel it has had it's day on consumer camcorders. Realtime downloading, moving parts in the camera and more noise all conspire to suggest you would be better served with card or diskdrives now. Pros: it's a very cheap way to get a great widescreen camcorder for little money. With Canon you get their excellent menu systems (camcorders and photocameras are different but good), a camera you know will work and access to loads of cheap 'pattern' batterys, bags and bits. The LCD screen is good, sound quality is very good really, image is spot on (vibrant enough without being 'stark'). It has a mic and AV-out for plugging into a TV, firewire for transfering the data and an external battery so you can get larger batteries...

FastboyEddie 18.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Canon MD235

Canon XL2

Advantages: Easy to use for beginner, built in 16:9 field of view
Disadvantages: Heavy in prolonged use (3.545Kg), quite short battery life

...and efficiently. (The XL2 does provide 2 custom keys which can be used to store two present shortcuts to settings which may be useful for the most commonly used settings). Overexposed areas of a shot can be identified using the "zebra pattern" feature which highlights over exposed portions of the scene allong adjustments to be made if required. Lenses for the XL2 are primarily from the Xl interchangeable lens system. However, it is possible to purchase an option EF adapter allowing the use of Canon's EF series lenses. The XL2 provides image stabilisation and this proves acceptable in use right up to the camera's maximum (x20) zoom. The XL2 uses standard 1 1/4" miniDV cassettes and images can be captured to your computer using the camera's IEEE 1394 (FireWire) socket. It is possible to record directly onto a PC's hard drive using...

kollerto 20.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Canon XL2 camcorder - Mini DV

Go PRO for less

Advantages: Interchageable lens system, 2xXLR inputs built in, adjustable viewfinder position
Disadvantages: Not good for low light performance, bulky when compared to consumer units, not HD

...The Canon XL2 is the pro-sumer miniDV camcorder that is most often spotted on the sets of low budget and independent films. Not because it is a cheap option, but because for a fraction of the cost of a professional rig, you can deliver the same results. SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT SPECS: 1/3" Progressive Scan 3CCD image sensor PAL & NTSC versions available TTL Autofocus and Manual focus ring 20x optical zoom Min focus distance 20mm on wide macro Min illumination 60i, 1/60 shutter speed = 5.5lux Filter Diameter 72mm Viewfinder 2.0 inch TFT colour LCD (200,000 pixels) Microphone stereo electric condenser plus 2xXLR ports Total Pixels 16:9 460,000 (962x480), 4:3 350,000 (720x480) DV out is IEEE1394/mini Firewire connection Video out is 4pin mini-DIN Dimensions 225x220x496mm weight 7.8lbs with lens and battery If you...

gnipping 10.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Canon XL2 camcorder - Mini DV