Canon DC220

Now we'll take a look at the mildly exceptional specs of the Canon DC220. We're expectant that you'll be crazy for it. Seriously you'll definitely enjoy it. As we consitantly do, I attempt to catch and list the finest deals available everywhere on the internet below the stats.

Review By: Dorothy Kuhn

Perhaps it's the convenience of popping a DVD out of the camcorder and straight into your living room player, or maybe you just don't feel comfortable with a hard-drive-based model, but whatever the reason, you're looking into buying a DVD camcorder. Positioned in the middle of the company's 2007 DVD-based camcorders, Canon's DC220 is a decent, though not very impressive model.

Astute observers will notice that the DC220 shares most of its features with the slightly less expensive DC210. In this case, the extra cash gets you an autofocus upgrade to Canon's nine-point AiAF system, a miniSD card slot for capturing still images, a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connection, PictBridge compatibility for direct photo printing to compatible printers, and Canon's Digital Video Solutions software package. That means that if you're not interested in shooting still images with your camcorder and you don't need Canon's software, then you may want to consider the DC210.

Canon now includes a tiny joystick, well located for your thumb, to navigate the menus. That's a big step up from the array of buttons on the left side of the DC100's body. However, the DC220 does have a triad of annoying buttons on its flank. You use them to access the menu, change the information displayed on the LCD, or enter and exit quick start mode (aka standby mode). In our field tests, we found these buttons less responsive than we would've liked. In many cases, it took more than one press, not to mention more force than we prefer to exert on the side of a camera body that we're trying to hold still.

Canon includes a decent array of controls and features for a mid level camcorder. You can choose from program, shutter-priority, or night exposure modes, and there are four white-balance settings, including evaluative. We were impressed with the DC220's long 35x optical zoom lens as well as with the camera's electronic image stabilization, which remained effective out to about 85 percent of the zoom range. Plus, if you have a hard time keeping those variable-speed zoom rockers moving smoothly, the DC220 includes three constant zoom speeds.