For little more cost than the DC220, the Canon DC230 DVD camcorder offers an improved feature set and marginally higher quality images. The DC230 remains an affordable and easy to use low-end DVD camcorder.

The optical setup is a step above the DC220. This DV camcorder offers a higher resolution 1/6-inch CCD. Instead of a 680K pixel imager, the DC230 is equipped with a 1.07 megapixel imager that delivers 690K effective pixels for video in 4:3 mode and up to 710K effective pixels in 16:9 aspect ratio, depending on whether the electronic image stabilization system is turned on or off. We detected some small improvement in image quality when recording in good lighting conditions, specifically a slight reduction in visible grain. The low light performance of the DC230 fared little better than that of the DC220, though, and images were again blighted by distracting levels of video noise.

The DC230 features Canon's new joystick control that provides a simple means to access the easy to navigate menu system. Convenience functions such as a Quick Start button and responsive automatic controls make the DC230 a pure point and shoot camcorder. In addition, it offers an impressively powerful zoom lens for a DV camcorder in this price bracket: The 35x optical lens zooms smoothly into the action and for even greater magnification the unit offers a 1000x digital zoom. The effective uses for such a large digital zoom are, as always, extremely limited due to the level of image degradation.

The DC230 records video to write once DVD-R or rewriteable DVD-RW format discs and is also compatible with Dual Layer DVD-R discs, which offer about twice the recording time as standard discs. Choose a compatible format and you can play the discs directly in a home DVD player, recorder, PC or even a video game console.

Unlike the DC220, this DVD camcorder is equipped with a memory card slot and digital stills capability. Being able to capture 800K digital photos doesn't make this a hybrid stills camera, but a lot of users will find the ability to snap stills while simultaneously recording video a handy feature. The USB 2.0 high-speed connection enables rapid video transfer and DV streaming, so you can also use the DC230 as a webcam or video conferencing tool.

This is a neatly styled, convenient DV camcorder that will appeal to point and shoot enthusiasts. While the low light performance is disappointing, the extra features make the Canon DC230 a better buy than the next unit down in Canon's range of lower end DVD camcorders.

Pros: Simple to use, great handling, includes 16:9 widescreen mode, snaps digital stills
Cons: Poor low light performance

Warranty
1 year, parts and labor