To make its top-of-the-line DC50 DVD camcorder, Canon took last year's DC40, enhanced all the good aspects and rectified just about all the flaws. The processor has been upgraded from a Digic DV to a Digic DV II, and the imager enlarged to a 5.39-megapixel CCD with an RGB primary color filter. Simply put, this means a noticeable improvement in image quality. Color reproduction is excellent, and the low-light performance is vastly improved. In addition to a choice of widescreen and standard-format shooting modes, the DC50 also boasts an optical image stabilization system that steadies your recordings without reducing image quality like digital image stabilization.

At first glance, the DC50 doesn't look much different than the older DC40. The two camcorders are about the same size and weight, but upon closer inspection, you'll notice that Canon has greatly improved handling by relocating the DC50's joystick control to the rear of camcorder body, enabling one-handed operation. The menu system itself has also been simplified, and Canon has added a quick-start feature. When starting from sleep mode, the DC50 is ready to shoot within 1 second, so you'll never miss those fleeting moments while waiting for the camcorder to power up.

The DC50 records video to 3-inch DVD-R/RW and DVD-R DL (Dual Layer). It also captures 5-megapixel stills to miniSD card at a maximum resolution of 2,581X1,936. MiniSD cards are not as readily available as other media, so remember to stock up before taking an extended trip. The DC50 includes both a built-in flash for stills photography and a small video light. While the unit offers room for expanding the battery, perhaps our only complaint about the DC50 is its lack of an accessory shoe or external microphone input. This makes the expansion possibilities extremely limited, to say the least.

Both the auto-focus and auto-exposure settings are fast and accurate, even in poorly lit situations. In addition to the excellent automatic controls, the DC50 offers a solid manual control suite. Manual controls include aperture and shutter priority modes, white balance, exposure compensation and manual focus. The speed of the 10X optical/200X digital zoom function can be set at either fast, medium or slow, regardless of the amount of finger pressure applied. The DC50 also includes image effects such as soft skin detail for improving skin tones in portrait shots. The only manual control not present is a gain adjustment.

Packed with features, manual control options and an optical setup capable of delivering great video recordings, the Canon DC50 is an outstanding DVD camcorder.


Pros:  Excellent feature set, great video and stills performance, solid manual controls
Cons:  No accessory shoe or external microphone input, uses only miniSD cards for stills

Warranty
1 year parts and labor