By Annalyn S. Jusay
Until I attended the launch by Canon Marketing Philippines of its newest product line, I never thought that you can record video clips directly on DVD discs. Thankfully, this is now possible with Canon’s DC10 and DC20 Photo DVs which documents media in both the 8 cm DVD-R/RW and mini-SD card format. This got me thinking that making movies is no longer limited to the professionals but even for amateurs like you and me who need to capture those special moments in our lives with promptness and precision.
Even though technology is changing by the minute, Canon’s latest inventions are proud to proclaim themselves as “the world’s slimmest and smallest DVD camcorders.” Both the DC10 and DC20 weigh 415 g. and have dimensions of 48 x 86 x 122 mm. They can be distinguished in the crowd not only because of their compact size but also the “space age” ergonomics surrounding the cameras’ sturdy aluminum body. The main difference between the two is that the DC20 has a stunning 2.2 megapixel CCD while the DC10 has 1.3 megapixel. Other than this, the models offer users the quality and convenience of a lean machine complete with desirable specs such as Canon’s patented Digic DV imaging processor, high-quality lens, RGB primary color filter for true-to-life reproduction and 10 x optical zoom.
Canon officials said the DC10 and DC20 were designed to record videos with ease of usage in mind. For instance, there’s no need to fast-forward or rewind to begin recording because footage is automatically recorded on blank space. With the DVD R/RW system, one can easily play the video footages on your DVD player or enable the slide show of your still images on the TV with ease. Editing on the DC10 and DC20 is a breeze with the Playlist function. This allows you to change the order or divide your footages while retaining the original ones. Even more important is the fact that the cams empower you to make personalized DVD movies with the DVD Authoring function, dub directly from the Photo DV to PC through a one-touch button, burn DVDs using the DV camcorders directly and play these DVDs on any compatible player.
The DC10 and DC20 are also being touted as “the first DVD camcorder with full photo function.” Point-and-shoot users will appreciate the 9-point AiAF which allows fast and accurate focusing no matter where your subject appears in the frame. There is also a wide selection of scene modes to adjust to different shooting conditions such as Night, Sport and Portrait. For the Movie Mode, both cams offer a wide array of special effects and digital faders to enhance the images taken while on the go.
Both Canon models are compatible with PCs running on Windows XP and MAC OS X. They also deliver high-speed transfer via USB 2.0 and support Exif Print 2.2, a worldwide standard for enhancing communication between digicams and printers.
