Product Reviews

The MVX350i's glossy battleship-grey body finish is consistent with many of Canon's new consumer DV camera offerings, and the camera provides features that are rapidly becoming standard - namely, 16:9 widescreen, electronic image stabilisation and the full range of analogue and digital inputs. Moreover, its single 1/4.5in CCD can produce images that compare well to some competitors' three-CCD models, and it is clear the £500 average asking price could be money well spent if you are hunting around for a fully-featured, high-quality DV camera that does not break the bank.

All the main buttons and controls on this chunky, well-balanced camcorder are in the right place and are easily accessible. Its 0.33in colour viewfinder tilts up to an approximate 45 angle, and there is also a useful pull-out eyepiece. As with the other DV cameras in the range, it has a top-loading tape transport system, which shows Canon has been listening to users' complaints about the awkwardness of bottom-loading mechanisms.

As the top model in a range that also includes the MVX330i and MVX300, the MVX350i appears to have quite a lot going for it: its single CCD produces an effective 850,000 pixels in movie mode and 1.23 megapixels in digital stills camera mode when writing to optional MMC or SD media cards. The standard f1.8 Canon Video Lens provides 20x optical zoom (18x on both the MVX330i and MVX300 models) and compares favourably with other competing models, with digital zoom coming in at 400x (for those who value that sort of thing). Thanks to a CCD that offers additional pixels around the 4:3 array, this device can produce an acceptable anamorphic 16:9 widescreen, in which the incoming image is laterally compressed into the available space and decompressed at the playback end. The extra pixels are also useful for its electronic image stabilisation (EIS), which makes use of the larger array to smooth out moderate camera shake. Digital stills also take advantage of the larger CCD, making it possible to shoot images with a minimum focal distance of 37.9mm as opposed to 45.4mm for

ADVERTISEMENT

video.

Electronic shutter is available, too, offering speeds of between 1/2 second to 1/2000th of a second in progressive photo mode. Ten auto-exposure program modes are available, as are 19 built-in digital video effects, backlight compensation and 0 Lux shooting in Super Night Mode (1.5 Lux in standard Night Mode). Manual control is available for focus, but not for white balance or audio recording level control.

Canon's now-standard menu options are accessed via a Menu button placed in front of the smallish 2.5in, 123,000-pixel LCD screen, with selections being made using a thumbwheel. In addition to the usual power and main function switch, Canon has provided easy switching between movie and card (stills) modes - the latter of which saves Jpeg images up to 1280 x 960 pixels to the optional memory card. Full connectivity is provided, with DV in/out, AV in/out (the menu selects between AV out and headphone out) and USB (for stills and M-Jpeg movie transfer). There is a microphone input socket, although no S-Video socket (as with other models in the range). AV-input pass-through conversionto DV via FireWire, is available, however.

All DV cameras in the MVX300 series benefit from Canon's proprietary DIGIC-DV image processing circuitry, which does seem to enhance the image to the point where colours are more vibrant and overall image resolution is better. This is certainly borne out with the performance of the MVX350i in that its recorded video and digital stills have a quality that is not necessarily apparent on its competing models. Picture quality in both 16:9 and 4:3 modes is extremely good; close-up shots of springtime blooms, blue skies and lush foliage are accurately and faithfully reproduced to the point where one has to question the need for three CCDs in models at this price point. Audio quality from the built-in electret condenser mic is good, too, with general clarity and stereo separation being well up to expectations.

The MVX350i, along with its siblings in the range, is a well-built, easy-to-use DV camcorder that's well suited to beginners as well as upgraders. It has all the connections you will need in addition to welcome features such as proper widescreen and a generous optical zoom ratio. Those with dedicated stills cameras will find the stills capability superfluous, but for the rest of us, the 1.23MP stills utility can be handy to have onboard and image quality is certainly good enough for casual home use.

All in all, the Canon MVX350i is a fine camcorder that does most jobs very well. It is great value for money to anyone who is looking for ease of use, full functionality and great quality.