Canon MV650i

In this era of ever-decreasing camcorder size, Canon's MV600i range remains similar in proportions to its predecessors. But the MV500i and its brethren were already a happy trade-off between palm-sized portability and features anyway, so the 650i is still a handy little unit.

There are three members of the range - the 600i, the 630i and the flagship 650i. Optical zoom levels increase by two with each model, from 18x for the 600i to 22x for the 650i. Digital zoom is suitably ludicrous to match - the 650i can be toggled between 88x or 440x modes. But with such a capable optical zoom, you can get by in most circumstances without turning it on at all.

On top of the regular eight AE modes, such as Sports, Portrait, and Night Mode, the 650i has a Super Night Mode. A built-in light on the body of the camcorder comes on automatically in low light to bring operating receptivity down to zero lux (complete darkness). Like most night modes, Super Night Mode opens the shutter for longer and reduces the frame rate, so video can be both jerky and blurry. But it's still much more effective than the unlit night modes of the 600i and 630i, and their predecessors. On top of the AE modes are a whopping 18 digital effects, including plenty of wacky DVEs, although if you're planning to download your video to a PC you're better off leaving this kind of thing until the editing stage.

The other major enhancement of the 630i and 650i over previous Canons is an increase in still photo resolution. Whereas the MV550i offered 768 x 576 still images, both these models are capable of 1,024 x 768 progressive scan XGA, with an 8MB SD card supplied for storage. Although the CCD remains 1/6in, it now has an 800,000-pixel resolution. However, XGA still isn't that impressive compared with standalone digital still cameras, so the photo functionality is more of a bonus than a real replacement. With the 650i, motion JPEG movies can also be recorded to SD for email or use on the Web.

In its core role as a camcorder, the 650i performed as expected. The autofocus could be sluggish during rapid zooms, but the digital image stabiliser was relatively effective. In sunny daylight conditions, the 650i achieved realistic contrast and natural colour reproduction, although there was some evidence of shimmering with diagonal parallel lines. Under artificial light, the Canon also showed good colour fidelity, with only limited blooming around solid red objects. With the supplied wide angle filter, however, it was unable to focus beyond a certain level of zoom in both optical and digital modes.

It's also reasonably easy to use, with the digital effect buttons under the swing-out 2.5in, 112,000-pixel LCD, and a simple jog wheel for AE modes and camera setup. The tape transport buttons light up in a choice of six colours, and also give access to manual focus and exposure controls. For editing, the camcorder has both FireWire and analog in and out. A full-sized S-Video port can be found on the body, but the composite and audio I/O is integrated into a proprietary AV jack. The biggest downside is the bottom-loading tape mechanism - massively annoying for tripod use.

Overall, though, this is another solid value camcorder from Canon. It can't quite match JVC's cheapest models for sheer price, or Sony's more expensive ones for image quality, but the powerful optical zoom and Super Night Mode are great inclusions for the money.

Author: James Morris