Labs

The MVX4i is a stylish MiniDV camcorder. Its massive 4.3-megapixel CCD allows it to double as a respectable stills camera as well.

FEATURES

The MVX4i's upright design makes it more compact than most of the MiniDV camcorders in the group. The zoom slider, photo shutter button and video-to-photo select switch sit under your forefinger, with the mode select dial and menu rocker button under your thumb.

The LCD screen is of a high standard and the menu system is well laid

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out and easy to navigate. There's no accessory shoe on top - just a handy direct print button for still photos.

The large lens has no built-in cover, but there is a video light and a flash for still photos. An SD card slot is provided for storage, but with a maximum resolution of 2,304x1,736 the included 16MB card won't hold many snaps.

PERFORMANCE

With its single large CCD the MVX4i can't really compete with three-CCD devices, but it does produce decent video with very little noise. The results were good in our outdoor tests, with sharper edges and more convincing colour than video from the MVX330i. The widescreen mode was disappointing, though, with little increase in the recorded view. Indoors we were amazed at the level of colour accuracy from a single CCD. Test results in low light were also impressive, and the video light helped in very dark conditions.

Stills were well defined with great detail. It's not as good as a decent dedicated camera, but the MVX4i is capable of taking some very decent photographs. The battery ran for 109 minutes.