Product Description

Canon Camcorder MD101 Widescreen 30x

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33814 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Canon
• Model: 1886B023AA
• Released on: 2007-02-20
• Dimensions: .83 pounds

Features

• Canon Camcorder MD101 Widescreen 30x

Manufacturer's Description
The accessible widescreen family camcorder making home moviemaking easy. A simple solution for virtually any moviemaking situation, the MD101 features a powerful 30x optical zoom lens. Offering one of the highest zoom factors found on any camcorder at this level, the genuine Canon lens records video in stunning clarity - even when events happen at a distance. For higher magnification, activate the long-range 800x digital zoom.

Capture a bigger picture by recording true 16:9 widescreen movies. Use the 2.7" widescreen LCD to preview what you've recorded, as it will appear on a wide TV. If you want to conserve battery power, monitor recording via the 0.35" 16:9 colour EVF (Electronic Viewfinder).

There's no need to be intimidated. The MD101 has been designed by Canon to make moviemaking simple. A one-push Easy mode lets even novices begin shooting straight away. More advanced features are selected using an intuitive Joystick controller, positioned on the frame of the LCD. Feel completely at ease during recording thanks to the camcorder's lightweight and balanced body. The MD101 hides real power behind its deceptively simple design.

The MD101 incorporates an external microphone connection for those occasions when you need to capture superior quality sound. Simply plug in an external microphone and you'll have extra flexibility to control your audio recordings. With DIGIC DV - Canon's innovative image processing technology - movies appear vivid and vibrant on the screen. Delivering uncompromising quality, DIGIC DV makes it possible to record lifelike images with beautifully resolved colours.

Customer Reviews

Great for amateur film makers or ordinary home use
I have used this camera for just over a month now, and it has proved to be a versatile camcorder for various tasks.

Out of the box it does what you'd expect it to, it records in the more modern standard of 16:9 (widescreen), however this can be easily switched to the older 4:3 option.
The picture quality is far better than older mini dv camcorders I have owned in the past, and doesn't look bad on large High definition tv's as some camcorders can now look blurry on them not using a high def format.

The sound on the built in microphone is average. It's fine for noisy atmospheres but in normal and quieter places camera noises like the tape mechanism are clearly heard. Unlike many cheaper camcorders, Canon have provided a 3.5mm jack microphone plug, one of the most useful things they could have included.
This opens the option up to using a boom microphone or clip (lapel) microphone. This of course cuts out the camcorder noises, providing a much more professional appearing video. The camcorder lacks a camera shoe however for adding a clip on boom microphone, meaning you will need other means of holding your microphone.

This camera has various clever little features like the built in lense cover that can be slid up and down without having to have a separate lense cap which often go missing. The joystick used to navigate the menus on screen is easy to use, and the menu screens themselves are clean and simple to use. The more automatic "P" mode and the "M" manual mode have been replaced with an "Easy" mode and more manual like "P" mode. These modes work well but it would have been nice to see a dedicated manual mode as well.

The 30x optical zoom is acceptable by today's standards and works well, however rival models often have more zoom, but without a tripod you wouldn't want to be using all the zoom avaliable. The camera is light weight but with a good balance, and has a very slick appearance. Canon's "DIGIC DV" technology appears to help these single CCD camcorders to make colours more vibrant. The camcorder has the standard AV and firewire connections, and of course the tripod screw connection at the bottom of the camcorder.

Battery power on this camcorder is usually over an hour to an hour and a half. A spare battery is something I'd recommend to have, these can be obtained in most shops or cheaply on-line.
The screen is large enough at 2.7inches and is visible in daylight, however for situations where screen glare my be a problem, the colour screen view finder is very useful.


Overall this camcorder is a good all rounder, the microphone input been a key feature, along with other innovative features. The built in microphone is average/poor and a separate microphone should be used when ever possible.

Hope this has helped you,
Dale.

fair and square...
for a start ill say that im generally very pleased with this camera.
this is my first camcorder,so im no expert,but my first impresion is good.

the only bad points are that thenight mode isnt very good,if u dnt use an external mic you will hear the sound of the tape recording,looks and feels a bit fragile and it doesnt come with the firewire cable!

all of these mentioned can be easily overcome

apart from that the controls are very easy to use,has good zoom and auto focus,good image quality,the transfer to pc couldn't be easier.
it works pretty well indoors too,

this camcorder is advised for beginners and intermediate users for it is easy to use and powerfull enough to make some good videos.

Excellent Value for Money
A nice little camcorder at this price. This is my first camcorder and I'm quite impressed with it. Quality at low light levels isn't great but at this price you don't expect it to be. Features are standard but it has got an external mic socket which you don't see in many other cameras in this price range. Build quality is fine, LCD display is great, you can hear the tape through the mic a bit though.

I've bought a bigger battery and seperate charger to compliment (generic models off ebay) as the battery provided only lasts about an hour.