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None of which was on their site or stated when I called them before I placed the order. Then placed the order and the next day was told that I have to call customer service and they informed me that this was an 'import model' and the warranty would not be valid and the battery was a 1 time use battery~. Need4digital.com store is a total SHAM. I called and asked them about a cannon camcorder and asked about the warranty and battery.
I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants a great camera at a great price. As soon as the battery was charged we were shooting great pictures and videos. This is a wonderful camera. The instruction book was easy to follow.
But, compared to my last Canon mini DV video camera, the picture is not quite as crisp and the steady shot does not work as well. But, it works, and I'm happy to have it. Camera works okay. Also, because the DVDs are obviously larger than the mini DVs, this camera is not as easy to hold / doesn't fit into my hand as well. If you have the money, and if you have a large TV, I would recommend getting an HD DVD camera. Good price for a video camera that creates DVDs. DVDs make it simple to use (coming from mini DV tapes).
Don't expect miracles with a camcorder under $600 and you will enjoy this Canon. The battery life is dismal - maybe 20 minutes of average shooting time, you will want to find a long-life (1 hour) battery to carry as a backup. I never saw the attraction to Sony's touch-screen camcorders. It takes pretty good quality video with the SP (higher quality) setting, I haven't tried the lower one. Images can be watched through a standard 3-wire AV cable plugged into your TV if you want. But don't expect eye-popping videos.
I did a lot of research and decided that DVD recording was better for me than hard drive or card media because I'm not into the "transfer to computer, edit, burn to disc" video making. There is an "easy" switch to make the camera do everything, and a manual mode that lets you tweak settings if you're into that. Both work fine. There is no built-in light for still shots, but you can use the LCD screen as a small light source by using a menu setting to switch it on, (it turns white) and turn it towards the front. All I want is simple movie making and, while this unit has some whistles and bells I will never use, they don't get in the way. But you will have to upload your pix via a card reader of some kind because there is no USB port on this camera.
One mode lets you erase specific scenes in the camera while keeping others, but requires a limited type of DVD player for playback. Battery charging must be done on camera unless you buy a separate charger. You will need a hi-def camcorder for that and a Blu-Ray player to watch them unless you intend to use the camcorder as your player. There is no extra light source for video taking, but there is a night-mode among the different settings. Summary: Nice, easy to use, somewhat flexible camcorder with average resolution. I am used to a VHS camcorder (a Sharp Slimcam) that takes fabulous video, but am upgrading to digital for the first time. Overall, the menu is pretty intuitive once you learn where stuff is, and the joystick makes for quick navigating, plus you never touch your LCD screen. This Canon has two buttons and a joystick next to the LCD as well as a regular viewfinder in case bright daylight washes out the LCD.
I bought the cheapest SD card I could find (Kingston 2gig $14) for the still pictures and Memorex miniDVD-RW's (3 for $15 at Best Buy) for the video. Better than nothing, I suppose. If I happen to have it handy when a photo op arrives, I may use it, but will always have my "real" still camera with me. I want to pop the finished disc into my DVD player and be done with it.
When your hand is through the strap, it is very difficult to operate this switch with your thumb like you're supposed to, but fortunately you don't need that switch while you're shooting. The biggest complaint I have is the position of the on/off/mode switch. DVD-RW discs let you do that, DVD-R's are pretty much "you shoot it, you keep it" unless you edit with your computer later and burn to another disc. Videos can be recorded in one of two modes - you have to initialize the disc for the mode you want before shooting. Also, you need to remember to close the lens cover when you're done shooting - no automatic cover at this price.
It does have a rapid-fire setting so you can press and hold the shutter for a series of quick shots.
Videos can be shot in widescreen format which is great for my LCD TV.
The still camera, however, cannot match my little Fujifilm S3100 and I did not buy this Canon for that.
There is a standby setting that lets you power down for a few minutes to save battery power and then power up quickly.
Why smudge up your LCD screen with fingerprints.
The other mode is more universal but restricts your options to erasing the whole disc if you want to start over.
When you snap the shutter, there is a long delay for focusing before the picture is taken, so candid shots will be challenging.
I'm sure there are better prices out there but I wanted to get started.
As far as recording standard, home videos, the DC320 is a good value if you pay less than $350.
I can't say much about the lighting, the street lights were amber so it gave a bad hue. That might be because the discs dont hold much content, even the dual layered discs. I carried it almost 80% following the kid through a parade and my arm didn't get tired.
So the cam is good to go when plopping in the disc.Downside, its tricky getting to the menu to finalize the disc. Which is the other downside.Shop around when getting more discs. But it does it rather quickly.
The good side of this camera is the weight. You could still see faces.I've never had to initilize a disc. Some places like CC, charge double the price just for the discs for the same price at OD with plastic covers.
The steadiness was great - no real shaking from the walking (almost running) to keep up. I blame the street lights for that, not the cam, but it wasn't as dark as I thought it would be.
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