Canon DC20 review

Transport controls are on the side of the camcorder. These include fast-forward and rewind. Editing and burn features are accessed through the on-screen menu system. DVDs can only be played in a home DVD system once the DC20 has 'finalised' the disc. This process, during which the table of contents is written to the DVD, takes a few minutes to complete.

Canon has bundled a composite AV cable and USB cable with the DC20. This cable is designed to transfer still photos only -- there is no FireWire connection on the camera. This makes advanced editing more or less impossible. You could rip the footage from your finalised DVDs and then convert the DVD codec into a format you can use with a major editing suite, but to be honest this is very time-consuming and unimpressive.

Peformance
The DC20's simplicity of operation is its greatest asset. Like other DVD models we've tested, the camcorder was up and running a few minutes after it was unpacked. Recording functions are easy to understand. Flick the slide on the rear of the DC20 into Camera mode and press the record button. The camcorder will begin writing video to disc; a second press will stop it.

As with all DVD camcorders, recording time will vary depending on how complex your scenes are. Video compression methods use a process whereby the amount of data needed to describe a single image will increase as the detail of the scene increases. A blank wall with a single subject framed against it will use relatively little space on the DVD, but a crowd scene with lots of colour and movement will use lots of space. This is nothing to worry about when shooting, but does explain the slightly unpredictable running lengths of your recordings.

In our informal test, the battery lasted for more than two DVD's worth of shooting, or over an hour, which should be enough for most home filmmakers. This certainly compares well with other DVD camcorders we've tested. Because of the shape and design of the DC20's battery compartment, you're limited to a single battery size. For longer shoots, you'll have to carry another cell with you.

Once you've shot video, the DVD 'finalise' process takes a couple of minutes to complete. This is a disappointment compared to the instantaneous eject of MiniDV, but it's not Canon's fault that domestic DVD players will not display a DVD without a table of contents.

The DC20 does make some odd noises when it initiates the DVD mechanism. This is audible on quiet recordings. On this matter, the manual states: "Problem: The disc's rotation can be faintly heard. Solution: The disc is activated from time to time. This is not a malfunction." Whether this will irritate you depends on how quiet your shooting environment is. You'd be hard pressed to hear this during a child's birthday party, but if you're in the middle of nowhere recording birdsong it might be an issue. In most environments the background noise should minimise the intrusion of the drive mechanism.

Image quality
DVD-based camcorders cannot hope to rival MiniDV camcorders at the moment, but with every new generation we see slight improvements in the overall image clarity. Nonetheless, the DC20 still falls some way short of our expectations.

Compression artefacts were visible under low light conditions such as inside a house, or in the early evening outdoors. Low light performance was underwhelming, presumably because the DC20 is trying to cope with both the shortcomings of a single-CCD system and the compression methods used to write the DVD. These are high demands to place on what is an emerging technology, but if it's purely image quality that delights and inspires you, MiniDV is still the only way to go.

Fans of simple operation and convenience may find the DC20 is good enough. Certainly, it stands its ground among the DVD-based competition.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide