Canon Optura 100MC MiniDV 1-Megapixal Digital Camcorder w/ Built-in Digital Still Mode & 8MB SD/ MMC

Once upon a time this was a great little camera. I have a Sony D8 still humming along without ever eating a tape, and even an ancient Panasonic VHS shoulder boulder that still works perfectly as well as a scary old two-piece VHS camera from 1984, also still working. The Canon DV cam on the other hand did not do as well. It's the newest of the three and definitely the most problematic. The quality of the videos it made was wonderful. However it was always uncomfortably hot when it was running, it ate tapes at one point, and now it is totally dead.

TAPE EATING

The tape eating problem is caused by the rollers becoming stiff and polished and the feed mechanisms and heads getting gummy due to the unusual heat these older Canon DV cams produce. That sort of thing is common with all tape drives after a while. In this particular case I do think this series gets WAY too hot when in use. The tape-eating cameras need a good head cleaning and lubrication, and possibly new feed rollers.

100% COMPLETELY DEAD.

After searching for answers in the forums I now know there are also many Optura DV cameras throughout the early series which suddenly, unexpectedly died later in life. Mine has also passed on. One day it was fine, we were making a DV movie and having a really nice time, Optura was working happily and things were good. The next day I hooked up my camera to charge the battery and transfer the tape to the computer, and realized it was gone. It passed away quietly some time during the night while it was in its bag. Never has powered up or charged a battery again since.

Why? No idea. Forums don't know either. One guy said it required an entire system board replacement. Too much $$ for a camera out of warranty. I charged the battery with an external charger and replaced the 3V lithium clock battery, but no results. Got another power adapter off E-bay but it didn't change anything. After two years of occasionally plugging it in and waiting for a miracle, I dissected the little guy to see if I could find a loose ribbon cable. Nothing. All switches tested perfectly, 9.5V going to the board, all was seemingly right. Apparently a chip somewhere in that mess of little microprocessors fried itself. I'm going to guess it's because of how ridiculously freaking hot this thing gets. There is even a heat warning sticker inside the LCD.

Just be aware of these things if you consider getting a used one.

First of all, let me point out that I am not a camera buff, nor do I even know how to work a professional 35MM camera (with aperture, manual focus, etc...) I have always been a fan of technology and of opening the box and using the product without having to do much reading of the instructions. So, here's my review...

I've had this digital camcorder for about 6 months now. Previously, I had purchased a JVC digital camcorder. That one jammed up about a year and a half after I bought it and wouldn't accept video tapes anymore (I just recently got it to work again but I'm not sure for how long.) I knew of the Canon line of digital camcorders and owned a Advantix Elph camera so I trusted the brand name and bought the Optura. I was pleasantly surprised.

The camera takes great video, it could use a bit more light in dark situations so purchasing a light to mount on the top of the camera. I also purachased additional filters and lenses (wide angle and telescopic) but, to tell you the truth, nine times out of ten, I don't use them. As for taking pictures, the camera aspect is great at taking photos for storing on your computer or emailing, but the quality is just not good enough to print out, even at its higher quality level. The pixels can easily be seen and anyone would be able to tell it was a picture printed off your computer.

I purchased a longer lasting battery with the camera, and I highly recommend you do as well, because the battery they give you with the camera will only last about an hour and a half before needing to be recharged. I purchased a 4 hour battery for about [$$$] or less and it works great because I can always charge one while using the other.

In addition, a 128 MB card versus the card that comes with the camera would be a great purchase. The 128 card allows me to take up to 250 pictures at the higher quality level (I think abt 1 megapixel or so) before being filled up.

All in all, a great video camera but if you want to take stills, I recommend getting a real digital camera. Even without the camera functionality, I would buy this model again in a heartbeat. I was able to take great video of the birth of my first child and many other memorable moments since I got it!

Owned Opyura100 for almost 1 year and very happy with it. Video quality is great and is very easy to use although standstill picture is only good for email. Optical stablizer worked very well. Recommend to anyone looking for small camcorder with excellent video quality.

I have used this camera in Venice, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Prague,Florida and for a large number of school events over the last 6 months. I have used the video and still functions and am very happy with the product. I am clearly an unwrap, charge and shoot user. I refer to the directions only if necessary or I want an excuse not to work on my tax return. This was ready to go out of the box and, when I do take a moment to read the directions, I am able to make adjustments necessary for my shooting situations. While I have had very good luck with the video in all lighting situations, the auto flash for still pictures is actually not useful in places like old churches with very low lighting. I find myself preventing the deployment of the flash. While it is a bit bigger than the other mini-versions of the minidv's, it is a nice fit for larger hands and has not failed me yet.

Hi,

I bought this camera just over a year ago and waited until now to write the review so I had plenty of time to use it. My background is definitely amateur, but I like movies that I take to be of good quality so I will actually watch them. I have not done any fooling around with the manual adjustments you can make on this camera, although just about everything can be adjusted. I leave it on autofocus and record in Easy Recording mode most of the time, occasionally shifting modes only for specific situations (low light, skiing, or athletics). The quality of the video this camera takes is amazing. I cannot stress that enough: You will be shocked at how crisp and colorful the video you take is. Like most camcorders, sound recording quality is not good when there is a lot of ambient noise (cocktail party for example) but for most things it is fine. Low-light performance is exceptional as far as I am concerned, but keep in mind that image quality is always better with more light. The still photo feature is great - pictures look fantastic integrated with your videos, and they even print pretty well at 3X5. They are certainly good enough to store on your PC. Sure, you can get a great digital camera for a lot less than what you will pay for this camcorder, but if you are like me and don't want to carry 2 cameras, this feature is great.

A couple thoughts:
1) I have not had any tape-eating problems
2) Twice soon after I bought the camera, the eject mechanism got stuck halfway. Both times some patience resolved the problem. This would be a problem if you needed to switch tapes quickly and it happened to you right then. Haven't had any problems with that for more than 8 months, though.
3) You will want to edit your home movies on your computer. Minimum requirements are something like P3 500 w/ 384 meg of RAM. You will also want a decent video card.

Last, I recently had a small problem with the camcorder that required me to send it back to Factory Service. Since it still basically worked and I was going on vacation, I sent it in after I got back from the vacation, 2 weeks after the warranty expired. Canon fixed the camera free of charge and had it back to me in under 2 weeks. Their support people were helpful, courteous, and valued me as a customer.

I recommend this camcorder to anyone who wants very high quality video but doesn't have the time or inclination to become an expert at all aspects of shooting video. I would buy this camera again in a heartbeat, and haven't seen anything else out there that comes close.