Canon Optura 200MC MiniDV 1.3 Megapixel Camcorder Review

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(More customer reviews)The lens, single-CCD sensor and optical stablization on this camera are of course excellent, as one would expect from Canon. But the 200 MC's predecessor, the Optura 100MC, was a much better value for the steep price tag.
For one, the 100MC came with an accessory shoe that made it much easier to attach a pro-level directional mic and light, which fed right off the camera battery and required no cables. Because of the 100MC's very compact size and adaptability, it was arguably more portable, versatile (and certainly cheaper) than the 3-CCD pro-level GL2, the next model up in Canon's line. (And despite having only one CCD, the 100MC's picture quality did not differ that significantly from the GL2 either.)
Alas, Canon has apparently decided to kill its own competition with the GL2 not by making the GL2 a better camera, but by stripping down the Optura series. With the 200MC revision, they've taken away the accessory shoe and added consumer features of debatable value, such as a blotchy, preprogrammed "Super Night Mode" and a useless, Windows-only DV messenger functionality. You can still attach accessories, but Canon makes it hard; you have to use an awkward bracket (sold separately) and the accessories must have their own power sources and cables. A fully loaded 200MC is an unwieldly and unpractical tangle.
You're better off with the Optura 100MC, a great little camera that can still be found from used or like-new sellers on Amazon for [price-info] less than the price of a new 200MC.
Or, if you can live with a digital (rather than optical) stabilizer, I'd recommend you save yourself [price info]and get a brand-new ZR50MC, which still has the accessory shoe that the new Optura has lost. Those are simple but decent cameras, and a bargain considering their price.

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Canon has taken the feature set of the highly successful Optura 100MC and added even more capabilities to make the Optura 200MC. The Optura 200MC successfully manages the task of being both a camcorder and still camera. The new features include: video streaming capabilities with Windows XP, Exif 2.2 print standard compatibility, Super Night mode with light, USB terminal, extended range of digital special effects and fades, improved memory card access times, the ability to record video to the memory card, and much more.

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