Good
3.5-inch LCD, 16X optical zoom, 1.3 megapixel CCD, compatible Direct print, LED to film in darkness, file transfer FireWire.

Bad
Loading cassette and media location in the aircraft, controls complex wheel zoom a little hard.

Bad
Auto slow time of the shutter poor, poor display of the extent of exposure manually, no real-time histogram.

Verdict Canon MVX4i
Canon MVX4i is a very good compact camera and a device suitable.
Good
compact and excellent video quality, good performance in low-light conditions; Thursday appreciable hand.

Bad
some orders are misplaced, no microphone input.

Good
Range optical zoom remarkably improved delivery of a standard optical additive wide angle, good grip, DV IN / OUT, image stabilized, according 0 lux, direct printing photos PictBridge.

Bad
Limited to photograph, screen controls a little small, no IEEE 1394 cable delivered.

Canon MV960

The MV960 ranks among compact camcorders. It retains an ergonomic design while enriching an LCD screen format 16 / 9, orders simplified and a more powerful zoom up to 25x, one of the best that we have seen on a video camera d ‘Entry level. However, if the Canon MV960 ensures a return of colors also excellent as its predecessor, video and photos in low light conditions remain his weak point.

Canon MV960 Review

Design
Canon has limited the weight of the MV960 only 400 g, battery (720 mAh) and cassette installed. The handle and controls located on the right are rather standard, switches mode EASY / programmed and recording on cassette / memory card being grouped near the command of the zoom toggle. A location for SD (Secure Digital) is stacked under the zoom, left port audio / video, USB and FireWire. Than Dommage loading tapes made by the bottom, but this configuration is common on models also compact.

The left side of the camcorder is occupied mainly by a LCD wide-format of 6.9 cm, while natural features recording 16 / 9 on the entire width of the sensor MV960. Better still, Canon has not only pushed all orders and video playback on the part of the screen, but also simplified. A joystick to five positions to navigate and allows quick access to options for exposure and development manual. Four buttons provide access to the most frequently used, including digital effects, modes 16 / 9 and 4 / 3 and the lamp video. We appreciate the goal of integrated cache, which opens and closes to slide. However, the absence of built-in accessory shoe is disappointing. Canon has not taken included microphone.

Characteristics
With its CCD of 4.2 mm and its resolutions 340 000 and 450 000 pixels modes 4 / 3 and 16 / 9, the MV960 is well suited to home videos and holidays. The 25x optical zoom Canon is all the more valuable you can choose speed of deployment: 1x, 2x, 3x or variable. This last option is characteristic commands zoom: pressure on the command dump determines the speed of zoom. However, fixed speeds give you a linear course to avoid the appearance jerky amateur videos; pity that we enter deep into the menu system to change the MV960 option.

As on other models MV, how EASY Canon simplifies the shooting, while the programmed mode gives you access to eight automatic exposure modes, three options for white balance (adjusting evaluative) nine digital effects, six shutter speeds and even a level indicator that displays an intelligent skyline on the screen to help you save images focus and level. This is a lot of hand for a camcorder input range. Besides, you can embellish many focal converters and filters, another advantage for this unusual range of camcorder.

Performance and image quality
In terms of photography, MV960 produced the predictable results. The low-resolution photographs can not overcome the low resolution of the sensor, despite the presence of elements from digital cameras, such as scene modes and an auto on nine points. During our tests, the 0.7 megapixel shots presented fairly accurate colors, but the noise was noticeable and sharpness insufficient.

Fortunately, the MV960 it is much better out with the video. The processor Canon’s Digic DV can record a video clear and rich colors in optimal lighting conditions. Indoors, the images suffer from noise, particularly in a low ambient light. The night mode produces about him jerky and blurred images, it is still as useless, even if you use a tripod.

We found the zoom controls of the MV960 quick and responsive. However, the auto gives the impression of having a time delay, whatever the speed of deployment of zoom. Moreover, even if the electronic image stabilization (EIS) Canon works relatively well to moderate levels of zoom, it is powerless when the zoom is at its maximum. These criticisms aside, most movies will find the video quality of Canon MV960 quite acceptable.