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Canon packs features into pocket-size digital camcorder
(CNN) -- Ever wish you could find a camcorder with all the features and quality you need to really capture your vacation but was still small enough to fit in your pocket? Well, Canon is trying to sell you what you're looking for. CNN technology correspondent James Hattori plays cameraman in this week's Technofile with Janice Chen, editor in chief of CNET Reviews and Computer Shopper magazine. James Hattori: So we've got a new nifty little small DV cam. What is it? Janice Chen: Well, it's the Canon Elura 40MC, and it's one of the smallest digital video camcorders available today; it uses the mini-DV format, and that's a really small cartridge, really small tape. Hattori: That's kind of the standard now? Chen: Yeah, for people who are looking for a very small camera, that format is the way to go. Hattori: And how much time, recording wise, does it offer, and (at what) quality? Chen: It depends on the tapes you get, just like with a bigger videotape format. So depending on the type of tape you actually get, you'll get more recording time. Hattori: Now because this is small, do you sacrifice quality or features? Chen: No, actually, it has a whole slew of features, and that's one of the great things about this camera, it has a lot of digital-editing features built in, so there's a lot of digital fades and different effects that you can put on the video, and there's even a bluescreen feature that lets you take still images and superimpose them on a bluescreen of video in the back. That's one of the cool things about this camera. We found that it had really terrific video quality. And we actually awarded (it) the CNET editors' choice. Hattori: Is that the demand from consumers: smaller is better? Chen: Absolutely, because if you think about it, the smaller it is, the more likely you're going to take it with you, so for video cameras, that's really one of the best things about it. Hattori: What about battery life? Small sometimes means it doesn't last too long. Chen: Right. Well, actually, this battery you can replace, and (there are) bigger batteries with more battery life, but the camera actually performed pretty well in terms of battery life. Hattori: The other thing about small is (that) sometimes small can mean hard to use, because (there are) lots of little features to press, and your fingers aren't big enough, are too big rather ... Chen: Well, actually it has the thumb wheel as well as all the menu features accessible here, which is really great, but the other feature that makes it easy to use is that you can look at the LCD and take a look at all the menu options as you're paging through them. Hattori: But small usually equates to more costly, right? Chen: Right. This camera is about 1,000 dollars; you can probably get it for 750 on the street -- if you shop around you can probably get a pretty good deal on it. But it's going to be more expensive than one of the bigger-format cameras. Hattori: That's not bad, $750 these days. Have DV-cam prices come down generally since they've been introduced? Chen: They have come down since they've been introduced. More products are coming out, so therefore there is more competition. Hattori: So are cameras like this becoming a lot more sophisticated, offering a lot more features than a year or so ago? Chen: Absolutely. I think one of the things is that with digital cameras, the still-digital cameras are adding in lightweight-video features, and these video cameras are adding in low-end still-camera features, and at some point you could envision ... only having to take one camera with you, whether you want to take still or video. You can also even plug this camera into a Canon printer and get photo prints out of it, as well. Hattori: Ah, they want you to buy other products! I've got it ...
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