Canon MVX30i

The first thought we had as we unpacked the Canon MVX30i was 'wow'. Small and light, with a smart silver case, this DV camcorder is certainly eye-catching.

Priced at over £1,000, the MVX30i is clearly aimed at those who take their video seriously. There's a 10x optical zoom and footage can be saved either to mini DV tape, or in mjpeg format onto a Secure Digital (SD) card. The 2.5in screen is clear and crisp.

Tested in a variety of lighting conditions, the picture quality was superb and backed by good, clear sound. Colours were vibrant, video remained relatively shake-free - even at high zoom - focus was fast and sharp, and there was little evidence of grain during playback.

But the ace up the sleeve of the MVX30i is that it also acts as a 2.2megapixel stills camera. Once again, the colours were vibrant and the pictures sharp. While most dedicated digital cameras would produce better pictures, if you just want a compact replacement the MVX30i does a good job. You'll need a new SD card though, as the supplied 8MB one only holds about six photos on the best-quality setting.

For all its great picture quality and stylish design, this camcorder is fiddly to use. It feels as if it was designed for small hands, because to use the telephoto lens or take photos we had to either operate it with two hands, or rest the base of the unit in the centre of the palm of one hand and attempt to zoom using the pinkie.

While the MVX30i produces lovely video and photos, we would have preferred more thought to have gone into usability. Moving the telephoto operation a little higher so that it was located more naturally where the fingers rest, for instance, would have been good.

Contact: Canon 0800 616 417
www.canon.co.uk

Specifications:

• Mini DV tape, mpeg4, Motion jpeg EX
• 1,632 x 1,224 (jpeg)
• CCD: 1/3.4in interlace
• 10x optical zoom, 200x digital zoom
• Focal length: 4.7-47mm
• Max aperture: f1.8
• Image stabiliser
• 2.5in LCD screen
• 8MB SD card
• 470g
• 53 x 107 x 101mm
• Firewire, USB2