The Canon Optura 100MC is a digital video camcorder, using the standard MiniDV cassette; it produces the highest quality video possible from non-broadcast equipment. The MiniDV format standard delivers more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution. This is about a 25% improvement in picture quality over the best analog formats. On top of that, because it records both video and audio as digital data, this information can be transferred - without any loss of picture or audio quality - to computer for editing, then transferred back to DV tape, without a reduction in either picture or audio quality. All of this is through the use of the IEEE 1394 protocol commonly known as FireWireŽ.

At the heart of the Optura 100MC is a larger CCD image sensor (larger than 1/4 inch), containing an astounding 1.33 million pixels. This puts the Optura 100MC into the very rarified atmosphere of the highest-resolution consumer camcorders on the market today.

Canon's superb optical stabilization system corrects camera shake instantly so even hand-held shots, at full telephoto, and shots taken from a moving car, for example, are smooth and steady. And since it is optical, there is no loss of image quality inevitable with electronic image stabilizers. It perfectly complements the high picture quality of the DV format.

The shift-type optical image stabilizer used in the Optura 100MC solves the problem of blurring which cannot be handled by electronic image stabilizers in other camcorders. Unlike many other dual digital camcorder/camera models, it works on both video and photo modes.

The Optura 100MC incorporates a newly developed, bright zoom lens, specifically designed to handle the demands placed on it by the camcorder's high-resolution image sensor for both video and still picture applications. The zoom uses a special glass originally used in Canon digital still cameras, and is the first Canon camcorder to use it, guaranteeing high picture quality.

The 10x optical zoom lens (4.2 - 42 mm) is the 35 mm focal length equivalent of 48 - 480 mm. Add an optional WD-43 Wide-converter to increase the field of view to the equivalent of 34 mm for indoor shots or panoramic views, or add the TL-43 Tele-converter to extend your telephoto viewing to the equivalent of 816 mm.

The digital zoom kicks in at the end of the optical zoom range, and is capable of extending to a maximum of 200x. This is the equivalent of a 9600 mm lens on a 35 mm photo camera. The digital zoom on the Optura 100MC provides sharper detail than others thanks to Canon's superior lens quality. You'll reveal details too distant to be seen with the eye alone.

When capturing digital still images, the lens becomes an 8x zoom, the equivalent of a 45 - 360 mm lens on a 35 mm photo camera.

Product Code:
Canon-Optura-100MC