I read all the video magazines for about 3 months before buying. For the low to mid range buyer there seemed to be only one logical choice. The Canon MV 600 range. Reviewers all praised the ergonomics, the handling and the picture quality. Having bought one I can add. The ease of operation is superb. If your' in a hurry, it's quick to set to full automatic mode, and the results are great. If you've got time and want to manually set the camera up, fine that's really easy too and the results superb. The large buttons on the upper face have dual functions, transport and manual override. Press the play button whilst in camera mode and you can manually adjust the focus with the thumbwheel knob at the lower right of the camera. Press the stop button and exposure can be adjusted. Manually setting the white balance is very easy but it would be better if it could be directly accessed from the transport buttons.

Compared to other camcorders the Canon is not pretty, but pick it up. It's really satisfying and comfortable to hold. The zoom and transport motors are virtually silent and the microphone quite amazingly sensitive. Some magazines have criticized the image stabilizer, saying that it was ineffective. This is not the case. Usually image stabilizers degrade the picture quality. Switching them on and off has an obvious effect. The image stabilizer on the MV600i is subtle and does not degrade the image. Zooming in on an object and switching the stabilizer on and off demonstrates its worth. There are plenty of superfluous functions, such as a 360X digital zoom, (this can be switched off) and loads of pointless digital effects. But there are also really great features like wide screen capability, a stills button; the zoom can be used in playback mode and most importantly, DV in and out and Analogue in and out.

You can tell I love this camera, but even I will admit that there are shortcomings. The standard battery life is pathetic. There is an optional long life battery that promises 9.5 hours recording. Low light performance could be better. The lens whilst of good quality could do with less zoom and more wide angle. As it is, shooting in the average home is difficult.

I got DV IN and Small but... compared to the cheaper
Panasonic this is very slow to respond(focus and exposure),
not as good in low light, has a noisy motor(the Panasonic
was silent) and the zoom has a noisy clunk at each end if
you are not careful.

The camera has everything you need for basic camcorder usage. There is no lamp, but the night mode is so effective that there is no need. As with all small, cheap camcorders, the sound is often obliterated by the wind, but is of sufficient quality when pointed in the right direction. The picture quality is excellent, with clear definition, excellent colours and fine clarity.