The Canon ZR700 tops off the ZR series this year, which has undergone serious cosmetic changes, including a new joystick control. How does the ZR700 hope to distinguish itself? The differences from next step-down, the ZR600, are small but crucial, including the analog inputs. Combine this with a 30x optical zoom and solid low light performance and you’ve got an under $400 camcorder that looks pretty good.

The camcorder’s left side is dominated by a 2.7-inch wide-screen LCD–a natural match for the ZR700’s full-sensor-width, wide-screen recording capabilities. Even better, Canon moved all video and playback controls to the bevel of the LCD panel and simplified them, too. A five-way joystick provides navigation and quick access to manual focus and exposure settings. Four buttons put frequently used features, including digital effects, wide-screen/4:3 mode, and the video light, at your fingertips. We like the built-in lens cover, which slides open and shut. However, the lack of an accessory shoe is disappointing, especially considering that there’s room for one on top of the unit. Canon doesn’t include a microphone input either, while the super-low-end ZR500, which costs $100 less, has one.

With its 1/6-inch CCD as well as both 340,000-pixel 4:3 and 450,000-pixel 16:9 effective resolutions, the ZR700 is suitable for home and vacation videography. Canon’s 25X optical zoom lens improves on the ZR300’s already impressive 22X lens, but even better is the choice of zoom speeds: 1X, 2X, 3X, and variable. The last is typical of zoom controls: the amount of pressure on the rocker dictates the speed of the zoom. But the fixed speeds give you a consistent zoom to prevent amateur-style jerkiness–too bad you have to delve into the ZR700’s menu system every time you want to change the setting.
Technical Details

• Features true widescreen recording and powerful 24x optical zoom
• Widescreen 2.7-inch LCD
• Canon’s Digic DV image processor for exceptional color and clarity
• Smooth Zoom Control function prevents jerky zooms
• Joystick lets you easily operate playback, focus, exposure, and menu options

Designed to meet the exacting needs of CAD and GIS applications, the imagePROGRAF 600 (iPF600) is a welcome addition to your business. Featuring vivid colors and precise line and text, it’s a dependable solution for A1+ production where quality and productivity matters. The iPF600 incorporates Canon’s 5-color dye-and-pigment reactive ink system for optimal results in your business. A one-inch dual print head gives reproduction of 1200 dpi, a 4 Pl droplet size and an impressive total of 15,360 nozzles. The reactive ink system ensures it’s adaptable across different applications with vivid color reproduction, solid image consistency and high quality text with less bleeding.

You can work with a wide variety of media types. Plain paper, CAD, recycled, glossy, proofing, synthetic, poster, fine art, sign media - they’re all handled effortlessly with the iPF600. Connection is either via the latest-generation, high-speed USB 2.0 interface, or Ethernet. Combined with the new print head and reactive system, you can expect superb production at twice the level of some competitor devices. In fact the cassette media-feeding system enables new sheets to be fed prior to the previous sheet being ejected, so the device is perfectly at home when used as a powerful color office printer. The integrated cutting device won’t let you down either and keeps on performing for years to come, without ever needing replacement. Simple desktop set-up means you’ll be up and running with the iPF600 in no time.

A rich set off software application plug-ins are incorporated and PosterArtist enables you to produce head-turning posters - with no experience whatsoever! The iPF600 also incorporates 4 media paths - a roll, a cassette and two manuals - and automatic switching of roll media for additional convenience. And unlike some large format devices, it’s compact and quiet - so it’s the output not the noise that gets you noticed.

esigned for the exacting needs of CAD / GIS applications, the iPF600 is a welcome addition to your business. With vivid colours and precise line rendering, it’s the perfect solution for 24″ (A1) prints where quality and productivity matters.

• Encompassing the new Canon 1” print-head with an impressive 15,360 nozzles and 4 picolite droplet size for exceptional detail and quality in your prints.
• New 5 colour dye and pigment ink system ensures excellent reproduction.
• Sharper, thinner line and high black density for CAD plan production.
• Vivid colour and solid image consistency for superb signs and posters.
• Blistering speeds with A1 prints in 36 seconds (draft mode).
• Convenient 4-way media feeding with automatic switching between media types.
• Easy to use intuitive software including poster creation software (PosterArtist) and HDI Driver for CAD applications.

The imagePROGRAF iPF600 is a 5-colour dye / pigment ink 24” (A1) large format printer, bringing vivid colour and 1200 dpi rendering with outstanding line reproduction, solid image consistency and high quality text reproduction.

The EOS 300D’s plastic body is just one of the elements used to reduce the cost of the camera, others include the use of a pentamirror in the viewfinder instead of a pentaprism, a reduction of features (although I feel that much of this is simply firmware crippling) and a shifting of manufacturing from Japan to Taiwan. Additionally Canon say that they have altered the production process of the CMOS sensor to reduce costs.

Though it’s a Rebel, which is the designation for Canon’s most basic, entry level, cameras, it has many features you might only expect to find on more advanced models, such as depth-of-field preview, white balance bracketing and flash sync at 1/200.

This review is part of a trilogy. This is the first part which deals with the Digital Rebel camera body in some detail. The second part is a detailed look at the EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens which is sold as part of a kit with the Digital Rebel body, and the third part of the review is a detailed comparision of the Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) with the EOS 10D.

Canon’s exclusive 35-zone Evaluative metering links to the active focusing point and is the default metering pattern in AE modes, while center-weighted average metering is automatically selected in Manual mode. Central-area partial metering (measuring 9.5% of the picture area) is available on demand in Program AE, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Auto Depth-of-Field AE and Manual.

Canon’s new compact EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens - created exclusively for the Digital Rebel and available only in the Digital Rebel Kit - approximates a 28-90mm zoom lens (in 35mm format). By reducing the distance from the rear of the lens to the imaging sensor and reducing the size of the image circle to accommodate the camera’s imaging sensor size, the lens produces high image quality with superb resolution at all focal lengths. The new lens is also smaller and lighter than conventional lenses because of the shorter backfocus distance. Similarly, the newly developed Canon Zoom Lens EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM covers a 35mm equivalent zoom range of approximately 90-320mm when used with the Digital Rebel. Together, these two lenses provide 35mm-equivalent zoom coverage from 28mm to 320mm.

The Canon HF100 ($899 MSRP) comes from a good pedigree. It’s nearly identical to the Canon HF10, which received our seal of approval earlier this year. The HF100 offers all the same image quality, manual controls, and form factor, but loses the 16GB internal memory of the HF10. Sure, you save $200, but think about what you’re losing first. The HF10 only records to removable memory cards, like the Panasonic HDC-SD9 or Sony HDR-TG1. Card memory is portable and easy to use, but those cards fill up quickly, and they’re not particularly cheap. It’s better to have a secondary recording medium if you’re on a long vacation or far from a camera shop.

It records AVCHD video at a maximum of 17 megabits per second (2 hours and 5 minutes of video), and can hold up to 6 hours and 5 minutes of video at the lowest bit rate of 5Mbps. That higher bit rate goes to support the full 1,920×1,080 capture, the norm for most of this year’s new models, compared with 1,440×1,080 for older AVCHD camcorders that required only a 12Mbps maximum bit rate. You can record best-quality movies to the card as long as it’s a Class 4 SDHC or better (Class 6 is currently fastest): the Class 4 16GB Kingston card I tested with worked fine.

Its optically stabilized f1.8-3.0 12X zoom lens has a longer reach than the typical 10x lens available in this class, but the rest of its features are pretty common in Canon’s prosumer models. For video, these include aperture- and shutter-priority exposure modes, three fixed/one variable zoom speed options, a video light, Instant AF, and a wind-screen filter. You can also record in progressive 30 or 24 frames-per-second (fps) modes as well as 60i. For still photos, metering, flash, and burst and exposure bracketing options become available as well. The camcorder also supplies a complete set of ports and connectors: component or mini-HDMI out for direct-to-TV playback, mini headphone and mic jacks, and USB for downloading to computer.

The HF100’s built-in stereo microphone is stationed strategically beneath the lens. If Canon mounted the mic atop the HF100, the right hand would envelop the mic and sabotage your recorded audio. Camcorders this compact require certain design and handling sacrifices, which Canon minimizes. The Panasonic HDC-SD9 is more compact than the HF100, yet its mic is mounted on top–an example of how a camcorder should not be designed.

In the continuum that runs from low-resolution, cheapo camcorders like the Creative Vado to high-quality, solid-state “prosumer” HD models like Canon’s own Vixia HF10, Canon’s line of SD-based camcorders–FS11, FS10, and FS100–falls exactly where you’d expect. At budget prices under $600, they’re small, stylish, and provide a reasonably expansive feature set; unfortunately, the real “budget” aspect of these models is the video quality.

The individual models in the FS series differ only by memory and color, with list prices that increment by $100 (but with lower actual street price gaps). The top-end model, the FS11, comes in dark gray and includes 16GB built-in memory; its lesser sibling, the FS10, wears silver and includes 8GB. The cheapest child, the FS100, has no built-in memory but comes in silver, blue, and red. Capacities run about 13.8 minutes per gigabyte of storage for best-quality mode, 39 min/GB for lowest quality; we don’t recommend shooting below best-quality, however.

Unfortunately, in a market that’s crowded with camcorders vying for their piece of the standard definition pie, the Canon FS100 just doesn’t stand out. It has better video performance than cheap YouTube camcorders like the Pure Digital Flip Mino, but it also isn’t as small or as easy to use. It may have superior handling and good manual controls, but we like a camcorder that performs well. Similar models from JVC and Panasonic perform better. Then again, when you’re dealing with standard def video, personal preference may be more important than performance. And in that case, the Canon FS100 is certainly worth considering.

The back of the FS100 has just a single, prominent feature: the impressively large mode dial. In the slimming trend of today’s camcorders, the mode dial or mode switch is usually tucked away to make room for other features. On the FS100 (as well as the FS10 and FS11), the mode dial is enormous, but also highly responsive. Just push in the button on the right and rotate to select your mode: Photo, Video, Video Playback, or Photo Playback. In the center of the dial is the glistening Record button. Everything is well within thumb’s reach.

What is the FS100 missing in order to accommodate such a dial? Most camcorder use the back as a repository for the battery, which can then be replaced by a larger battery (it lasts longer, but protrudes more from the back). Canon’s FS series houses the battery in the bottom of each camcorder, which means an enclosed chamber and no battery upgrading.