Canon's MVX460 is a neater camcorder than many of its competitors, as the battery pack has been relocated from its usual position on the rear. Flip out the LCD screen, and the battery is sitting flush against the camcorder's body beneath.
It's a better arrangement for several reasons. It makes the body neat and compact with no extruding lumps or bumps; the rear of the camcorder has more space for controls; and the viewfinder doesn't have to extend out over the battery to reach your eye. However, you can't fit a larger battery pack, as it would prevent you closing the LCD screen. This isn't a big problem due to the excellent battery life, the longest we've seen from a camcorder. The 850mAh battery lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours of constant recording.
Other aspects of the MVX460 aren't so well designed. It's not the most comfortable camcorder to hold for long periods and control layout on the rear can cause confusion. However, all the basic controls function well and are where you'd expect them to be. The front of the camcorder has a pair of white LEDs for use in dark conditions. The lens also has a built-in cover, which means there's no dangling lens cap with which to fiddle.
The LCD display is bright and does a decent job of replicating colours. Its widescreen ratio is suited to the camcorder's widescreen recording mode. The top and bottom of the image is cropped slightly when shooting in widescreen with image stabilisation turned on. However, there's less cropping than with Panasonic's cameras.
Image quality is good, but not outstanding. It's a step up from the budget MV960, with less noise and more realistic colour. However, it can't compete with more expensive three-CCD camcorders such as Panasonic's NV-GS180. It can take stills and store them to an SD card, but at only 1.3 megapixels it won't be replacing your digital camera.
There are USB and FireWire interfaces, with FireWire input provided as well for recording edited footage back to tape. There's also a composite video and phono input for recording analogue video to tape. Finally, there's a microphone input, so you can use an external microphone. However, there's no space on the body for an accessory shoe on which to mount a microphone.
Canon's MVX460 has all the inputs and functions you're likely to need and it shoots good-looking video, too. A three-CCD camcorder may give better results, but considering the features included this is still excellent value.
System Specifications
DV CAMERA MiniDV storage, 20x optical zoom, 1/5" 1.3-megapixel CCD, 2.7" LCD screen, phono and composite input and output, USB and FireWire interfaces
Author: Seth Barton
Computer Shopper Online