Canon Optura Pi

Canon Optura Pi
alaScore 68

21 reviews

May, 2013

  • No negative mentions yet

alaTest has collected and analyzed 21 reviews from magazines and websites. Views about the portability and zoom are overall positive. The design and image quality are also mentioned favorably, but the viewfinder and build quality get mixed opinions.

color, image quality, design, zoom, portability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Camcorders the Canon Optura Pi is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 68/100 = Good quality.

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Review analysis

(Based on 21 reviews)

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (57% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (24% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (5% of reviews)
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    (14% of reviews)
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Features

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Showing 22 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews
Showing 1 - 10 of 22 Show Reviews: in English

Consumer review by:

Amazon review summary for the Canon Optura Pi

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 21 user reviews of the Canon Optura Pi from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.0/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products on Amazon.com.

color, image quality, design, zoom, portability

81% of reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

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Consumer review by:

Poor Quality, Costly Repair

 

Poor Quality, Costly Repair

Just passed one year warrant period, the eye piece viewfinder didn't work anymore. It seems that the sensor for the foldable screen went bad. Sent back to California Canon service center, and was charged for [money]. The customer service agent was very...

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Consumer review by:

Features Don't Make for Reliability

 

Features Don't Make for Reliability

This product worked fine for a few months of light use. Then, during playback, the Optura Pi started adding image and audio noise to the tapes. One treasured video partially ruined.

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Consumer review by:

Canon Optura PI MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

 

Features Don't Make for Reliability

This product worked fine for a few months of light use. Then, during playback, the Optura Pi started adding image and audio noise to the tapes. One treasured video partially ruined.

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Consumer review by:

Canon Optura PI MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

 

Picure excellence defined!!!

The Optura Pi is one fantastic video camera! I had never purchased a Canon product before, but I am very impressed with the Optura Pi. You buy a camcorder primarily to shoot moving video. This is one machine that doesn't disappoint. Best features:...

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Consumer review by:

Picure excellence defined!!!

 

The Optura Pi is one fantastic video camera! I had never purchased a Canon product before, but I am very impressed with the Optura Pi. You buy a camcorder primarily to shoot moving video. This is one machine that doesn't disappoint. Best features:...

The Optura Pi is one fantastic video camera! I had never purchased a Canon product before, but I am very impressed with the Optura Pi. You buy a camcorder primarily to shoot moving video. This is one machine that doesn't disappoint. Best features:...

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Consumer review by:

Canon Optura PI MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

 

Excellent DV camera for the money.

My main draw to the Canon Optura Pi was the optical (rather than digital) image stabilization. Canon is the only camcorder manufacturer that offers this feature in this price range. The image quality is excellent, although the camera calibration can...

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Consumer review by:

Excellent DV camera for the money.

 

My main draw to the Canon Optura Pi was the optical (rather than digital) image stabilization. Canon is the only camcorder manufacturer that offers this feature in this price range. The image quality is excellent, although the camera calibration can...

My main draw to the Canon Optura Pi was the optical (rather than digital) image stabilization. Canon is the only camcorder manufacturer that offers this feature in this price range. The image quality is excellent, although the camera calibration can...

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Consumer review by:

AWESOME DIGICAM - PERIOD!! Could be the best?!?!?

 

This camera works so well, feels so good in my hand, has so many cool features that I can't belive that I finally have it! I did an exhaustive amount of research before getting this camera but ALL signs kept pointing to this cam. The optical...

This camera works so well, feels so good in my hand, has so many cool features that I can't belive that I finally have it! I did an exhaustive amount of research before getting this camera but ALL signs kept pointing to this cam. The optical...

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Consumer review by:

Canon Optura PI MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

 

AWESOME DIGICAM - PERIOD!! Could be the best?!?!?

This camera works so well, feels so good in my hand, has so many cool features that I can't belive that I finally have it! I did an exhaustive amount of research before getting this camera but ALL signs kept pointing to this cam. The optical...

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Product Specifications

Light enough to become part of your hand, the Optura Pi will become your personal imaging companion. Built tough with Canon Know-How and Canon technology inside it, the Optura Pi gives you surprising features and unsurpassed digital video (DV) quality. It gives you up to 2 hours of digital movies or 700 Digital Photos on one mini DV. The Optura Pi is easy to use and that makes it easy to get results you've never seen before from any camcorder. A genuine Canon 12x zoom lens with 48x digital zoom allows you to get clear close-ups. It features three modes: Normal Movie (full-motion video) Mode, Digital Photo Mode and Digital Motor Drive Mode (takes 30 still frames a second). Optical image stabilization filters out the jitters and bumps to capture crisp, stable images every time. Look into the world that awaits you when you get into CANON DV, with the Optura Pi digital camcorder.

Audio Input

Microphone Operation Mode:Stereo
Microphone Technology:Electret condenser
Type:Microphone

Battery

Battery Form Factor:Manufacturer specific
Run Time (Up To):1.5hour(s)

Camcorder Features

Low Lux / Night Mode: Yes

Dimensions & Weight

Depth:5.8in
Height:3.4in
Weight:1.5lbs
Width:2.7in

Display (Projector)

Diagonal Size:3.5in
Diagonal Size (metric):8.9cm
Display Form Factor:Rotating
Type:LCD display

Exposure Parameters

Shooting Programs:Night mode / Portrait mode / Sand & snow / Sports mode / Spotlight/Portrait mode / Sand & snow / Sports mode / Spotlight

Header

Manufacturer:Apple/Canon
Model:Pi
Packaged Quantity:1
Product Line:Canon Optura

Lens System

Lens Aperture:F/1.6-2.5
Max Focal Length:49.2mm
Min Focal Length:4.1mm
Optical Zoom:12
Type:Zoom lens

Miscellaneous

Color:Gray metallic/Gray metallic / Metallic silver

Optical Sensor

Camcorder Effective Video Resolution:360Kpix
Camcorder Sensor Resolution:380Kpix
Optical Sensor Size:1/4"
Optical Sensor Size (metric):6.4 mm ( 1/4 ) / 6.4 mm ( 1/4" )
Optical Sensor Type:CCD
Sensor Qty:1CCD

Optical System

Built-in Optical Image Stabilizer: Yes
Image Stabilizer:Optical

Service & Support

Type:1 year warranty

Video Input

Analog Video Format:NTSC
Digital Scene Transition:Black fader / Fade trigger / Mosaic fader / Scroll wide
Digital Video Format:DV
Digital Zoom:48
Media Type:Mini DV
Shooting Modes:Digital photo mode / Frame movie mode / Normal movie mode
Special Effects:Art / Black & White / Cinema / Mosaic / Sepia / Wipe/Art / Black & White / Mosaic / Sepia / Wipe
Type:Camcorder

Viewfinder

Viewfinder Color Support:Color
Viewfinder Type:LCD
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