Performance

The conditions at CES do not allow for a thorough examination of camcorder performance, but we can deduce potential performance results from the camcorder’s specs and the history of the series itself. The Elura 100 has a 1/5" CCD with 1.3 MP gross and a 690K effective pixel count. This model sports an even smaller imager than last year’s lowest-end Elura 80, which had a 1.4/5" CCD. The pixel count is the same, at 1.3 MP gross pixels, but the physical chip size will certainly have to affect the performance, particularly in low light. The parent models performed relatively well in bright light settings. On the CES floor this camcorder displayed bright, and sharp images. It seemed to present fairly accurate and potent colors.

This model’s imager is superior to the imagers on its entry level competitors, the Sony DCR-HC36 and the Panasonic PV-GS59. These two only offer a 1/6" CCD with 680K gross pixels. It will be interesting to see how they perform under more rigorous tests.

Low Light Performance

The show floors at CES limit one’s ability to truly test a camcorder in varying lighting conditions. Based on the camcorder’s imaging arsenal, one can at least speculate to its possibilities.

One of the frustrations with the low-end Eluras has been that their low light performance leaves something to be desired. In dim lighting conditions the Elura 80 produced fairly bright images with good color representation. Unfortunately, the image was plagued by a significant amount of noise. The new Elura 100, which has an inferior imager to its predecessors, will most likely share the similar problems in low light. The camcorder’s Mega Video Light (2 LED lights on the front of the camcorder) will offer some help in undesirable lighting conditions, but how much remains yet to be seen.

Format

Compression

The Elura 100 has the standard MiniDV compression rate of 25 Mbps per second. The camcorder captures stills using JPEG compression in Superfine, Fine, and Normal qualities.

Media

Stills and video are recorded onto MiniDV tapes and SD cards, but that’s all we can tell you for now. Check back later for our full review, which will have an analysis of the Elura 100’s still performance as well.

Editing

The Elura 100 offers rudimentary on-camera editing features. Users can add black and white fades when transitioning between shots. The camcorder is shipped with a Video Digital Solution Disc that provides more elaborate editing options.

Tour

The Front

The front of the camcorder has a slim 2.2" frame. A 20x optical zoom lens sits at the front of the Elura 100, with the Mega Video light to its immediate left. (The Mega Video light is simply two small LED lights.) A stereo microphone adorned in silver rests below the lens at the camcorder’s foot.

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The Back

A small and immobile viewfinder rests at the back of the Elura 100. Canon has removed the battery from the back in order to cram as many features and buttons as possible here. The most significant feature is a small, gray joystick that protrudes from out of the back of the camcorder. Below the joystick is a tiny function menu button. A light gray switch, that transitions the camcorder from Easy mode to P mode (The Manual option for Canon Camcorders), rests at the very bottom of this model’s rear. The camcorder’s mode dial is stationed on the right of the rear, with a metallic silver button protruding from its center. Another switch (this one for video/card), Widescreen and LCD Backlight buttons rest underneath the mode dial. It looks as crowded as it sounds.

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****The Right**

With the exception of an SD card slot that is clinging to the edge near the front, the MiniDV mechanism occupies most of the available real estate on the right side of this model’s shrunken body. A small gray hand strap envelopes the entire right side.

The Left

The 2.7" widescreen LCD provides shelter to most of the functions on the left side of the Elura 100. This year, the camcorder’s battery has been thinned and flattened to fit into the LCD cavity. While this battery occupies less space, its location heats up the camcorder and causes slight discomfort. The FireWire and USB ports are housed to the right of the battery. Near the left side of the lens barrel sits the built-in lens cover switch.

The Top

The top of the camcorder consists of the lens barrel and the DVD mechanisms to its right with a small cluster of features resting on its surface. The eject button is embedded on the top of the DVD mechanism towards the front, and group of features, decorated in metallic silver, assemble towards the back Elura’s top: the Pict Bridge button, Zoom Toggle, Light button, and Photo button.

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Auto / Manual Controls

Automatic Control

Canon has offered an Easy mode which allows the camcorder to make all control decisions over the quality of the image. This feature is ideal for beginners and point-and-shooters, who wish the cam to take over on exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and 9-Point AiAF Auto focus. The Easy mode is activated by a small switch beneath the joystick on the back of the camcorder. On the CES floor, the camcorder made adequate adjustments. The only noticeable issue with the Easy mode was its inability to swiftly adjust focus when the camcorder was near full zoom capacity. The Elura 100 lagged for several agonizing seconds, straining to achieve the correct focal adjustments.

Manual Control

All manual control adjustments are initiated through the menu and utilized with a small joystick protruding on the back of the camcorder. With the Elura 100, the user can manually control white balance, shutter speed, exposure and focus with greater ease than with previous models. In the past manual control options had to be made through external buttons. This year’s implementation of the joystick makes it easier achieve manual control adjustments. Unfortunately the elimination of these external buttons has created an extensive menu. Locating and utilizing the desired manual control is a very time consuming process.

The Elura 100 features two menus; the function menu and the general, administrative menu. The function menu is accessed by pressing the Function button underneath the joystick at the back of the camcorder. This menu will bring features such as White balance, Image Quality, Image effect. A general menu lies at the bottom of the function menu, which will bring up overall camera features. It will take some time before one can figure out the where, and the how of these menu options.

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Zoom*

The camcorder is equipped with a 20x optical zoom and 800x digital zoom. Its Sony competitors, the DCR-HC26 and HC36, share similar zoom specs. The Elura 100 has four options for controlling zoom speeds. Found in the menu, this allows you to select the speed and fix it, no matter how hard you push the zoom toggle. Speed 3 allows for fast zooms that can leap from one side of the room to the next in a single bound, while Speed 1 let you take nice slow zooms where the image leisurely crawls from point A to point B. Speed 2 is, as you might guess, is right in between. One can also disable this mode and choose the variable speed that lets you have complete autonomy on zoom.

Focus

Like all manual control functions, manual focus adjustments are made with the joystick: however the means of accessing this feature is different. Instead of going through the menu system by pressing the function key and scrolling to that menu, the user just presses down on the joystick. Adjustments are made by angling the joystick towards the portrait or landscape icon for the desired modification. This will cause some unwanted movement of the camcorder during these adjustments. The Elura 100 does not offer any true numerical value which prevents the user from making precise modifications. The user has eyeball whether the focal changes are accurate. This is a problem that plagues most entry to mid-level camcorders.

Exposure

Similar to focus, manual exposure is initiated by pressing down on the joystick. Exposure adjustments are made in EV stops, but no numerical system is provided. Adjusting the aperture in F-stops is not available. One must simply toggle between Exp+ and Exp– icons superimposed at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Shutter Speed

The Elura 100 offers these manual shutter speeds: 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and 1/2000. To access the shutter speeds, one must press the small function button, scroll down the function menu into the general menu, choose camera setup, choose Shutter Speed, and finally scroll down to the desired shutter speed. The adjustments will surely take up some time. By the time you’ve made the adjustment, your subject may have long since left the frame.

A Slow Shutter Speed feature is also available. This function will set a slow shutter speed that will allow more time for light to pass through the aperture, therefore making a brighter image. No numerical value is offered for the Slow Shutter feature. Last year’s Elura 80 had its Slow Shutter Speed was fixed at 1/30. Canon was unable to confirm if this year’s model had a fixed or variable shutter speed in this mode.

White Balance

In the function menu of the Elura 100, users can set the white balance to Daylight, Tungsten, and Evaluative (manual). Once you toggle to the desired setting, press down on the joystick to initiate the adjustments.

Gain

One cannot adjust manual gain with the Elura 100, as is the case with most entry level camcorders. The Panasonic PV-GS59, the top Panasonic cam in their 2006 MiniDV series, offers manual gain ranging from 0dB to 18dB.

Still Features

Still Features

The Elura 100 can capture stills at a maximum resolution of 1152 x 864 onto an SD/MMC card. The Eluras of CES past were able to capture stills at higher resolutions. This model offers greater still resolutions than other camcorders in the same price range. The Panasonic PV-GS59 and the Sony equivalent the DCR-HC36 captures still at the standard 640 x 480 still resolution on their respective media. Canon has decided to omit an SD card or MMC card slot with its low-end camcorders.

While the Elura 100 is lacking certain attributes from its parent models, it has acquired some new features as well. A new Motor Drive mode has been installed in this camcorder that allows it to capture up to 5 stills per second. The camcorder has a bracketing mode that takes 3 pictures, all with slight changes in exposure. The same manual control options are offered in both video and still mode.

Handling and Use

Handling

While the camcorder’s small frame makes it very portable, the thin design makes the camcorder a bit cumbersome to handle. The small buttons are huddled together in clusters throughout the camcorder’s body. The average adult will fumble with the miniature buttons as they do not fall directly underneath the thumb and index finger.

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Although relatively cumbersome, the Elura 100’s design makes it easier to handle than past Eluras (e.g the Elura 90) because of the reduction in external buttons and the implementation of the joystick. In the past, one would have to juggle with the camcorder engage manual features, but now most of these adjustments can be made with the flick of ones thumb. Panasonic offers a similar joystick feature that sticks out further towards the user making it easier navigate with. Both options are more user friendly than the Sony Touch Screen menu system. Having to constantly tap on an LCD screen that is littered with menu options can be discouraging.

LCD/Viewfinder

The Elura 100 has a 2.7" widescreen LCD with 123,000 pixels and a 0.3" color viewfinder displaying the same number of pixels. The LCD can rotate about 270 degrees. While the LCD’s mobility aids the user in making smooth transitions between high and low angle shots, one is limited by the slight distortion that occurs when the image is viewed at an angle. The viewfinder is the biggest hindrance to this model’s flexibility; it does not extend out towards the user, forcing the user to press his or her face against the back of the camcorder. It is difficult to access the menu or make adjustments over the quality of the image when your face is being nuzzled by the very buttons and joystick you need to use. The immobile color viewfinder plagues this year’s ZR series as well.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

Audio

Audio is captured with a stereo microphone that rests underneath the lens on the front of the camcorder. The consumer can choose between 12 bit and 16 bit audio within the general menu system under Camera Set Up. A Microphone In port on top of the Elura 100 provides the option of recording audio with an external microphone. This petite camcorder does not have an accessory shoe, which means users will have to find an external bracket to hook the microphone to.**
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VCR Mode

Users of the Elura 100 can view their recorded images by turning the light gray mode dial to the playback icon. The joystick allows for quick and easy navigation through the captured footage. This is an improvement from the petite navigation buttons that were buried underneath the LCD in past years. Users had to fumble with the camcorder to achieve simple tasks (forward, rewind, etc.) Through the menu one can choose to view the image in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. One feature that is small in significance but equally appreciated is the volume control functions. You can adjust the levels on the speaker that sits atop the lens barrel.

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****Ports**

This model’s ports are scattered throughout its thin frame. The USB and FireWire ports are found underneath the LCD; while the Microphone In and AV ports sit on top of the camcorder. The SD card slot dwells beneath a gray port cover on the edge of the camcorder’s right side.

Other Features

Other Features
Windscreen Mode - When shooting in windy conditions, the Windscreen Mode lowers audio frequencies and diminishes distortion. AV To DV The Elura 100 offers an AV to DV mode that allows users to dub and edit footage between two camcorders. Wide Mode With a push of a button on the back of the camcorder, the user can capture video in 16:9 aspect ratio.

Comparisons / Conclusion

Conclusion

The Elura 100 is the sole survivor of the Elura series. It has placed more emphasis on convenience and ease of use, and regressed in imager specs. Canon’s gamble is that the chic design, user-friendly joystick navigation system, and shiny new coating will appeal to you more than the need for great performance.

But this model’s navigation system is only easy in comparison’s to last year’s cumbersome design. Trimming the imager size and lowering the still resolution will most likely produce images that are not up to par with images from last year’s camcorders. Even though this model’s imager specs are not comparable to last year, the camcorder admittedly provides a bigger imager than its competitors. Both Panasonic and Sony’s entry level camcorders offer the standard 1/6-inch CCD with 680K gross pixels, while Canon has a 1/5" CCD with 1.3 gross MP. Budget-minded consumers will gravitate towards this camcorder. While the $399 price tag is the strongest selling point in this rapidly dwindling series, one must ask whether it is wise to invest in a camcorder that the manufacturer seems so ready to turn its back on.