Canon Legria FS200 Camcorder

Article by gadget on Gadget Heaven · +Mark Taylor ·

The Canon FS200 Camcorder is one of the best standard definition camcorders around with its 37x zoom factor.

The compact body of this camcorder makes it very easy to handle and carry with ease. You may feel that the zoom functionality is not up to what you get to see in other camcorders. But, as FS200 camcorder does not have optical image stabilisation, no matter how high the zoom is, you would not be able to get a clearer picture.  

The Legria FS200 camcorder records on to SD and SDHC cards only. The reason behind it’s below than normal weight is it’s lack of internal storage. Priced at arounf £250, this camcorder provides a very good image quality when compared to most of it’s competitors. The size is a huge add on to this camcorder as it easily snugs into the jacket pocket and is extremely easy to handle. The FS200 is available in red, blue and silver colours.   

Armed with a 2.7 inch LCD and Dual mode button on the back of the camcorder to switch between shooting movies and photos, FS200 is a good choice for novices and intermediate shooters alike. So, there would be no need to switch manually between shooting stills and video by changing modes, it can be done with a flick of the button. Also note that, you can not shift from shooting video to stills but can do otherwise. With the provided battery, you can shoot non stop for about 1 hour 40 minutes making it ideal for vacations and parties.   

The simplicity of FS200 lies in it’s operation. A responsive five-way joystick adjacent to the 2.7 inch LCD and the clearly noted buttons right under the screen makes the operation smooth and clutter free. The Func button next to the joystick provides the user with shooting options menu. Tucked neatly below the options is a well placed icon providing access to other remaining settings of the camcorder.  

An exclusive feature offered by FS200 camcorder in this price range is its external mic input and headphone output. Another interesting feature of FS200 is it’s unique Video Snap Mode. Power it on and every time you click the Record button, the camcorder records 4 seconds of video. Join the pieces later and you get a visual treat just like a memory lapse ad. Use it with a little bit of screenplay and you can add suspense to the video you are recording. It’s all fun and creative. The video recording is quite good in it’s own class. The colours are rich while the low-light video was a bit grainy, as all the other camcorders in this price range.

As Canon FS200 camcorder is a standard definition one, do not expect HD video to be recorded in daylight. The daylight shot videos are noisy too, but not as much as the ones shot in low light conditions. It’s just that day light videos do not get distracted with the noise. The photo quality of the snaps taken using this camcorder is good too.  

So, if you are not an avid shooter and you are looking out for camcorder meant to record something from the family and friends for fun, this might be a good choice to have. The mic and headphone are very good options to possess. If only there was a mechanical image stabiliser for the 37x zoom, Canon FS200 Camcorder would have stood apart from it’s own class.

Click Here for More Info on Canon Legria FS200 Camcorder