I just bought this camcorder and took it to an MLB game. It was

I have owned this camcorder for six months now, and have found no fault with it. Before buying it, I was concerned about negative reviews regarding motor noise, low light, and body size. Fortunately, none of these has caused me a problem. The surroundings have to be completely silent to hear the motor; I have yet to have a problem with low light, and I like the feel of the body. I particularly like the ease with which I can take a still photo with only a minor interruption in video recording. I wanted the 16X zoom for sporting events, but I found it also useful at a recent graduation. While seated, I find I can hold the camcorder adequately still, even at 16X zoom, but a tripod is always useful. In the presence of a live orchestra, the audio quality is outstanding.

This is my first camcorder. I am satisfied with the quality in comparision with the money that I spent on it.

I had this camera for a week and had to return it to the store. I liked its look, controls, picture quality, colors, menu, battery life, accessory options. But when I played-back my tape on the TV, I was shocked with high-pitched metal noise. I first thought that it's the tape, so I tried another tape - same result.
When you remove tape from the camcorder - there is no noise, there is also no noise when you switch to VCR mode (not playing your recorded tape), but once tape is in and you are ready to shoot, listen: it hums and whistles, quite but steadily. And when you play it back noise becomes NOISE. I have read re-views on cnet.com, but I thought it just some minor motor noise you can here on almost every camcorder - not the case!! I had Sony-hi8 before and I know the difference. I think it has something to do either with flaws in videoheads or tape mechs, or with bad placement of the mic.
Of course I could buy an external mic, but do you want to carry it always with you - at home and on the trips?, and besides it makes the camcorder much bulkier.
(2 stars are for picture, but sound ruins the rest)

I was a little uneasy about buying this camera because of some negative reviews (although overall, the reviews seem to be pretty positive). It's the best one I could find with respect to the raw specs and price, though, so I decided to give it a try anyway.

I have to say that the footage comes out just fine. I tried it at dusk outdoors, typical indoor lighting at night, and bright and early in the morning when the contrasts (sun and shadow) are at their sharpest. The color reproduction is okay. I love the LCD because of the size and clarity. Importing the footage into my iMac was a breeze (Apple yeah!), although the picture is a little darker compared to the LCD's. I do agree that the supernight light mode is bad, but is there really a camera that can take a great picture at near total darkness and doesn't cost a fortune?

As for the noise, there is a hum that is discernible when you turn the playback volume way up and the footage is of a fairly silent space. Just to see how prevalent this noise is, I tried a Canon MC ZR50 that I had lying around, and the Optura is as quiet as a mouse compared to that. I should experiment with a Sony when I get a chance just to see how that really stacks up.

I think that for the price, this is a pretty good buy.

I've owned this camera for almost a year now. I also was looking at the Canon ZR series (the high end of that series) and some Panasonics available at the time. I wanted MiniDV and wasn't happy with what any other manufacturer offered at the time.

My main concern is video quality, and so far I've been very pleased with this camera's performance. I use a firewire cable/card (purchased seperately) to transfer the video to my PC for editing. However, even playing back using the outputs on the camera to plug into a TV revealed excellent quality.

I do notice some camera noise when using the built in microphone, but it is widely known that the microphones they put in these cameras are of a lower quality. I have the ability to clean that up during editing, so it's not a big deal to me. To get even better quality source audio, I would suggest an external microphone.

Finally, if you haven't already, take a look at jemaer_rf's review (September 13, 2003) . I agree with everything in that review except that the size is too big. My preference is to have a "larger" camera so that there's something to hold on to. I played with a few of the tiny cameras at a local electronics store and they were too small for me. If you're happy with the size, then consider buying this camera.

Do NOT buy this camera. After two years you WILL have an issue where the iris will get stuck in an over-exposure. Many people have had this issue and there is no known fix from Canon - they charge $170 just to look at it, which is beyond the acceptable margin in my opinion.

Do yourself a favor and look at newsgroups to confirm this, don't just take my opinon...

I had the same exact problem as described by Michael A. Criswell "the_criz". I called support, they said we can fix it, just ship to our Canon Factory Service Center. I get an e-mail back from them saying that the camera has an over-exposure problem. (Duh! That is why I sent it to you.) They want $170 to fix and no explanation regarding the problem and why it happens until after they fix it and get there repair money. I have not even used this camera a lot.

Count me with the Bad Iris Brigade.

I've babied my Optura 20 for three years, and now it's suddenly stuck in low-light mode. The exposure and shutter speed will not change, neither through the menu, the recording mode, nor through the exposure button. I've searched "optura 20" "iris stuck" on a few search engines and am disheartened to read that many other Optura-ites have experienced the same problem and an expensive estimate from the folks at Canon... and then no help.


While it worked, this camera was great. It was light, easy to handle, easy to figure out, and the picture was crispy and nice. I bought the accesory mic and was happy with that, too.

Now it's just a lovely paper weight. What a shame.

I should have known what to expect...this appears to be a fundamental design/component issue. When I first shopped around for this unit in Dec 2003, the display unit at the Best Buy had a washed out picture. Yet, I purchased based on reviews. I would give it 5 stars then. I experienced the "iris problem" with washed out picture in Jan 2005, just 1 month after warranty expiration. Sent unit to Canon, with a letter expressing my disappointment and disgust, since I had previously bought Canon SLRs and liked the quality. Surprise, they fixed it free of charge! However, have the same problem again. I guess I will have to pay this time. Next time, Sony. My Sony CCD101 Hi-8 purchased in 1991 gave almost 12 years of hassle free service.

Thanks for this site, I know realize my optura 20 is doing the same thing. It seems like it's stuck in low light mode. It goes into the is about 80% of the time when I power it on to the record mode. Sometimes I get lucky, but you can't shut it off, because if you do you may not be able to get it into the right mode again. You can't really use it because everything is slow and too white. I've had the camera for 3 years and it's been used very little. Not good build quality, now I can't wait to hear what the cost of repair will be. Is there enough people out there for a class action?

I bought mine used, and after a month or so it started developing the now seemingly notorious iris problem that makes the image look as if you're somewhere in the vicinity of the South Pole. The over-exposed image can only mean that the iris is stuck in a wide open position, as other reviewers have said. It happens about 25& of the time when I turn it on, and the only way to fix it is to take the battery out for a few minutes, then put it back in (what Canon refers to as "resetting the camera"). I suggest everyone else who doesn't feel like paying a ridiculous amount of money for repair to try the same approach.

Iris issue aside, this is a good camera for the price. Low light performance isn't great, but I do a lot of closeup work with a 75W key light, and the footage looks pretty nice (no noticeable grain).

I've experienced the same bad iris problem too after several years of normal functioning. Canon wanted me to send the camera in for repair--has anyone else actually had the problem fixed by Canon? If so how much did it cost and did it fix the problem? I'm wondering if I should get it repaired or just buy a new camera.

Do not buy this camera!

I believe that this is a firmware problem of some sort, though I could be wrong. Whenever I am affected by this problem, I can no longer hit the Exposure button to adjust the exposure. My current work-around is to play a video (tape or card), and go back to the record mode. Very annoying, and it might not work later on.

These camcorders have an inherent manufacturing defect that apparently Canon hasn't fessed-up to. I use mine rarely. I bought a reconditioned Optura 20 several years ago. I quickly noticed that it operated only in low light mode unles it was "warm". I was using it backpacking and it would work ok when I left it in the sun or put it inside my coat, but once it got cool, the only thing I could photograph was a polar bear in a snowstorm. I've fixed and torn apart camcorders before, so I got me a busted Optura 10 on eBay with a bad tape drive for a song and a dance...less than 20 bucks. I figured I could swap the CCD board out if my Optura 20 got any worse. Wrong!! The optura 10 had the EXACT same problem. As for the Optura 20, the problem has gotten worse with time. now, it has to be really warm to function. Avoid this camcorder like the plague.

Avoid this product and perhaps all Canon Camcorders at any cost!
The IRIS is stuck in the low light setting like many others have posted.
Search CNET and other forums as well for many other reports of this problem.

Canon Customer Service has been very poor in responding to this
and say that this is an unknown problem! You will have to shell out
almost the cost of the camcorder to get this repaired or otherwise
live with a bad paper-weight.

A huge warning for anyone out there looking at this camera!! We dont use ours often and one day it started loading up and being stuck in its low light mode. this means any amount of light in the room causes it to wash out and record as blur. When I looked into this issue, it turned out that there were plenty of others out there that had the same problem with the Optura 20. It will cost you $150-300 to fix. its sad, becuse in so many other ways it was a great camcorder- but a flaw like this can ruin it all.

I bought this camera in early 2004 and have had no problems that other users have experienced. Maybe I just got lucky. My main use for this camera was golf swing analysis. I looked for 3 main features: Manual shutter speed of at least 1/2000, manual focus, and a larger LCD screen, because at that time I didn't have a laptop and planned on doing analysis at the driving range through the screen.

The Optura fills all of those criteria perfectly. Since I bought this camera, I've also added a laptop to the mix and the firewire port works great.

One other interesting feature with this camera that I didn't know when I purchased it is the analog to digital converter. You can hook up analog A/V, change a setting in the menu, and the camera will convert it to digital and output the a/v through the firewire. So I can record TV shows (yes, golf swings.. such as the CBS SwingVision), in real time. Pretty cool.

The ONLY con I have experienced is that it's not a very good low light camera. I do have to crank the shutter down to about 1/250 when I'm inside in a dome. But outside during the day whether overcast or sunny it works great.

Over the last two years, the camera has gotten progressively worse. It is out of warranty and the Stuck in low light mode problem has gone from once in every five startups to about 9 out of ten. The only thing that keeps me from giving it a one star rating is the large screen and general ease of use. When it is working , it is the best small camcorder I have used. (not that I have used very many) I have been looking for a solution to this problem, but when my daughter takes the Optura 20 to school and calls me in the middle of the day to ask how to fix this, it is time to give it the old heave-ho.
I have tried a new CR-2025 battery, but that didn't work. I have tried jiggling things after starting, and before starting. Nothing seems to work every time. Since it has progressed over time, it seems to be connected to a sensor cleanliness and firmware combined problem. But I wish that I knew more.

This camera is perfect for my 18-year old. Perfect condition & works great. He can't thank me enough! I can't thank the seller enough. (Thanks again, by the way)! The advice he gave was extremely helpful as well.