Flash, Flexible, Flash Memory

Canon’s technological innovation has for decades delivered optical excellence, advanced image processing and top performance, from photographic and broadcast television cameras to our complete line of consumer camcorders.

We’re proud to offer our latest, the Canon FS22 Dual Flash Memory camcorder. Lighter, more compact and user-friendly, the Canon FS22 brings you stunning video at an affordable price. As employed in advanced electronic products such as laptop computers, MP3 players, PDAs and cell phones, Flash Memory has numerous benefits. Canon offers Dual Flash Memory, enabling you to record to both the camcorder’s substantial 32GB internal Flash drive and a removable SDHC card. It not only extends the recording space available, but also gives you added flexibility in file transfer and playback. You’ll have a chance to catch even more of your life’s special moments with the FS22. Adding to the usefulness of this camcorder is Canon’s Quick Charge - which reduces the recharge time for the FS22’s battery, and Pre-Record gives you a head start on capturing the action.

With the FS22’s Canon Exclusive features such as Canon 48x Advanced Zoom and our DIGIC DV II Image Processor, combined with a 1.07 Megapixel CCD image sensor, Image Stabilization and a 2.7” Widescreen LCD and our new Quick Charge feature- you’ve got a Dual Flash Memory camcorder that’s both hard to beat and unmistakably Canon.

Product Features

• Dual Flash Memory: 32GB Internal Flash Drive & SDHC Card Slot
• Ultra-Sleek, Compact and Lightweight Design
• Canon Exclusive: Genuine 48x Advanced Zoom
• 1.07 Megapixel CCD Image Sensor
• Canon Exclusive: DIGIC DV II Image Processor
• Superb Shooting Control - Video Snapshot, Quick Start, Quick Charge, Dual Shot and More
• Stunning Digital Photography
• 2.7” Widescreen LCD
• Additional Features

Product Specs

Canon FS22’s Review

www.infosyncworld.com

June 3, 2009

Design - Good

While MiniDV and DVD camcorders are now officially endangered species, manufacturers have begun ladling even more thought into light, compact flash memory models like the Canon FS22. This petit dual-memory compact is Canon’s smallest standard-definition model yet, with the FS21 and FS200 occupying the same feathery weight and diminutive dimensions. The FS22 is just a lens barrel with an LCD tacked onto it, and we could easily slip it into a jacket pocket. We also liked the FS22’s coat of glossy sparkle flake paint and chrome trim. The Canon FS22 was also exceptionally cushy to grasp, thanks to its padded felt hand strap and ergonomically chiseled chassis.

We liked the oversized zoom toggle for its smooth movement and the large circular Mode dial made shifting into Auto, Camera, or Photo modes a breeze. We weren’t too keen on the enclosed battery design, however, due to the fact that the Canon FS22 can only fit a battery pack up to a certain size. The Sony DCR-SR47 featured a rear-mounted battery bay, which supports the largest compatible pack on the market since there is no capacity restriction. We dug the Canon FS22’s front-mounted microphone over the DCR-SR47’s top-mounted mic because our fingers couldn’t muffle the pickup. The Power button was easy to reach, though adult hands will have to shift downward in order to comfortably operate the FS22.

Interface and Menus - Mediocre

Here’s where Canon threw a stick in the spokes of the FS22’s control room wheels. This dual-memory captain is supposed to be the top standard-definition member of the fleet, yet we see no signs of advanced control anywhere. Perhaps it’s just runoff from the fading popularity of standard-definition camcorders in general, but we remember the days when MiniDV camcorders rocked control dials, AE and TV Priority modes and lens rings. The Canon FS22’s only navigational force is its LCD-mounted joystick. All other buttons are administrative-oriented aside from the Video Snapshot button. For 600 smackers, we’d expect a little more from the FS22’s interface, especially since the FS21 and FS200 feature the same configurations and retail for less.

For our viewing pleasure, the Canon FS22 offered a 2.7-inch LCD with a 123,000-pixel display. Needless to say, the picture was average, but sharp. The FS22’s menus were a watered-down version of Canon’s x-axis/y-axis structure found on nearly all of the HD and standard-definition models in the company’s lineup. We loved the Function menu for its conduciveness to rapid option selection and the Joystick menu was convenient for on-the-fly adjustment. Playback was easy to access and navigate, particularly due to the convenience of the Joystick. The FS22’s flat strip of buttons mounted on the LCD panel made Playback more user friendly, but we also had the option to use the Joystick. In Camera mode, the flat button panel doubled as Record and Zoom toggle buttons. All in all, Canon does not offer much externally for the advanced shooter, but the FS22 is no slouch once you travel inside its interface.

Shooting Features - Mediocre

The standard-definition market has been whittled down over the years in order to make plenty of room for the latest and greatest high-definition models, so it’s no surprise that the Canon FS22 offered a very basic set of shooting features. We got manual Shutter Speed control out of the deal, and the FS22 could dip down to 1/8-second for low light and crawl all the way up to 1/2000-second for fast motion. However, anything below a 1/15 second-shutter speed will look like a jumpy Unsolved Mysteries reenactment scene. For an additional low light boost, the FS22 was equipped with a small video light, but it cast a bluish hue and illuminated one side of the frame more intensely than the other. White Balance options were limited to Auto, Daylight, Tungsten and Manual, which was odd because we’re used to seeing an extensive list on Canon’s high-end camcorders. Nevertheless, the white balance functioned well and we rarely had to manually balance.

The manual Focus was hit or miss, due to the mediocre quality of the LCD screen. Close-up objects were not that difficult to fine-tune, but objects in the distance were a lost cause. We stuck with the Canon FS22’s Auto Focus most of the time because it performed very well. Color options were also limited to Vivid, Neutral and Soft Skin Detail, but Image Effects were packed to the brim and even included an additional filter that sounded the Consumer alarm. Anytime a manufacturer tosses a Mosiac filter on a camcorder, we know we’re not going to be shooting big budget documentaries. Art mode was still our favorite. The FS22’s Pre-record feature worked like a charm, allowing us to catch three seconds of footage before pressing the Record button. The FS22’s Video Snapshot mode was rather gimmicky, creating a montage of four-second video clips set to a Midi version of The Entertainer. Despite its novice-aimed artillery, the Canon FS22 managed to get the job done.

Hardware and Connectivity - Good

Sensors are also shrinking in 2009, and the Canon FS22 is donned with a 1.07-megapixel 1/6-inch CCD. Sony dropped the DCR-SR47 down to a 1/8-inch chip with a reasonably low 410,000 effective pixel count. We noticed a significant decline in the DCR-SR47’s image quality over previous models with larger sensors and higher pixel counts. Fortunately, the FS22 did not exhibit the dreaded sensor downgrade syndrome, but its performance could not hold a candle to Canons of the past.

The Canon FS22 has a 37x optical zoom with a 48x Advanced Zoom. Canon’s Advanced zoom basically magnifies the overall image, sacrificing external pixels. The Sony DCR-SR47 offers a 60x optical zoom while the Panasonic SDR-H80 rocks a 70x optical zoom. So, if zoom is a major factor then Canon is not the ticket. The FS22 records MPEG-2 videos to 32GB of internal flash memory or SD/SDHC cards. We had issues with Canon’s files on our Mac and had to switch to Windows in order to extract frame grabs from our editing program, so file conversion will be the thorn in the side of Apple fanatics. A rechargeable Lithium Ion battery powers the FS22.

Despite the Canon FS22’s limited external controls, the little lens barrel is strapped with Mic, Headphone/AV, USB and DC jacks. The Sony DCR-SR47 does not offer sound inputs and outputs, so that wins the FS22 a few points. The FS22 even has an onscreen Audio Level meter, though dB levels cannot be adjusted.

Image Quality - Good

With all of the sensor shrinking going on, we didn’t expect much out of our Canon FS22 review unit, especially in low light. When a company crams more pixels onto a smaller imager it usually leads to a decreased sensitivity when the lights go down, but the FS22 did not choke entirely. A decent exposure was at least attainable thanks to the Shutter Speed control, though low light video clips appeared to have lost a good deal of color information and were pelted with noise. Bright light shooting was an entirely different story. Our video clips were sharp, detailed and filled with vibrant color. The FS22 blew past the Sony DCR-SR47 with ease and our only complaints were limited to some moderate fringing and typical contrast issues.

All video clips were captured at the highest 9Mbps quality and processed using Sony Vegas. The frame grabs are 655 x 480 JPEGs, although they were shot in widescreen. That was another issue. The FS22’s file format made it so we could not work with widescreen footage, even after we selected a widescreen preview window in our timeline. Clips would have to be converted to more popular file formats in order to achieve this. Regardless, the slightly smooshed frame grabs do not take anything away from image quality, for we also analyzed the footage on an external monitor at their true aspect ratios.