Digital video cameras used to be out of the reach of most people. DV beside a cameras name meant superior quality video at a superior price and it was not unusual to pay several thousand dollars for one.

However, prices have come down and you can now buy a high quality digital video camera such as the Canon MV4i for less than $3,000. But even that is expensive for a lot of people so Canon has introduced an entry-level digital video camera that costs less than many digital still cameras, and only compromises slightly on overall image quality.

At $1,399 the MV500i is priced competitively with many VHS mini video cameras but has a number of advantages over them. Just the fact that it is digital gives it a lot more flexibility over the traditional analog video camera.

Its specifications certainly do not give the impression of it being an entry level camera. It has an 18x optical/ 360x digital zoom, image stabiliser and seven different shooting modes ranging from night mode for very low light (0.5 lux) to an outdoor sports mode for shooting fast moving objects in variable light conditions.

While the digital zoom sounds impressive, the higher the zoom used, the lower quality of the image. Even using the optical zoom at full magnification requires a good steady tripod.

To keep the price down Canon has used interlaced scanning rather than progressive scanning, which provides a crisper, sharper picture. Interlacing is used in analog video cameras and TV sets and can produce an annoying flicker, which is more noticeable on stationary images than moving ones. For that reason the MV500is image quality is comparable with a VHS camera rather than its more expensive DV counterparts.

But that is not necessarily a bad thing considering its price and other capabilities, such as being able to shoot still images and convert analog video to digital for editing on a PC or in the camera.

There is no software package as standard with the camera but it can be purchased as an optional extra, and if you have a Macintosh it is a breeze to download images into the standard iMovie software over a FireWire link.

The MV500i has both a standard view finder and a 2.5 inch reversible LCD display, which allows you to line up a shot of yourself or replay the video to a group of people.

While using the camera in easy mode is stressless, the menu system can get confusing and it takes a fair bit of fiddling about to be able to access all of the shooting modes. All it really requires is some close study of the operating manual, but that is something a lot of people are loathe to do.

The auto focus works well under average conditions, however it is worth learning how to use it manually if you want the best results, particularly if you are filming anything fast moving, far away or lacking contrast.

The built-in microphone is located at the front of the camera but dont make the mistake I did and tie the lens cap to the carry strap because in a wind it will flap back against the mike and add an annoyingly loud click to your footage.

Canon has provided a shoe for mounting an external microphone, however, depending on what you are filming it is often better to dub the sound in later.

There are plenty of editing options available, including the ability to set the camera to do fade ins and fade outs as you are shooting, and there is the standard range of sepia, art, black & white and mosaic effects available.

The MV500i makes no pretence of being anything other than an entry-level digital video, however, dont let that put you off because it is as good as any VHS mini cam with a lot more features than most of them and a price tag that will allow a lot more people to go digital.

David Hellaby