My son presented a Canon FS100 Camcorder. After using it, I fell it is good for ameture photography.

The good: Compact, attractive design; mic input.

The bad: No optical image stabilization; ineffective wind filter; no headphone jack; modest video quality.

The bottom line:Convenient, well-designed camcorders that look pricier than they are,models in the Canon FS series--FS11, FS10, and FS100--neverthelessdeliver typical budget video in line with their budget price tags.

Specifications: Video input type: Camcorder ; Optical zoom: 37 x ; Media type: Flash card

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------

CNET editors' review:-

The individual models in the FS series differ only by memoryand color, with list prices that increment by $100 (but with loweractual street price gaps). The top-end model, the FS11, comes in darkgray and includes 16GB built-in memory; its lesser sibling, the FS10,wears silver and includes 8GB. The cheapest child, the FS100, has nobuilt-in memory but comes in silver, blue, and red. Capacities runabout 13.8 minutes per gigabyte of storage for best-quality mode, 39min/GB for lowest quality; we don't recommend shooting belowbest-quality, however.

Weighing only 10.7 ounces and fitting comfortably into the palmof a hand--one my size, at least--the FS is, for the most part, quitewell designed. As is becoming typical for SD-based models, you chooseamong video and still, record, and playback modes plus togglingrecording on and off via a big thumbwheel at the back of the camcorder.You operate the zoom switch, photo shutter, and on/off switch with yourforefinger. The battery and SD card slot lie under a sliding panel onthe bottom of the unit. Some of the nicer touches include a built-inelectronic lens cover--at this price, they're usually manual--and anLED video light.

Behind the LCD, there's an Easy button for a completelyautomatic mode and a button to display battery info, which displays theestimated time remaining. There's also a standard mini-USB port, 3.5mmmicrophone jack, and an AV out connector for hooking up to a TV via thebundled composite cable. As is becoming typical for Canon, you use ajoystick on the LCD to bring up a few quick-access controls, includingtriggering the video light, exposure compensation, shutter speed, andmanual focus. It doesn't magnify the focus area while in manual focus,but despite the smallish 2.7-inch LCD, it's pretty usable.

You also use the joystick to navigate the menus, which you pull up viaa membrane button on the bevel of the LCD (other membrane buttonsinclude playback controls, recording start/stop, and backlightcompensation). Unusual in a budget model, the camcorder offersshutter-priority mode in addition to program exposure and a variety ofscene modes. Beyond that, the shooting functions are scarce: whitebalance, digital and image effects, and a choice of 9Mbps, 6Mbps, and3Mbps bit rates. Some of the other options, available deeper within themenus, include variable or one of three constant zoom speeds, 16:9wide-screen recording mode, and a wind screen filter.

I do have a few minor quibbles with the design and operation.First, the zoom switch feels a bit loose, and I had trouble controllingthe pace of the zoom with it. The on/off switch lies flush with thebody of the camcorder, and thus requires some concerted effort topress. Finally, I don't like the placement of the USB port underneaththe LCD or the SD card slot on the bottom of the unit; those just feellike awkward locations.

With the FS series, Canon debuts its Advanced Zoom technology,which transforms the camera's 37x optical zoom into 48x. It does so bymoving lens elements to change the area of the sensor focused on by thelens. As a result, the effective video resolution changes while youzoom. For example, with AZ turned off, 16:9 video sensor resolution isabout 550,000 pixels. With it on, at minimum zoom, it's approximately710,000 pixels (full effective sensor resolution), and at 48x, it's410,000 pixels. So while it's technically not digital zoom, it's stillnot maintaining the resolution across the entire zoom range (thoughit's in fact better than status quo at the wide angle). And for thatreason, though I know Canon will probably beg to differ, I'm going torefer to it as a hybrid zoom.