When I first used the viewfinder of Canon's ES5000 Hi-8 camcorder, a little rectangle skittered annoyingly around the screen, following my gaze. I turned off the rectangle display but not the feature behind it - Eye Control Focus, which reads eye position and focuses the camera lens accordingly.
When I switch my view from near to far objects in interior settings, the focus lags behind eye movement by about a second. It doesn't refocus until I've zeroed in on something. By switching the eye control function, I can visually activate the fade, date, and time display; the title display; and the record start and stop. My eye movements
can also trigger effects such as quick digital close-ups, strobes, freeze-frames, solarization, mosaic images, dissolves, wipes, and zoom fades. My favorite features of the camera are the digital zoom, which doubles the lens' extra-long 20X zoom range, and the built-in optical image stabilizer, which reduces the camera's shaking to nearly zero. But then, the compact, chunky shape makes it easy to hold steady despite its mere 2-pound weight.
This is probably more camcorder than any of us need, but it sure will be fun growing into it.
Canon ES5000: US$2,200.
Canon: (800) 652 2666, +1 (516) 488 6700.
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