Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard

Comments about Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard:

I bought this immediately after my purchase of a Canon XL-H1 HD camcorder just to protect it from the day-to-day bumps and bruises.

It does a good job at protection, but..... getting this thing on the camera required some patience and a bit of 3-D thinking. Don't get me wrong, I understand you might say: "How often am I going to have to put this thing on the camera, once right?" Well, maybe. Read on.

There is a clear flap on the one side that covers the controls which is nice, until you need to change a setting like white balance or rotate the camera to off. Then you open the flap via the Velcro and voila, your there. But now the flap is dangling in a down position and kind of in the way.

Likewise, the handgrip is almost well designed except for that it covers-up the PHOTO button. You know on the top right there at the thumb position. The guard didn't take that into account and you have to push it out of the way in order to shoot a photo. No big deal if you don't intend to shoot pictures.

Finally, the eyepiece cover is the best feature. It does a good job at protection, and other than a small irritation of having to move the cover out of the way when closing the eyepiece after having it open, I like what it does.

Comments about Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard:

The guard slips right on the camera with a few snaps and velcro closures. No instructions however so be prepared for a little 'puzzle time' when you first install the product. Covers pretty much everything with a nice padded cover. Controls are fairly easy to get too with a couple of exceptions. The white balance and gain controls are a little tight and the speed setting for the zoom is very hard to get too. Other than that the product is perfect in my opinion. I'm sure it will save my camera from damage and dirt. And it looks great on the camera as well. Could have done the battery cover a little better but it does work. Only thing I don't like about it is when you put in a BP-945 it leaves a gap at the top for dirt to get in. With the smaller batteries this isn't a problem. All all I'm very pleased with the Kata product.

Comments about Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard:

overall it looks great, little tricky getting used to all the access flaps.
recommended for shooting in cold, dusty or misty areas. takes some time to place on camera and to remove from camera. using this cover constantly, did put it on and still keeping it on. it still looks great.