This camera is wonderful. It is light weight, easy to use. The camera function buttons are within easy reach. It records widescreen or fullscreen. Camera is a great cost. Picture quality is great. I have had mine for only 2 months and have used it every chance I get.
Although is it a great camera I have yet to use it because I was expecting it to come with a memory stick or cd of some short. It unfortunately isn't digital either so thats a downside.
Like: It has enough useable features to make it very easy to use and at the same time give the user some options to tinker with. Love: It's small and fits into my pocket (one of those big shorts pockets on the side of most shorts today, not the thigh pocket). It uses the HD format for widescreen video. Again, it's a nice camera for the money I paid, which was about $150. Dislike: You have to unplug any other firewire device from your computer to use it, otherwise you cannot transfer the video. I have also had some problems with the video becoming corrupt where one segment ends taping and another begins (but I've seen this problem on other cameras as well including my hard disk Sony camcorder (HDR-SR5)). I had to manually import the video from just after the start of the new event to correct this. Working on a Macintosh.
This is an excellent little camcorder for the price we paid. It does widescreen which is nice to transfer to a DVD. We took it to Europe and it preformed well.
This is my first Digital camcorder (i still don't understand that cuz it takes tapes) and I love it! My only complaint is that there is no night vision
I like the fact that it was so easy to use, and so small, and lightweight , I have the regular size camcoders I got when my son was born, and they are so heavy to use. I decided to buy it because my son is in school now and this is the best way to capture is programs.
I chose this video camera after looking at several electronic stores. I am not interested in the dvd technology. All of my video has been Video8/DV8/MiniDV. This camera works well when traveling. I have a perfect size purse for it so that I can carry it around and pull it out. Go over the instructions. There are some things to learn about setting in the Func menu. For this size camera, the lense is really clear. It does not have any anti-shake technology so you have to treat it like an old 35MM camera--steady shooting. I love it.
Daughter wanted video cam - Great Buy for the product. Daughter loves making videos with friends and takes it everywhere. It was missing the battery cover, but we can make do.
This was an excellent buy. This is a great little camera. We just took it on vacation with us and it is very easy to handle and to use. I would buy another one and will for our son who is expecting his first child. I wish we had this when our children were little. Works great,with great features. Excellent quality movies and stills.
A good working camcorder. So far it has held up great. I market horses for sale and must have a camera that will survive being outside in the dirt, heat, moisture, etc. I have taped dozens of horses, uploaded them and make great sales DVDs. Very valuable tool for my business, and the most important part is that it was affordable.
So far I am loving this camera. Picture is nice, sound is soooo much better than other camcorders I have had before. It transfer easy to my iMac and movie making becomes super easy. I would advise though to get a couple of extra batteries, since battery life is not that great, but what really matters to me, (picture, sound, image) is awesome!
The camera is everything people have said, it's a REALLY nice camera, until it won't accept a tape, a relatively common problem with the ZR line. When THAT happens Canon wants $92 bucks plus to fix, maybe more, used parts ?. I know, been there. I told them forget it when I found out, just as cheap to get another one (used). I had a 200, it broke, wouldn't accept tape. There's always one on Ebay listed as "as is" because of this so it's been heard of. Just be aware, when it happens you lose EVERYTHING that has to do with the tape side (but keep the still side or movies from SD cards. Would I buy another?, yup, if it was used and cheap on Ebay.
The camcorder has some standard features and you can't expect a lot more from it as this is a low-end product. The only thing that really annoyed me was the motor sound. It is way too loud and it gets picked up by the microphone, which creates a pretty loud feedback. I wouldn't have bought this camcorder if a knew about this particular problem. Otherwise it is an "OK" product.
It is easy to use, compact, and we love it! We were able to use it right away and it was sent to us in a timely manner, so we were able to capture wonderful memories at Christmas time! Thank a million!
Pro: - cheap; - very light and compact body; - easy to use; - a good standard battery life span;
Con: - that little joystick to navigate the menu is a HORRIBLE idea ! - image quality is average. - the sound is noisy but decent. - no software to capture or edit on PC.
General considerations: On full automatic mode is doing a decent job, much better than the old Canon models from ZR line. Best results in manual mode.