Camcorder Reviews

I just got one of these camcorders off of this same site. When I got the camera there was no battery pack and or charger. its been about six months and I still cant find one anywhere not even on this site. Ive wasted about a hundred dollers on differnt chargers that dont even work. now the camera sits in my room with no use to it because I cant find a battery. also its to late to return it so now im stuck...... ...............THANKS TO WHO EVER I BOUGHT THIS FROM

I haven't bought this camera yaet, I'm still shopping.

However while I was shopping around I went to a retail store that had this model, they also had the JVC VL300. So?, you say.

Well from what I can tell these are almost the exact same camera, there are a few minor differences but one thing that looked identical is the battery. And a quick search found lots of suppliers for the JVC branded batteries.

You will want to check out the specs, but physically they look identical and the cameras definately share the same design.

Good Luck!

BTW I gave this a 5 rating because I can't post without a rating but from what I've seen it's a very good camcorder. Probably order it soon.

I've really just started out with this camera, so my rating at the moment is based on the ease of use. It's incredibly easy to get up and running in no time at all. All the controls are easy to reach and understand, and the video quality is very good. The only problems I've had was the first time I attempted to hook it up to my computer through the FireWire. It took Windows ME a long time to "install" the camera, but once it did, it took next to nothing to download the video in Windows Moviemaker. I'll be exploring other software soon. I'll update this review when I'm more familiar with the camera, but for beginners like me, I think this is a great choice.

I also was upset about the lack of a wireless controller, and my trunk ceased closing just after a year. Disgusted.

I recently bought the Canon 8400 after having a Sony CCD 8 mm (non HI-8 format) for 5-6 years, which was great. Here are the Canon's Pros: It's small and light weight. It has a light and image stabilization. It has a LCD screen. It has a high power zoom.

Canon's Cons: Compared to the Sony, I'm a little disappointed in the picture quality. Although the zoom is easy to use, the picture quality was fairly grainy, even at what I would consider relatively short distances (15-20 feet). I frankly don't think it's any better than the Sony non-Hi-8 format. Also, the 2.5" LCD screen is too small.

I think if I were buying again, I would look more seriously at the Sony's. The comparable price point Sony model didn't have image stabilization; however, that feature I now realize isn't as important as picture quality.

Excellent first camcorder. Bought it and in ten minutes I was recording and reviewing the tape of my first born child.

Amazing 800x digital zoom, 22X optical, and image stability. If you are not looking to be a motion picture director and need a great video recorder that works with all the basic features, get this Canon. The price is really nice too.

I love the light on the right side of the camcorder as well, it improves the picture greatly. As an IT professor I know that the industry tries to "sell" the high cost of some products when most camcorders are not used professionally but used by non-pros for personal use.

The reason for not giving the product five stars, well, there is no such thing as a perfect product.

Watch out before you buy this or any of the other Handycams. At the time I am writing this, no stores have the 1.4GB dvds that they use to record. Even Sony doesn't have them. Make sure you can find a supply of thier recording media before you buy any of these products. I bought the Sony DVD-100 and I am stuck. The Handycam comes with 1 DVD-R so when that is used up your done. Think about this before you purchase a $1,000.00 camcorder that you will be only able to use for 30 mins until more disks are available. A fact I wish I was aware of while I was making my decision to purchase it.

OK! I read all of the reader reviews I could get my hand on, and then took the plunge. SONY has done it again (my opinion). This camcorder replaces an old VHS-C off-brand which I thought was pretty good. I love the DCRDVD300, and am glad I opted for the "300" because I love the larger screen. I find all controls handy, and the system is very user-friendly. I only regret that I will never likely use all of the great features. I really just want a camera that will be ready to grab and easy to use when the grandkids do something memorable. This is it. With less than an hour of using the "300", I was comfortably using it.

I have found the Discs VERY difficult to come by, so I am happy that I bought 2 3-packs when I picked the camcorder up. That would be my ONLY complaint - that SONY was not prepared with having more discs available. The official SONY website is also out of stock.

I very happy owner!
George

If you're starting to go crazy shopping for a digital camcorder, read on. Bundles of format types, odles of brands, countless models to choose from, what a mess! The answer is the Sony Handycam 300 (or the 100 or 200 if your budget is tighter). My wife and I have twins and have no time to learn the complexities of digital camcorders and returned a Canon and a JVC camcorder after looking at the owners manual. HOWEVER, we essentially figured out how to use the Sony 300 by just playing with it. The menus and options work pretty much like our DVD player and in less than 30 minutes (after charging the battery) we were filming like crazy, taking pictures and having a great time. And the resulting DVD played perfectly in our home DVD player and looked wonderful.
Conclusion, don't get confused by all the critiques saying one camera is too heavy, another is noisy, the next one vibrates too much, blah, blah, blah. Buy a handycam 300 and start making movies.

I bought this product 3 months ago. I used it once and it worked beautifully. After I was finished taping, I put the camcorder in my carrying case. The second time I went to use it, I noticed that the zoom button was missing. I don't know how or when it popped off but considering I didn't even know it was gone until I went to use the machine should tell you how poorly this machine is manufactured. I called Sony and they told me I had to take the camcorder in for service. I just got called today and was told that Sony will fix the camcorder for $160. I'm still in shock! $160 for a replacement of a button that probably costs 5 cents to make? For that price I'd be better off just taking a piece of plastic and Supergluing is to the zoom slot! The zoom works fine if you put a pen in the hole and move it back and forth. All I need is a lousy piece of plastic to pop on it to make it accessible for use. I tried calling Sony for an address to write to for complaints because I didn't think it would be fair to take my frustrations out on the phone representative. Unfortunately, the phone rep just aggravated me further and told me that he's not allowed to give me an address to write to. Now how stupid is that? Needless to say, I've bought my last Sony product ever!

I did have a similar problem with my Toshiba television. After alot of use, the remote control stopped working. I called them to buy a replacement remote from them and not only did Toshiba replace my remote, they gave it to me for free! Now that's customer service!!!

The good:

Clear picture when viewing the digital tapes directly on a television. I like the fade in/out button. Good value.

The bad:

The manual is worthless. ilink is the same as firewire? Won't read that in the manual. Uploading video to your PC via the USB port does not work. The software the camera comes with is horrid. Had to buy a memory stick. The still pictures are horrid. Apparently, through reading other reviews, to get decent uploads of video for burning to VCD's you need firewire. Now I have to buy a cable (35 bucks) and a firewire card for my PC. Perhaps I should have just bought a camera that burns directly to DVDs. Low light shots are not the best quality.

All in all, for the money and my first Camcorder, I am getting great shots of my four month old daughter.

As with all electronic things (first computer, dvd player, mp3 player, etc.), I will be a much more informed shopper on my SECOND purchase.

I would like to start of by stating its great film quality. Also with its perfect resolution and zooming, it makes this a bullzie for sony. On top of its great control, it has simple and easy to use and fun features. I was very suprisied when my parents bought this also and learned how to use this withen two days [a new world record ;)]THese features include fade, freeze frame (great for an intro) and many others. While the playback on the camera is OK, the sound isnt very good, but then again, you werent ment to watch the movie on the camera, watching it on the TV is what your supposed to do. Which brings me to uploading, The loading it onto the computer takes a longggggggggg time using a USB cable, but using the FireWire(which i am disappointed to say does not come with the package but is supplied at a low price on Ebay) takes a matter of a few minutes. Watching it on the TV is what it all comes down to, because, thats just what you want. To watch your Steven Speilberg movie on the big screen ;). Anyways...My friends and i have a blast fooling around with the features while making suprisingly excellent movies.
Overall: 4.5 STARS Great product

I have used my camcorder about 5 times, on my 7 month old's 1st trip to Disneyland I went to change the tape at the end of recording, and put a new tape in. After changing the tape, the camera would no longer play nor record. Of course I was just out of the 1 year limited warranty, and now it will cost almost as much to fix the camera as it would to buy a whole new one. It has never been dropped, nor mistreated. It just stopped recording or playing for no reason at all. What a waste of money.

I bought one of these cameras and it works great for me, with well over "30 minutes" of recording time with the LCD screen on, as that one guy stated. I love it, and especially for the price, it was well worth it to buy it. It has always worked great for me and I've owned it for more than a year now. With a deal like this, why buy a more expensive camcorder with the same functions?

I bought this camera as soon as we found out my wife was pregnant. We got it @ Target and have loved it. Especially for the price. The zoom is good -- 22x optical. I am not sure what the other reviewer is talking about with the cheap buttons-- the whole thing feels real high quality. I dropped it on cement once and it didn't do anything except scratch it. My wife likes the effects (negative, sepia, mirror, etc.) We have had the camera for 18 months and have had no problems with it at all. The battery actually lasts along time even when I use the flip out lcd screen. However with the spotlight on it does drain it about twice as fast. If you need a good reliable camera but don't want to plunk down big dollars, this is a great choice. My only complaint is the fade in/out button is under the flip out lcd screen, so if you want to fade you have to open the flip, a small annoyance. But all in all a great camera that has worked flawlessly since I bought it.

What a blast this is! I love it. I primarily use it as an MP3 player. You can store about 12 songs on the 16 MB card. Works great, sounds great. Very easy to use. You can transfer songs using the provided Kodak software, or just copy/paste right out of Windows Explorer.

The camera is a nice bonus. Not great resolution but not too bad either. More of a toy than a serious camera. No flash is the biggest drawback. Holds a ton of pictures if the card is not full of MP3's.

The video feature is great too. Takes surprisingly long quicktime movies WITH SOUND! You get several minutes to record, not the 60 seconds you get with a typical digital camera. Very good mic picks up even low volume sounds. The video quality is okay, really meant for computer screens only.

Just buy it! You'll love it. For the price it is one hell of a deal.

I bought the mc3 primarily because I needed a video camera. It is excellent. I originally thought that the funtions were going to be so-so but I thought wrong. The mp3 player is excellent. The sound is CD-quality. It is excellent and it is LOUD. It hurts to turn it on full with the earbuds in. They are not the greatest but those are easily replaceable. The display tells you how many songs you have and the artist and album name. There are 5 equalizers. The software was fairly simple to setup and it may be a little difficult for people who are not used to computers to run it. It is very quick to load and easy to change songs. The camera does not have the greatest quality and no flash, but it works if you have lights on indoors. I have a standard 35mm camera for important occasions and most pictures. The digital camera is purely for fun and fast pictures. The video camera is excellent. It records really well. Overall it is excellent. The software is easy to install and use and it does not freeze up the computer. I had mp3's downloaded about 15 mins after I opened the box.(It would have been 10 but I had trouble finding my USB port). When you hook up the camera it automatically searches for new pictures and videos. It is incredibly easy to use and it is small and lightweight, easy to fit in my purse or pocket. The included wriststrap is useful for carrying it while listening to music.There are two pitfalls 1.The memory card included at 16 mbs holds NOTHING so it will be expensive to buy another. I suggest buy a huge one and then you won't have to change it. The other pitfall is no flash. But that is not as big of a deal as I thought. As all other battery-operated products on the market, it sucks the power like nothing. I suggest rechargables. All in all it is a really really portable all-in-one multimedia player.

They should call this the MC1 because it's only useful as a camcorder. As a camcorder that is $120, it gets 5 stars. Everything else out there that is <$200 are ALL 10 frames per second. They claim to be cool but are extremely choppy and look like web cams. A TV is 30fps, movie theaters are 24fps and the MC3 is 20fps. Not perfect buy light years ahead of everything else. Yes it has other problems but nothing that the exact other brands don't have too. Face it; this is the best camcorder you are going to get for <$200. If you like choppy web cam action it will record in 10fps and give you 4X more recording. A 16mb card (included) will give you 1:17min @ 20fps, and a 256mb card will give you 20:06min @20fps. You should buy a 256mb card ($60 ebay) and at least 6 rechargeable AAA batteries + recharger ($25) I've spent days trying to find something better than this and still can't. This is the best of a the junk that is out there. If that means anything.

Pretty cheap for a Hi8 camcorder, but quality is unacceptably poor. The zoom lever is hard to operate, and when you put in a tape the mechanism makes tons of noise, really making you nervous. LCD screen is a little flaky, deciding to quit working occasionally so you have to turn the machine off, wait 10 seconds and turn it back on. It also destroyed a new TDK Hi8 tape this past winter. I think I wasted my money, and look forward to getting a Sony this summer when I get a new job.

The camcorder worked only a couple of times.Then the playback picture was totally .......

I wanted to record all the new things my 7 month old son is doing. I'm also broke. I need a good camcorder without spending a fortune. I looked into eBay and even used camcorders. When I read all the good reviews about this product, I thought I'll give it a shot.

With the first use, our family fell in love with it. For the price, you can't beat this deal. The picture quality is a whole lot better than what I expected. This is my 4th Samsung purchase and everyone so far has been a very positive experience. I wish this camcorder has some "advanced features" like USB connectivity so that I can download movie clips to a computer. But then again, I didn't have the extra [money] to spend. In couple years, I plan to buy a digital camcorder but for now this will suffice.

Bottom line:

For 1st time buyers, this is a good start. It's not the best camcorder but definately a good one. It's worth the money.

I would seriously rethink purchasing this camera, or any from Canon. There is a huge tape transfer problem with Canon Digital Camcorders. Bottom line is that a growing number of them have stopped working after only 7-10 hours of recording - usually just after the warrany expires. There are many theories as to why, but nothing has been resolved. Canon has not been helpful. (...)

This is a solidly built camera but has problems with the tape mechanism. It went out of alignment for me very early on and couldn't play back correct tapes, and recorded with horizontal gray bands across the screen. I managed to wiggle the capstan back into place and we're back to normal. (The stuff recorded while mis-aligned is junk, though.)

Sound quality is poor, especially if there is wind or you're standing near an air conditioner.

Design would be improved if it didn't have a still-camera trying to cohabit with a camcorder. It just adds complexity for a feature that no-one should use. (If you want still pix, get a decent camera!) I just dislike "omnibus" engineering, although it seems to be a common failing.

Picture quality is reasonably good, as is the image stabilization. Of course, I don't have anything to compare it with, but it has met my expectations in these areas.

I just purchased the Elura 50 yesterday. Before I purchased this unit, I did some research online and found a bunch of bad reviews on its previous version Elura 40. I owned a PowerShot digital camera from Canon and because of its ease of use and good software interface with the computer, I decided to check into Canon camcorders. I walked into the store to check it out and was right away impressed with its small size. I spent sometime trying and finally decided the reviews I saw was questionable! I actually saw the one and only review posted on Amazon.com on the Elura 50 model and all other reviews were on the Elura 40. I can tell you now after buying that it is the most impressive camcorder I have experinced. The video was clear, no grainy effects, true to the color and brilliant. There was no motor sound that was suggested by other people. Whatever problems existed on the Elura 40 were not there on the Elura 50. I tested the camera using Auto on the outdoor, inside using low light setting, in quiet surroudning as well as noisy surrounding. I replayed using the camera, as well as connecting to the Plasma display. Everything was so perfect and the interface with the display unit was faultless. The video using Auto setting was impressive and the indoor shots were even more impressive. The colors were so vivid. I cannot believe my eyes the quality of the video and the sound was great. The menu and the controls are easy to use. My husband was standing 10 feet away from the camera and I could still catch his conversation on the video when I ran that on the audio receiver and plasma. I can say that the speaker sound when I did the replay on the camera was not very clear but if you think about it, why do anyone wants to use the camera for replay. It is best to run it on the TV or the plasma so that everyone can see. The great thing is when I replayed the video using the plasma, it automatically displayed using the wide screen format. I will highly recommend this unit to anyone. I decided to get this unit even with the bad reviews because the technology of these things are getting smaller and smaller and I didn't want to buy something that will be outdated in a year. I am not a video professional but the result I got was of professional quality!! This is the first time I got a camcorder from Canon, I used to own a JVC and I think Canon makes great product. I don't work for Canon and I am only an average housewife who loves to use new electronics.

I've owned this camcorder for just over a year but have only used it for about 10 hours recording time. Now I keep getting a message :'Operation paused, condensation, please wait.' It doesn't go away, no longer how long I wait and I can't use the camcorder as a result. I now have to send it to a repair centre at my own cost to have it fixed, if it can be at all. I like the camcorder itself, it's easy to use etc, but it's unreliable and I'm sorry I didn't pay more money for a more reliable model. It's put me off buying any more JVC products and I think I'll stick to the Sonys or Canons etc, in future.

I bought this model JVC mini DV camcorder one year ago when it was first released. The price then was $375 after a $25 rebate, great price I add. At around November of that year the camera locked up into "Condensation, Operation Paused" mode. I didn't know what to do, and the Authorized JVC location wanted a lot of money to just look at the camera, not fix it. I read online that putting a blow dryer on it and leaving it plugged in and on for one hour will allow the camera to clear up the condensation. It worked, but the camera started to go into that mode over and over, until it was in a perpetual locked mode. After leaving it plugged in a week, it suddenly became fine, and here I am a day later it appears to be fine now. This camera shoots great video except in low-light situations which is fine but I find it unreliable. I went on a trip and it never worked, but it works now, weird.

I purchased this camcorder strictly for two reasons. One, the price was exceptional. At first, I thought quality might suffer, but what the {heck}, buy it anyway. The second reason was to get a camera that I could carry around with me all day. And if it got banged up, or run over by an eighteen wheeler, no great loss. Upon receiving the camera, I opened the package, loaded a cassette and started shooting. This is one great little unit. The picture quality and sound were amazing. People complimented me on such colorful and crisp footage. I now view this camcorder right up there with the more expensive Panasonics. In the creation of this camcorder, JVC performed a really wise concept. They left all those features that you and I never use OFF this camera. We're talkin' bare bones here, and that's just fine with me. Buy this one, make your movies, and let it bang around a bit. For this great price, you cannot lose.

The only positive thing I can say about this video camera is that it is small and easy to use. The outdoor picture quality is mediocre and the indoor quality is awful. One of the biggest problems is the fact that the auto focus takes far too long to activate and even when activated, the picture is not as sharp and in focus as I would expect from a digital video camera. This problem is even worse indoors. In average to bright indoor light, the picture is grainy and out of focus. My old Sony Hi-8 Handycam took much better videos. Unfortunately, it broke. While I would not recommend the Canon ZR25, I didn't see any other digital video cameras in the stores that looked any better. The Sony pictures looked even worse than the Canon, as the reviews here on ...(the website)support. Perhaps the consumer digital video cameras are not "ready for prime time." I would recommend sticking with Hi-8.

First I want to say I'm not very knowledgeable at all about Mini-DV, and as this being my first camera as such any opinions I express are only very amateurish and I cannot compare this camera to others as I have not had the experience of using any other DV devices, and I have not had alot of time lately to play with it. But I'll say my first impressions here of it for what they are worth.

First, I'll have to say my impressions about the Image Stabilisation, as far as I can tell. It's not much to be desired. If I don't hold the camera very steady in my hands or use a tripod the "shakes" are very noticeable. I have been using the camera to take footage of rural Alaska, on trails and mountains, and as you can probably guess it's rather hard to climb a rough trail without considerable shaking. It's not horrendous, but I really don't see any help from it. Again, I don't really know what to expect from it either, but so far, it's not been what I expected. But, it's also not the more desireable optical stabilisation as opposed to this cameras digital, and it is also better to just turn this feature completely off anyway when using zoom in extended ranges.

Also, the low light feature does work, but is very grainy when taking indoor shots especially. It seems the camera does best in bright outdoor light, and to take decent footage of indoor scenes your lighting better be good. The various options for lighting adjustment in the menu for outdoor/indoor lighting however work great, and adjust for the different conditions well.

The camera seems VERY well built. I have knocked it around considerably on the trails, thrown it in a bag and out without overdue care, and subjected it to high winds, mist, and rough handling. No problems. It feels very solid in the hands and does'nt give me any impression of fragileness. The LCD door clicks open and shut with certainty, as does the battery. The covers for the DC jack and S/DV in-out jacks are'nt though, they are made of rubber and do not seem to be very reliable, and hang by a thin rubber strip when open. They also don't seem to want to stay closed alot, and I'm always afraid of ripping them off when opening them for access. Otherwise, the cam seems very solid and able to withstand abuse. The camera fits snugly and comfortably in the right hand using the supplied strap, and it also comes with a neck strap for additional security. The controls are easily accessible considering this cameras very small size, though the main power switch is hard to move due to it's extremely small center lock button. The footage/shutter stop/start button is very nicely located and can be quickly found with the thumb. Same is true for the zoom rocker with the index finger.

The Optical zoom (10X) is superb. No degradation in image quality whatsoever either all the way up to 40X in the digital zoom. This thing is like a telescope, I can zoom in on things the naked eye could never pick up even past the 40X. However......past the 40X, the image gets grainy, and is practically worthless past 100X. It gets so pixelated past 100 that I turned the option off and only use the 40X digital zoom option. Again, it is best to turn stabilisation off when using zoom past 10X optical.

The image quality so far is excellent. Very clear, the colors are accurate and vibrant, and noticeably improved over Hi-8 when dubbed to a VHS tape. The zoom is smooth, and very fast/slow according to how much pressure you place on the rocker swith.

The DV out/in works flawlessly with my firewire terminal, and I've been using MGI Videowave 3 for editing and compression. BTW, I can also highly recommend that program, very user friendly and works great. I may someday want to graduate to a more robust application, but for now it's awesome. I also called their tech support for a question I had regarding capture (I was being an idiot, enough said of that!) and the support person was very friendly, patient and helpful.

The ZR25's battery life seems excellent. I have not yet ever completely depleted it using the included Li-ion BP-512 pack, even using the LCD constantly. Canon has available a higher capacity pack as an accessory, but I see no need for it for my uses.

The LCD quality is not what I expected. According to specs, it's 2.5 inch LCD is approximately 112,000 pixels. I'm not sure how that compares to other screens in it's class but I'm sure it's low. I always have to keep in mind that my footage is going to look 3X better than what I'm previewing on it. It's also terrible in sunlight (I imagine this may be common with most DVcams, but the LCD on my Kodak digicam spanks it big time). The viewfinder however is more than adequate. Nice color, and seems to be accurate according to the actual footage taken. It also swings up and away from the battery pack for easy replacement of the battery, and it's angle is good for comfort of use when extended.

Overall, though the CCD is admittedly of lower resolution compared to the Allura's, (1/4 inch CCD, approx. 460,000 pixels, approx. 290,000 effective) but the quality of footage is so far excellent and more than satisfactory to me as long as the lighting is adequate. I have not yet tried the still image mode, but I did not buy this camera for that feature as I have two digital cameras for that purpose (Kodak DC-4800's, which, by the way, I can personally highly vouch for, they take superb images, have a full range of manual exposure settings, and offered with optional lenses with lens adapter accessory). I'm pleased with it more than not.

I'll write more on this camera as I gain more experience with it, and I hope this somewhat helps others who might be considering purchasing this model.

The ZR25MC is a great camcorder and camera. The pictures do not have the resolution that you would find on your digital cameras. It only supports still pictures up to something like 640 X 480 (this is true with most DV camcorders). Everything is absolutely great about this camera except for indoor recording. It's VERY grainy and doesn't have near the quality that it could have. Outdoor shots are awesome. You can tweak so many settings on this thing it's unreal. Manual focus is a bit bogus because it is done with a small scroller thingy on the left side of the camera. This should be done with the lens or somewhere where your right hand (which is already on the camera) can reach it. You can fit about 50+ pictures on the memory that comes with the camera (8 mb). Taking pictures is SLOW. Once a picture is taken, you must wait 5+ seconds for the camcorder to do something about it (i.e. Save it). To transfer the pictures from your card to your computer, you must do one of two things.
1. Buy a Multimedia card reader
2. copy the images from the card to the tape and capture the tape onto your computer. Once it is captured on your computer, you'll have to grab the frame and save it.

I know that most of the things I've mentioned here are negative, but I must emphasize that this is a good camera otherwise! Now, I just need some creative people around so that I can make some movies!