Camcorder Reviews

I recently purchased the TRV103 (which is nearly identical to the 110) and it is a fantastic camcorder. It also connects easily to iMac and the new PowerBook G3 via FireWire and, with no extra hardware, allows capture and editing. This is the perfect camera for us as we have a newborn and want to share pictures/movies with distant relatives. A great purchase.

I bought a Sony DCR-DTV110 in December of 1999 (it is essentially the same as the 110P) and brought it along with me on a trip to China. The Camera survived my two week journey and was able to capture brilliant pictures. Even though the manual stated the camera had an operating temperature above freezing the camera worked perfectly in the sub-freezing temperatures in Beijing. The steadyshot feature noticeably improved picture quality. It makes a great match for a new Apple PowerMac G4 or iMac DV since they both include a firewire interface that lets you digitize video quickly and easily. PC users will need to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a firewire card. Home users that aren't interested in editing but just in capturing quality pictures should be impressed as well. The digital recording makes the picture sharper and the colors look brighter. You can easily hook the camera to your TV with the included RCA cables. Another plus - This camera uses standard 8mm tape, saving you money over buying expensive MiniDV tape. Enjoy!

The refresh feature is a good one to keep the battery charge high after every recharge

This mic is very nice. It's solid and well constructed. Works well as a computer mic.

UTTERLY AMAZONIAN AMAZING HOW A LARGE COMPANY WILL SELL THEIR PRODUCT'S ACCESSORIES AT ASTRONOMICAL COST. AND HERE WE SEE THE AMAZON STYLE OF "Discounting" Brand New Products. A JVC TYPE N507 slim camcorder batter for a tenfold cost reduction. The battery is amazing and puts all other companies at a disadvatage.
I have two and they last long as well as charge quick.

I only had the thin Canon battery coming with my Elura 2. On average I could take about 30min video before the battery drys. This battery lasts forever! I haven't had a chance to completely dry it up yet. The best part is that it doesn't feel that big at all as I was concened about the big size.

100% recommend it !

I bought this battery to have as a backup for the identical one that came with my Canon Powershot G5. The battery is fabulous. I've always been very displeased with the shooting capacity of digital cameras in general - they would run out of battery in a very short time. This battery was one of the deciding factors for me buying a Canon Powershot G5. According to a test on dpreview, it's the best performing battery (when used in the G3) out there for any digital camera (at the time of testing).

I've taken a few thousand pictures with it so far, and I'm very pleased. When using the LCD display for a mix of movies and pictures (on my G5), I get around 600 pictures out of one fully charged battery. I've never completely "emptied" the battery with the LCD screen off (preview only), but based on my experience so far, I would think that you'll get somewhere between 600-1000 pictures out of one fully charged battery - maybe more - when the LCD is not on all the time. If you take a lot of pictures (I can easily take 500 on a weekend trip), I would still recommend buying an extra battery though. I'm panicked about ever running out of battery (or memory) while I'm shooting.

Should you buy a cheaper non-Canon brand equivalent battery? I've not tried an equivalent for the BP-511, but I've got a DigiPower equivalent for my Canon Powershot S200 (Elph II), and it's crap. I would never buy and equivalent for my G5 camera, because in my experience, it's quite apparent that you get what you pay for.

Pros:
* Extremely good capacity - 500-1000 pictures on one charge with normal use.
* Charges relatively quick in my G5 - about 90 minutes

Cons:
* Very heavy. It'll weigh down your camera, but for the capacity it provides, I personally think it's worth it.

Conclusion: It's a very good battery - capacity is fabulous. I've had no problems with it - it doesn't overheat, it doesn't stop working, and so far after about 6 months of operation, I've noticed no drop in capacity. I give it an unconditional 5 stars!!!

Sure, when you're looking for a battery, the big, flashy five-hour megavolts are tempting. But if you are an entry level photographer, this is the only battery you need. I got this battery with the Canon ZR-20 I purchased recently, and so far, this battery has never dieded on me. Litium-Ion is a geek term meaning you can charge the battery whenever it's convenient, instead of (like the old VW bettle) waiting until you're out of juice to refill. With two hours of recording time at full charge, even with the LCD screen out, chances are you'll never need another battery for years. That is, unless you go professional, which is another story all together...

My wife and I bought this for our Optura 2000MC to go on our honeymoon and found this to be very useful for day long excursions. We hardly needed to look at the power bar the whole time. Also the size was helpful because it helped balance the camera for a steadier shot. Definitley worth getting.

What can I say about a battery? It worked and gave about 1 3/4 hours on the camcorder.

We purchased the Elura 65 for our new baby who is due in one month. This camera is small and sleek with a very nice look to it. We just received it a few days ago and have done several tests in different lighting. The quality is BEAUTIFUL outdoors and indoors with the lights on or with the natural sunlight coming in. However, the picture was very dark and grainy when we filmed at a wedding the other night. Keep in mind that the lighting in the place was very dim...there was little to no light. I've done a lot of research on Mini DV camcorders recently and I've yet to see one that takes good pictures in low light areas. I'm wondering if there is an external light that I can purchase for my new camera. This is not reason enough to return the camera, since the reviews on all the other brands and models state the same problem. I just think it's something that needs to be fine-tuned on ALL mini DV cameras in general.

The 16x optical zoom is fabulous on this camera and there is NO motor noise (or at least none that we can hear) as the Canon ZR models claim to have.

One drawback which MAY be a problem is that since this camera is so small (smaller in height than the Canon ZR models), it seems like it can be hard to hold steady...but I'm hoping that's where the image stabilization will come in.

Overall, it's a great little camera!