Digital-Camcorder Reviews

I purchased this camcorder 8 months ago, 2 months ago I experienced snow flake effect when recording, I called Samsung to repair it they referred me to a local dealer the dealer was not able to fix it so I called Samsung again they asked me to ship it to NJ, for repair so I did, with charge for service repair and the cost of shipping I accrued from a lack of qualified Service centers locally. They have been holding my camcorder for one and half months. I have called them several times and even talked to the manager but I can not get a answer as to when I will get it back or other wise.

Product is defective right out of the box. Now I have to ship it to Samsung's service department to fix it. Poor quality control.

I got this Camcorder in Jan. of 2003. I use it all the time. I make music videos and short movies for leisure and they turn out great. I haven't had any problems. It works great on the computer too. Some of the reasons I got this camcorder was that it was cheap for some features like external Mic Jack and audio dubbing.

This has been one of the greatest cameras until...problems...And I have two of them! On fast re-wind they will sometimes destroy the tape. On both, I only re-wind on slow rewind. Now one will not accept a tape at all. I think someone rewound on fast and hurt the mechanism somehow. A call to Cannon did not admit that they have problems. Still trying to determine cost to fix...if possible. I am reading others on internet with Elura 40 which is similar and they are having problems with totally destroying the tape and $600 to repair??????

To be somewhat fair, I use mine with a helmet camera, carrying the camcorder on my chest. I have not crashed on it but it is not a perfect lifestyle. As a back-up, I bought another... Almost out of the box I had the rewind problems. I could live with those...until now! Changing brands of tapes made no difference.

I use the picture MMC side alot, but remember that it is only 2.0 megpixles and can't take much blowing up. But the pictures are e-mail friendly. The digital zoom is AWSOME!

Other than Tape problems, where you can loose everything, a great camera! 5 stars and falling fast!

This Canon Elura is the best camera iv'e seen my whole life from Canon. Its good quality pixels is so much better than the sony brand, and its small size and new mini-DV ability is sumething everyone needs to get out of the dark age of cameras!

I need an Adapter ( power adapter) for CANON MV20 ( Canon DM-MV20E , it writes on the battery spot ). My cam is same as ELURA but the difference is that MV20 is" PAL System " and ELURA is on " NTSC System ". I guess that Power Adapter would be same for both types.If someone knows where could I find a product please let me know. Camera is perfect, no doubt.

I bought this camera just a day before my trip to Alaska and it worked out great. Since there was not much time to read the thick manual, the controls were intuitive enough to operate. The video quality was great.
Pros:
- Great size. Very compact
- Great video quality with 2 Mega Pixals
- Easy to operate.

Cons:
- Still pictures come better in light. Not good if the light is less
- Red eye reduction does not seem to work well for still pictures
- In the video, the sound recording seem to pick up wind and other noises more than you actually hear.
- Some times still pictures are not in focus.

I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who is in the market for a camcorder. I purchased the optura 300 several months ago and have been utilizing it heavily ever since. The camera takes excellent movies of both indoor and outdoor events. I could not be happier with my choice. I did purchase a longer-lived battery which has worked out well. I keep the standard battery charged as a backup, but the larger battery has never died on me even during days that I shot a significant amount of footage.

I would like to point out of few issues I have had with it:
1) The instruction manual leaves much to the imagination, especially with how to download the recorded motion pictures onto a PC. There are many other gaps in the manual.

2) This camera is not for the technologically challenged. I would guess that this is not limited to this specific camera, but is an issue with the entire class of cameras. To burn DVDs and do any kind of editing, the user must have a video capture card & firewire installed on their PC. In addition, downloading movies onto a PC requires LOTS of hard drive space. I installed a 2nd hard drive for this purpose. In addition I needed to install a DVD RW drive so I could burn DVDs. I also upgraded my RAM. Although all of these are easy installs in newer PC's, it can be a daunting task just for a person to figure out what is actually needed not to mention knowing how to actually install it. Combined with shortcomings in the manual, I could see this being fatal for some users. If you are technologically challenged, I would recommend the cameras that burn directly to DVD.

3) At the extreme end of the zoom, the camera seems to have trouble focusing and is very shaky. This is not that big of an issue as long as the user keeps this in mind while framing the video.

4) I am not really happy with the quality of the still images captured by this camera. These images can be saved onto a flash card or onto the digital tape. With perfect lighting, the images are good, but I have found that when the flash is needed, the images are completely over exposed. The red-eye reduction feature does not work at all to reduce red eye.

Please do not let these negatives taint my review. I love this camera but I wanted to put all the issues that I have found with it out there.

I bought this goodie for less than $700 bucks from onecall.com, an authorized canon dealer so this qualifies me to a get a free 128MB SD card.
PROS: Really compact compared to lot of other cameras i compared with that had the same features, it really fits in my jacket pocket. Out door videos are amazingly great, had to be with 1.3MP of video quality, the other option i was looking at was sony 330 but that was way too pricey for me.
Still shots are exceptional although you cannot compare it with a stand alone digital still.
Menus are not complicated, even my wife can use it without hassels.
I had read reviews about the motor noise from the tape but i found that it had absolutely no noise when you record at the desired sound level in a quite atmosphere.
I know lot of reviews state that the microphone placement is bad as it sits right on top of the view finder but i didn't find this to be a serious problem as it picks up the subjects sound very well. The only problem with the mic placement is the sound variation when you speak vs. the subject speaking.
Zooming capability is amazing, the zoom is really smooth when compared to sony.
Image stability is excellent as long as you stay with in the optical zoom, once you hit the digital zoom(beyond 40X) you need to be really still, the manual provides you with few tips to increase the stability. Also, i rarely go to the digital zoom as 10X optical is more than enough for my use.
lots of predefined shooting modes.
This goodie provides a lot of digital effects.
The previous review said that s/he acciendtly recorded MPEGs instead of DV, but the on screen icons give you a clear indication of the media you are recording on, so no problem their as long as you see the on screen info.
LCD resolution is fantastic and i liked the fact that it is not too big, there by minimizing my battery drain.
The best feature i personally like compared with sony pc101/105/109 is that this one has all its control on the body, sony has a touch screen menu option and you could mess up your screen if you are not really careful.
Cons: The most outstanding problem i found with optura 300 is the low light recording. This provides 3 various low light recording but in the dark the super night shot mode any moving images create a drag effect and the recording resoultion is also grainy. Having said that the indoor + low light mode is adequate when shooting inside a home with no day light. The only problem is when it is pitch dark sony seems to be doing better.
Battery life is terrible, the battery provided with canon lasts 30-40 minutes, so i had to go in for an upgrade on the battery.
but i guess all camcorders have the same problem.
Overall it is a great camcorder for indoor and outdoor use.

My husband gave me this camera for Christmas because he knew I really wanted a digital camera and I had expressed some interest in a camcorder as well...He figured this would do double-duty very well. I played with it all day Christmas day taking video and stills and was loving it. The video was awesome...very easy to use and of decent quality. Battery drained very quickly, but most do, so that wasn't a big deal. Close-up shots looked really good. The HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT came when I downloaded the still shots to my computer. They were of poor quality at best...colors not true and blurry even though all were taken at the highest resolution possible. I am returning the camera and exchanging it. I'm NOW told that most just don't have enough pixels to produce a good photo...Live and Learn! Good Luck...

This is a great "video camera" and a not so good digital still camera. If you are purchasing this "video camera" to use to shoot video then I will recommend this camera, but if you want a great digital still camera then purchas a separate digital still camera. The vast majority of "video cameras" are best used for video and not digital still photography. So once again buy this "video camera" for video and buy a digital still camera for digital photography.

I did a lot of research before buying. It is the best value in this class. Don't expect great snap shot quality from this camera and others in the same class. You need progressive scan and at least 1 mega pixel CCD for a good quality picture. That would put you into a totally different price range. Manufacturers advertise mega pixel camcorders pretty loudly and they are currently above $1200. The video quality is great (almost DVD) and low light sensitivity is good. I don't use special effect while filming so I can't comment. It does not record analog video. Manual says it records the DV but I have not tried it. Overall it is great for indoor/outdoor everyday filming even with my picky taste.

Overall I was dissapointed in this camera. The description is not thorough enough. 1.3 Megapixels is for STILL images, and the images are decent but there is no flash so limited when lighting is bad. Video modes are 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120. Probably my biggest dissapointment was that the best video mode, 640x480, only shoots at 8 frames per second, which is very choppy and fuzzy. The other two modes shoot at 15 frames per second, which is a little better but they are small screen sizes. Audio is pretty good. If this was my first digital camera ever I would probably think its ok, but I was looking for an upgrade to the video capabilities of my current digital still camera, and this was not it. I will probably give it to some 10 year old as a gift or to a friend who has never had a digital camera.

I wanted an entirely digital (i.e. no tape) camcorder in order to try out the technology. We're not "camcorder people," so the idea of dropping several hundred dollars on a video camera (Mini-DV, Hi-8, Digital-8, or what have you) wasn't attractive. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of straight-to-memory-card camcorders out there! I thought the Sipix DV100 was exactly what we were looking for.

The other reviews are right. It's sturdy, very small, and it does just what it advertises. It's true that the shutter button is a bit awkwardly located, but a) you only hit it once to start recording, and b) you can brace your thumb against the left side of the camera to make reaching the button easier. The lack of any type of flash makes recording a challenge. The AUTO white balance feature, while a plus, doesn't always compensate, particularly indoors. Outdoors, though, I have no complaints. Resolution is exactly what I expected: 15fps (with a 256Mb SanDisk SD card) at 320x240, and 8fps at 640x480. The microphone does a decent job of picking up sound, most especially for the camera operator (not so much for the subjects). The ability to connect to a TV is great for immediately sharing the results of your recordings, and the USB connection is as fast as I expected. Finally, battery life is tremendous! Whereas my Sony Cybershot still camera drains batteries like there's no tomorrow, this little camcorder is still running on its original batteries after at least 20 minutes of recording, several downloads, and several TV "productions." I realize that this is due in large part to the lack of a flash, but it's still a nice bonus.

The only reason I'd give it 4 rather than 5 stars is the lack of an AC power source. Battery life is great, but it'd be nice to not have to run on batteries every single time you use the camera.

Oh, yeah...you get about 35 minutes of recording at 320x240 on a 256Mb SanDisk SD card.

When I started my family, I bought an 8mm camera. I can probably count the number of times I used it on one hand in the five years I've owned it. It was bulky, needed frequent recharging, and frankly, after a while, I would forget to bring it out. I was looking for something small, digital, and of course inexepensive. I gave the SiPix a shot. I love this little camera. I can take it everywhere and it's very simple to use. The software is also simple, but it doesn't have alot of features. If buying this camera, it is a MUST to purchase a memory stick, at LEAST 256 MB or you can't record video for more than a couple of minutes. Also, there is no flash, so only outside or in lit areas. I was dissapointed that there was no flash or lighting options, and battery life (2 AAs) doesn't last as long as I like (but longer than the 8mm NiMH, how sad). Overall, this camera had performed how I expected it to for the cost. The quality is not the best, but decent, and it works great to record little moments on family trips and the kid's activities. If you are looking for portable, digital, and an inexpensive camera to start with; and can live with "ok" quality, this is the camera to buy. Especially since it's a great starter camera if you're not sure you want to upgrade to digital camcorders because of price. The money you spend on this camera is worth "experimenting" in the digital world, before you upgrade to the "big dogs"

I love every feature of this camcorder with the exception of the fact I have Windows XP as my operating system and can't find drivers for it. Does anyone know of any driver updates from Panasonic?

Great product must buy, I have a query does any one know which external flash should i use.

I love this camcorder. The 20x zoom is unheard of. I got it for Christmas and I absolutely love it. For the money it is hard to beat. Although it is not perfect, it is close. THIS IS THE SAME CAMCORDER AS THE SONY DCR-TRV17. Only it is... cheaper. You will not be disappointed. The picture quality is great. It only weighs 1.5 pounds and with the 3" LCD that is a must for me. Enjoy

The Canon ZR20 is a Digital MiniDV camcorder with a 2.5" LCD and a color viewfinder.

Zoom And Image Stabilizer

The camcorder has 10x optical zoom and 200x digital zoom. The image is not shaky at high magnification levels, since the camera is equipped with a digital stabilizer.

Picture

The camcorder records video and still pictures. The still pictures can be recorded on a MiniDV tape and one tape can hold around 700 still pictures. The picture quality (the CCD has 460,000 pixels) in the video mode is very good with low noise level.

Sound

The camcorder has a stereo microphone and a built-in speaker. The microphone input allows you connect an external microphone. You can select between 12- and 16-bit recording.

Features

The camcorder comes with a Li-Ion battery, A/V cable, S-Video cable, power adapter, battery, remote and a shoulder strap. There are several AE modes, including fully automatic "Easy Recording".

But in addition to automatic settings (focus, white balance, etc.), you can manually adjust focus, white balance, shutter speed, exposure (AE Shift). The camcorder allows you apply faders and digital effects and has widescreen mode.

It also features FireWire (i.Link, IEEE1394) jack, so you can connect it to another digital camcorder, MiniDV VCR or a computer for editing or making a copy. The remote control allows you search for still pictures on the tape using Data Code recorded during the shooting.

The camcorder features both composite and an S-Video inputs/outs and LANC editing terminal. The timer allows to perform recordings at predefined time. There is a Low Light recording capability (low shutter speed and high exposure time).

Remote

Unlike entry-level digital camcorders from Panasonic, the wireless remote control is included here.

Bottom Line

The ZR20 is a nice camcorder with good feature set. But the menu system is unnecessary complicated and the Canon camcorders are not among the most reliable (unlike Panasonic ones).

I would like to take this time and give my input about the Canon ZR 20 MiniDV. First off let me say that the size of this thing amazes me enabling me to fit it in my pants pocket (compared to my old vhs). There aren't that many high end features on this but for the basic everyday recording this is an excellent camera. Be aware that this DOES NOT have NIGHT VISION if you want it purchase the ZR-40 series. I purchased this at the [store] that sells mac computers. It cost me [money] and for [the same amount] at [a different store] i could have got the ZR-40 but they were out :(. Overall i really do like this camera not overpowered with features but does the job well (my first canon camera). From now on i'll stick with them in the future (Much better than JVC and SONY). Down the road I'll upgrade my pc to firewire for video editing, that looks pretty fun. But if yourlooking for a good quality camera with a GLASS lens not plastic like the others and something stylish and small than go with any of the Canon ZR Series (10,20,25mc,30mc,40,45mc,50,50mc)

Hope this Helped in your camera buying experience!

I've looked for a good DV camcorder to replace my old Hi8 camcorder. We need it to be compact to fit into one palm, and have image stablization. We also need it to have analog input to transfer old video. Some of the higher-end model have low-resolution digital camera capability, which is useless to us since we already had high-resolution digital camera. We tried to avoid spending extra money to pay features we don't need, and it leads us to Canon ZR20. Well, what a great buy! We spend less than our old Hi8 camcorder, and got a 3X better camcorder! The picture quality is super, the sound is great! ( I don't have the issue described by another reviewer.) Right after recording, we can also playback the video with sound on this tiny camcorder. All my families just enjoy playing with this new toy and have a wonderful time together. Highly recommended!

Be sure to buy an extended warranty if you plan on buying this camera. Mine broke just a few days after the incredibly short 90 day labor warranty (1yr. on parts though). One day when I went to playback some video I had shot, nothing showed up other than a blue screen. It wouldn't playback anything after owning it less than 4 months. Other than that, the camera seems to perform okay, although the motors in the camera are quite a bit noisier than other camcorders I've used.

Be sure to do your homework before deciding to buy this camera. If you want a comparable camera get a panasonic dv51 which in similar in price. I'd stay away from this one....

After spending several thousand dollars for a top of the line 8mm camcorder a decade ago only for it to become little more than junk today, I decided to buy only the cheapest camcorder that fulfilled my minimum needs. This Samsung SCD55 was it. The camera takes great amateur-grade video and is compact and lightweight enough to carry around on my hiking and climbing trips to boot. It's not as small and light as some other mini-DV models but doesn't cost as much either. The video lens is so-so and I bought a 0.6X wide-angle adapter for it. The video image quality is typically single-chip CCD quality with OK low light performance. My big caveat is that the included lithium battery lasts a marginally useful 20 minutes and the extra-life battery...runs just around 40 minutes - in that department I'm kind of jealous of friends who use the Sony Stamina battery based camcorders. For extended trips away from AC power to recharge the battery, I would NOT recommend this camera. Overall it's good value for the money and you won't cry too much a decade from now when it's obsolete.

I really like this camcorder. It was smaller than I expected which is a bonus. The picture quality is great, and unlike the other reviewer I found the indoor quality to be good despite my somewhat unlit apartment. It took me some time to figure our why the time and date stamp reset itself each time I turned it off. I soon realized that it had an internal lithium battery that had to be charged for 24 hours. Finally, the camcorder does not have all the special effects that I have seen on other camcorders, but I would not use them anyway. Essentially this camcorder is for those who dont want to pay for frills, but want a quality practical camcorder. Perfect for me!

Great camera with large LCD screen. Takes great pictures
in bright light. Not bad in low light with slow shutter.

Problems
No shutter speed control above 1/30.
No pass through of RCA/Svid to IEEE 1394 for capture use.
No line level audio input while taping.
Focus controls right next to microphone.
Zoom control fragile.
Camera forgets last mode when shut off.
No histogram of exposure.

I would actually give this camera a 4.5/5, but since there isn't the option, I will just round up. This camera is fantastic for what it does for its size and price. I couldn't decide whether to go for the PC-1 or the PC-100 (the little rectangular cams.) or this camera, which holds true to the "standard camcorder shape"; but, after trying out the alternative designs, I found them to cramp my hand and just be awkward to use with such tiny buttons and strange button/control placement. I am glad I went with this design instead. The quality of the picture and sound on this camcorder is simply great! The colors are well balanced and contrast is handled quite well. When watching what has been recorded with an S-Video cable (another review mentioned that one wasn't included in the box - he's right, but I would recommend getting one if you're going to use this camera the way it was meant to be used - a decent S-Video cable is only about $5-$10 anyway), you can really tell there are about 500(!) lines of resolution. The picture is almost DVD quality it seems. Also, the stereo mic does a great job in picking up voice or other ambient audio. For instance, during one filming session, we had a CD playing in the backgroud and the music ended up sounding as if it were dubbed onto the tape; it was not overpowering but actually added to the "atmosphere" of the recording. Very nice in my opinion, but it my be bothersome for some users that the mic can be a bit touchy sometimes. This camera is loaded with features and I would recommend it over the TRV10 with a savings of about $200. While this camera doesn't have the memory stick option [and a few other bells and whistles], you really won't need the TRV10 if you a) have a digital camera already or b)plan on connecting your MiniDV camera to a PC/Mac. However, I wouldn't really recommend using this camera for stills. While they are okay, an actual digital still camera would be better. It should also be noted that the build quality of this unit seems very good. This camera, while fantastic, is not without its subtle flaws. One small problem I have noticed is that when recording in low light conditions, the picture tends to be a bit "grainy" on playback. The picture is still good, just not exceptional like those taken with this camcorder outdoors or in well-lighted conditions/rooms. I haven't tried the "Low Lux" mode to see if this will compensate for or reduce the grainyness, but it will probably help a bit. Another problem with this camera and the MiniDV format in general is the price of the media. It can get a bit pricey if you don't plan on transfering recordings to VHS or SVHS tapes with your VCR. Sixty minute tapes can run you anywhere between $8 and $25 depending on what brand/quality you purchase. I usually use Sony tapes that end up costing about $11.50/hour. And the last problem I have is that the use of the 3.5" LCD screen can really eat up your battery charge (almost cuts it in half, it seems). The screen is great, but just expect to charge a bit more often if you use it regularly or buy a spare battery. So, to sum up: for the money, this camera is absolutely superb. It provides a *fantastic* picture outdoors or in well-ligthed areas, and a good picture in dimly lighted rooms. This camera is also LOADED with features that will make any user happy. I highly recommend this camera to anyone in the MiniDV Camcorder market.

I searched and searched for the best Digital Camcorder (for the money) and this is easily the one. It has the smallest size except for their PC-1 and PC-3 (slightly smaller, but much harder to hold, I think). Plus a 3.5" LCD (only 2.5 on Canon's Elura or the Sony PC-Series).

Picture quality is outstanding, though a little grainy and flat moderate to low indoor light. Sound quality is amazing, and connection to my PC through a $98 Firewire card is awesome.

Best camcorder on the market (without spending an extra $500 for 2 more CCD's), until the next advancements!

Like most purchasers of camcorders, I had my first child last August. Thus, I decided to buy a camcorder to take hours of video that I will never watch again. On the other hand, if I didn't buy a camcorder, I would be a horrible parent, right?

Anyways, I did a fair amount of research online and in print (Consumers Reports). I finally decided to purchase the Panasonic PVDV201, based on the recommendations of several electronics salespeople. However, I spent quite a bit of time testing this camcorder. The PVDV200 is quite similar to the PVDV201.

First, the PV-DV200 is a MiniDV format digital camcorder. The Digital8 camcorders (generally sold by Sony) are a little cheaper for the tapes. On the other hand, the camcorders are a bit larger and a fair bit heavier. If you have old 8mm tapes you want to replay on a camcorder, Digital8 is probably the format for you. This was my first camcorder, so I went with the MiniDV format because of the weight difference, and also because the picture quality seemed a bit better.

One caveat about the PV-DV200: The digital zoom requires you to press a separate button, which is a bit awkward. That being said, it is rare (in my experience) that you will need zoom power in excess of 18X, which the 200 provides. The digital zoom is a bit of a marketing ploy. (By the way, the PVDV201 provides 20X optical zoom, a bit better)I found this camcorder to be a high quality starter camcorder in the digital format, for a very reasonable price.

A few concerns: (1) the digital still photos are good for e-
mails, nothing more; and (2) the PVDV201 is a newer model and, oddly, cheaper.

... So far, the results are quite nice. Camera is easy to use, with simple auto modes for exposure, etc.

Menu's are a bit cryptic, but easy to get to learn.

Outstanding features: Compatible with Apple's iMove with no drivers needed. Simple and quite operation.

Negative Features: Not the best low light useability (although not bad).

I definately would reccomend this camera to a friend.

I just got this about a week ago. It is an excellent camera for the price. There are other cameras that do more, but for most people, most of the time, this camcorder fits the bill. Very light, and easy to use. Most of the buttons are easy to reach, and you quickly get used to where to find the fade, backlight, etc. The menu button and jogger are a little awkward, but I have not found it to be a major problem.

I'd give this 5 stars except the software that comes with it is lousy. I wanted to download some still images to email to relatives, but can't get it to work. The help files are not helpful, and there is no manual. It tells me that I need to check my COM1 port, but I am not sure what it wants me to do. Has anyone else gotten this software to work?

So, don't buy this expecting to be able to download photos easily, but for recording, it is a terrific camera.