Customer Reviews
Canon Elura 65 problem 
2008-11-12
I have enjoyed the camera for nearly 4 years. Beautful video, nice size, (not too small) and great lens quality like the previous Canon's I have owned. Last year the hatch quit opening. I don't mean the external cover, I mean the internal one where the DV tape is held. No reponse whatsoever, it doesn't even sound like its trying to open. It is out of warranty and I imagine is going to be extremely expensive to fix. Does anyone know of this problem? or a simple fix, Can I download a firmware update via usb that will help. I have had to go back to my old Canon 970 8mm for now and the Elura 65 sits on a shelf...
bad zoom 
2008-03-27
Got one for christmas when my daughter was born three years ago. The zoom went to maximum by itself all of the time. Sent it back and had it replaced. I used it for three years with no problem. Now the replacement does the same thing, and you can't stop it. Even on play back it zooms in. Unless you hold the zoom out all of the time it is worthless.
Defective Design - Avoid this camera 
2008-03-04
Generally a good camera, but a few flaws. Low-light recording is grainy and has poor color. There does not appear to be a way (or an easy way) to put the day's date on the video (which is very useful for home videos).
But more importantly, the camera failed me in the two ways noted by many other owners. First, the camera would start zooming in on its own. I would have to hold the zoom button to stop it from doing so. Really annoying. Sometimes it wouldn't zoom in and would be "stuck" at full zoom or would zoom out VERY slowly. This makes the camera unusable.
More recently, the camera said "Remove tape" and now is unable to load any tapes. I will have to purchase a replacement. No point in repair because I cannot trust the reliability of what I'll get back from Canon.
This camera design is unreliable, defective (because so many people are reporting the exact same problem), and really disappointing. I am a long-time fan of Canon and this is the first time I have been utterly disappointed with one of their products.
Zoom feature developed a mind of it's own. $300 dollar out of warranty repair bill 2007-12-05
The zoom feature developed a mind of it's own. Camera started zooming in to the maximum and when you zoomed back out and let go of the control it zoomed in again. I paid $300 to have it repaired because I purchased extra batteries and the video light/flash too. I wanted to keep and use the accessory items instead of just upgrading to a newer and better camera. I should have saved the money and just bought another darn camera!
Elura 65 not dependable 2006-07-04
I purchased my Elura 65 new, before there were many reviews and like many others have had repeat problems with the "remove the cassette" message. I've had to mail it back to Canon twice and they replaced the drum assembly each time. Now it's died again, with a video tape inside, and Canon wants another $145.00 to get it out. Why would I pour good money after bad? I'll have to write off the tape and just purchase a new a camera, but definitely not a Canon.
When it worked, the camera worked great out of doors (as long as I didn't get the moisture error) and ok indoors.
Canon Elura camcorder are unreliable 2006-04-29
Life is full of special occasions that we wish could be savored forever - the ultimate vacation, the excitement of a high school graduation ceremony, your family's first trip abroad, the antics of your favorite pet. With Canon's new line of Elura camcorders, no matter where you go the moment never has to end. Create home movies and digital photos with life-like clarity. Then, transfer them to your computer with the click of a button. Offering a newly refined ultra-portable design at an affordable price, the Elura 65, is designed to fit your hand and your budget perfectly.
can not load cassette 2006-02-04
Like the other reviewers, I used to be a big canon fan. I owns various canon products. But this Elura 65 dissapointed me. It just refused to load cassette after 8 month of ownership. There was a minor problem before this, the zoom lever will be automatically adjusted to the maximum zoom from time to time. I will have to pull things back to the normal size manually. Now with the tape not loadable, it is useless. I wasn't able to tape some important event such as a groundhog day celebration in Punxutawney,PA, and now, foreseably a big superbowl weekend in Pittsburgh. This loss is non-recoverable!
don't buy this product! 2005-12-27
I am so glad to read that I am not the only one having problems with my Elura camcorder. I was having this eject problem few weeks after we bought it. the tape wouldn't work properly, I would get some head cleaning messages, we bought the cleaning tape and it did nothing! The tape would get stuck inside, once we finally got it out, we couldn't close the tape compartment, a nightmare. We sent it to repair right away as I was due with my first child few weeks afer. we got the camcorder back on time (thanks god) and left 3 weeks later to Europe for the summer...After a week there, the camcorder started to have problems again. I was so furious, as the purpose of buying this camcorder was to catch our son's first moments amd tape our families with him..I had to borrow my parents camcorder to finish the holidays. When I came back I talked to several people at Canon repair's factory who said nothing about other people having the same problem..They would fix it again for me! Big deal..I used it for few months and started to have problems again..I was so frustrated..I could never know if the camcorder was going to work...I could sometimes put the tape back inside several times and it would finally close and work again for a little while..I sent it bak and they finally decided to make an exchange (after I insisted greatly!!) with a refurbish one. I was happy that this time it might work for good and you know what, it did it again!! I am now done with it. I wanted to upgrade to a different one and all they offered was another Elura, which I know will also have the same problems..I agree with the fact that Canon doesn't want to acknowledge that there is a major problem with the inside mecanism..too fragile..Digital is what will eliminate the problem..I have all sorts of Canon products that I am very happy with..But these mini DV camcorders are a bad idea. I wish I would have known that 3 years ago. Now I am expecting another baby and will have to spend more money on a digital, because this one is useless..What a waste of money! Please don't buy this product, you may enjoy it for a little while, but as soon as the problems will start, you will regret it, there is nothing to do about it, it is very frustrating. Good luck on ypur researches..
Eject cassette problem 2005-12-15
Until it started giving me that error, it was a great camera. Unfortunately I only used it for about 6 months and 2 tapes before this started happening. I then researched the problem and found that many others had the some problem. I went to the Canon website and the first thing on the Elura page is they defend themselves against the Eject Cassette message. I followed all the steps they suggested and it still wouldn't work. I then called Canon and talked to someone there. I asked them if there was a known defect with these cameras and of course they said no. They said all I needed to do was to buy a head cleaner and it would be okay. I went to Radio Shack and bought one for $14. Of course it did not work. It did not even load because the drive capstan motor is dead. There is probably nothing wrong with the head. I was not looking forward to fighting this warranty service battle with Canon due to all the stuff I read on the internet. It was under a year old so it should have been covered. Luckily, I bought the camera at Costco so they just gave us our money back. I always had a favorable opinion of Canon until now. Just fess up guys and admit your flawed design. Unless you don't mind losing lots of customers.
Great features--poor shelf life! 2005-06-29
I bought the Elura 65 to transition from the out-dated Compact VHS fomat to MiniDV. The Canon has great features and performance for the price. I began to experience difficulties with random freezing of the camera after only 5 weeks of use. I foolishly believed Canon support who repeatedly insisted I merely needed to accomplish periodic head-cleaning to remedy the situation (they actually told me that using two different brands of MiniDv media had caused the problem). Long story short, the camera completely died last week (two weeks after warranty expired). Canon Elura problems are widely reported on various camcorder forums. I have paid a premium for this lesson and just ordered my replacement from a manufacturer with a more solid reputation in terms of customer service. For the record, I love my Canon Powershot digital camera and have previously placed great faith in Canon products. That faith is now badly shaken.
