Customer Reviews
A good starter camera -- if you find it for $200 or less 
2006-01-29
This is a good camcorder for those starting out shooting digital video. If you already have a camcorder or are looking for something to make movies fit for Sundance submission with, this camcorder probably isn't for you.
The Pros:
It's very easy to learn how to use -- READ THE MANUAL! It's very easy to convert and control with Mac OS X & iMovie. The battery lasts a long time -- about 2 hours of shooting time (that's 2 DV tapes-full). Makes acceptable still frames, but not print quality, to share as e-photos with friends. (See some pictures I uploaded as examples.) Outdoor shooting resolution is acceptable.
The Cons:
Indoors the pictures are pretty grainy, regardless of the special settings you use. You need a LOT of indoors light to get the graininess out of the film. Graininess is worse if you re-use your DV tapes. USE NEW TAPES EVERY TIME. After fooling around with the special settings, other than "automatic," I couldn't really tell any significant difference between them. You can't tell what the special settings are doing in real-time, you can only see it on playback. The digital zoom says it goes to 20x, but you need a tripod for this kind of zooming because the there is NO "steadycam" help on the digital zoom. Also, the picture degrades significantly at the far end of the digital zoom. (The regular zoom works better.) For my Mac, I had to buy a $6 cable to convert the digital video to firewire.
SPECIAL NOTE: This camera is FABULOUS for translating your analog VHS tapes into digital format. It's soooo easy. With a Mac, all you need is the $6 cable mentioned above. The digital converter comes standard inside as part of the camera. I was able to take my wedding video on VHS, play it on my VCR, then through the camcorder and onto my Mac. I then used my Mac to make a DVD of our wedding -- a medium that lasts much longer than magnetic tapes like VHS! There was no generation loss of quality in this transfer.
NOISE: Some reviewers have commented on the camera's "noise". I have NO trouble with mine making extra noise.
Grainy picture 
2006-01-08
We received this camcorder for a Christmas gift 2005. We were not impressed at all. When we tried to record our opening gifts in a living room, the picture looked terrible. It looked bad on the view finder & even worse on the television. We thought that it was possibly the lighting at my mother's house. So we tried it at home in our living room with an over head light, and the natural light from outside, it was still terrible. Our digital photo camera took clearer videos than this camera. The only time we could get the video to look semi clear was below our incredibly bright track lighting! Well, clearly you won't have that light quality hardly anywhere. Needless to say, we returned the camera, after exchanging it once because we thought it was a lemon. We ended up going with the Sony HC21 and are much happier with it!
Canon or Sony 
2005-12-11
This is the ultimate question. Before this issue lets reveal a small lie of Canon.
This is how they advertise this product:
"The ZR100 features both a DV terminal (IEEE 1394 or Firewire) and USB terminal for connection to a DV-compatible computer or another DV-camcorder."
This is the reality:
No USB terminal in ZR100. I'm seriously considering filing a complaint to FTC. ZR200 has it but not ZR100.
This is what they do NOT advertise:
You have to have a editing software to transfer your images to your computer. And they do not provide the software. You have to spend extra money (you know how pricy those softwares are). Your computer might already be equipped with such software though.
Canon doesn't even provide a shoulder strap.How cheap they are!! Someday they will sell it piece by piece.
Sony comes with a shoulder strap, which is a 30 dollar difference and it's a must for the safety of your equipment.
Other than these, the machine works very well. No noise! Those who noticed noise must have bat ears or I should see an ear specialist. This is why I gave 5 stars to the product. But 0 stars to Canon.
Sony is a little pricy but it comes with the software. If you already have a video editing sofware, this is not a big deal. Sony has USB port as well. But actually USB port is a little useless because you need a firewire port anyways to transfer the images. Sony gives shoulder strap as well (30 dollar difference).
Sony has a remote control. But why the heck would you need one? The price difference between Sony seems to go away in fact when you consider these. Not to mention that Sony mini DV camcorder has Carl Zeiss lenses and a more advanced tech to capture images.
If you're counting dollars go for ZR100. If not choose Sony.
Nice, easy-to-use, camcorder 2005-07-31
Me and my wife decided to get a digital camcorder since our old-fashion vhs camcorder finally bit the dust. Yes, I bought this camcorder because it was one of least expensive digital camcorders out there. I briefly reviewed the instructions, explained them to my college age daughter, and we were on our way to the beach with her 7 yr old sister. She immediately started recording me and my daughter. Very, Very, Very easy to use. (I recorded a little bit too.)We got back home, hooked up the canon to the TV, pressed the play button, and presto, we had a good recording of us on the beach. Awesome, Digital High Quality video. Quality of the picture was definitely better than expected for a inexpensive little machine. Sound quality was really good too. I don't have the best hearing in the world, but I didn't think there was much (if any,) motor or other unusual noise.
If you want something easy to use without paying a lot I really don't see anything wrong with this. Although for the most part you get what you pay for, the quality of this DVC sure beats the old vhs camcorders. Hook this up to a VCR or DVD-R to record your picture to your preffered format.
Picture isn't very sharp, there are better options 
2005-07-14
After returning a defective Sony Handycam (audio playback was broken), we opted for the Canon because it had a good combination of features and price. We especially liked the built-in ability to convert from our old analog video cameras. However, we were disappointed that our first few videos were not very crisp played back on the TV. The video quality was soft, kind of blah, and almost looked like there was some kind of blur feature (there wasn't). A review at [...]suggested using widescreen mode to increase resolution; we don't have a widescreen TV, but tried it anyway and got squashed distorted video.
The same tape still included some footage from the Sony, so we used the Canon to taped the same thing as we had with the Sony - same distance, scene, people, and lighting. The difference was astounding: the Sony was much sharper and crisper, while the Canon was just plain disappointing.
Also, the Canon didn't show true reds: the reds were kind of hot-pinkish. (The salesperson told us this is typical of Canons, though it can be adjusted with video editing software.) Since picture quality is definitely important, we decided to take the Canon back. After a lot of discussion with the store's tecchies and salespeople, got a new (and, we hope, not defective this time!) Sony.
Good, but has a fatal flaw... 2007-12-06
I bought this camera for my husband for Christmas two years ago (2005). He used it and loved it...however, just after the 1 year warranty ran out, the camera malfunctioned. It will not turn on properly (you hear it, but cannot see anything on the screen) and will not eject the tape that's inside (with our precious memories on it!). We called Canon and apparently this is a COMMON and KNOWN problem with this model camera. They informed us that it would cost a minimum of $150 to just take a look at the camera and probably more for repairs and shipping. For that much money, we're just going to invest in a new camera with a company that STANDS BEHIND their products when there is a KNOWN DEFECT. I loved Canon products before, but will not be purchasing them from here on out.
BIG disappointment! 2007-08-12
I was given this as a gift. What a disappointment. We have had it in for repairs and replacement parts. And still multiple problems. It malfunctions and will not allow tapes in it or worse it just turns off and won't respond.Oh yeah now it has a noise like the motor is reving and it won't playback or tape anything. Canon only fixed it once under warrenty now again I have to pay. If you don't mind that you miss all the special moments or that the odds are good it won't work then this camera is for you! Also, don't expect the company to stand behind their product because they really don't care.
Great deal! 2006-08-08
I thought I had only ordered the camcorder, which was a great price since shipping is free and no tax! It was overall cheaper and easier to get than going to the store. Circuit City had this open-box for the same retail price.
Imagine my surprise when my delivery included 3 DV-casettes, a tripod, and a carry bag.
(And it's also the cheapest but also best quality camcorder you can get with AV-input.)
Incredible color and widescreen performance for the money 
2006-05-10
Operative phrase: "for the money." Honestly, I am really surprised at how well this camera has performed over the last 8 months since I bought it. I have had excellent performance in color, the widescreen is SO much cleaner and crisper than the older Sony unit I was using previously. Even when exporting to Pinnacle Studio, and rendering to DVD - the resolution and saturation were wonderful. Is it HD? no. Will it record in 24 FPS? no. Did it beat the hell out of my expectations for a 300 bones camcorder? Absolutely!
I almost forgot to mention: the windscreen on the mic works really well; I'm from Oklahoma, and we know wind out here. This last Easter had winds of over 40 MPH, and even though you could tell there was wind noise, you could hear conversations from over 15 feet away.
I paid less than 300 smackers for this, and it has performed (in my estimation) at the level of a 600-smackers camera!
Great picture quality, no noise, best bang for the buck 2006-01-31
There may be "better" camcorders out there. Better in terms of more features. But it is unlikely the video or sound quality is much better than this one (in some cases actually worse). A 720X480 video frame (Mini DV standard resolution) can only accomodate approx 340 K pixels - therefore a mega or multi mega pixel camcorder will not improve your video performance one bit. And they cost least twice as much.
I was looking for something really basic. I go for features (and use them) in a Camera - not a Camcorder. When was the last time you used the fancy video functions? Do you even know where they reside on the menu? This camcorder has all the functions you will use and some that you probably won't. Its sufficiently loaded in that regard.
Performance - I faced NO noise issues. In a very quiet room, there is faint noise (when the auto gain circuit increases the mic sensitivity). However, under all my shooting conditions (when the auto-gain ramps down the mic sensitivity), this has not been a problem. My unit was "Made in Japan" - I don't know if this has anything to do with the "noiselessness" of the unit. The sound clarity is awesome - the mic is quite high quality - much better than my old sony 8mm.
Video - WoW - very impressed. Clear and colorful - very close to what my eye sees. Very sharp as well. One can easily read text, see the veins on the leaves, the hair on the eyebrow - on closeups. No problem regarding sharpness and overall color fidelity. Reds tended slightly towards pinkish sometimes (minor). On a dark overcast day - video came out looking just fantastic. It wowed me/wife/dad - everybody.
Low Light performance - On par with other camcorders out there. If you keep the lights in the room on (reasonably well lit), you can capture excellent video (great white balance) with little to no noise. None of the blue tinge that I observed with another brand under the same conditions. In a dim room, the video is noisy, but still quite viewable. It is important to note - that this camcorder has no worse performance than the others in its price range when it comes to low light performance.
Ergonomics - easily fits in your jacket/pant pocket and the controls are well placed. I have no problem with the location of the menu button - as a matter of fact - that is where I think it needs to be! Very easy to manual focus but haven't done so - yet. Autofocus is snappy - no hunting. I don't care how tapes are loaded - from the top or bottom. How many of you shoot using a Tripod and need to change tapes halfway?
The zoom speed depends on how far you press the zoom button - simply great feature. Not just one or two steps. You can go from very slow to very fast zooms.
The unit can work as an analog to digital converter - something I plan to use - to convert my 8mm tapes to digital.
The eyepiece viewfinder is color, does not flip, but very good otherwise. I use it a lot. The flip out display is apparently not the best out there, but I find it to be adequate - if not downright good.
Batteries are charged "in camera". You don't have to take the battery in and out for charging purposes. On the other hand, charging a spare battery ties up the camera (unless you purchase an external charger). The supplied battery seems to last for an hours worth of shooting - works for me.
One last thing - I have not seen mentioned in other reviews and I don't know how other brands perform in this regard. The image stabilization was just too good. While shooting video going through Golden Gate Bridge in a car(no zoom), the shots were almost professional in their stability. The exact same shots taken with an earlier camcorder without image stabilization are unwatchable. Note added later - Compared to a PV-GS150, the image stabilization on the Canon was definitely better. I'll cross compare other aspects with my friends PV-GS150 and report back!
BTW - I don't miss it not having photo taking abilities. All camcorder still pics are horrible when compared to my digicam. Why bother?
It does record hi-res 16:9 images (instead of the cropped ones). Maybe that'll be good for the future.
One purchase that exceeded my expectations.
Capturing - Using a cheap firewire card and included cable (together less than ten dollars), video capture using Ulead software and Win Xp was a breeze. Other software (Pinnacle 9) worked equally well at capturing. Camera could be controlled from the software interface. The file size was approx 12 Gig (DV compression) for 45 min worth of shooting. Video looks very good on computer monitor and on TV. Now to MPEG 2 compress and author a DVD..
