Canon ZR850 1MP MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom

Editorial Review
The ZR850 gives you clear, vibrant and brilliant video and digital photographs with a 1.07 Megapixel CCD image sensor. 35x Optical and 1000x Digital Zoom lets you get closer to the action for unsurpassed optical performance. The ZR850's image stabilizer allows you to shoot rock-steady video even at maximum telephoto without a tripod for professional-looking video. Canon's exclusive DIGIC DV image processor takes video and photos differently, resulting in exceptional color and clarity for both. The ZR850 even comes with a built-in video light so you can record video that's great when the light isn't. The 0.35-inch viewfinder on your ZR850 displays your widescreen image in a letterbox view. The 2.7-inch LCD screen lets you view your widescreen shot right as you're taking them. The Widescreen Button lets you switch from standard 4:3 to 16:9 Widescreen HR with the camcorder's advanced image stabilization. Simultaneous Photo Recording lets you capture a digital photograph while recording video. Level and Grid Markers - Both markers can be set to white or grey for enhanced visibility Built-in Video Light 1.07 Megapixels 1/6-inch CCD Image Sensor MiniDV Tape Format Viewfinder - 0.35-inch, 114,000 pixels, widescreen LCD Screen - 2.7-inch, 112,000 pixels, widescreen Exposure Lock - Lets you lock your exposure settings and then recompose your shot Auto Slow Shutter Function - Ensures perfect exposures in low light by lowering your shutter speed 9 Point Ai-AF - Auto Intelligent Auto Focus will bring it into sharp focus Progressive Photo gives you sharper detail in your digital photography Scene Modes - Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight or Fireworks Image Effects - Vivid, Neutral, Low-Sharpening, and Skin Detail Dimensions - Width 2.2 x Height 3.6 x Depth 4.7 inch (57 x 92 x 119 mm not including grip belt) Weight - 13.4 ounces (380 grams)
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Customer Reviews

GREAT ALL AROUND CAMCORDER!

2008-05-07
I bought this camcorder to make some fundraising movies for my 3 day breast cancer walk. It has been SO easy to use, and to create some GREAT looking videos. I took it out of the box, and shot some video then plugged it into my VISTA laptop and downloaded the video in about 3 minutes... Great for a first or casual user. Has some nice options like widescreen and SD card for still photos. The light only works very close up but is a nice option if you are interviewing someone at night. All in all I couldn't be happier with this camera, and the price is AMAZING for the features you get... (lots of USEABLE features without all the useless bells and whistles that the $$$$$$ cameras have - that you never use anyhow) If something were to happen to this camera I would replace it with another zr850... The only thing I wish it had was a mic jack... but the built in mic does a fantastic job... see some video made with this camera at www.myspace/adels3day.com

ZR850 Excellent Value

2008-04-27
I had a ZR200 Canon that I take everywhere. It was easy to use so after many hundreds of hours of filming sports events etc. it died. I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars so I purchased this for about the same price I would have had to fix my old camera. This is an excellent camera expecially for price. Excellent Buy! I recommend this without any reservation. You can't go wrong!!

canon zr850

2008-04-27
I was quite apprehensive after seeing many reviews about this product.

Agreed that the picture quality is not as good as the 8 mm tape camcorders, and the manufacturing lacks sturdiness, but its an excellent value camcorder. I only paid 180 for it.
Its quite easy to use -- even the wheeltrack on the display screen.
Primary reason for me to get this was the combination of camera and camcorder plus its quite light compared to my old 8 mm Sony.

Canon ZR850 IMP ZCamcorder with 35x optical zoom

2008-04-26
I bought this camera from amazon. The price was the best price. The shippment came before I was expecting. I bought it to give a gift to one of my family members for their 25th wedding anniversary. I have already have Canon ZR 300. I am very happy with that too. Canon makes great. product.

computer hook up problem

2008-04-24
I had trouble connecting to my computer. The problem turned out to be that I had external hard drives plugged into the fire wire ports. When I removed all other fire wire connections, it connected.

Canon ZR850

2008-04-14
The ZR850 gives you clear, vibrant and brilliant video and digital photographs with a 1.07 Megapixel CCD image sensor. 35x Optical and 1000x Digital Zoom lets you get closer to the action for unsurpassed optical performance. The ZR850's image stabilizer allows you to shoot rock-steady video even at maximum telephoto without a tripod for professional-looking video. Canon's exclusive DIGIC DV image processor takes video and photos differently, resulting in exceptional color and clarity for both. The ZR850 even comes with a built-in video light so you can record video that's great when the light isn't. The 0.35-inch viewfinder on your ZR850 displays your widescreen image in a letterbox view. The 2.7-inch LCD screen lets you view your widescreen shot right as you're taking them. The Widescreen Button lets you switch from standard 4:3 to 16:9 Widescreen HR with the camcorder's advanced image stabilization. Simultaneous Photo Recording lets you capture a digital photograph while recording video. Level and Grid Markers - Both markers can be set to white or grey for enhanced visibility Built-in Video Light 1.07 Megapixels 1/6-inch CCD Image Sensor MiniDV Tape Format Viewfinder - 0.35-inch, 114,000 pixels, widescreen LCD Screen - 2.7-inch, 112,000 pixels, widescreen Exposure Lock - Lets you lock your exposure settings and then recompose your shot Auto Slow Shutter Function - Ensures perfect exposures in low light by lowering your shutter speed 9 Point Ai-AF - Auto Intelligent Auto Focus will bring it into sharp focus Progressive Photo gives you sharper detail in your digital photography Scene Modes - Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight or Fireworks Image Effects - Vivid, Neutral, Low-Sharpening, and Skin Detail Dimensions - Width 2.2 x Height 3.6 x Depth 4.7 inch (57 x 92 x 119 mm not including grip belt) Weight - 13.4 ounces (380 grams)

OK Camcorder, Not Great

2008-04-12
The price was nice but the buttons hard to use and the zoom difficult to use while holding the camera by the strap. Good time on battery. Just FYI, you have to have a firewire cable to transfer video to computer, get one online much cheaper. Also make sure you have a firewire connection to pc or you also will have to get a firewire card which you can also get online cheaply. Video good quality and sound good.

Piece of Junk

2008-04-05
I purchased a similar model 7 years ago that worked fine, but humidity on a beach trip killed it. I finally purchased another at a much cheaper price in December 07 and have sent it in once to be fixed for an eject problem with the tapes which cost me $100, and now am having issues with the same thing. Spend the extra bucks on something better. This is a waste of money. Apparently EXTREMELY fragile, in that it belongs in it's box unopened and unused.

not bad, but I wanted something else

2008-02-27
Video compression is such that the picture is somewhat grainy and the external light is pretty weak. One thing that may not affect many users, but was a big deal to me was the fact that it cannot record video and audio at the same time through the input jacks. The manual says that using the analog in jacks, only audio can be recorded, but full a/v can be played out. The way to record video is using the dv jack to record.

Canon zr850 a bargain

2008-02-15
Huge miniDV bang for the buck. Very little compression using tape, very good image & optical quality for the size. Slight zoom noise. Very good low-light performance even though experts pan this cam. Stills are good enough if you can't carry another still cam. Two beefs: no external mic (biggy) and the included software is not worth the CD it's burned on. Don't bother installing this garbage. Find WinDV for 1394 video downloads - it's a great free app, so donate a buck to the author.

Cameras & Photography Products and Books

	Click!. The No Nonsense Guide to Digital Cameras Review: ... "Click! The No Nonsense Guide to Digital Cameras" is misnamed. It covers a lot more than just cameras. In a couple of hundred pages, it includes using a scanner and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 to rescue faded, damaged family photos, the basic guidelines to good picture taking, how to use Elements 2 to improve your digital photos, and how to print and preserve your pictures for the ages. White, the author of the bestseller "How Computers Work," knows how to pack a lot of helpful, understandable information in a brief no nonsense book.
	Sony Cybershot DSCS90 4.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Review: "This Camera is one of the best in its price range. It takes beautiful clear pictures and can be used right out of the box, but its worth learning all its features. The included memory holds about 20-25 pictures so I upgraded to 128mb. I reccomend getting a 128mb card and the Sony camera case. Not only is this one of the best cameras in its class it includes decent software and rechargeable batteries that are at least a 20$ value. HIGHLY reccomend over canon,kodak, and fuji. One more thing this camera has CARL Zeiss lens (if you dont know, great lens) all the competetors have generic lens."
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PC Magazine Guide to Digital Photography

Editorial Reviews from Book News, Inc.
A couple of digital photography experts weigh the advantages and disadvantages of film vs. digital photography, and explain the basics underlying both types of photography. The Grottas provide reality checks on such issues as whether the number of megapixels really matter, and tips on camera selection, use, and e-mailing and organizing photos. The handbook includes color and b&w images, a glossary, and sidebars and Web links for further technical details.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland.

From the Back Cover The megapixel hype
The fact is a camera’s megapixel rating is only a measure of how many pixels (photosensitive sites) an image sensor has…. An image sensor is simply one component of an entire system that produces a digital photograph… So resist buying into the megapixel hype when you’re choosing a digital camera. From Chapter 1

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