Customer Reviews
Pretty Cool 
2008-03-20
I really like this little camcorder. I did a ton of research on it. I was looking at about 50 other cameras. This is light weight which really makes it easy to hold even for periods of time. I held it for 30 minutes at my childs play. I recommend the tripod. But it was really easy to use. I didn't have much time to practice before his play. If you know how to work a VCR you are over qualified to work this camera, that's how easy it is to use it. As for the picture and quality I really think they are pretty good. Sure other people were saying that you can't tape in the dark, well duh! My kids play was in a basketball stadium and I was probably 50 feet back or more from the stage with the audience in the dark and the lights flickering on and off on stage it did do pretty good. That little camera did get a good work out. But yes I would recommend it. Great product especially for the price.
Great first video camera for hold outs like me 2008-03-11
I had a couple hundred left from my tax returns and decided to look for a new DV camera. I really didn't want anything too fancy or expensive since I don't plan on using it much, just the occasional family gathering or something to have "just in case." The 35x zoom is insane, I don't know why anyone would need 80x. The widescreen display is sharp, all the features are there, many different settings for different lighting situations, both indoor and out, and the built-in lens cap cover is nice. It's light, all the controls feel like they're at the right place, and it would be the perfect camera for home movies. I haven't used the camera feature, and I probably won't since that's not what I bought it for. If you buy this remember to get a firewire card for your computer and a firewire cable as well, or else good luck transferring video.
Good but...... 
2008-03-10
You'll notice a common complaint with this line of cameras and that is the mic sensitivity/motor noise. The motor itself isn't particularly loud but due to its interior location right next to the mic it can be heard quite clearly when played back on a TV. The mic itself also picks up EVERYTHING in the vicinity. Now you'd imagine that would be a good thing but all it does is create a mess of sound that you struggle to hear what you want through. This of course could be fixed if they put an external mic port on the cam but they did not. Whats more baffling is that the lower end ZR800 model actually has a mic port. Other than that I thought the cam to be good. Its 35X zoom was impressive, It was certainly a looker and it felt good in the hand, a nice fit that functioned well. I returned it due to my need for good sound and I am opting to get the zr930 model. Hopefully they have fixed the sound issues with the newer models but even if they haven't the zr930 has a mic port and more than that they modified the AV/Audio jack to double as a headphone jack so you can monitor the incoming sound (now thats a way to help fix a problem).
Motor noise 2008-02-27
Camcorder has good features but the motor noise is quite loud and is captured while recording. Other reviewer had mentioned that turning on the wind filter feature helps and I tried this, but the noise is still audible during playback on the camcorder as well as when transferred to the computer and played back from there.
Compact, easy to use, affordable and a reliable well known brand 2008-02-22
I purchased this camcorder on a whim because it was on a Gold Box deal at $169. Now I had been looking at buying one, but wasn't entirely sure what format I wanted MiniDV, HardDrive, DVD disc...so when I received it I wasn't sure if it was going to be everything I wanted. Out of the box and left to charge I did a quick once over of the manual - Seemed pretty straight forward and user friendly. I had purchased some MiniDV tapes when I bought the camcorder, because as Amazon so kindly showed me "It was what everyone one else that had purchased the camcorder bought" and I figured I needed them. Here is my first recommendation and others have pointed this out too - If you plan on recording onto tapes be aware that you will need to have a DV Firewire cable to transfer them to your computer and if you're like me and have a Dell Vostro Laptop you'll also need to buy an Firewire Expresscard because you'll need the port to plug into. Those two things added about $60 onto my overall price and truthfully that didn't bother me. What bothered me was that after I did my first recording I couldn't get it onto my laptop to send to friends and family until I received the other items. Anyway now I have everything I need and have had a chance to use it all and I am very happy with the quality, ease, and performance of this product. I've used it to tape sporting events, family functions and outdoor excursions. As it is noted several times in other reviews it is not as good in low light, so as long as you're not trying to shoot in the dark you'll be okay. Also I understand that you can put in a memory card and record onto that, which I also believe then can be transferred from the camcorder via a USB cable eliminating the whole firewire thing (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here), but I've heard the quality is less than desirable that way. I would recommend this camcorder to anyone looking at buying one in this price range, you won't be disappointed.
Panasonic MiniDV Tapes (Pack of 5)
Belkin F3N401-06-ICE IEEE 1394 4-Pin/6-Pin 400 Mbps FireWire Cable (6 Feet)
2 Port Expresscard Firewire Card
Cannon camera 
2008-04-28
Bought it for my husband, he loved it. He wanted a camera that would take picture of tiny prints as he wanted does laser marking and pad printing. This camera zooms upto 35x so it takes great pic.
first video camera 2008-04-20
We haven't much of a chance to use it yet, but we think it will be just fine- once we get the hang of it. The size is nice, and it's light-weight. Focusing with the zoom has been a challenge, but then again maybe we just haven't gotten the knack of it yet. It's our first video camera!
The Amazing ZR830! 2008-04-04
My first digital camcorder was a GL2, which cost about $2,500.00. When the heads went bad, I decided not to fix it, and a year later, I bought the ZR830. Wow! Not only is this little camera easier to use than the overweight GL2, but the picture is just as great and needs much less light than the GL2. With a 600 watt light the picture is excellent and the shadows are not as overwhelming on film. The GL2 does not make a true 16:9 widescreen picture, it spreads the pixels, so you get a fuzzy picture. The ZR830 just blocks the view to make a widescreen so you have a true pixel size. The sound is much better on the GL2, but almost too good. It picked up everything that made any noice at all. I just turn the sound all the way up on the ZR830 and do some editing in Final Cut Express and it sounds just as good, without all the little annoying extraneous sounds that you cannot hide. If I had it to do all over I would have bought the ZR830 instead of the GL2, and not just because of the price, but It is hard to believe the price difference compared to the quality difference, which in most cases is none. And that is just my opinion.
Great starter camera! 2008-03-25
As an aspiring filmaker, and with a very fixed budget, this was a great purchase, it has great features and the menu options are great. This is perfect to start off filming, and for family get together's, it's great!
Fair product for the $$ 2008-03-20
To begin, this is the first camcorder I've owned. It's possible I was expecting more...I own a Nikon CoolPix 8mp digicam that takes movies, but obviously not with any great quality.
I was kind of expecting a little better quality (higher resolution) from the camera. From that point of view I was a little let down...it's sufficient, dont get me wrong, but it's only a step up from my digicam.
The device takes memory card and tape...It wont store video on the card however, unless a tape is in the device...didn't really say that in the manual and confused me (I had a mem card when device arrived, but no tapes).
I got a little annoyed too trying to figure out how to copy from tape to PC...there's SQUAT about this in the manual, and this is tough to find even on 'net searches.
WHAT YOU NEED TO COPY VID TO PC:
FIREWIRE CABLE --> You MUST have this cable to copy to PC...$35+ part...BE AWARE
The software that came with the device kinda blows...I don't know why, but software that's bundled with digicams and now i see this camcorder, is always chintzy...Use Microsoft Movie Maker instead...WITH FIREWIRE CABLE AND MS MOVIE MAKER, YOU CAN EASILY PULL VIDEO OFF THE TAPE, and you dont have to be a rocket scientist...hopefully I can save someone the headache I went through trying to figure this out...easy enough once you know...
So, summary is, for the money, decent, not great...will suffice since I'm a cheapO.
:)
