- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 16 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Excellent camera with excellent price"
Pros: Price, picture quality, image stabilization, good battery life
Cons: For the price, there are none
Summary: I think people have to keep in mind what price range they are shopping in when they look at this camera and rate it. For the price, or even for a significantly higher price, it's hard to get a better camera. I had a failing Sony camcorder that was just out of warranty that cost me $600. I got the Canon as a replacement to the Sony. I actually got the ZR600 which is a ZR500 with still image camera function added. The Canon has results that are every bit as good as the Sony, and it cost me MUCH less. I view my results on a 55inch HDTV and the results are outstanding. The image stabilization is the smoothest you'll find in anything other than a Sony, or in any camera less than about $600 or $700. The menu system for manual control is easy to use, but the Auto or Easy mode works flawlessly so really there isn't much reason for me to ever go manual unless I'm trying to do some special effect or something. I see people list the bottom loading tape as a con, but I don't understand why. Really, as long as it's not inconvenient in some way, and it works like it's supposed to, who cares what end you put the tape in. The process of removing or changing a tape is very easy, it's quick, and it works well, so I don't see what the problem is. Battery life is pretty good too. Factory batteries from any camcorder won't last forever anyway, but this one does surprisingly good.
All in all, for the price, it's really hard to get a better mini-DV camcorder without jumping up into a whole new price bracket.
- 1 reply to this review
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for people who mount their camcorder to a tripod. It doesnt bother me & I doubt it would bother countless others...
Canon ZR500:
