Canon ZR45MC Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Great hand held, excellent ergonomic, good video quality, excellent zoom
Cons: controls and functions can be difficult to learn

So, what makes a good camera? With the hundreds of various video cameras and company’s manufacturing them, its can be tricky to find the best on for you. Your best bet is to research well, because it is an investment!

After doing my own...

Pros: Compact, stylish, easy to use, the price is unbeatable for what it is!
Cons: Still pictures could have better resolution.

This camcorder is just plain awesome. It will replace your camera, webcam, and any old camcorder you have! I needed a camcorder for a video class that I'm taking in college and I have never owned a camcorder, so I didn't know where to really start when...

Pros: Stylish, comfortable, easy to use, Good pictures "not Great", Price
Cons: Horrible motor noise when recording to tape

First, I am not a professional videographer. I do not have a working knowledge in f-stop, shutter speeds, slow zoom, optical this, electronic that, and so on, and so on. What I do know is what I want in a camcorder from an average persons perspective....

Pros: video and photos, price, weight, size, several connection options
Cons: low quality photos, non-intuitive controls

Features
Features on the camera include Firewire (IEEE 1394) for transferring video, and USB for transferring photos. Photos are stored on MultiMediaCard or SD Memory Card. Video is of coursed stored on mini DV tape, which is about the only...

Pros: Great size, design, weight. Perfect price point for features.
Cons: Motor noise.

Before purchasing the ZR45, I had read many reviews here and on other web sites, that said the motor noise on these units was so loud, that the tape would record it. I also found an equal number of posts disputing this fact.

I bought a ZR 45...

Pros: Cheap. Compact. Easy to Use.
Cons: Looks. Above Average Video (could be better, though). Poor stills (minor)

I bought this camera mail-order for less than $500 and got the video editing software free.

I'm not going to delve into the fancy features and other stuff it can do, just the results of our informal and unscientific stress-testing.
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Pros: Compact and easily held/carried, Easy to use, Very good movies
Cons: Poor still shots, Battery life acceptable at best, Zoom controls not great

I have had this camcorder for 4 months, and have used it mainly for filming family events with digital editing, and wanted something very portable. Overall, it has been excellent in my first 5-6 hours of filming! Other reviews I have read complain...

Pros: Lightweight, Small, Comfortable
Cons: Poor Still Photos unless you have steady hand or tripod

I have had the camera for about 5 months now. I bought it for my honeymoon which is in June 2003. We wanted a small, high quality, fashionable, easy to use camera. The only thing I regret with this camera is the addition of the digital camera or still...

Pros: price, size, features
Cons: standard battery life, users manual

I am a first-time camcorder owner, so I did a lot of research before buying this model. After reading lots of reviews, I narrowed my choices down to the Canon ZR45 and the Sony TRV18. The Canon was smaller, lighter, cheaper and fit better in my hand...

Pros: compact and lightweight
Cons: fair video quality, camera sound broke first 3 weeks of light use.

This Canon camera is surprisingly disappointing. having used Canon products over the years, I expected a high quality product.

Unfortunately, the picture is at best mediocre, and the sound failed on the first cassette I used. Just when I...

Pros: easy to use, a plethora of features, visually pleasing
Cons: buzzing sound when playing back footage

There are so many different brands and types of camcorders on the market that it is indeed hard to pick one these days.

But this is the one to get. It is a great deal for the price and all the stuff it can do. It is also much easier to...

Pros: Small size and good video pictures
Cons: Menus are not intuitive

After much research, I recently took delivery of the Canon ZR45MC camcorder. After having had a week to play with my new arrival, I have to say that I am suitably impressed. Considering that it cost all of $545, the unit performs extremely well. The...

Pros: Many features, compact size
Cons: Very loud and annoying humming noise during playback and record

Sorry, I found out that my review of this camera was accidentally placed on the Canon ZR50 site. My apologies to the Canon ZR50 (never apologized to an inanimate object before), but I would doubt it's much different than the 45. Here is the review:...

Pros: Comfortable size, many options, great price, easy to use.
Cons: Instructions a bit difficult to follow.

We researched camcorders and tried out many models. We picked this one for the basic features we needed and the reasonable price for it's many options. It does much more than we needed, but the extra options are so much fun to use. Its very easy to...

Great camera. But DO NOT BUY without trying it out at your local store and not just looking at its cool appearance. Cannot believe Canon would sell this when it makes such an annoying buzz that it gets onto the tape and you cannot get around it. They should have waited rather than try and put it on the market.