Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is a nice camera overall, and can still comete with the newer camers with Flash or hard drive memory. The price is also a good selling point as well. The size is perfect and is light yet not cheap feeling. The zoom is nice and the picture is nice in multiple environments. The picture is dim when inside or in low light conditions, though. But for capturing family outings and events this camera does the job. Some disadvantages are that the camera does not default to widescreen, and the picture quality is set to the lower level to conserve battery level, so you need to configure the camera before using. The battery life is not that great, so you will need multiple batteries or buy a larger one. Also, if you live in humid climates, the condensation will cause the camera to shut down. There are sensors in the camera that will detect the moisture to prevent damage. While this is a nice feature to protect the camera, once this happens the camera will not turn back on for a long time. The manual explains this in detail, so this is no surprise to them. It has to do with the cassette mechanism, so this is where the flash or hard drive may be better. But overall this is a nice camera that will server your purposes until you can get a better camera.

I replaced my Sony HC28 with the ZR950 when it broke. First, the video quality in good light is very good, I really notice good qulaity in moving subjects, the 1MP really shines here. However, low light conditions lead to grainy material. The still images seem to be a novelty. It only takes 1MP stills so don't expect much here except for 1MP quality pictures. Grainy, blurry and not many variables to fine tune. If you don't need the still feature, I recommend the ZR930, it has the optional external mic jack so you can have better quality sound and no motor noise, but you have to carry the mic around which defeats the purpose of having a point and shoot camera. With that said, the audio quality is what you would expect, decent. The motor noise is minimal and I really have to listen hard to hear it so I am happy with that. The camers is a bit bulky and not quite as comfortable as the HC28, but the button placement is about equal. The LCD screen is large and the menus make sence. The battery is more flush with the camers body then the HC28. For the price you get a good camera, not great. I would give it more stars if it had better low ight performance, but that seem to be an issue with cameras in the price range.

Pros: Great video, great 48x advanced zoom, looks great, ease of use and Vista ready. Cons: None found. This is one of the best camera's on the market currently in this price range. Great video resolution and the ability to take photo's as well. The ability to zoom in on objects from far off and lots of extra's that most camera's do not offer. 1+ megapixel as well. Good luck finding a better camera with all these features at a price slightly under $300.

I purchased this a few weeks ago to be used by students for a project. It was really easy to use and the quality was very good. The major problem was that if you want to edit, you have to connect via firewire. This means that your pc or laptop was have the firewire connection/card. Most of the new machines have this, but if you have a pc or laptop that is a few years old you'll have to make another small investment. Sony is the only brand that allows you to edit via a usb cable. Other than this issue, you really can't go wrong with this camcorder.

This is a great camcorder, awesome price. I just bought this today and i can't stop using it. When in very low light, color is kind of reddish/greenish, but still good. I like the LCD light feature, but i wish it was brighter. It also has a really nice zoom. Remote is a good feature. Wish it came with the IEEE cable to transfer movies... but i bought one for like $8 on Ebay. This is an amazing camcorder... especially for the price

This Camcorder is a great bargain for what you get. It's easy to use and only has a couple of drawback; doesn't show good in low light and package does not include a DV cable. I would recommend this camcorder to someone who is operating on a budget for something that give you memories without breaking the bank.

Great product for the money spent.Easy to use and understand. Great sound and picture. Users manual is easy to follow and not filled with unnecessary information.

This is a solid camera for a great price. Has options for SD cards for still photos. Native wide screen support and decent battery life. Works great with iMovie. Still photos could be higher resolution, but this isn't meant to be a digital camera replacement. Pros: Great video, great 48x advanced zoom, looks great, ease of use and Vista ready. Cons: None found. This is one of the best camera's on the market currently in this price range. Great video resolution and the ability to take photo's as well. The ability to zoom in on objects from far off and lots of extra's that most camera's do not offer. 1+ megapixel as well. Good luck finding a better camera with all these features at a price slightly under $300.

This was a good little camera that is easy to use and is fun to use. It is small and compact so its easy. The zoom is great really good zoom very clear and smooth it quickly focuses and is good for what ever one might use it for.

I purchased this product to replace our previous camcorder. I have only had the camera for a few days, but based upon my usage so far I am dissappointed. Setting up the camcorder for use, i.e. setting the time, etc. is challenging. The directions are vague, and one has to use a "joy stick" to navagate the various icons and settings. I am a woman with small fingers and I had great difficulty navigating with the joy stick. I expect it will be near impossible for a man. I also found the zoom feature to move too quickly while filming. It makes the video look like it was poorly filmed. If I had it to do over again, I would not purchase this camera. I would look for a camera that is more user friendly for those of us who are amature photographers and are mostly interested in recording our children's childhoods.

I just opened up my new camera and it looks like I'll be taking it back tomorrow. I bought it to take video of my 6 month old baby. Its our first one and we didn't want to miss anything now that he is moving around more. That means we are shooting most of our videos inside. Our house is lit just like anyone else's. It certainly isn't a cave. We took our first video tonight. The video is very grainy. You can see red and green boxes all throughout any solid colors in the picture. It looks like a bad 80s music video. I compared it to my old 8 mm camera and this one is not even close to a camera that is 10 years old. I had heard that Canon has a great picture. Apparently it must be strong outside because it was aweful inside. Truly disappointing.

Fun way to remember your families memories. Also great for the price paid. New more advanced camcorders are out, but if you only need something to record a small child it is great.

Great camera for amateur videographer. Have had it for a few months and used it for a number of occasions already. Has a great zoom and captures clear sound (was actually most impressed with sound quality)! Will get about an hour and a half with the battery that is included with the camera. Highly recommend purchasing the Canon starter kit which includes a bag and longer lasting battery. Factor in having to purchase a firewire for faster import to Macs. Otherwise great camera.

This is a great camera for the money. I have had this camera for over two months and take it every where. It was will worth the money. Build very soild, and using the DV mini is the best way to record video in my opition compared to other methods like hardrive. Great product.

I'm so glad i bought it. I'm a video blogger and i filmed my first hit no problem at all. Its really amazing!! All of the crew (7) were able to use it(age 1o-11 i 11). it brought me many hits. It's lightwieght small and very easy to use.

This is a very good camera for a young aspiring director/filmmaker. I do not recommend this camera because of the 1mp quality, but I believe the Canon lens makes up for that. Best MiniDV camera for the price, but one of the $700 dollar miniDV cams that canon makes is better, the HV30/HV20. I love it... great for a yyoung person's first camcorder. havn't had to use a cleaning head yet, but be careful, there's two different tripod mounts on the bottom. STICK WITH CANON

I really love this camcorder! This is my first camcorder, and I've got the right choice! This is the best camcorder I've ever used in my life! I'm gonna use it a lot! :D

You can always count on cannon to provide an quality soluiton at a reasonable price. Very dependable and easy to use.

When I went to upload my videos from the camera to the computer, i went to go install the program I needed, which did NOT work, so the computer wouldn't read my camera as a recording device. On top of that, the picture quality is terrible.