Rating: 
Summary: small gadget video
Review: I have had the camera for three weeks and it was the best tool to take on vacation with the family. Its small size makes it easy to fit in a small pack. It takes great outdoor pictures and works well indoor. The auto focus does not work well on all indoor settings. It can be resolved by using the low light or spotlight manual settings.
Rating:
Summary: The truth about Canon Elura 50
Review: I just purchased the Elura 50 yesterday. Before I purchased this unit, I did some research online and found a bunch of bad reviews on its previous version Elura 40. I owned a PowerShot digital camera from Canon and because of its ease of use and good software interface with the computer, I decided to check into Canon camcorders. I walked into the store to check it out and was right away impressed with its small size. I spent sometime trying and finally decided the reviews I saw was questionable! I actually saw the one and only review posted on Amazon.com on the Elura 50 model and all other reviews were on the Elura 40. I can tell you now after buying that it is the most impressive camcorder I have experinced. The video was clear, no grainy effects, true to the color and brilliant. There was no motor sound that was suggested by other people. Whatever problems existed on the Elura 40 were not there on the Elura 50. I tested the camera using Auto on the outdoor, inside using low light setting, in quiet surroudning as well as noisy surrounding. I replayed using the camera, as well as connecting to the Plasma display. Everything was so perfect and the interface with the display unit was faultless. The video using Auto setting was impressive and the indoor shots were even more impressive. The colors were so vivid. I cannot believe my eyes the quality of the video and the sound was great. The menu and the controls are easy to use. My husband was standing 10 feet away from the camera and I could still catch his conversation on the video when I ran that on the audio receiver and plasma. I can say that the speaker sound when I did the replay on the camera was not very clear but if you think about it, why do anyone wants to use the camera for replay. It is best to run it on the TV or the plasma so that everyone can see. The great thing is when I replayed the video using the plasma, it automatically displayed using the wide screen format. I will highly recommend this unit to anyone. I decided to get this unit even with the bad reviews because the technology of these things are getting smaller and smaller and I didn't want to buy something that will be outdated in a year. I am not a video professional but the result I got was of professional quality!! This is the first time I got a camcorder from Canon, I used to own a JVC and I think Canon makes great product. I don't work for Canon and I am only an average housewife who loves to use new electronics.
Rating:
Summary: Great Deal for the Money
Review: I love my MiniDV. Had a JVC that I purchased years ago with basically the same functionality and it cost twice as much. Love the lowlight option. Although the movements are a little robotic the fact that you can see the action very well is a welcome sight after not being able to record low light situations with the JVC.
Most of the complaints here sound like professional photographers looking to do unbelievable things. If you want a good, basic MiniDV for not a lot of money, this is the camera for you. Some people are saying that the camera is flawed because it won't accept any tape and the door will not close. There simply is moisture on the tape and/or the heads and the camera is telling you to leave it open so it can get rid of the moisture!!! This often happens if you leave the tape in the camera when not filming. You don't have to take it out between shots but if you take the tape out when you're done with it the moisture issue will NEVER happen. If you forget, leave the door open for a few hours and it will then accept the tape.
Trust me. I've had a few of these MiniDV's and this one is a great buy!
Rating:
Summary: Maxwell Smart would LOVE this camera!
Review: I replaced a 7 year old analog Sharp camcorder with this unit last month. I had seen it in a retail shop in the spring, and watched the price come down to a very reasonable $$$$ at an online discounter. My goal was simply to get to the digital age. Boy, was it easy! I had this camera about 10 minutes before I was shooting still photos and within half an hour I had downloaded sharp looking pictures to my PC. The software that accompanies the Elura is very easy to install and use. I have been shooting the kids' soccer games, apple-picking here in New England, etc., and it seems to work with ease. If I had to nit pick I might say that the record button for video should be up at the forefinger position where the still photo button is, but this is a minor nuance. Dads will appreciate the smallness of the Elura especially as we usually have to tote so much other stuff on almost anything involving the family. The Elura fits in a large pocket. Battery life at 45 mins to 1 hour is fine! Who the heck wants to go home and watch 2 hours of little Susie's ballet anyway? I don't have a PC that will support the Firewire or IEEE1495 (or whatever) connection for downloading video to edit on a PC, but this is my goal, and it looks to be very easy from the above average (keep in this mind, the bar is low) user manual. I find the camera's balancing features take my "shakes" out of play, and record a steady picture. I think the low light critics must be filming in dark strip joints, because in my exciting "Dad" life I get fine pictures of birthday candle blowouts, etc. Yes, the motor does make a lot of noise, so if Susie is a concert pianist, you might have a concern. For the average soccer Mom or Dad, I recommend this camera with no reservations.
Rating: 
Summary: WORST CAM I HAVE EVER USED
Review: I Will Straight Get To The Point. This was a horrible experience! Specially Indoors, Pictures, like many are complaining is very very grainy and gloomy. Simply looks GREAT but works AWEFUL. I was totally embarassed by presenting this to my hubby Ifte...Went and changed it for a sony TRV22 !! Nothing like SONY !
Rating:
Summary: Terrible Experience - All Canon Digital Camcorders
Review: I would seriously rethink purchasing this camera, or any from Canon. There is a huge tape transfer problem with Canon Digital Camcorders. Bottom line is that a growing number of them have stopped working after only 7-10 hours of recording - usually just after the warrany expires. There are many theories as to why, but nothing has been resolved. Canon has not been helpful. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful camera, solid build, not so good for indoors..
Review: I would take a look at Cnet reviews before purchasing this camcorder. I ignored the low light performance issue and found out the difficult way. I discovered low light means general indoor lighting. This is a well built camera, easy to handle with it's compact design, lovely to behold and most likely the travelers ideal. But, if your going to take home movies in an indoor setting you may find your recordings riddled with grain and with little improvement when placing additional lighting. I also noticed a whirring motor noise picked up in recordings. As frustration set in while fiddling with the settings in an attempt to remedy the grainy video it just became magnified and down right annoying. Although, I will say this is a minor complaint in contrast to it's poor video in low light and would have been easily forgiven. Nevertheless, soon after, back in it's box it went. Btw, if you plan on purchasing this camcorder make sure you check the video quality through the camera video out to your television. Most folks not privy would never discern the low light issue through the Elura's 2" Lcd until it's too late when they decide to play back through the big screen. note: Don't let my negative review scare you off. This was suppose to be a gift for a family member and I just wasn't happy with it's indoor performance. Attributing to it's compact design, it's possible I may have kept it for myself for vacation trips and outdoor use only. good luck,
Rating:
Summary: quality video but make sure you have enough light!
Review: if you are going to shoot videos with plenty of light and you want a very compact camera, the elura 50 could be for you. however, if you plan on shooting low-light scenes, you'll be disappointed. there's not even an accessory shoe so you can use an external light source. pros:
- very small and lightweight: 1.9"W x 3.4"D x 4.2"H, 13.4 oz.
- very good video performance when you have enough light.
- uncluttered, easy to use menus.
- 10x optical zoom.
- 1 megapixel still capability. - progressive photo mode.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- allows some degree of manual control.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to SD card.
- as with most canon products, the printed manual is very good.
- digital image stabilization works well. cons:
- a couple of deal breakers for me: poor low light performance, and,
- no accessory shoe (to think that you would really need an accessory shoe for an external light given this camcorder's low-light performance).
- mic placement is on top of camcorder (most vertical camcorders do) which means it picks up the videographer's voice more readily.
- a greater capacity battery protrudes sideways from this camcorder's body, making holding this unit a bit awkward.
- the lcd is real small, only 2".
- you could do better on the still photo department. for example, sony's trv80 and trv70 and panasonic's PVDV953 have 2-3 megapixel capability but those camcorders are much more expensive.
- don't expect miracles from 1 megapixel stills.
- video too choppy with low light modes.
- motor noise can be heard when recording a very quiet room.
- the included 8MB SD card is unacceptable. be prepared to shell out more money for for more memory (at least 32MB). at this price point, i would recommend panasonic's gs70 or sony's trv33 or pc-105. although slightly bigger, i believe these camcorders offer a better package than the elura 50. peace.
Rating:
Summary: Great SMALL Camcorder
Review: If you want small you really can't do better for the price than the Elura 50. The picture quality is not as high as the larger camcorders on the market such as the Sony TRV series, but the Elura is 1/2 the size of those cameras. Easily fits in a small purse or bag and even in a larger pants pocket. This camcorder is the same size as our Canon G2 still digital. Connects perfectly with iMovie and does a great job of taking movies. I have used both this and the Sony TRV22, the Sony takes about a 20% better low light image, but like I said is twice the size.
Rating: 
Summary: Camera Broke after 1 Year
Review: Just after the warranty expired the CCD electronics failed on my camera redering it useless. Given all the other complaints on Amazon re: this model of camera I would advise against buying it as it appears to be unreliable.
| 
