Rating: 
Summary: Tape jamming problem
Review: I purchased this camcorder in November and have successfully used 4 tapes. Very easy to use and compact. Most still pictures ended up being dark, but in regular daylight most video was of good quality. Last month, I inserted a brand new tape and it ended up jammed. I couldn't eject it and the camera wouldn't perform any other function. I returned it to the place of purchase (where I had an extended warranty) and all they could do was send it back to Canon for repair. I figured this was no big deal, until I did some research. Seems that the tape jamming problem is a reoccurring problem. A friend has the same model and they have sent it to the factory twice and it still isn't working. If you surf the review boards on different sites you will see others reporting the same problem. I hope Canon can fix our camcorder, but if this is a known problem that can't be fixed, they should recall this model. I encourage anyone else who encounters this problem to post a review and pressure Canon to address the issue.
Rating: 
Summary: Bright, light and zooms in tight
Review: I'm very impressed with the image quality, the display quality and the combination of intelligent automatic settings with the freedom to adjust the picture how you'd like it. The camera is unobstrusive in its weight and size. It works perfectly with the firewire card/DV editing package that I bought. A great tool for a new (and addictive) hobby.
Rating:
Summary: Great set of features, but flawed
Review: I've recorded about 20 minutes with my brand new ZR25 and have already had to send it back to Canon twice for repairs for an identical issue. When the camera was brand new, I had recorded 15 minutes worth of tape when the recording and playback became distorted. While playing tapes back, four horizontal, pixelated lines would scroll down the screen and render the image unwatchable. The sound playback was also garbled beyond comprehension. I called Canon and they said to try a head cleaner. A $16 head cleaning tape later, the problem persisted. I called back and Canon said to try a new tape. I bought two brand new tapes ($14) and neither made a difference. Then I called Canon back and asked them if they would replace the camera and reimburse me for the cost of the head cleaning tape, which did not solve the problem. They refused on both counts. Though I had used it for a mere 15 minutes, Canon insisted I send the camera in for repair--and they would not reimburse me for the cost of shipping, thank you very much. $25 worth of shipping and insurance (and related hassle) later, I got the camera back from Canon. For the first 6.5 minutes of recording, the problem seemed resolved...and then the garble came back. Once again, the images have pixelated distorted bars running across the screen. Canon says I have to send the camera back yet again--shipping at my expense--for a second round of "repairs." Considering that I bought this camera when our child was born three months ago, and that the camera has not allowed me to record more than 10 minutes of our baby without 4 giant stripes perforating his body, I'm not satisfied. The camera's low reliability, failure to serve me in recording my child's infancy, and Canon's unwillingness to replace the camera or pick up shipping costs show a surprising Canon unwillingness to do right by their customers. I'd pass on this model and go with one of the other brands and models available on Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: My husband and I were expecting our first baby in January of 02, so we started looking (and looking...) for a digital camcorder. The camcorder had to be able to take still pictures for e-mailing, because all of the grandparents live out of state. After checking Consumer Reports and reviews online, we decided that this camera would fulfill all of our needs for the price range we could afford.
We have had our Canon for almost 6 months now, and we absolutely love it. The video is crisp, and even transfers well to VHS (for the grandparents!) We haven't had any problems with a humming noise, like others have mentioned. We love the LCD screen, but sometimes it is hard to see well in bright light. The still pictures sometimes come out grainy, but that's only if it is really dark. We have found that we use the "fine" setting for the digital stills, and they turn out well, and if necessary, we use the "low light" function. Then they turn out great. We knew that we weren't going to get a high-end perfectly crisp picture from this (since it was first and foremost for video), but were surprised at how well the pictures do turn out. Originally, the Canon was just going to be for snapshots to send online, but we haven't used our "regular" camera since we got it!
All of the relatives love our camera too, and want one of their own now. We just need to get a Firewire in our computer to send video over the internet, and we'll be all set.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent camera for price
Review: The first thing to get out of the way is that this camera - like all other cameras that have ever existed and will continue till the end of the universe - will not produce good pictures in low light. Why is this surprising to so many of the users? The limitations of film and now electric storage are such that images in low light will not be as resolvable or as colorful in low light as in "normal" daylight. Any 1st grader would know this!!!
This so caled isue aside, I found the features and ergonomics of the canon far better than any other camera in this price range. I tried the Panasonic DV101, Sony TRV30 and an RCA , and the Canons layout of buttons, small size (it could literally fit in a large shirt pocket) , excellent lcd screen, and s-video output made this the best deal of the bunch. The differnece in sound between this and an analog recorder is astounding - its much more crisper and cleaner (contrary to another previous reviewers remarks about hum/whirring - I taped a very quiet room once and didn't hear a thing on replay). I also took this picture indoors for a family get together at a restaurant and had very little if any graininess.
I have only haad this camera a few weeks but wouldn't give it back for anything. Its so handy I can take it anywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: The only positive thing I can say about this video camera is that it is small and easy to use. The outdoor picture quality is mediocre and the indoor quality is awful. One of the biggest problems is the fact that the auto focus takes far too long to activate and even when activated, the picture is not as sharp and in focus as I would expect from a digital video camera. This problem is even worse indoors. In average to bright indoor light, the picture is grainy and out of focus. My old Sony Hi-8 Handycam took much better videos. Unfortunately, it broke. While I would not recommend the Canon ZR25, I didn't see any other digital video cameras in the stores that looked any better. The Sony pictures looked even worse than the Canon, as the reviews here on ...(the website)support. Perhaps the consumer digital video cameras are not "ready for prime time." I would recommend sticking with Hi-8.
Rating:
Summary: Great camcorder/camera
Review: The ZR25MC is a great camcorder and camera. The pictures do not have the resolution that you would find on your digital cameras. It only supports still pictures up to something like 640 X 480 (this is true with most DV camcorders). Everything is absolutely great about this camera except for indoor recording. It's VERY grainy and doesn't have near the quality that it could have. Outdoor shots are awesome. You can tweak so many settings on this thing it's unreal. Manual focus is a bit bogus because it is done with a small scroller thingy on the left side of the camera. This should be done with the lens or somewhere where your right hand (which is already on the camera) can reach it. You can fit about 50+ pictures on the memory that comes with the camera (8 mb). Taking pictures is SLOW. Once a picture is taken, you must wait 5+ seconds for the camcorder to do something about it (i.e. Save it). To transfer the pictures from your card to your computer, you must do one of two things.
1. Buy a Multimedia card reader
2. copy the images from the card to the tape and capture the tape onto your computer. Once it is captured on your computer, you'll have to grab the frame and save it.
I know that most of the things I've mentioned here are negative, but I must emphasize that this is a good camera otherwise! Now, I just need some creative people around so that I can make some movies!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Camera for the Average User
Review: This was my first video camera, and I spent several weeks of researching before I purchased it. I wanted a general-purpose camera that I could use for vacation shots, family events, etc. The main features I was looking for were portability and price. The ZR25MC seemed to be the best alternative. I have used it for several months now and am totally satisfied. After reading some of the other reviews, I just wanted to add my two cents on a couple points... * Low-light. The low-light recording of this camera is not bad, but it's not great either. I primarily use the camera in the Auto mode, though there are manual settings for shutter speed and white balance. The "Low-Light" mode is pretty effective, but it slows down the shutter speed which gives the video a pseudo slow-motion effect. This may not always be suitable for what you're filming. The auto-focus sometimes has trouble if things really get dark, but once it gets dialed in at a certain distance, it's ok. I have gotten acceptable recordings in a dimly lit church and on a city street at night. They looked a little dark the first time I viewed them through the LCD, but after I dubbed over to a VHS tape the picture was pretty good. Nevertheless, if low-light quality is critical, you'll want to look elsewhere (or at least invest in a light). * Image stabilization. This has always worked pretty good for me. I've had it on the back of a motorcycle zipping through downtown Hanoi and cruising over the waves of Lake Minnetonka in a 15 foot boat. Both videos turned out great. * Zoom. My brother's Sony Digital8 has a 450x zoom that really seemed to work good. The ZR25MC gets pixelized bad past about 80x. I've locked the zoom at 40x max and I have not yet had a reason to go past that. If you KNOW that the zoom is a critical feature, look elsewhere. * Stills. The ZR25MC takes e-mail quality stills (I got a free MMC reader with my camera). They also look good in 'slideshow' mode when the camera's hooked up to a TV. This is typical of all camcorders I've looked at. If you need hi-res stills, you'll need a dedicated digital camera. * Battery life. You'll get more than a tape's worth if you're using the viewfinder. Constant use of the LCD will suck the standard battery dry in about 30-40 minutes. * Portability! As I mentioned earlier, this was the main reason I purchased this camera. I had hefted around the company's Floppy Disk Mavica on several business trips to take stills. Now I can get digital video and sound, PLUS decent-quality stills in about the same footprint. In fact, I carry it with me in a regular camera bag. My opinion is.. what good is a camera with a million features if it's so big you don't want to take it anywhere? BOTTOM LINE: If you're an average Joe looking for a compact camera that you can record good quality video, sound, and stills, you will not be disappointed with the ZR25MC.
Rating: 
Summary: Great while it lasted
Review: We bought the Canon ZR25 right before our daughter was born. It took excellent video but was slightly grainy and did have some problems with it trying to focus on other objects. We could live with that because it was so easy to use. However, now I've been working on doing some video capture with my PC and it just ate my daughters 6 month old tape. I figured I'd better not put any of her other tapes in until I tried it out with a new tape. That was a good decision. Now the camera won't play or record and just gives me a "remove tape" message. I checked with the store where we purchased the camcorder and they say it starts at $199 to get it repaired. From reading other reviews.... it's probably not worth it!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great while it lasted
Review: We bought the Canon ZR25 right before our daughter was born. It took excellent video but was slightly grainy and did have some problems with it trying to focus on other objects. We could live with that because it was so easy to use. However, now I've been working on doing some video capture with my PC and it just ate my daughters 6 month old tape. I figured I'd better not put any of her other tapes in until I tried it out with a new tape. That was a good decision. Now the camera won't play or record and just gives me a "remove tape" message. I checked with the store where we purchased the camcorder and they say it starts at $199 to get it repaired. From reading other reviews.... it's probably not worth it!!!!
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