Rating: 
Summary: What good is a camcorder which records no sounds
Review: A few years ago, we purchased a Canon Hi8 camcorder (ES1000). We used it mostly for family and trips and we were quite satisfied with it until a few months ago when its viewfinder went bad, showing total blackness and no view.We purchased another Canon camcorder, the digital ZR30MC, which was delivered to us from Amazon in November, just in time before we departed for our trip to my husband's class reunion and to meet the relatives he had not seen for many many years. We shot the videos of events and faces and said into the camcorder the names. Sad to say that upon returning home, all the vidoes have no sounds. Needless to say we were disappointed and frustrated. Amazon wrote to said that this should be taken care of by Canon. Canon told us to mail this ZR30MC camcorder to their repair shop. Will write again about the result.
Rating: 
Summary: this is a wonderful camera!!
Review: As a novice to the camcorder world I was very concerned and confused about the wide range of features and prices available in the market so, unusually for me, I took a little time and did my research. Boy am I glad I did, and I am especialy pleased with the result. The Canon is perfect and does everything I want. It's easy to use and the results have been extremely good, especially considering that I am really new to all this. It seems from the reviews I have read that most camcorders with built still photography features lack the quality of purpose built digital cameras, and while this is also true of my Canon, its not really an issue as I have several still cameras in 35mm and digital formats that I like to use. The quality of the video on the Canon is really very good. I do not have the needs of a serious hobbyist or professional but I still want something that gives good quality and I am very pleased. I am also very happy with the overall ergonimics of the camera and its ease of use. One of my first outings was a car trip out of NY city and I shot a lot of city shots from the car. The results were very satisfying. I have only used a few of the special features and have not done any editing yet but on first glance I found the instructions a little confusing but I put that down to my lackof experience.
I really have no negative comments, my only small niggle is the hinge on the little door that covers the DC power seems very flimsy and I sense it may snap one of these days but apart from that the camera is really sturdy In terms of value, after much research I feel I got a very good product at a fair price. I compared it to Sony and JVC products and felt that I bought a lot of quality and flexibility and saved over 200 dollars over the Sony without losing any features that I needed. So this has been a very gratifying experience and I look forward to using the camera for a very long time. I strongly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Consumer digital video still has a way to go.
Review: Despite advances in the consumer home-video field, it seems one area where we are still in the Commodore64 age. The specs are higher than they were for older analog models, but the actual resulting picture quality is only slightly better when conditions are perfect. Imperfect conditions can result in picture quality that is worse than that of analog camcorders. The CanonZR30MC tries to digitally sharpen data-compressed images. The result can be frustrating. If you have ever seen TV shows where they mask faces with that pixel effect, you get the idea. Obviously, the ZR30MC doesn't do it as severly, but it is very noticable. Because of this, you have to be very careful to shoot images without too much color contrast. Straight diagonal lines also present a problem. The image stabilizer is subtle. You'll only notice an improvement when zoomed-in tight. On the good side, the audio is very good. It can record loud live music without distortion. This camcorder also works well with iMovie software (connecting cable sold seperately $20). Basically, if you can shoot under ideal conditions, the CanonZR30MC provides good picture quality and very good sound. Under less-than-ideal situations (which is often if you don't record in a Hollywood studio), the camcorder leaves too many annoying artifacts in the picture. The softer image of an analog camcorder can look more natural than the mosaic look this camcorder often gives. Give this field a few more years and I think we'll see much better products coming out. It still has a way to go.
Rating:
Summary: Gotta get this one!
Review: Great size, excellent video quality and very easy to use. It's nice to not have to haul around a big video camera. This one fits in a coat pocket, a purse, or a back pack and doesn't get in the way. Don't let the small size fool you though! It has a lot of nice features, but keeps it simple...
I'm a satisfied customer!
--Mike from Portland, Oregon
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera
Review: Having recently purchased the ZR30MC, I highly recommend it to anyone considering purchasing a digital camcorder. There may be higher spec cameras available, but unless you are a professional, the new ZR series is likely to be all you need. Before purchasing I was worried about comments regarding the low light capability of the camera. However, I have found the low light ability more than adequate. Outdoors the camera is superb. The image stabilizer ser is also very effective. Well priced, great design, plenty of functions and easy to use, you can't go wrong with this model.
Rating:
Summary: The best ever
Review: I bought the canon zr30mc from a friend who was rushing for the canon xls and its the best thing i ever purchased in my entire life.
I filmed a documentary both indoor and outdoor and the quality is superb.
All you have to do is to make sure you set the auto exposure correctly and its the best.
If you want superb quality for a outdoor shot make sure you purchase a filter for the lens so that the sky doesn't look washed out.
Rating:
Summary: Good litte camcorder!
Review: I did a lot of research and finally decided to get the ZR30 camcaorder. I've been VERY happy with the results. Great design, very small, still pics, digital, and all other features are great! The only thing that is a "little bad" is the low light isn't that great. Just turn a light on and seemed to be fine. Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Small Unit, but excellent performance
Review: I got my camcorder two week ago. After reading some reviews I decided that the best review should be my own review on the field. The video quality is excellent, terrific, and the still picture feature is above a normal rate. It is small but fit pretty well on my hand. Very easy to use, good documentation and it design is beatiful. Do not loose time thinking ! You will love its performance !!!!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I have thoroughly enjoyed using my new Camcorder. The picture quality is excellent, and the still shots are good also, though less than photo quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Ignore my previous rant. This is a cool camcorder
Review: I must apologize for my previous review of the Canon ZR30. The review was rather negative, but the problem was in my ignorance--not the camera. I had complained that the recorded picture was too pixelated--That anything with hard edges was represented by over-sized wobbly digital blocks. This temporary problem, I since learned, resides in my iMovie editing software. iMovie cannot reveal the true quality of the digital footage. It simplifies the images to save processing power for editing. After reading "iMovie: The Missing Manual", I learned that the only way to see the true glory of a digital camcoder's video is to hook it up to a real television using an S-Link connection. By the way, videos edited in iMovie WILL still look great, but only after you dump the project back to the camcoder and then play the resulting DV through a real television. Merely exporting to Quick Time doesn't do it justice. Well, I finally tried the obvious and connected the ZR30 to my real television (duh?). It was a very pleasant surprise! Gone where the jagged pixels. The picture was very smooth--and I have a large screen to boot. Probably the main difference between the look of my footage and pro footage is in the lighting. Don't forget, real TV shows are shot under perfectly manufactured lighting conditions. My stuff shot in my house looks like... well... my dark house. I still find that the ZR30 requires more tweaking than my older Sony TRV did. The Sony was really idiot proof: Hit the red button to record. While the ZR30 does offer automatic modes, I don't feel that they work as well. On the other hand, you can manually adjust many of the parameters and get better results that way. The image stabling is of the optical variety. It's great because it doesn't interfere with the picture quality. It doesn't respond to bumps quite as quickly as electronic types, though, so some jerking still gets through. Just leave it on and try to be careful. I'm feeling really happy with my ZR30 now. Sorry if I mislead anybody with the previous review
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