Canon ZR60 Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Ease of use, small and compact, low price
Cons: Bad image quality at night or indoors, poor sound quality, poor warranty and service

I bought this camcorder after the RCA VHS-C camcorder I had had for 8 years needed a new battery. Instead of paying $40 for the new battery, I decided maybe it was a good time to shop for something new and updated. I was also in the market for a ...

Pros: Very easy to handle and use; great value for the street price (as of 4/04).
Cons: Noisy internal mic; problems in low light

I purchased the Canon ZR60 from a Gateway store that was closing in April 2004, for approximately half the list price. What a steal! The ZR60 is no longer being sold in many places, but it can still be had on-line, and it's definitely worth some ...

Pros: Many Features, Price, Lower Cost Accessories
Cons: Poor indoor picture/recording quality in lower light

I wanted to upgrade my 1995 Panasonic VHS C. The viewfinder was starting to act up and I decided I wanted something smaller, lighter and newer. I was looking to spend $400 - $600 price range. I looked at the Canon ZR60, Panasonic PV-DV203 and Sony...

Pros: Cheap price, decent video quality, ease of use.
Cons: Bad quality indoors and in low-light.

I was excited to purchase the Canon ZR60. I have always wanted a digital camera, and at only $400, it was a steal, right? I had done little research prior to purchase, basically just looking at a few different cameras and comparing them, rather than ...

Pros: Pass-through FireWire and digitizer. Good quality camera.
Cons: OK... low light video is only adequate.

I bought this at the "After Thanksgiving Sale" because of the Price and the Features. I have hundreds of hours of VHS and HI8 video tapes that I want to digitize and store on DVD/CD. (I was surprised how many "upper end" DVcam's do NOT have a ...

Pros: Great camera for the price.
Cons: Great camera, until it breaks.

Sure enough, about a month after the 1 year warranty expired, all I can record are vertical streaks. It still plays back fine, so I believe it's a problem with the CCD or associated electronics. This is nothing new. I had to return my cellphone ...

Pros: Excellent Outdoor quality video, image stabalizer, video effects
Cons: Humming sound, dismal photo quality, ripped off at Best Buy, night mode

I bought the Canon ZR-60 at Best Buy two hours before I left for London (I live near Dallas). I boug ...

Pros: Ergonomics, Options and price
Cons: Needs to be tweaked for low light conditions.

When I finally decided on the ZR60 I went through two different digital camcorders. First camcorder ...

Pros: clarity, digital effects, versatility, size, ease of use
Cons: battery, but you can always buy a better one, no good software is included

I bought this camera because I wanted a fun totable way to document anything from special occasions, to vacations, to just being silly with my friends. I knew it was small but I had no idea it would be this small! Its great, about palm size, and super...

Pros: Nice features but this camera is no good
Cons: Camera's CCD assembly broke in 6 weeks

I had mine for 6 weeks before it the CCD Assembly broke. USA warranty repair took a month to get my ...

Pros: Great video in good light. Some neat toys.
Cons: Poor video in lower light. Worthless after just over a year.

The Canon ZR60 was very impressive in good lighting conditions and a bit of a disappointment indoors. However, given the precious video we took of the family, I felt it was just fine for the price. Then, after about a year, it broke. The recording mode showed lots of white until it finally records no more. Electronics keep dropping in price, but does anything last anymore? A year of functionality for something costing $350.00 is pretty sad.

Pros: NONE
Cons: EATS TAPES.

I purchased this camera a couple of years ago and have been unhappy with it ever since. On the second use it "ate" a tape. I send it in for a factory repair and it continues to do the same thing. I have used it very little for fear of losing precious memories.

Also, Canon customer service was very poor. I would not recommend this product to ANYONE!!

Pros: Great Zoom, Good manual controls, inexpensive.
Cons: Poor indoor quality with typical home lighting. LCD doesn't show when image is grainy/noisy.

I picked up a ZR60 in Jan. 04 for a trip to Disney World. I immediately found indoor footage too grainy/noisy, but a little research on the Internet allowed me to get good quality video at Disney. Canon would have much better camera if it automatically defaulted to 1/60 shutter in lower-light situations (such as indoors). This setting alone will improve indoor footage.

Full-auto outdoors will give good video, but use the Sand & Snow mode for better exposure in snow or sand.

Indoors, turn on Spotlight mode to gauge how much light is available. If the image looks OK, use Spotlight mode to avoid the grain/noise problems. If Spotlight is too dim, set the white balance manually, set the shutter to 1/60, and lower the AE to between -.5 and -1.5 (so that image on LCD matches what your eyes see).

Once transcoded to MPEG2 on a DVD, the image noise and grain is not noticeable.

Avoid Low Light/Night modes unless using a tripod (and, again, lower the AE-Shift to get the image brightness where you want it).

If you buy a video light, get at least 15-20W.

Pros: ligthweight, easy to use
Cons: broke after just two years with minimal use, bad in low light

I didn't mind this camera until now I paid just around 300 for it two years ago, haven't used it too much but was also only happy with its outdoor images.

Its very lightweight and was easy to use. Just a few weeks ago while shooting the screen just went black and that was the last of it, it still records(audio) and it plays fine but no picture. Not sure how much and if its worth fixing.

I would go for a Sony from now on I love my pd-150 and I'm thinking about getting a PC-1000 for home movies types !!

Jen

Pros: cheap entry model
Cons: noisy motor, grainy picture in low light

OK for basic recording, but noisy motor, grainy picture leaves much too be desired. Entry model suitable for youngsters...throw away type camcorder.