Digital Video Camera & Camcorder Review

The vibrant color of a summer sunset, the exhilarating action of a championship goal, and the tender moment of a newlywed kiss are all preserved in spectacular color, clarity and detail by the ZR100. Canon’s most affordable, yet exceptionally powerful, digital camcorder brings together a variety of advanced features in one stylish package.

CNET has an editor review on the Canon ZR100 Camcorder and has a rating of 5.8 out of 10. and writes: “With a list price of just $299 and online prices even lower, the Canon ZR100 proves that digital moviemaking lies within the grasp of even the most budget-challenged buyers. Although this MiniDV camcorder lacks certain amenities–most notably photo capabilities–it shoots decent-quality video, sports a 20X optical zoom, and makes life easy for novices. Alas, it delivers the same noisy, jittery low-light performance as its pricier siblings, the ZR200 and the ZR300. If you can live with that, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by what the ZR100 offers for the money.”

CamcorderInfo has a review on the Canon ZR100 Camcorder and writes - “It appears that the new ZR100 has only a couple major upgrades, the extra 20x optical zoom Canon squeezed into that lens barrel, the price reduction, and the smaller design. Additionally, Canon made a major down grade by removing the cold accessory shoe from atop the camcorder. Judging by the frankness and openness in their recent interview with Camcorderinfo news staff, I would venture a guess that Canon will address the low light issue when it’s the most cost effective. Fair enough, if my data showed that 90 percent of shooting took place in plenty of light, I’d put my money there as well. So, for the rest of you 10 percent, which is surely millions of users, holding out for a ZR model that tears it up with little or no available light, you’ll just have to wait. The ZR100 and the rest of the ZR line up appears to be more of the same with minute adjustments and tweaks.”

ConsumerGuide has a review on the Canon ZR100 Camcorder and writes - “One of the latest ZR camcorders, the ZR100 offers the same ease of handling as previous versions, although Canon has made some improvements to the unit’s styling and feature set. This MiniDV camcorder is marginally smaller and lighter than the older ZR models, and it sports a smart metallic finish. More important, though, are the upgraded features, such as a 16:9 widescreen recording mode that is normally found only in Canon’s higher priced Optura models. The camera offers a 1/6-inch, 340,000-pixel (effective) imager in standard 4:3 model, but in 16:9 mode the resolution is boosted to 450,000 pixels. The widescreen mode can be used with the camera’s image stabilization system and in both Program and Easy Recording modes. To ensure the ZR100 shoots exactly what the user is seeing, the 2-2/5-inch color LCD screen offers a widescreen letterbox-style display.”

Further Canon specs here

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