Canon Elura 100 MiniDV Digital Camcorder

GREAT CAMCORDER FOR THE MONEY

Posted Mar 20, 2006 - I wanted a camcorder that was a few steps above entry level, but I didn't care about a lot of manual controls that I never used on may digital camera (Lumicon FZ5). So far I have used the camcorder twice inside, and three times outside (including the beach). Couldn't be happier. I have also burned a DVD on my computer of the videos I have made (you need a firewire port and a DVD burner on your computer to do this. Also a 4x6 pin firewire cord. I had planned on this before I bought the camera). Otherwise you will just have to plug the supplied AV cord from the camera into the TV. I didn't find the weaknesses mentioned above to be a real problem, although I may buy a spare battery later. So far this camera has been everything I had hoped. Cost me $309 plus shipping. Why buy a ZR700 or PV-GS39 with nearly half the pixels for about the same money?

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Good buy for the money

Posted Jul 12, 2006 - Nice little camera, good video performance (as expected). Didn't notice any extra noise, but may be just didn't try in a really quiet environment. The controls have different layout compared to ZR45MC I had before, but it's quite easy to get used to it. Good thing there is an integrated lens cap, bad thing you have to remember open and close it manually (just wonder why they didn't implement it to open automatically the moment you turn the camera on in recording mode and close when the camera is turned off). Low light performance is acceptable but i think the external LEDs are useless in most cases.

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Elura 100 MiniDV Digital Camcorder

Posted Apr 17, 2006 - I read the review on amazon.com and was pretty satisified by the quality and overall performance of the DV. Some people were complaining about the indoor performance of Elura 100 but i found that the image quality was pretty good under reasonable light. The really frustrating thing is that it will take a few seconds to refocus if the object/DV moves. You will get blurry image during the refocus time.

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excellent first camcorder

Posted Jun 8, 2006 - This is my first camcorder so I don't have anything to compare it too. Image quality in bright light is excellent but declines dramatically in low-light or indoors. I shoot my videos in wide-screen mode and I can't take still images in that mode. There are also limitations on still image resolution while in video mode. There are different limitations in tape mode vs SD-card mode. Overall I'm happy with this camcorder. Antishake stabilizer seems to work well. I'm also pleased with the smoothness of zoom-in and zoom-out action of the sliding-bar zoom control.

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A wonderful, compact DV camcorder!

Posted Mar 10, 2006 - I have used this camcorder for a couple of weeks now after I bought it from Dell at 284 dollars. It is cheap but with DVD recording quality. Also Canon lenses are always highest standard. Only complain is not clear when shooting at low light, so strongly suggest to turn all the avaliable lights on.

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Happy So Far

Posted Apr 30, 2006 - I needed a handy camera for family functions- the old Sony which had worked for 10 years was just too clumsy when traveling...I was swayed by Consumer Reports, which listed last year's Canon model close to the top of their list...So far I have been playing with and it works as promised...I wish it came better equipped- for example, I had to buy a firewire cable to connect to my wife's Mac. But all in all it looks like it will fit our bill

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Elura 100 is one of the best value camcorder out there

Posted Apr 15, 2006 - I've had this camcorder for almost 1 month now. I got it for $285, only to find that after 1 week I bought it with coupon the price goes down to $264 :(. Anyway not a bad price at all for 1/5" CCD camera which is better than 1/6" CCD that lower end Panasonic and Sony camera use. Sharper pictures and better low light perfomance is the advantage of this camcorder. Battery light has been awesome, I've got I think almost two hours on single charge although it is an internal battery and it is a start stop operation, not continuous. I have tried to transfer to DVD using firewire connection to my laptop, and the final DVD is awesome. There is no noise whatsoever on my final DVD. It did noisy though when playback the MiniDV tapes on camcorder itself (directly connected to TV). However I don't think I will playback on camcorder a lot, because I think it will ruin the motor mechanism (especially when rewinding in the camcorder too - always use DV rewinder). So for my purpose which is capture video to laptop and burn to DVD, this camcorder is perfect. Grainy still picture is something I expected with this cheap cam, even an expensive one doesn't have a good still picture, compared to stand alone digital camera. SO it is only for emergency, for still I use SD-200. Overall I'm very pleased with this purchase and would like to recommend to others.

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Elura 100: Nice little camcorder

Posted May 22, 2006 - I have been using this camera for more than four weeks now. So far, it has been a satisfactory product. This little camcorder has very nice video quality and resolution. Before buying this camera, I have used JVC GRDX77 for quiet sometime and Sony HC32 for few weeks. Having used these different camcorders, I can say Elura 100 has been the best among these camcorders. Since, I bought my camcorder to capture videos of our newborn son so I have used the camcorder inside my apartment most of the times. Under low light conditions, Elura 100 produced less grainy video compared to other camcorders. Under daylight conditions, the video quality has been awesome. Two LED lights on Elura 100 are not of much use as it tends to loose original colors and the videos turn blue. I do not have much complain about it as this was the case with other camcorder which also had two LEDs. It may be helpful when shooting under dark condition. There is indeed some motor noise but I did not find it to be a big problem as I have noticed similar noise on other camcorders as well. Those who noticed very loud noise may have a faulty product. I do not like the location of zoom lever as I tend to loose my grip when operating zoom lever. May be I will get used to it over time. Overall I am satisfied with this camcorder.

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Canon Elura 100

Posted May 2, 2006 - I got it very cheap from Dell. The video quality is great for the price, although in the low light the twin LED may be not enough for the quality video. I didn't test the photo shooting yet, because I have a Canon 5 Mp for that purpose. But it could come in handy.

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Excellent Purchase

Posted May 2, 2006 - I just love this Lil boy. I have a Sony HC40 and got this as a gift. But the look and feel (and performance) of this one is so much better than the Sony and it costs half as much as I paid for the Sony two years back. Too bad I have to part with it :) The camera is a handly too, so is the mic input. The only one I can think of is that it doesn't do so well in low light conditions, but thats not a bother for me as I would be using it in well lighted conditions only. The other problem is that it does no transmit video over the USB port. So, you would need a Firewire card & cable setup or get a kit (from Kworld) to get the video over the AV output.

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Almost top notch

Posted Jun 30, 2006 - I love the camera's small size and the native widescreen recording. I have a new 50" plasma and the old 8mm was just too hard to watch. This camera shows a beautiful picture, DVD quality in good recording situations, and that was my primary buying concern. It records well in low light, very satisfactory. I am converting my old analog 8mm tapes to DVD's, (and have been recruited to do the whole family's tapes). I had been using a (Pinnacle) USB capture device, but the output quality from this camera's analog/digital converter is so much better that I have been investing the time to re-master the old tapes over again. I may even try converting some of my old VHS movies to DVD. It has features for manual control that I have barely touched on as well as an "easy" setting for my wife and kids. Its small size is really nice too. Price/value, I think it is on top of the curve. I could have spent a little less and got a worse picture, but in real terms - the price difference about the same as a tank of gas, so I went for it. I also strongly considered the Optura S1, but ratings were scarce and it was hard to tell what you get for the extra dollars. I can't imagine that there is much diffence in the video, but it does have higher resolution for stills. Size and other features are so close, I would pick the Elura 100 unless you need the better still photo resolution.

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Could be a great budget camcorder, but noise on some is a big problem

Posted Apr 10, 2006 - This camcorder has a lot going for it in terms of the video quality and the important features. Unfortunately it has two problems, one big, and neither of which should be on a Canon product: 1. the big problem is the noise that the internal mic picks up on the tape. worse on some than on others, but a real problem. 2. the second is the design of the controls. it's OK, and you get used to it, but there's no reason they couldn't have done a better job. all in all it can still be a very good camcorder for the money if you can find one that is less noisy.

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Great little digital camcorder

Posted May 1, 2006 - This mini dv camcorder is great for family video. It is light and small with easy navegation buttons so that you can control it easily in one hand. It has a large CCD size which means it can take more light and has better performance in indoor environment. The still image size can reach 1152x864. It offers manual shutter speeds like 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, ... It has both USB and firewire but USB 2.0 can only used to transfer still images. Video footage can be downloaded by firewire. This is a very good camcorder for home use.

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A good buy overall

Posted Jul 11, 2006 - Good video quality, reliability, ease of use, and compact size. Unfortunately, images taken in low light (both still and video) tend to be grainy. The illumination light is not very powerful. Overall, a good buy.

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Hi please never mind for not writing review after ...

Posted Jun 21, 2006 - Hi please never mind for not writing review after receiving the product. product is in very good condition as mentioned during purchase and I would highly recommend purchase products thru price grabber.

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