Canon ZR850 Mini DV Digital Camcorder

1.07MP, 35x Opt, 1000x Dig, 2.7" LCD - MPN: 1878B001

Description: Around the world, the name Canon means optical excellence, advanced image processing and superb performance. And Canon digital video camcorders are no exception.Whether you're shopping for your first camcorder, or would like to upgrade from analog to digital, the new ZR camc... read more

Around the world, the name Canon means optical excellence, advanced image processing and superb performance. And Canon digital video camcorders are no exception.Whether you're shopping for your first camcorder, or would like to upgrade from analog to digital, the new ZR camcorders are a perfect balance of style, performance and affordability. The ZR digital camcorders give you a brilliant Genuine Canon 35x Optical Zoom lens, Canon's advanced image stabilization system, Widescreen HR recording , DIGIC DV image processing, Joystick controller, and Level and Grid Markers .The results are brilliant video and digital photos that you can easily share with family and friends.The ZR850 is the top of the line of ZR camcorders. This new addition to the ZR family includes a 1.07 Megapixel CCD, along with an array of features that turn your camcorder into a digital still camera, including 9 Point AiAF (Auto Focus), Progressive Photo, Simultaneous Photo Recording, Special Scene Modes, and Image Effects. It is also compatible with SD HC (High Capacity) memory cards for storing even more of your images. A built-in video light ensures that regardless of the conditions, your subject will be clearly seen. With the ZR850 you get all of these exciting features, plus its ease-of-use makes it the perfect solution for capturing all of life's precious memories. minimize

AT&T - Guess which gift is on their list? Holiday gifts under $20* from AT&T. Wide variety of devices to choose from. *Restrictions apply. Get your Gift.

Sort Reviews by: Most Useful | Rating | Date

jiangzhenye from WI

Member Since
Mar 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

Good enough for me so far

Strengths:

Wide Screen/wireless control/manual lens cover

Weaknesses:

Joystick/illumination light/PAL-NTSC non-compatible/No firewire cable

Posted Jun 13, 2007 - I bought this camcorder to welcome my son, who is hopefully to be born in a couple of days. I tried it for two weeks. It works fine so far. 1. The color of video on the LCD monitor is natural. 2. I have not noticed the motor noise so far. 3. The wide screen feature is a good match for my computer's wide screen display. I don't know whether it will work with my future widescreen TV yet:) 4. I am still concerned about the joystick controller: it is always not easy to press; it was known to be easy to broke. 5. It is a kind of complicated to turn on and off the illumination light. I chose ZR850 mainly for this light. Since it is not easy to turn it on, I probably will not turn it off. 6. I tried to play a mini DV cassette with the content of my wedding. Unfortunately, the cassette was shot in PAL format. This NTSC canon ZR 850 can not play it correctly. 7. I have not tried the 1394 connection yet since there is no firewire cable included in the package. I will try it later when I get one cable.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

JeffysWorld from LA

Member Since
May 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 3 Days of experience with this product

Awesome Camera! Great for Home Use

Strengths:

Easy to use interface, very light weight, bright screen.

Weaknesses:

Light isn't too bright, a little confusing when importing into windows, P and Easy still confusing.

Posted May 4, 2007 - This is a pretty good camcorder! It definitely replaces my 8mm one. The video quality is great and is has a stereo mic to record left and right. The pull-out screen is very bright and useful for vlogging. The buttons on the pull-out screen are kinda confusing to understand. You push it one way and it does one thing, you push it another way and you shut the screen off! Also, there's a P-Easy button which I still don't understand. The manual isn't very informative either. Overall, for home use, it's a very high quality camera. I would recommend it to those who want to shoot home movies and don't want to spend thousands on super ultra cameras.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

N/A

Canon zr850

Strengths:

size, optical quality, features, price

Weaknesses:

No external mic, included software is garbage

Posted Feb 15, 2008 - An incredible dvcam for the price. Slight zoom noise, but image quality for this price is amazing. Even low light is very acceptable, even though the experts pan the camera. Stills are good enough if you can't carry another still cam.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

hc0312

Member Since
Mar 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Week of experience with this product

Canon ZR850

Strengths:

Easy to use. Great price. Great image quality even in low light. Overall impressed with the camera.

Weaknesses:

The only thing that would have made it more convenient is if the light was a manual switch instead of the menu option.

Posted May 20, 2007 - Overall very happy with the camera. Considering such a low price, the image quality is very good and the camera is easy to use. Was up and running in no time. It is small and easy to maneuver with. It is also very light weight. I have read other reviews saying it didn't perform as well in low lighting but I find it is just fine. Then again, I am comparing it to my other camcorder (sony DCR-IP5) and it is brighter in low lighting.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

cindymchen

Member Since
Mar 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Week of experience with this product

cindy

Strengths:

good camcorder, good price and light wight.

Weaknesses:

small battery, no analog coverter

Posted Mar 23, 2007 - I like Canon products. I research different brand and many type of camcoders. I choose Mini Canon ZR850, because it is smaller,only 13oz and feel like it worth over $300. It is very easy to operate,you don't need to be profesional. but, battery is to small and no analog coverter. so, I need to spend another $99 to buy extra battery, charger, carrying case and tripod.

93% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

poppoya from CA

Member Since
Jan 2006

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 30 Days of experience with this product

Canon ZR850-User Friendly Palm-Size Camcorder

Strengths:

Wide screen mode, built-in lens cap, easy menu with a joystick, built-in light, 1.07MP video quality, captures 1,152x864 JPEG images.

Weaknesses:

Still poor low light performance (more improved than the previous years' ZR models,though), no analog in, no accessory shoe or microphone input.

Posted Mar 11, 2007 - ZR850 gives the best video quality among camcorders in this price range. The camera's 1.07MP CCD sensor makes a noticeable difference in comparison to 680k cameras. The easy control with a joystick makes this camera user friendly. ZR850 gives a choice of 16:9 and 4:3 recording and captures JPEG images at pixel resolution up to 1,152x864. ZR850 lacks an analog-to-digital converter, which may be an important consideration for some. This is an excellent camcorder, over all, and I'm very satisfied with it.

90% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

htchen76 from TX

Member Since
Sep 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 2 Weeks of experience with this product

worth the money

Strengths:

the price is not bad with coupon , review rebate and fatcash

Weaknesses:

Posted Apr 27, 2007 - Nowdays, the price of electrics decreases a lot.......so...do not buy something very expensive. but something worth the money. ZR850 is one. works great...images not bad. Easy to use and prefect for family use. Battery is indeed too small.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

bryce0

Member Since
May 2006

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Days of experience with this product

Canon ZR850

Strengths:

Affordable. A good starter camera. Nice added features (SD card capabilities). Good Zoom (35X). Fairly easy to use

Weaknesses:

The camera should really come with a DV (firewire) cable. Video transfer quality wasn't superb (but it wasn't bad either). Needs an included program included for digital video capturing.

Posted Oct 16, 2007 - This is a good starter camera. It was affordable and gives you a good value. I was a little disappointed with the quality of the video captured digitally. This could however be a result of having a little older computer (5 years old). I also can't believe that it doesn't come with a firewire. It isn't as easy to use as maybe some other models, but it is easy to use. The LCD isn't amazing, but it definitely gets the job done. Video coloring is pretty good. In summary, I think it is a good camera for someone who is on a tight budget like me, but if high quality video is your top priority you may want to look into something else. Video quality is good, but not great. Also there is a high pitched sound in playback that I think is the sounds of the camera itself as it is recording, so that is a small set back as well. All and all I am pleased with the camera, but I will definitely be getting another one when my budget allows for such.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

ucf99eng

Member Since
Feb 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 14 Days of experience with this product

Works great so far

Strengths:

Ease of use. Compact. Comfortable fit.

Weaknesses:

Does not come with MiniDV tapes or Firewire cable.

Posted Sep 27, 2007 - This is my first camcorder. I did some searching and wanted something under five hundred dollars. I got this one for about two hundred fifty. I've had it for about 2 weeks. I bought a Kingston 2GB Elite Pro Secure Digital Card to go with this and it's working well. I shot a 9 minute video onto the card and it recorded it in AVI format instantaneously from what I could see. You use the USB cable that comes with the camcorder for the pictures and video saved to the digital card. You need to buy a separate firewire cable to be able to save the video from the tape. So far, I'm very pleased with this camcorder. I would rate 5 stars except I don't have very much experience with this or other camcorders.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

N/A

User has 1 Day of experience with this product

Audio problems overwhelm strengths

Strengths:

Good small size, good price, good image quality

Weaknesses:

Very loud motor sound overwhlems every audio recording, no input for external mic

Posted Jan 12, 2008 - I bought this camera because I trust Canon's still-photography cameras, and because this model was endorsed by CNET. What I found upon my first use of it, however, was that the motor was shockingly loud. Not only is it annoying to hear while recording, but it ruins the movies themselves, drowning out all but the loudest sounds, and destroying any chance for ambient sounds. This wouldn't be a problem if the camera provided for an external mic input, but it doesn't. It is so stripped down that you can't even plug in a mic. You're left with the little built-in mic which is bullied into uselessness by the roaring motor. I should note that I got the ZR850 because my 7-year old Sony handycam finally broke down. The Sony handycam, purchased back in 2001 when digital camcorders were first getting big, was not loud. Clearly this is not a technology issue, but one of price: The ZR850 is very cheap. You get what you pay for. I will return this camera immediately and spend more money to get one without the audio issues. Unless you are planning to completly dub your movies or record silent films, avoid the Canon ZR850.

0% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

jamitra

Member Since
Jul 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 3 Months of experience with this product

Worthy of its Price!!!

Strengths:

Compact, lightweight, wide-screen, powerful zoom & handy LED

Weaknesses:

Poor low-light performance & inadequate jitter control

Posted Oct 29, 2007 - Shoots well in daylight & bright illumination. LED comes handy, if you must shoot in the dark. Zooming is substantial, but due to inadequate image stabilization, it is not a good idea to use it while hand-held. Controls are pretty handy & easy to use. Over all, it is a good 'Value for money' in a tight budget.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

fred42773

Member Since
Oct 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Week of experience with this product

Excellent value!

Strengths:

Price, features, ease of use.

Weaknesses:

None.

Posted Oct 14, 2007 - The Canon ZR850 is an excellent camcorder for the money. The camera has a simple yet functional design. The ability to take still photos on an SD card along with video on the mini DV tape is a very useful feature for a camera in this price range. Video quality is very good. Camera is very easy to use. I would highly recommend this camera for a recreational camcorder user.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

pjyoon21

Member Since
Sep 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Day of experience with this product

Great Price.

Strengths:

Price is great. Easy to use. I like the still shot option.

Weaknesses:

front light.

Posted Oct 5, 2007 - I did some research on line and found this item to have the best options and review at this price. I find the camera to be easy to set up and use. The quality of the pictures are great even in a grey light setting. Having the still shot photo options is also great.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Write a Review