Canon ZR20 Digital Camcorder
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Manufacturer: Canon USA
Price at amazon.com:
Used from $350.00List price $799.00
- MiniDV
- MiniDV camcorder
- 10x optical, 200x digital, zoom with image stabilization
- 2.5-inch color LCD monitor and color EVF
- Photo mode records still pictures onto tape
- Uses an included lithium ion battery; also includes power adapter, shoulder strap, wireless controller, S-Video cable, and stereo video cable
Product Description:
Canon's sleek and compact ZR20 camcorder is small enough to fit in your pocket, and comes equipped with both a color LCD view screen and a color eyecup viewfinder, an image stabilization system to steady the jittery hand, and a digital zoom that magnifies up to 200 times. To help ensure that you get the quality footage you want, Canon has included a number of preset shooting modes. These modes will automatically adjust the settings of your camcorder for a variety of shooting situations. There... read more
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Anyone who has used any type of camcorder will be instantly familiar with the ZR20's controls. All the normal recording tools are accessible with your right hand. Zoom, mode, and snapshot controls are placed within easy reach on the right side, and playback and special effects options are arrayed on the left side with the LCD monitor. Fade and digital effects are hidden in the LCD compartment, and a small jog dial on the camera's lower left side controls volume, menu selection, and manual focus. The LCD screen is 2.5 inches and provides a crisp picture, but a color viewfinder is also provided, which can be used to conserve battery power and provide a more compact package for recording in tight or crowded locations.
The ZR20's Easy Recording mode makes taping on the fly an easy undertaking, as it automatically optimizes recording settings for the best picture quality. Video quality is sharp with excellent color reproduction. However, dark scenes with low contrasts have a slightly grainy texture. For extra control, the focus, white balance, and exposure can be manually set. As for audio, the high tones are slightly tinny, but sound playback is surprisingly accurate from the small single speaker. The only complaint I have is about the snapshot feature. While the button is easy to reach, it records a still shot with an arbitrary length of six seconds. This is useful if you download single frames to your computer, but it would've been nice to have had the option to set the length of the still.
Several special effects are available, including art, monochrome, sepia, and mosaic modes, plus three fade/wipe settings. For even more options, the IEEE-1394 connection lets you simply transfer the video onto your home computer to let you edit your footage and add any effects that you want, provided you have the correct equipment. RCA and S-video input/outputs are provided for quick and easy transfers to VHS. Interestingly, the S-video and RCA outputs are in separate locations on the camera. This probably allows for more efficient use of available space on the ZR20, but it's somewhat awkward to have wires sprouting from multiple locations when you're ready for video transfer.
A fun little accessory with the ZR20 is its remote control. Aside from the obvious convenience of remote playback of your videos on your TV, remote recording is a fun way to make personal video journals, star in your own movies, or clandestinely record documentaries of your housemate's disturbing personal habits.
All in all, this Canon piece offers excellent recording quality in a convenient little package. With such an agreeable price, plus compact dimensions and a low weight, the ZR20 is perfect for family vacations. Add in the decent battery life and clear LCD screen playback, and you have a real winner. --Matt Deffer
Pros:
- Very easy to pick up and start recording
- Good recording quality
- Lightweight and small
- Convenient remote control
Cons:
- AV outputs are in multiple locations
- Grainy video in locations with minimal light
Comment: Canon ZR20 MiniDV Digital Camcorder Rating:
The Canon ZR20 is a Digital MiniDV camcorder with a 2.5" LCD and a color viewfinder.
Zoom And Image Stabilizer
The camcorder has 10x optical zoom and 200x digital zoom. The image is not shaky at high magnification levels, since the camera is equipped with a digital stabilizer.
Picture
The camcorder records video and still pictures. The still pictures can be recorded on a MiniDV tape and one tape can hold around 700 still pictures. The picture quality (the CCD has 460,000 pixels) in the video mode is very good with low noise level.
Sound
The camcorder has a stereo microphone and a built-in speaker. The microphone input allows you connect an external microphone. You can select between 12- and 16-bit recording.
Features
The camcorder comes with a Li-Ion battery, A/V cable, S-Video cable, power adapter, battery, remote and a shoulder strap. There are several AE modes, including fully automatic "Easy Recording".
But in addition to automatic settings (focus, white balance, etc.), you can manually adjust focus, white balance, shutter speed, exposure (AE Shift). The camcorder allows you apply faders and digital effects and has widescreen mode.
It also features FireWire (i.Link, IEEE1394) jack, so you can connect it to another digital camcorder, MiniDV VCR or a computer for editing or making a copy. The remote control allows you search for still pictures on the tape using Data Code recorded during the shooting.
The camcorder features both composite and an S-Video inputs/outs and LANC editing terminal. The timer allows to perform recordings at predefined time. There is a Low Light recording capability (low shutter speed and high exposure time).
Remote
Unlike entry-level digital camcorders from Panasonic, the wireless remote control is included here.
Bottom Line
The ZR20 is a nice camcorder with good feature set. But the menu system is unnecessary complicated and the Canon camcorders are not among the most reliable (unlike Panasonic ones).
Comment: Best quality for the price Rating:
I've looked for a good DV camcorder to replace my old Hi8 camcorder. We need it to be compact to fit into one palm, and have image stablization. We also need it to have analog input to transfer old video. Some of the higher-end model have low-resolution digital camera capability, which is useless to us since we already had high-resolution digital camera. We tried to avoid spending extra money to pay features we don't need, and it leads us to Canon ZR20. Well, what a great buy! We spend less than our old Hi8 camcorder, and got a 3X better camcorder! The picture quality is super, the sound is great! ( I don't have the issue described by another reviewer.) Right after recording, we can also playback the video with sound on this tiny camcorder. All my families just enjoy playing with this new toy and have a wonderful time together. Highly recommended!
Comment: Excellent, So Far...... Rating:
I would like to take this time and give my input about the Canon ZR 20 MiniDV. First off let me say that the size of this thing amazes me enabling me to fit it in my pants pocket (compared to my old vhs). There aren't that many high end features on this but for the basic everyday recording this is an excellent camera. Be aware that this DOES NOT have NIGHT VISION if you want it purchase the ZR-40 series. I purchased this at the [store] that sells mac computers. It cost me [money] and for [the same amount] at [a different store] i could have got the ZR-40 but they were out :(. Overall i really do like this camera not overpowered with features but does the job well (my first canon camera). From now on i'll stick with them in the future (Much better than JVC and SONY). Down the road I'll upgrade my pc to firewire for video editing, that looks pretty fun. But if yourlooking for a good quality camera with a GLASS lens not plastic like the others and something stylish and small than go with any of the Canon ZR Series (10,20,25mc,30mc,40,45mc,50,50mc)
Hope this Helped in your camera buying experience!
Posted at November 11, 2003 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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