Canon ZR60 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, 18x Optical Zoom and Image Stabilization

[Archived in $400 - $500, All, All Camcorders, All Canon, All Digital Camcorders, Camcorders, Canon Video, Digital Cameras, Digital MiniDV, Products]

Manufacturer: Canon Video
Price at amazon.com: Used & new from $275.00

List price $449.99



Product Features:

• MiniDV camcorder with 18x optical zoom, 360x digital zoom
• Image stabilization for smoother and steadier video
• 2.5-inch fold-out color LCD screen and color viewfinder
• Takes digital still photos and stores them on tape
• Connects to PCs and Macs via Firewire (IEEE1394)

Product Description:

Looking for an easy way to break into the world of digital video? Look no further than the Canon ZR60, which makes capturing valuable family memories as simple as pressing a button. Connect your camcorder to a computer running Windows or Mac operating systems, and experience the digital world like it was meant to be: quick, seamless, and fun. Lens The ZR60 features a high-performance 1/6-inch 680,000-pixel CCD to capture high-quality video and digital photos. The zoom technology found in the ZR60 lens is the same as Canon uses in its broadcast TV lenses. The ZR60 is fitted with a high-performance 18x optical zoom lens, which can easily handle all your shooting needs--from wide-angle shots of all the family at the reunion to close-up sports action at full telephoto. The ZR60's 360x digital zoom significantly expands the telephoto magnification of the subject. Image Stabilization Canon's image-stabilization system corrects camera shake caused by, for example, an unsteady hand. This image-stabilization system makes for smoother and steadier video even with hand-held shots, at full telephoto, and with shots taken from a moving car. Digital Stills For added flexibility, you can take up to 700 still images on a MiniDV single tape. The camcorder records the photos for approximately 6 seconds, as well as recording the sound for your verbal notes or narration. You can search through the recorded tape for your photos using the supplied remote control. This photo-search feature allows you to search for images recorded in photo mode. Search forward or backward through the images one at a time, or plus or minus 10 images from the current position. More Features 2.5-inch fold-out color LCD screen and 0.33-inch color viewfinder The My Camera function is designed to let you customize a number of features, including start-up image and sound, shutter sound, start-stop sound, and the self-timer sound The full-function wireless remote control works at distances up to 16 feet Inputs and Outputs The ZR60 comes with the standard IEEE 1394 port (also referred to as FireWire), which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. Additionally, the ZR60 features two types of analog audio and video inputs and outputs: composite and S-video. The analog audio inputs of the ZR60 let you perform dub or insert editing from CDs, cassettes, microphones, or the soundtracks of other videocassettes. MiniDV Format MiniDV is the new preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD. Power, Size, and Contents The ZR60 comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, which has an approximate battery life of 75 minutes when using the LCD screen. The camera itself measures 4.1 by 2.3 by 5.8 inches and weighs 18 ounces. This package includes the ZR60 camcorder, battery pack BP-508, power adapter CA-570, wireless controller WL-D80, shoulder strap, stereo video cable, and the DV Network Solutions CD-ROM.
From the Manufacturer Need an easy way to break into the digital world? Look no further than the ZR60. Capturing valuable family memories is simple as pressing a button. Canon technology guarantees exceptional results every time. 18X Optical Zoom, 360X Digital Zoom The ZR60 is fitted with an 18X optical zoom lens, a high performance lens from Canon. The 18X zoom range will more than take care of all your picture-taking needs, whether they are wide-angle shots of all the family at the reunion, or close-up sports... read more

Description from Manufacturer:Looking for an easy way to break into the world of digital video? Look no further than the Canon ZR60, which makes capturing valuable family memories as simple as pressing a button. Connect your camcorder to a computer running Windows or Mac operating systems, and experience the digital world like it was meant to be: quick, seamless, and fun.

Lens
The ZR60 features a high-performance 1/6-inch 680,000-pixel CCD to capture high-quality video and digital photos. The zoom technology found in the ZR60 lens is the same as Canon uses in its broadcast TV lenses. The ZR60 is fitted with a high-performance 18x optical zoom lens, which can easily handle all your shooting needs--from wide-angle shots of all the family at the reunion to close-up sports action at full telephoto. The ZR60's 360x digital zoom significantly expands the telephoto magnification of the subject.

Image Stabilization
Canon's image-stabilization system corrects camera shake caused by, for example, an unsteady hand. This image-stabilization system makes for smoother and steadier video even with hand-held shots, at full telephoto, and with shots taken from a moving car.

Digital Stills
For added flexibility, you can take up to 700 still images on a MiniDV single tape. The camcorder records the photos for approximately 6 seconds, as well as recording the sound for your verbal notes or narration. You can search through the recorded tape for your photos using the supplied remote control.

This photo-search feature allows you to search for images recorded in photo mode. Search forward or backward through the images one at a time, or plus or minus 10 images from the current position.

More Features

• 2.5-inch fold-out color LCD screen and 0.33-inch color viewfinder
• The My Camera function is designed to let you customize a number of features, including start-up image and sound, shutter sound, start-stop sound, and the self-timer sound
• The full-function wireless remote control works at distances up to 16 feet

Inputs and Outputs
The ZR60 comes with the standard IEEE 1394 port (also referred to as FireWire), which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. Additionally, the ZR60 features two types of analog audio and video inputs and outputs: composite and S-video. The analog audio inputs of the ZR60 let you perform dub or insert editing from CDs, cassettes, microphones, or the soundtracks of other videocassettes.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the new preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

Power, Size, and Contents
The ZR60 comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, which has an approximate battery life of 75 minutes when using the LCD screen. The camera itself measures 4.1 by 2.3 by 5.8 inches and weighs 18 ounces. This package includes the ZR60 camcorder, battery pack BP-508, power adapter CA-570, wireless controller WL-D80, shoulder strap, stereo video cable, and the DV Network Solutions CD-ROM.Average Customer Rating:

---

Comment: not a bad buy Rating:
I bought this camera because I needed for school, The zoom is outstanding, I can zoom into tiny print and the camera stays focused quite well, The image tends to be grainy which gets worse as light is reduced. The ergonomics are outstanding and the lay out is logical. My biggest complaints is this camera doesn't use a memory card for still images, it saves them to the tape, this proves to be more trouble than it's worth. Also the camera has no USB connections, it has Firewire and S-Video, but they omitted the most common type of connection. I have firewire but that isn't the point. And last and maybe least, you have to remove any tri-pod mount in order to change tapes, (inserts in the bottom) aside from these minor issues I am very happy with this camera and would recomend it as a good starter mini-dv cam.

---

Comment: Nice features, but Indoor video horrible!! Rating:
I got this camcorder last week and it has a good optical zoom, pretty cool digital effects and the analog to digital converter feature is a plus. I've only owned the camera for a couple days and I am very impressed with what I have seen so far. The low light quality leaves a bit to be desired but overall a very good camera. The manual focus can be a bit of a struggle because of the location of the buttons. For the average user this is a great point and shoot camera DV camcorder. However, I was very dissapointed by the indoor performance. Like all the digital effects, this indoor video is very, very grainy. Since we will be using the camera mostly inside, it is worth spending a little more to get better indoor quality. We had the Sony TRV27 and returned it to buy this camera just because of the price difference. Big Mistake! The Sony took way better indoor video. Outside, they are about the same. But despite that, this camera is to take short videos and import old VHS tapes to DV and download to the computer to edit. A must try!!

---

Comment: Features that newer models don't have Rating:
The ZR60 has a mic port and a remote, both of which are missing on newer models such as the ZR80. The motor noise through the built-in mic is audible much of the time so I ordered an external Sony mic. The newer models supposedly are 18% smaller, but the ZR60 is small and light to begin with. Image stabilization is good but not great. Video quality is great with adequate light. If shooting in low light, experiment with the AE +/- settings. By using AE minus settings you are just telling the camera not to crank up the gain. You might have to read the manual (horrors!) to learn how to adjust AE. 18x zoom is plenty long; if anything I would like to have some more room at the wide end. Digital zoom, as on every video and still camera I've ever seen, is a useless marketing gimmick.

I picked up this unit as a refurb for $247, and considering I can also use it as an analog to digital pass-through to hook my VCR to my computer, I think it was a great deal. The Firewire cable you need to hook the camera to your computer is not included. You can have a local retailer gouge you for $30, or you can find one online for about $11.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)