Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72184 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Canon
• Platforms: Windows NT, Macintosh, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 5, PowerMac, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and below, Windows
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• MiniDV camcorder
• 18x optical, 360x digital, zoom with image stabilization
• 2.5 inch color LCD and color EVF
• Digital photo mode records onto MiniDV tapes
• Analog pass-through ports for direct connection to computer

Amazon.com Review
At just over a pound, the lightweight ZR40 from Canon makes an excellent camcorder for the beginning digital-video enthusiast. This compact and comfortable camcorder offers high-end features found on much more expensive cameras, yet is easy enough to use that a novice can begin filming right away.

The camera is sleekly designed, and pieces pop out of the ZR40 from all sides. On top, the adjustable lens viewer also slides in and out so you don't have to hold the camera too close when filming. You can also use the 2.5-inch LCD screen, which swings out of the left side of the ZR40. It also twists and can be flipped over, providing myriad filming angles.

While we were suitably impressed with the image of our capture video, the sound of the camera's motor could be heard during some of the playback. It's a minor annoyance, which can be overcome with an optional external microphone.

With an 18X optical zoom (as well as 360X digital) intuitively placed next to the right thumb, the ZR40 is able to get up close to the subjects you're filming. Canon's image stabilizer worked well at correcting the "shake" common to handheld cameras. And the camera functions as a digital camera as well, taking snapshots in addition to video.

The ZR40 offers a variety of connectivity options, including FireWire ports, composite AV, and S-video. You can input from an analog source such as a VCR, TV, or camcorder and convert the signal into digital video. It also ships with a handy remote control (with a range of 16 feet) that handles the record functions and can even zoom the lens in and out.

Various special effects modes are incorporated into the camera as well, in addition to a new low-light mode that allowed us to shoot footage in the evening. There are DV cameras out there that do more than this one, but for most users, the ZR40 does plenty and does it well. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• Compact and comfortable
• Easy to use
• Excellent zoom

Cons:

• Some motor noise

Amazon.com Product Description
Improving on an original can be a daunting task. Canon has succeeded quite well, thank you. The ZR40 is the successor to the ZR20. Canon increased the optical zoom to 18x--the digital now sits at 360x--and added an analog pass-through port. Although the ZR line featured analog-in for dubbing your movies to MiniDV, the new pass-through port allows you to go straight to the computer, eliminating a possibly cumbersome step.

The ZR40 also has a lot of the same features that made the original a lot of fun. A 2.5-inch LCD is swivel-mounted, permitting the shooter to use the camera at odd angles. Various digital effects and autoexposure modes help ensure your footage turns out well. Finally, Canon threw in a low-light color-shooting mode that makes the ZR40 that much more attractive.

Customer Reviews

Another great Canon
I'm always been fond of the Canon line of consumer DV cams. They always have great optics, electronics, and durability. But what really sets them apart is thier menu systems! It's totally disgusting that on most any other brand, including ones as prestegious as Sony, that they lump all the menu options into a hoard of small, finger nail sized, buttons for most of thier consumer models. For Canon's you simply press the menu button then scoll and press a togele wheel. This way, once you get the hang of the wheel, you now understand how to use the whole menu system for any function. This is a great improvement over those that require the manual to find that "secret button combination". This is a consumer camera but I use it for many large applications. It has been sized down from it's Optura and Ultura ancestors but pretty well all the functionality and then some. It has other sister cams such as the ZR45MC and ZR50MC. These pack the all-in-one memory card digital camera and mini Dv. I have friends who love these models dearly. Personally I go for a seperate camera with larger resolution. Whatever your needs are ...

I've noticed a large number of reviews that say something to the affect of "I pulled it out of the box, plugged it up, and the image was grainy" or "I turned on steady shot and nothing happend".

This might be old news for most but to explain for those of you that might be concerned by this ...

Video cameras these days still thrive on ample lighting! This and other cameras have a sort of slow motion low light mode (accessible from the menu) that works by slowing down the frame rate and sucking every bit of image data off the CCD. THis is ok for an emergancey but if you want good image, turn on an extra light or two. Human eyes are so adaptable that you might not even notice if the lighting is more subdued than usal but it will make a mile of diffence for the camera. Secondly, get to know the manual menu and exposure system. The auto functions can't always guess what your trying to do.

About steady shot... this only takes of the headache inducing shock that occurs when you jar the camera. It's extremely useful in it's own right but it won't keep you from waving the camera around.

This is a great cam that I fully recommend. THere is one issue that doesn't dampen my five star rating but is noteworthy. To size this camera down to an even more portable size, the engineers made it with the DV cassette loading from the bottom instead of the top. THis is fine except that if you are a true believer in tripods, as I am, then you have to take the camera off the tipod or tripod plate every time you need to swap tapes. Just a minor concern...

Great with a couple of minor complaints
Expecting a baby, I did research for about three weeks before I ended up with this Canon ZR40. Couple of features that I wanted to have were external mic input, analog input, no still images since I already own a nice digital camera, and most of all, affordable price tag. Amazingly, ZR40 had this all! 18x zoom is nice and its compact size is pretty neat. Still, I have minor complaints after extensive tests.

1. As pointed out by many people previously, the picture is somewhat grainy specially indoors. Because this is my first digital camcorder, I don't know if this happens for other high-end models, but I suspect it may stand out somewhat more for ZR40 with only 480K CCD pixels.
2. What has also been noted was the motor noise, which is my primary concern for now. Maybe, I would not been able to tell if I had not read those reviews, but I could certainly hear the noise when recorded in a quiet environment. I tried to use an external microphone to remove the noise, in which case the noise is gone, but the external microphone does not match the internal microphone in sensitivity. (I used a low-end microphone for the test with the sensitivity of -75 dBm, though.)
3. This is a really minor point, but the camcorder automatically shuts down if I don't start recording within 5 minutes.

Overall, I think ZR40 has great features at such a price and is certainly worth owning if you are looking for one in the price range.

Excellent Camcorder
Pros:
1) 18x Optical zoom. I can clearly see the faces of people sitting across an indoor stadium. Don't settle with 10x on many similar models!

2) Size. Very comfortable and easy to hold for an hour, but heavy enough to prevent 'shaky hand', and not too small for big hand.

3) Image stablization. It actually works, especially if the objects don't move a lot. Very important if you go near full optical zoom.

4) Shooting modes. I tested both low light and spot light modes in a very low light indoor stadium. Spot light works like a charm, if you don't want to see the audience at all. Low light let you record everything, and the video is grainy yet acceptable. Overall, shooting modes work as advertised.

Cons:

1) Motor noise. The microphone picks up a LOT of motor noise, and this can become VERY annoying if you are recording in a quiet environment without a lot of background noise. Taping a sleeping baby in a quiet bedroom? forget about it.

2) Color. The color often looks 'untrue', especially outdoor under stronger sunlight. On the video, trees and grass often are not nearly as green as they actually are.

3) Battery life. The battery only last 50 min with LCD on half of the time. Replacement battery cost quite a bit.