Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

This camera will satisfy most folks that read Amazon reviews! DV-ing can be an uphill climb for newbies, but with the proper expectations, you can be happy with your purchase and your future use.

I have used this camera for 4 months, and here are my observations:

A few assumptions:

1. Firewire BABY! With almost ALL DV camcorders you will need a 1394 Firewire port on your computer, and a cable (about 10-20 dollars online)

Workaround: none, this is DV! USB is too slow. The SR600 has two ports...make sure you use the port labeled DV. If you want to shell out $200-300 more, go with DVDcamcorder.

2. For Transfer or Editing, Look in your Windows! If you have Windows XP, use the FREE Windows Movie Maker program which copies your movie footage from camera to PC, and allows a little editing. Vista has even more you can do, like copy to a DVD!

3. Don't expect long shoot times... My battery that the camera came with lasts only about 35 minutes, even when I'm not using the LCD screen.

Workaround: buy a $15 dollar 1700mWh battery(larger) on EBAY to have as your main battery, and use the stock one as a backup.

4. Don't get left in the Dark. Reviews state that the camera shoots poorly in poorly lit rooms. This is common with DV cameras.

Workaround: Move camera into P mode, from EASY on the switch near the zoom, and choose NIGHT as option on the LCD (using easy to use Joystick) when you are shooting in lowlight scenes.

AS long as you know the 4 assumptions, this camera is perfect for newbies in DV, right on the money with price, and with good features, like 16:9 WS, Toggle button, and excellent OPTICAL zoom. Wish my sony digital camera had this zoom. IF they had a better battery and included the Firewire cable, I'd give it 5 stars.

I would buy it again, but would opt for the ZR500 for price, or the ZR700 if I wanted to use it to bridge the copying from my VCR to the computer for moviemaker.

OS: Windows XP sp2

PC: 4 yr old DELL Dimension, with Creative lab card with Firewire

Software:

Windows Movie Maker to pull clips from camera, and to Edit movies

DVDFlick (opensource and free) to copy my edited movies to DVD for playing on my home DVD player or computer (moviemaker only copies the .WMV file on a CD or DVD)

Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ Professional DV tapes

This Review is from a previous owner of this Camera

I purchased the Canon ZR600 from Best buy back in late 2006 early 2007 originally looking for a camera to do video notes for class then ended up having this camera be my first personal camera used for television broadcast training and practice at home.

A bit of Background:

I am a legally blind individual I don't have full vision loss, I have more like half the vision of a fully sighted person. E.g. distance and the ability to read small print etc are the greatest challenges for me, however I have had a natural ability to get good results from cameras, even if it's taken extra practice to build skills.

The basics:

The canon ZR600 is a consumer level miniDV camcorder which means the camera has a VTR built in that records to a miniDV Cassette. Many consumer level camcorders are a single CCD e.g. many pro cameras or prosumer cameras are 3 CCDS. This simply affects how they deal with color and lighting. (but no camera) will ever be as good as the human eye, This brings me to my usage with the product.

The zr800 has a wide range of manual settings and automatic settings such as: manual focus manual white balance the option to shoot in 4:3 or 16:9 wide or in this case (anamorphic widescreen)

I strongly recommend any camera operator to learn how to manually white balance and light your set and adjust manual focus etc. Many reviewers who give cameras one star because they say picture sucks is more then likely due to the fact they have no concept of how to professionally set up a shoot, and yes, even for a non professional, knowing the basics a professional would use still apply to getting the best results, remember, the camera's auto settings take a best guess which is usually wrong, and is intended for people who lack camera skills to manually set up the camera. Manual is in most cases the best Especially on lower end cameras. With this in Mind:

The ZR600 does an excellent Job for it's price. Unfortunately, mine met it's death when the tripod fell over. So really i was just learning the manual settings on this camera right when it died. I now have the sony DCR-HC52 MiniDV which has newer technology and does in many aspects produce a closer to professional quality picture if set up correctly. I will review that product as well.

In closing MiniDV is a safe non HD format that is still very reliable to use and get great results.

For those who complain about firewire Most professional video editors have a mac around for that purpose, firewire has been and will be an apple standard though PCs adopted it as well by the name IEEEE1394. If you don't understand the technical requirements for MiniDV don't use it as your format for video. You won't be happy and will unnecessarily be giving a good product bad reviews If you are stuck with usb I'd personally recommend a solid state camcorder that takes flash memory.

Buy Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Now

I recieved this camera for christmas, and overall it's a very good camera. I really enjoy filming and editing, and this is the perfect camera for filming. I use it with iMovie, and when I import it [which happens with ease] iMovie makes the picture even better. GREAT PRODUCT!

Read Best Reviews of Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Here

Great camera but it is a bit grainy but to be expected from a lower end camera. Performs poorly in low light but once again is to be expected because of its small lens. I would recommend this camera to anybody looking for a good solid DV camera, but as for the picture quality it is not quite at the pro level but it is an mid level camera. If you want a camera to use around the house this is the one. This is also a great camera for entry level film classes because the color quality is good which is needed for green screen. Though if you want to start your own production studio I would recommend a more expensive camera like the Cannon GL1 or GL2.

Want Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Discount?

First off, I have ALWAYS loved Canon products and this camcorder is no exception. The documentation regarding transferring video to your computer is a little lacking but if you have a firewire card (or if you don't, you can get one from ebay for less than $20), it is Windows that does the actual transferring so it's pretty automatic. The camcorder is very intuative and it takes no time at all to start shooting like a pro (ok, maybe not a pro, but plenty good enough for the home user). Originally I was disappointed with the indoor shots but switching to night mode definitely cleaned up the image alot. I look forward to bringing this camcorder to Canada and Nigara Falls next month to record my honeymoon (well, not ALL of my honeymoon ;) )