Nice, small, inexpensive but no analog to digital pass through
Pros:
good inexpensive camcorder, Canon's great support and help line.
Cons:
A few less features then other Canon camcorders, small battery, no analog converter
The Bottom Line:
The ZR850 is a terrific option for budget buyers or families. For under $300 an affordable purchase for most.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
A coworker asked me to look at their new ZR850 purchased this week. The ZR850 is currently the top of the ZR line.
The camera was small, light, inexpensive, has wide screen mode and a simple menu to operate. The joystick control on the CCD controls the menu and was easy once I figured it out. In addition, it can, like many other canon camcorders, shoot digital pictures while concurrently shooting video. However, the pictures are only 1.07 megapixels. The camera also loads tapes from below.
My coworker was upgrading from an old analog camera and plans to record plenty of new video and also want to use the camera to convert their old analog tapes to digital. The new Canon ZR850 looks to be an excellent camera choice for budget buyers. However, I want to advise others that the features are not the same as many other Canon camcorders.
The ZR850 includes a built in plastic lens cap, an easy button, wide screen mode, a/v out, Firewire port but no microphone jack.
My wife and I own an Elura 70 and love it. The ZR850 is smaller, less expensive and a great camera for home use, but we were surprised the ZR850 doesn't have Analog to Digital recording like the Elura line. One can convert from an analog tape to digital either by buying a graphic card for their PC or if you own the Elura, it's a pretty painless procedure. You can even pass through from the analog tape, through the Elura to your computer without an extra step of saving to a digital tape. As I said before, Canon didn't include this feature in the ZR850.
A word of caution, Canon doesn't provide a complete feature list to know what you are getting and what isn't included. Instead they tend to only list of features the camera has. So don't assume any feature is available unless it specifically says so. If in doubt, call the Canon 800 number. I'd grade their help line A+ for the 2-3 times I've called them.
My coworker is opting to take the ZR850 back and buy an Elura 100 to get what they need.
Regardless, the ZR850 looks to be a great option for some, and for under $300 an affordable purchase for most.
Note: ZR700 model has digital to analog pass-through
Coworker bought a ZR700 model instead of Elura. The ZR700 has the pass through analog to video conversion.
To pass through, be sure and take the tape out of the camera, switch to AV to DV mode in the menu, connect the analog device(camcorder, vcr) to the ZR700, then connect your Firewire (dv) cable to your computer.
