Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon ES8400V Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD Screen & Image Stabilizer

I may be 13, but I know a lot about camcorders. I've had my eye on this one for several months, and soon enough my dad gave in because he also needed a camcorder for a few things. So he ordered it, and two days later it came. Its silver body is very cool, and the whole appearance is amazing. It has a very compact size and for the great price the camcorder is even better. The effects include art, (you look like a cartoon) B&W, (black and white) sepia, (western- tinged)negative, (turns all the colors inside- out) mirror, (you see double!) mosaic, (little squares all over the screen so it looks sort of like a collage) 16:9, (Makes the screen stretch out lengthwise or up/down wise) cinema, (black lines at top and bottom of screen like a theatre)strobe, (picture after picture, kind of like a strobe light) and ghost (When you run around you look invisible and leave a trail). They're all really cool. This is my third day using it, and I find that the sound is very, very clear, the zoom is easy to use and clear when you're not zooming in on something within 7 feet of you, and the photo mode is very helpful- a 7-second picture at the touch of a button. Overall, the camcorder is one of the best you can get, and it's something I highly suggest!

I bought this camera as a gift for my husband. He previously asked for a model that had tons of features, however after receiving and using this one, he felt he had all the features he really wanted/needed. It's a decent, basic camera for home movies.

This is a great camera! It takes great video and has a lot of features. I have thoroughly enjoyed having it.

I recently purchased this camcorder from amazon and I am quite happy with it. Before I bought this, I used an RCA camcorder that I was satisfied with. However, the RCA used VHS C tapes that weren't very good quality. I shopped around looking at different cameras. The digital cameras are the newest, and eventually will probably be the way to go, but the good ones are up around $1000+. Then I came across this camera and I decided to buy it.
I am very happy with the features on this camera, especially the 22x optical zoom. I usually find myself zooming in often because at the extreme wide angle position, you do lose some picture quality. Also, the digital effects are fun to play with; I especially like the negative conversion. Another nice feature is that the playback also lets you hear sound. The image stabilizer is very helpful as well, especially in telephoto. Also, people have been saying that the LCD could be bigger, but I think that a screen much bigger than that would drain the battery very fast. The built in video light is very nice too.
As much as I do like the camera, there are a few cons. First of all, the view finder could be in color, I often find mysef using the view finder on sunny days, because the LCD gets glared. Also, I wish there was a way to turn off the microphone when you don't want sound. Also, there is no way to program your own titals into the camera. The pre-set titals are too general, and I can't program in the ones I want. Another thing is that the 800x digital zoom isn't all what it is said to be. When you zoom into the digital zoom, immediately you see diminishing picture quality, and if you zoom in 800 times, the pictures are grainy that you can't distinguish the picture. But the zoom is nice at the low stages of it.
Overall, I am very happy with this camcorder, and I am enjoying it. I highly recommend this camera to anyone who is seeking out a good camcorder for a good price.

We bought this camcorder 3 months ago. It works very well..except the batteries are not last long enought for a whole day. Overall , it's a good buy!