Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon ZR45MC MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Digital Still Mode & MMC Card Slot

I bought the ZR45MC camcorder in Sept '02. I have been using it quite regularly. then all of a sudden I cannot load new or old mini DV cassettes. The moment I load a cassette, a message flashes on the screen 'REMOVE TAPE' and beeping sound is generated together with a flashing 'EJECT' message. Next step, I ship this to the Canon Factory service in NJ. They replied with an estimate of $160(on top of the $654 I pad for this!!).
Also most importantly when I shipped from the Fedex office in Boston, the Fedex person made a remark that she has been seeing quite a number of the Canon camcorders going to NJ for repairs.
To sum, I think this is a racket Canon has devised to rip off customers.
So beware when you buy a Canon camcorder, ask the retailer about the tape loading mechanism, and if they have any maintenance plans that will repair it.

This is a very easy to use camera with excellent video. Read the reviews and did not hear any humming noise when operating and the low light pictures were very good. The still pictures are good for the internet but are not good enough quality to use as a regular camera.

Was torn between this and the Sony - went for the Canon because it's more Mac friendly and a little less expensive. The "buzz" noise is only heard when replaying video in the camcorder. I've downloaded it and don't hear it from my computer. I've also copied video back to the tape and played back on the camcorder and the noise is not there. Haven't used all the features yet, but for our needs it's great and so small! I'd definitely recommend it!

This camcorder is good enough for me except for one thing: if you are going to need a light or external microphone you should get the ZR50MC because of its advanced accessory shoe. The lights and microphones that I can find are designed for the advanced accessory shoe. The built-in microphone is too sensitive to use in many cases because it even picks up the sound when I tap the handle of my tripod lightly.

This is a good DV cam and also can be used as a video capture card. I don't need a video capture card for my computer anymore (a good one cost $200). I use this to convert my old 8mm and VCR tape to NTSC AV and then burn to CD-Rom in VCD format. Good way to archive old 8mm tape. Plan to burn the Star War trilogy next. To convert to Mpeg and burn as VCD, I use the Ulead Video Studio trial version. Waiting for the free Artsoft Showbiz (a rebate when I bought this cam)