Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Elura 40MC MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/ 2"LCD, MMC Card and Digital Still Mode

I bought this camera over a year ago. It has not had that much use, nor has it been handled roughly. The size is very handy, but the battery life is dismal, 30 minutes if I'm lucky. Video quality is acceptable, but I've seen better on my old analog camcorder. Audio leaves a lot ot be improved. Its very susceptible to wind interference.
A few months ago it started intermittently stopping in the middle of recording and jamming tapes. Using a head cleaner did little to correct the problem, which got worse. Finally it just started eating every tape I put in it, so its not the tape's fault.
I'm very dissatisfied that a camcorder that costs this much has such little longevity before needing repair.

After owning the Elura MC 40 for 10 months and taping not even 6 hours the infamous 'Remove the cassette' error started to apear and the data on the tape was garbled and completely unuseable.
After doing some research on the internet I found out, that many cameras of canon have this problem.
Unfortunatly the local Canon Customer Service refused to even look at the camera as it was purchased in the U.S. - "You don't expect us to order the spare parts for you?" was all they told me.
I really regret spending a lot of money for a camera that can now only be used for taking low quality pics.

this was my first digital video camera and i think it is perfect for anything i would ever want to do. it has many different lighting options that actually absorb what little light you have and spread it throughout your video. it is an amazing little camera. only problem is, you gotta buy the firewire stuff if you want to edit. still a great little camera!

Pros:
1. Small size - smaller than my 3MP digital camera !
2. Standard USB, IEEE 1394 ports, S-Video, RCA everything
3. Ability to take small 10 sec AVI files on the MMC Card

Cons:
1. The zoom button does not feel comfortable - needs getting used to
2. Low light quality not great - most cameras are bad at low light
3. Focus not as good as Sony
4. LCD not as bright as Sony

General:
If you are buying the camera to take still shots - do not. The quality is very poor - it is good extra feature - NOT a primary feature
Sony cameras fell better overall, but my last Sony died after 13 months of buying (perfectly timed after the warranty period expired ! - wonder if they had timer going !) - servicing was very costly and would cost me more to replace the camera than get a new one. So this time it is a Canon !

Overall a great camera - bought it and am satisfied so far

EDITED Oct 2004 - The firewire stopped working after less than 2 years - I guess all brands are just as bad.

As a lifelong Canon user starting as far back as 30 years ago with my AV-1, I cannot believe the cr*p this company is capable of producing. After a little more than three years and only 6 tapes worth of footage, I have vowed NEVER to buy another Canon optical product again. My Elura 40MC was purchased in Singapore but has been in for repairs more than half a dozen times in three different countries! It is now at a repair shop in Bangkok and the quote I just got from them is that it will cost me another $375 to get this into working condition. Unit has never been dropped, no scratches, still looks brand new. But every time I replace one part, two months later another problem emerges. I have now spent more than double the cost of the unit on repairs. This was sent in three times for the "Remove cassette" problem and the first two times Canon service could not fix the issue, the third time I had the entire drive mechanism replaced at my own expense. The only reason I kept spending the money to have this lemon repaired was because I LOVED my Canon and refused to believe that the company could build such a faulty product. Sorry Canon, but you have lost all future sales from me and I am determined to tell EVERYONE I can about my story. I will continue to use all my other Canon products but when these kick the bucket, I plan to replace them with competing brands. I've already begun the switchover -- two years ago when I needed to replace my compact digicam, I looked at Casio, Kodak, Panasonic, Minolta and Pentax -- but not a single Canon....

Ken in Bangkok