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

I have accused Canon of holding a policy of planned obsolescence & I repeat it here. After just a few years of owning, taking immpecable care, & minimal amount of recording on this thing, this once-already repaired camera has died. The required part alone is almost half the price of the original price.

I always thought Canon was the Rolls-Royce of consumer camera & now I'm convinced its the Edsel.

Canon, you are disgraceful.

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

I just got my camera back from Canon today. Repairs, which were free (Canon paid for shipping both ways), were completed in about a week.

I give Canon credit for owning up to the camera's desing flaws & providing free repairs even thought the cameras are WAY out of warranty.

I've owned 5 Canon cameras, and I will continue to buy & recommend their products. The cameras have worked well, and I respect the company for fixing their problems.

The "remove tape" issue and damage to tapes started in less then two years. We spent $1000 for this camera for two years, you can buy two camera's for that cost now with the same features. I wish we would have read the reviews before buying. It was a nice camera when it was new thats why it gets 1-star from me and not 0-stars.

Please be advised that Canon U.S.A., Inc. has posted information on the web regarding the Elura 40MC and Elura 50 camcorders. This information relates to the "Remove the Cassette" message being displayed on the camcorder's LCD screen.

This information can be accessed by visiting Canon's on-line support at the following URL:
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&keycode=2112&fcategoryid=227&modelid=9037

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