Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon ZR80 MiniDV Camcorder w/18x Optical Zoom

There are lots of things you look for in a camcorder. Features, quality construction, and something easy to use are all things to consider. In the lower price range a lot of camcorders are alike and you have to look at some small specifics to figure out what's the best buy.

The ZR80 is a good camcorder, but it has one major flaw that its predecessors did not - it has no mike input.

The built in microphones on almost all camcorders, certainly those selling for less than $1000, are notoriously bad. They generally pick up 180 degrees of sound. In a group situation, at a party for example, the audio sounds like utter chaos. Canons also seem to be especially prone to picking up motor noise from the camera itself. Thus, if you're interested in good sound you need to have a camcorder with a mike input.

Unfortunately, Canon chose to reduce the features on their 2004 ZR line by taking away the mike input. Why they did this is astonishing because it makes no sense.

If you want a Canon camcorder with good sound you really need to either get an older model - almost any of the older ZRs including the 45, 50, 60, 65 and 70, all of which have mike inputs - or forget the ZR completely and go for an Elura or any of their other product lines that have this necessary feature. If you're accustomed to the typical sound one gets from an on-camera mike (or you plan to never use it in situations with lots of sounds), maybe this model will be fine for you.

I purchased the ZR80 mini DV camcorder online, and received it today... one thing I was disappointed about is that this camcorder has no SD card slot like some of the other ZR series camcorders do... still shots go directly on your DV tape (one tape holds about 700 shots) It's not that big of an issue for me because I own a fantastic digital camera, and would prefer my pictures to be taken with that... but it might be an issue for someone who was planning on getting it all in one package (and it can be a big convenience that way!)
The special effects on this camcorder are great, and the video I have taken so far is wonderful... Two suggestion though: PLAY with the settings and READ the book!! I have seen so many reviews of Canon camcorders that say they are no good in low light (BTW the nightshot is simple to use and highly effective)

Optics, the ability to deal with lighting conditions, and hand-held stability were the important factors in my buying decision. I edit my works on the computer, so effects were not important (and should be used sparingly!) The Canon ZR-80 is lightweight and well-balanced. The ability to return to 'easy' mode with the flick of a switch from anywhere in custom settings is a great feature. The camera turns out nice-looking video with practice. Another plus: I was able to train a cameraman for a family event in less than one minute. I showed him the zoom and the pause, and off he went. As with most digital cameras, there is no video noise between pause and record. If you don't want to edit on a computer, the pause-record method makes for clean segues. Finally, as a previous reviewer writes, you'll need to purchase a firewire cable separately - a $20 to $40 item!

After reading the reviews, I was a bit leery of purchasing this camera. Because it fit my needs without paying for a lot of features that I didn't need (memory stick, S-video output, etc.), I decided to get one anyway to try it out. The result is that I will keep it. One concern was image quality under low light conditions. It's OK. The depth of field is not great under low light which might account for reports of fuzzy images, but I found that it did focus on the item of interest pretty well. For low light, regardless of the camera, if you want good images, you should consider supplemental lighting. The night mode works reasonably well. Audio quality is fine. I had no problem at all with picking up sounds and voices from 15-20 feet away without them having to raise their voices. It doesn't have a mic input which wasn't a drawback for my purposes, but is, nevertheless, something that this camera should have. The biggest disapointment, for me, is that the image stabilization is a long way from what my old Sony Handycam was capable of. Even so, it's adequate for the purposes that I will be using this camera. All in all, this camera will suit most people's needs.

I bought this particular camcorder a week ago and after two parties, and it's held up. For the mid-300s, I had a choice of the ZR80, a samsung, and a JVC. I chose this camcorder because of its informative online ratings, good specs, and Canon name.
Now i have to say that I don't have much point for comparison as this is my first digital camcorder but I's like to think I know good quality pictures from bad.
So, let me start off by saying, this is an easy to use camcorder (point-and-shoot, basically) and it was no trouble to load the tape, playback on the camcorder, and show on the T.V.
But, the body of the camcorder, while secure, has some very fragile parts. For example, both the coverings for the audio and DV wire were held together by a thin piece of plastic and could easily break. Watch out for that. Other than that, the LCD is great and flexible and the body is compact and attractive.
And about the DV firewire (which connects and transfers videos from camcorder to computer), it is not included in the box. Thus, know that you have to get that too if you plan on transfering and editing on the computer. That was a downer because the Samsung included a USB cable in the box and while that can be slow, its at least an option.
Also, the quality of the picture. It does indeed have poor viewing in low light. Believe me, I read the book cover to cover (skipping the French, course) and while some things can be adjusted, the camcorder has its limits. For example, in regular household lighting with some sun, the picture was distinguishable on the LCD and blurry at best on televison. WHile the focus button and mightmode helped, I strongly suggest supplement lighting if you want clear pictures indoors.
Lastly, the camcorder has a camera mode and can snap pictures but can only store it on its DV tapes which is of little use since you cann't transfer to your computer to print them out. I asked the salesperson what, then, was the use and he said it was for slide shows. That, to me, is pretty lame but camcorders don't take that good of pictures anywayd so I don't really care.
That's about it, good luck.