The Canon ZR850 camcorder, reviewed and put to the test.

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Canon is always one of the first name brands I think of when camcorders come into my mind. I recently had a chance to take a look at one of their miniDV camcorders, the ZR850.

In the ZR line of camcorders, there’s the ZR800, the ZR830, and the ZR850 we’ll be reviewing today. All three have mostly the same features, except the ZR800 has a mic-in port for connecting an external microphone. It would have been nice if this came standard, since built-in microphones usually don’t sound as good for recording talking heads (interviews).

The ZR850 has a 35x optical zoom and a 1-megapixel CCD sensor, which makes for pretty darn good video. You’ll have to supply a decent amount of light though, since the ZR850′s low-light performance isn’t too good. The built-in video light on the front of the camera isn’t bright enough to help either.

All of the ZR series have the ability to capture still images as well, but can only be used in the 4:3 mode at 1152×864 resolution. Color reproduction wasn’t the best, but this isn’t the reason you bought a video camera was it?

One caveat of ours was the tape slot, which was awkwardly placed on the bottom of the camcorder, making it hard to load a new tape when placed on a tripod. However, there are some good things about the camcorder. In decent light, the ZR850 produced video with accurate and vibrant color. The ZR850 also has a generous 2.7″ widescreen LCD, which also means it shoots in 16:9 widescreen or the typical 4:3 aspect ratio. The navigation is intuitive with the joystick just below the screen.

In our testing the video had consistent motor noise from the tape mechanism using the built-in microphone, but doing voiceovers once in post-production or editing can help overcome this. You may want to consider purchasing the low-end ZR800 with a mic input, but with lower-quality video (680k pixel sensor), or going without one and getting somewhat better video with the ZR850.

All in all, the Canon ZR series of camcorders are perfect for those quick moments you need to capture on video, like a vacation or wedding. The camcorder’s navigation isn’t too overwhelming for the amateur videographer. The ZR850 is available now at Amazon for just under $250.

Pros

• Good video under ample lighting.
• Easy to use interface and controls.
• Large 2.7″ LCD screen.

Cons

• No microphone input.
• Motor noise from tape mechanism in audio.
• Still imaging only in 4:3 mode.
• Not too good low-light performance.

Final Verdict
3.5 out of 5 stars.