Canon - Canon MiniDV Camcorder (ZR850) Review

The ZR850 offers a few upgrades, including a better imager, but lacking the mic input of the ZR800, we're torn on which is the better value. The ZR850 has been given a shiny, stylish makeover compared to last year's ZR700. The ZR850's sensor has been increased to a 1-megapixel CCD, compared to the 680,000-pixel CCD found in the rest of the ZR line. Canon has increased the optical zoom from 25X to an impressive 35X, while the digital zoom remains at a prodigious (and at high levels, almost unusable) 1,000X. The ZR850 offers true widescreen recording, and it has an enlarged 2-7/10-inch wide-format color LCD viewscreen for accurate framing and playback. The menu system has also been upgraded with the addition of a joystick control, making it much more user-friendly.

Video performance is impressive when shooting in favorable lighting conditions. Colors appear bright and saturated with clean, sharp edges. In good lighting it is difficult to imagine a similarly priced camcorder surpassing the video quality of the ZR850. Unfortunately, the low-light performance is considerably less impressive. Video noise increases dramatically as the light fades, and the automatic focus becomes far less responsive. Engaging the Night mode helps a little, and while the ZR850 does feature a built-in video light, it is designed more for adding a fill light to backlit subjects rather than illuminating dark scenes.

The larger CCD on the ZR850 improves the quality of still images, which can be captured to MiniDV tape or SD/MMC memory card at a maximum resolution of 1,152X864. This is passable for an inexpensive DV camcorder, although the ZR850 should certainly not be considered an alternative to a dedicated digital stills camera.