Canon may not have the most impressive MiniDV camcorder lineup this year, but at least they have not been completely phased out. The Canon ZR850 is the top of the line standard-def camcorder for this year and features a 1/6″ 1.07 megapixel CCD, 35x optical zoom, and 2.7″ widescreen LCD. CNET takes a look at this camcorder in their Canon ZR850 review.
CNET found that the menu system on the Canon ZR850 had been improved over last year’s model, making it easier to navigate and understand. An unfortunate loss from the previous year’s model is the fact that there is no analog-to-digital conversion available on the ZR850.
As for video quality, the Canon ZR850 performed satisfactorily in well-lit situations. Footage was sharp and colors were accurate. However, in more dimly lit situations, the ZR850 showed a lot of noise and was slow to achieve proper focus.
For those who like the Canon brand and want to stick to the MiniDV format, the ZR850 offers the Canon moniker and video quality, but also shows a lack of effort to improve on a disappearing medium and a focus on other products.
