CamcorderInfo has just posted their Canon ZR850 review, a camcorder they say may be, “one of the best budget buys of the year.” This comes with a whole list of caveats, though, like the fact that last year’s Canon Elura 100 is still the better camcorder, despite being discontinued. Canon is obviously paying much less attention to their DV line of camcorders now that tapeless is the “in” format.
The Canon ZR850 performed marginally better than its siblings, the Canon ZR800 and ZR830, when it came to video quality. This is most likely due to the higher pixel count on the sensor. Low light performance was nothing to talk about, as is usual with low-end camcorders.
Overall CCInfo gave the Canon ZR850 the thumbs up for what it is, a low-budget entry camcorder. They recommend the ZR800 above the ZR850 for the fact that it has a microphone input, but they give the Canon Elura the undisputed win and suggest buying it online while you still can.
