Canon ZR960 MiniDV Camcorder w/41x Advanced Zoom - 2009 MODEL (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

There really isn't much to say here that hasn't already been said. Sufficed to say, this camcorder is about the best quality you're going to get for this price range. In fact, you'd pretty much have to double the price to see a noticeable increase in picture quality (at least among digital camcorders I've personally used, which is quite a few).The quality is unusually sharp (assuming the area is well-lit) for this price range, the stabilization keeps things surprisingly smooth (even in the hands of a shaky-handed operator like myself), and it has all the features you'd want in a DV camcorder: 3.5mm mic input, firewire, A/V out and a solid zoom. Now, the picture isn't HD quality (obviously), so don't expect it to look crystal-clear on a large screen, but you'd be surprised how sharp it is considering it *isn't* HD. The battery life is par for the course, so you can expect around 70-90 minutes on a single charge, depending on the level of activity.Now, there is one drawback, but it isn't necessarily about this camera in particular, but about DV camcorders in general. If you're recording audio with the on-board mic (which are in stereo, by the way), you will hear the DV tape humming, and it's pretty noticeable; particularly so when there isn't a lot of sound in front of it. For home-video and hobby applications, it's not a big deal, but if you're using it for anything remotely professional, I'd highly recommend investing in a shotgun mic (or studio condenser mic w/ boom pole and/or tripod if you have a static recording area).

Absolutely amazing little thing. I bought this camera so I can rewatch all of the videos my dad took of me when I was a baby, but unfortunately his broke down a few years ago and I have been struggling to find one for a reasonable price. This camcorder is fantastic and is Extremely light-weight. It’s more of a novelty at this point, I mean you have gopros at the same price as this but there is nothing more fun and rewatching than popping in a cassette and watching the internals move. All in all, it’s a nice camera. The quality is well... okay, what do you expect from something from 2009, still a cool piece of tech! :)

I bought this product because I wanted to record video and use an external microphone.Unfortunately, the video can not be downloaded to several computers: Apple, Acer, and HPIf you want to record and download your video to edit, then this camera is not for you.If you want to shoot video and then play it back on the TV, then it is ok.I'm going to give it away to my 2 year old daughter as a toy (since it is useless to me)

After owning a Sony Handycam hi 8 for a number of years and the unreliability of the camcorder tape mechanism, I decided to try a flash camcorder, and a hard drive camcorder. both of these were very easy to use, but when playing back on any TV larger than 19 inch, the picture was extremely grainy and got very pixelated on 42 inch and above. There are NO adjustments to be made on any of these type of camcorders to correct this issue. You must record in VERY good light and resolution is made for you tube size videos.The software on these type of camcorders is also outdated MOD and is very difficult to navigate around and it takes forever to transfer to a DVD disc.Back to the tape camcorder. I will use a tape type camcorder as long as they are available. The ease of plug and play with almost any software like NERO, windows movie maker, roxio, and so on. 1394 makes it easy.picture quality is awsome and looks great on even a 130 inch projector.Zoom capabilities are great also.I would recommend this camera to all who want really good video quality. Ease of transfer, and great price!!Also this camera is very compact. Half the size of my old sony hi 8 and the 6mm tapes are tiny too. still has the same record time though.

I don't have more to say than I'd order another. Lightweigth, great picture and sound quality, offers SP and LP operation. Can download images to a computer via firewire. Came with a battery and charger. I'd like to see it come with a AC Adapter as part of the package so that it won't be necessary to order one separately.

Big VALUE Inc. has doubled the suggested retail price of this hard to find item. Fry's has them for $249.99!

Nice camera, easy to shoot with. However, not so easy to connect to the computer. The literature on this camera said that it needs to be the only device on the firewire chain - how dumb is that? So you have to disconnect all your external drives, etc. every time you want to down load video. Not a very well thought out design.

Camera arrived early, thank you. Looks like it is in good condition so I can start to transfer home movies to hard drive.