Customer Reviews:
  The Amazing ZR830! April 4, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
My first digital camcorder was a GL2, which cost about $2,500.00. When the heads went bad, I decided not to fix it, and a year later, I bought the ZR830. Wow! Not only is this little camera easier to use than the overweight GL2, but the picture is just as great and needs much less light than the GL2. With a 600 watt light the picture is excellent and the shadows are not as overwhelming on film. The GL2 does not make a true 16:9 widescreen picture, it spreads the pixels, so you get a fuzzy picture. The ZR830 just blocks the view to make a widescreen so you have a true pixel size. The sound is much better on the GL2, but almost too good. It picked up everything that made any noice at all. I just turn the sound all the way up on the ZR830 and do some editing in Final Cut Express and it sounds just as good, without all the little annoying extraneous sounds that you cannot hide. If I had it to do all over I would have bought the ZR830 instead of the GL2, and not just because of the price, but It is hard to believe the price difference compared to the quality difference, which in most cases is none. And that is just my opinion.
Great starter camera! March 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an aspiring filmaker, and with a very fixed budget, this was a great purchase, it has great features and the menu options are great. This is perfect to start off filming, and for family get together's, it's great!
 Fair product for the $$ March 20, 2008
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
To begin, this is the first camcorder I've owned. It's possible I was expecting more...I own a Nikon CoolPix 8mp digicam that takes movies, but obviously not with any great quality.
I was kind of expecting a little better quality (higher resolution) from the camera. From that point of view I was a little let down...it's sufficient, dont get me wrong, but it's only a step up from my digicam.
The device takes memory card and tape...It wont store video on the card however, unless a tape is in the device...didn't really say that in the manual and confused me (I had a mem card when device arrived, but no tapes).
I got a little annoyed too trying to figure out how to copy from tape to PC...there's SQUAT about this in the manual, and this is tough to find even on 'net searches.
WHAT YOU NEED TO COPY VID TO PC:
FIREWIRE CABLE --> You MUST have this cable to copy to PC...$35+ part...BE AWARE
The software that came with the device kinda blows...I don't know why, but software that's bundled with digicams and now i see this camcorder, is always chintzy...Use Microsoft Movie Maker instead...WITH FIREWIRE CABLE AND MS MOVIE MAKER, YOU CAN EASILY PULL VIDEO OFF THE TAPE, and you dont have to be a rocket scientist...hopefully I can save someone the headache I went through trying to figure this out...easy enough once you know...
So, summary is, for the money, decent, not great...will suffice since I'm a cheapO.
:)
 Pretty Cool March 20, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I really like this little camcorder. I did a ton of research on it. I was looking at about 50 other cameras. This is light weight which really makes it easy to hold even for periods of time. I held it for 30 minutes at my childs play. I recommend the tripod. But it was really easy to use. I didn't have much time to practice before his play. If you know how to work a VCR you are over qualified to work this camera, that's how easy it is to use it. As for the picture and quality I really think they are pretty good. Sure other people were saying that you can't tape in the dark, well duh! My kids play was in a basketball stadium and I was probably 50 feet back or more from the stage with the audience in the dark and the lights flickering on and off on stage it did do pretty good. That little camera did get a good work out. But yes I would recommend it. Great product especially for the price.
Great first video camera for hold outs like me March 11, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I had a couple hundred left from my tax returns and decided to look for a new DV camera. I really didn't want anything too fancy or expensive since I don't plan on using it much, just the occasional family gathering or something to have "just in case." The 35x zoom is insane, I don't know why anyone would need 80x. The widescreen display is sharp, all the features are there, many different settings for different lighting situations, both indoor and out, and the built-in lens cap cover is nice. It's light, all the controls feel like they're at the right place, and it would be the perfect camera for home movies. I haven't used the camera feature, and I probably won't since that's not what I bought it for. If you buy this remember to get a firewire card for your computer and a firewire cable as well, or else good luck transferring video.
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