Quick Review Camcorders: Canon ZR500

The ZR500 is equipped with a modest 1/6” CCD, offering 340000 effective pixels. The result was a saturated image which made for some decent looking (though inaccurate) colors. Too much saturation can cost sharpness though, and that was definitely the case with the ZR500. Even so, we liked this picture better than the Panasonic PV-GS39 and the Sony DCR-HC26

Canon seems to finally be turning a corner on low light performance. In the past, this was always the point at which we felt incapable of a whole-hearted recommendation. No more! The ZR500 had great low light for such a small CCD. Though noise (graininess) became evident, it was a fine-grained noise rather than larger, more distracting splotchy noise. Also, the strong color saturation became a boon here, pushing through the darkness to make color recognition possible even at very low light levels. Low light performance is a major feature to look for in camcorders, so keep a bookmark on this model.

Handling on the ZR500 has improved since last year. For 2006, Canon has shifted most of the menu interface to a joystick located on the bottom of the LCD panel. The joystick handles very well, and we believe it to be the best of all possible interface devices in consumer camcorders. Last year, the interface was a jog dial, tucked away out of site on the side. This is a much-appreciated improvement.

Automatic controls on the ZR500 are decent. There is an easily located Easy mode button on the right side. One push and all you’ll need to do it point and shoot. The auto controls do tend to lag a little, but the adjustments are adequate once it gets there. The exception is white balance. We recommend that if you take to the time to learn one manual control, this should be the one.

Of course, if you like tinkering with the image, the ZR500 has a decent array of controls: focus, exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and some image effects – Vivid, Neutral, and Soft Skin Detail. These are not “manual controls” in the proper sense, but they do give you a little more image control. None of the manual controls are stellar. The exposure and focus appear as little sliding scales on the LCD. The shutter speed has a minimum of 1/60 and a maximum of 1/2000. The zoom is perhaps the best manual control, a raised nubbin perfectly placed for the index finger and with just enough tension for smooth, controlled movement. If you don’t want to leave it to finger pressure to determine the zoom speed (too much coffee, perhaps?), a quick trip into the menu will reveal the option for setting the zoom speed at three fixed rates.

The ZR500 has no still features, not even a capture button to save stills to the tape. If hybrid cams are your bag, I recommend moving on.

This camcorder’s main feature is really its price. At an MSRP of $299, who knows how low they could be going for in 6 months? To boot, the camcorder produces good video even in low light, and it comes equipped with a microphone jack. If you can trade off on still picture capability (and you should) this is a fantastic entry-level camcorder.

Canon ZR500 THE BOTTOM LINE Rating: 187.57

Likes

-Microphone Input -Strong performance in well lit situations -low light improvement showed quality inscenes with less than stellar lighting -True Wide Screen 16:9 format

Dislikes

-No still feature options for the hybrid user -No independent manual control over aperture or shutter speed

Canon ZR500 Compared to the...

Canon ZR100 Rating: 174.34	Panasonic PV-GS29 Rating:	Canon ZR600 Rating:	JVC GR-D350 Rating:	Sony DCR-HC26 Rating: 169.72
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
	-30x optical zoom lens  -Manual control over gain levels  -More options and nuance with gain and aperture settings	-Direct Print compliant  -Software included  -Record stills to SD/MMC memory cards  -9 point AiAF focus option  -Remote control included	-32x optical zoom lens -Headphone output -Data Battery feature	-Audio dubbing  -Included software for image editing options  -More auto controls -Ease of use factor
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-1/6th inch, 340 effective pixel CCD  -Still pixel count  -FireWire Port  -White Balance manual  -Shutter Speed manual  -Manual Exposure control  -Frame design  -MiniDV format  -Color Electronic Viewfinder  -AV out	-Manual white balance  -FireWire Port  -1/6th inch, 340K CCD  -Electronic color viewfinder  -Manual control over exposure  -MiniDV tape format  -Manual shutter speed  -AV out port  -Electronic Image Stabilization  -Initial MSRP of $299	-25x optical zoom lens  -FireWire port  -F stop rainge  -Identically sized imager for comparable image quality  -DIGIC DV Processor  -Auto slow shutter mode  -White balance modes  -LCD 2.7 inches with 112 K resolution  -Electronic color viewfinder  -MiniDV recording format  -Electronic Image Stabilizer	-Same initial price range  -Electronic color viewfinder  -1/6th inch, 340K effective pixel CCD  -Manual control over focus  -Manual exposure -FireWire port  -Manual white balance  -AV out	-AV out  -FireWire Port  -Identical imager size (worse performance)  -Manual control over exposure settings  -Manual white balance option  -Electronic color viewfinder  -MiniDV recording format for video
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Smaller LCD screen  -20x optical zoom level  -No control over zoom speed levels  - No mic-in port  -No built in lens cap  -Originally higher price will of $350  -Larger ahd heavier camera body	-2.5 inch LCD screen  -No microphone in  -No native 16:9 format option	-Higher price range	-No microphone input  -2.5 inch LCD screen	-Higher price range  -Poor performance with lighting in both bright and low light situations  -Records stills to tape (why even bother)  -No microphone input  -Worse overall image  -20x optical zoom lens