Canon MD101 Digital MiniDV Camcorder (35x Optical Zoom, 2.7″ Widescreen Colour LCD)
Canon MD101 Digital MiniDV Camcorder (35x Optical Zoom, 2.7″ Widescreen Colour LCD)
MD101 CAMCORDER 30X OPT.ZOOM 2.7 LCD UK
Customer Review: Great for amateur film makers or ordinary home use
I have used this camera for just over a month now, and it has proved to be a versatile camcorder for various tasks.
Out of the box it does what you’d expect it to, it records in the more modern standard of 16:9 (widescreen), however this can be easily switched to the older 4:3 option.
The picture quality is far better than older mini dv camcorders I have owned in the past, and doesn’t look bad on large High definition tv’s as some camcorders can now look blurry on them not using a high def format.
The sound on the built in microphone is average. It’s fine for noisy atmospheres but in normal and quieter places camera noises like the tape mechanism are clearly heard. Unlike many cheaper camcorders, Canon have provided a 3.5mm jack microphone plug, one of the most useful things they could have included.
This opens the option up to using a boom microphone or clip (lapel) microphone. This of course cuts out the camcorder noises, providing a much more professional appearing video. The camcorder lacks a camera shoe however for adding a clip on boom microphone, meaning you will need other means of holding your microphone.
This camera has various clever little features like the built in lense cover that can be slid up and down without having to have a separate lense cap which often go missing. The joystick used to navigate the menus on screen is easy to use, and the menu screens themselves are clean and simple to use. The more automatic “P” mode and the “M” manual mode have been replaced with an “Easy” mode and more manual like “P” mode. These modes work well but it would have been nice to see a dedicated manual mode as well.
The 30x optical zoom is acceptable by today’s standards and works well, however rival models often have more zoom, but without a tripod you wouldn’t want to be using all the zoom avaliable. The camera is light weight but with a good balance, and has a very slick appearance. Canon’s “DIGIC DV” technology appears to help these single CCD camcorders to make colours more vibrant. The camcorder has the standard AV and firewire connections, and of course the tripod screw connection at the bottom of the camcorder.
Battery power on this camcorder is usually over an hour to an hour and a half. A spare battery is something I’d recommend to have, these can be obtained in most shops or cheaply on-line.
The screen is large enough at 2.7inches and is visible in daylight, however for situations where screen glare my be a problem, the colour screen view finder is very useful.
Overall this camcorder is a good all rounder, the microphone input been a key feature, along with other innovative features. The built in microphone is average/poor and a separate microphone should be used when ever possible.
Hope this has helped you,
Dale.
Customer Review: Might be a dodgy batch
Read the earlier reviews about problems with hearing the motor whirr whilst using the built in microphone. Fore armed I tried using 3 different mikes as a test before recording my only public presentation in five years, but when I plugged in the mike, no sound was recorded at all.
Spoke to Canon who said to send it back, and Amazon were very good and immediately replaced it on the day before the presentation. Unfortunately plugging in a mike stopped this one recording too. Checked the manual again (just plug in mike and go) but it should have worked.
Had to record the talk with a buzzing motor and this one is going back as well.
Good picture, easy to use - poor sound no matter what I tried.
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JVC GR-D340EK Mini DV Digital Camcorder 
Used Price: ?125.00
Customer Review: Do not buy JVC products - your wasting your money
We purchased this unit in summer 2006 from Amazon, no problems there. The reason for this purchase was because our previous JVC unit GR-D70EK(at that time was only 2 years old) developed a major fault and was unuseable. Put it down to hard labour it endured from us and we were about to go on holiday and needed a working camcorder, so we bought a new one. Big mistake buying JVC again. The Pro’s This camcorder is great for filming and taking pictures (it could do with higher mega pixels to be honest) but we got we paid for and this camcorder did everything we wanted. Its lightweight dinky and nice to look at. The Zoom is great and sound quality very good. The Con’s No matter what we do you can not download the footage or pictures onto our pc which was the primary reason for us buying this camcorder. Firstly a fire wire is not supplied with the camera and the instructions are very cagey about pointing this out. Once purchased and installed, we followed the instructions carefully and began our first editing session with no apparant problems. Until we decided to the carry out further editing sessions and our pc would not recognise the camcorder. Ran diagnostics test on pc, no problems, purchased another fire wire in case that was damaged, nothing. So we looked on JVC technical website to get some advice and found that there was a product recall on our first camcorder beacuse of the major fault we had already experienced. We reported this to JVC and they agreed to repair the first camcorder. We mentioned the problems editing with the newer camcorder and they agreed to investigate this also. Both cameras were sent away for inspection and repair. We received both back and whilst the older camcorders major fault has been rectified and we could use the unit again, the newer camera still did not respond to the DV fire wire. The moral of the story don’t do what we did and purchase two camcorders from JVC. Do your research on user forums. We didn’t when we purchased these units and came unstuck. Looked on leading traders websites to see the going rate for these used camcorders, they are not selling. They can not be given away. We have lost over ?600. Not happy
Customer Review: A delight to use
When my Sony Camcorder ended its life I thought it would be difficult to replace and yet at half the price this item proves to be a more than adequate replacement and it’s half the size and weight too. The manual for any camcorder is frightening - so much complex detail - will I ever learn? No bother with this camcorder - just switch to auto and nothing could be simpler to use and get great results from. Before ending up with this item I bought a Canon model which was about ?[...] dearer. I returned this unit since the picture quality was awful and at that stage I thought that might be the best the mini-DV format could provide. No way - this JVC Camcorder gives excellent quality and it quickly adapts to changing lighting conditions. Flicking away from “Auto” to “Manual” there are a wide variety of features you can use to get top quality shots in more difficult circumstances. Taking them one at a time they are easy enough to master. Ths snapshot feature is a bit disappointing since it does not operate in the 16:9 format mode. Surely everyone has a widescreen TV these days. My only other criticism is the cost of replacement batteries - close to ?[...] - a bit of a rip off I think. I tried a supposedly replacement battery at a much cheaper price off Ebay - it looked the same but kept coming up with the message “communication error” when used. It had to go back. The battery supplied gives about 75 minutes of use and recharges in about 90 minutes so it is not too much of a problem not having a spare. I used Pinnacle software to download, edit and produce DVD discs in formats to suit PC and DV player. Great results were achieved with very little bother and I am no computer wiz kid. This unit may not suit the pro but for mere mortals, like me, it is about as good as I want and I am called a “Grumpy Old Man” by my darling wife.
Power Battery for Sony Cybershot DSC-T1, LiIon, Li-Ion, Lithium Ion Technology, 100% fits, properly matching, Batteries, Camcorder, Video, Digital Camera 
You will receive one Power Rechargeable Battery. This Rechargeable Battery 100% fits and is properly matching !
Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery (originally packaged factory-new merchandise)
This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the original rechargeable battery included in delivery of the unit. This rechargeable battery can be used instead of the original rechargeable battery without any problems and can be recharged with the available standard power supply. The rechargeable battery is protected and secured against overcharge and short-circuits.
Features of this rechargeable battery:
- safety due to heat and overcharge protection
- real lithium-ion rechargeable battery, more power than the original rechargeable battery
- no memory effect recharge your battery whenever you like
- excellent fitting accuracy, certified quality merchandise, not an original accessory
- the standard battery charger can still be used
Panasonic VDR-D220EB9S Digital DVD Camcorder (32 x Optical, Multiformat) 2.7″ LCD 
Amazon Price: ?239.99
Customer Review: Good camera - if you can view the pictures
As a novice to DVD camcorders, I obviously didn’t research the right things. This camera is easy to use, BUT if you record in Video Recording format (VR) which is the only way you can use the built in software to edit your film, then the results can’t be viewed on your computer unless you have Power DVD, aren’t compatible with Windows Movie Maker, and can’t be viewed on most DVD players. It took me two days of trawling through web forums to work this out, as the instruction book only says “can be played on compatible…” without being at all specific. If you record in video format, you can watch on your DVD player, or on your computer, but can’t edit in the camera, and the files are still not compatible with Windows Movie Maker. So - I will need to buy software to convert, edit and then burn back to DVD. I’m currently looking at AVS - any advice would be welcome.
Sony AC-V700A AC adaptor and charger for L-series and F100-series type batteries, camcorders and digital still cameras 
Intelligent display accurately displays charging time left and remaining battery life in minutesQuick charge for last minute recordingsCompatible Batteries: L Series F100 SeriesPower: AC 110-240 V 50 Hz / 60 HzSuitable for charging from mains power supply
Amazon Price: ?100.87
