Canon ZR40 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, & Digital Still Mode
By: Canon Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 36
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 On: 2006-10-07
Yes it does eat tapes. I have the camera and I have owned it for about 3 years. It did some fine work. I have no complaints except if you need a camera that will never eat tapes, be very wary.
I posted my movies on a couple of websites. I make short movies. I used the Canon ZR40 and made movies with the Sonic Foundry Vegas 4 editing system. It made fine movies in the wmv or rm or mov for Quicktime web formats. My short films are at hollywoodscreams and myhollywoodstar and those are dot com, of course. They are family friendly.
Recently I tried to rewind a tape. It got mangled. I figured it was just the tape. I tried a second tape and another. Each time I would record something OK but the tape would get jammed during rewind. On the movie Hollywood Screams I rewound each scene by hand. That is very hard to do. I had to use two toothpicks to hold the cassette lid open so I could pull the tape out and then wind the spool by hand. It was very time consuming.
The video looks good and I never noticed noise. I am sure each brand of camcorder has some problem. Canon has a mechanism that mangles tapes in rewind after several years of use if my camcorder is typical.
Tom Willett
 On: 2006-07-14
Like many of the other reviewers, my ZR40 is now giving me the infamous "Remove cassette" message and is mangling tapes. I have used it to record maybe 7 hours worth of video over the last two years. Search the web for "canon zr users group" and "eating tapes" to hear similar horror stories. Stay away from Canon camcorders.
On: 2005-10-24
Like many who have found this camcorder, I liked the canon name and bought based on Canon and value. It was a mistake because I dont feel I should have already used up the life of this camera yet. If you go to several discussion groups you will see it has several issues with the deck, i.e. "transport". Just google zr20/40 etc. and "eat tapes". Suggest you try Sony or Panasonic.
On: 2005-01-05
Well where do I begin? After a month of use, the battery stopped working. Contacted Canon via email. They replied battery is not under warranty. Would you like to buy another one? Please.
6 months later. I started transferring video to my computer only to find out this stupid camera eats tapes. I have lost two tapes so far. One of them was my sons birth!!!!
The eating tapes issue is a major problem with this unit. They have known about it and continue to ignore it. Do a search on "zr40 tape problems" to see what I am talking about. There are even more results on sister product, zr10. I will never buy a product from Canon again. They are idiots for doing this to their customers.
On: 2004-10-26
I bought this model 18 months ago. Now it has big problem. I cant rewind the tape well. "remove the tape" mesasge always pop up. I sent it back to Canon for repair. They asked me $169 for repair. What can I say now? Too bad camcorder.
On: 2004-10-25
I bought this model 18 months ago. Now it has big problem. I cant rewind the tape well. "remove the tape" mesasge always pop up. I sent it back to Canon for repair. They asked me $169 for repair. What can I say now? Too bad camcorder.
On: 2004-06-04
After about a year of use, ZR 40 started eating tapes. Do a google search on the topic, there are hundreds of people with the same problem. Remove Cassette and Eject (use those as keywords combined with Canon ZR to view message boards postings) will appear on the screen, and thats the end of the toy.
 On: 2003-08-24
Excellent camcorder, does very well in all kinds of light. I have had no trouble with it indoors, and I find that it performs very well in low light. Flawlessly performs with Windows Movie Maker 2 through firewire. The sound is outstanding, considering the picture is its strong point. I did not need the digital camera built in as I already have one. Effects are fun to play around with, especially with the handy scroll button. I have not heard the motor noise at all, so I cant see where that is coming from. My only complaint is that it shuts off too quickly if inactive, but its really not that much of a problem. Image stablizer works really well, as I often have an unsteady hand but it is hardly noticeable with this camcorder. I just wish they made a VCR that could record the footage as well as it was taped!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-03
Ive had this camera for almost a year now. Id say that all of the features that I would expect from a digital camcorder meet and exceed my expectations.Things that I like the most:
1. Perfect companion for my iMac.
2. Great quality analog-to-digital conversion. A must if you want to play with analog videos in digital world.
3. Solid Canon design, made in Japan if anyone cares.
4. Price.
5. No useless features like in more popular brand. Things I dont like as much:
1. I think indoors quality is reasonable but its average with low light. I dont really know if any cameras in that price range do well in low light.
2. Some people complained about motor noise? Its possible, I havent tried to make any silent movies yet. I add music to all my movies that dont already have some sound.
3. Battery life is short but recharges quickly.
4. Shuts off quickly if idle.
5. You probably wouldnt want to use low-resolution Photo feature espesially if you have a good digital camera but this is probably the only "useless feature". If you are like me and just like to point/shoot/watch on tv/edit on your computer - its great.
On: 2003-04-03
Love this little camera. Video taken outside is outstanding, inside can be a little fuzzy without bright lighting. Zoom is fabulous. The only thing I dont like is the fact that you can only charge the battery while it is mounted to the camera, which defeats the purpose of having multiple batteries if your wanting to have one battery charging while still using the camera with another battery.
On: 2003-03-31
Ive had this camcorder for almost half a year now, and I have no major complaints whatsoever.After doing research for Sony, Canon, JVC, and Panasonic, I finally settled on this one and have not been disappointed. The camcorder itself is easy to use. It took only a quick glance through the manual and I was well on my way to videoland. The minidv tapes are pricey and this records in SP (60 min for regular tapes) and LP (90 min), so youll want to check those out before buying. Hooking up to TV requried several tries the first time for some reason, but now I have no problem. No software comes in this package, but I tested this with several, including Windows Movie Maker, Ulead VideoStudio, MGI VideoWave, and the $...rebate software ArcSoft Showbiz. Depending on the program, the video takes up different amounts of space on your hard drive, but just for the record, using MGI VideoWave, a 4 min clip took up 875 MB (yes, thats right.) However, Windows Movie Maker take up only a fraction of that. I havent explored making VCDs due to the limited memory on my computer (Win ME) but it should go smoothly. Youll find that the zoom allows you to read the text on a newspaper up to about 30 feet away clearly, and that this product is sturdy, reliable, and has excellent value. I think the new line of Canon camcorders has come out already, and if you are thinking about buying one, dont hestitate: its the best deal out there!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-03-30
I bought this camera after reading many reviews talking down the microphone and the battery life. I have not noticed a problem with either, yet. I am primarily using the camera to record middle school music performances with a tripod and AC adapter. It worked just fine to get the music, although I had a harder time hearing the adjudicators comments at the solo & ensemble festival. I may invest in an external microphone, but for now Im happy with the results.
On: 2003-03-01
This is a great first digital camcorder. I bought it to upgrade from a Hi8 camcorder, and to use it to convert my Hi8 film to digital. I have had no problems using this camcorder to convert my Hi8 film to digital, and burning it onto DVDs. Send in for the Showbiz software for exceptionally easy movie making.Con: The motor noise is there, but is easily overcome with a camcorder microphone. There are many inexpensive microphones out there to choose from.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-02-27
I just received my ZR 40 and really liked its size and low weight. But once I tried it, the fun was quickly over. Low light recording (in my apartment with lights on) was horrible and even with low-light mode selected, it was unacceptable. And in night mode, everything moves in slow motion. Overall, the quality was not that great, even in day-time shooting.I have a regular Sony Hi8 cam, and its low light and night capabilities are 100 times better. I would seriously hold out for a better camera, even if it costs a bit more. The image stabilization also makes the picture look strangely un-lifelike.
On: 2003-02-23
Video gets grainy indoor. Other than that, i think everything is fine for the price i paid. 8/
On: 2003-02-20
I just purchased my ZR40 and I think it just barely gets by. The still photos are very grainy and in low light scenarios it does not perform well. The digital zoom is out standing, and it is very handy. Iýve only had it one week so I canýt say every much yet.
On: 2003-02-16
Up until tonight, the ZR-40 seemed average to me. Its pretty small, has high video quality etcetera, but doesnt have many effects or features. Tonight, however, our family puppy knocked it off of the TV (about 4 feet above the hardwood floor) and dragged it around after him by the power cord as he ran away panicking. After a thorough inspection and runthrough, I found NO damage to the camera, and only a slight bend in the TV interface plug where hed ripped it sideways out of the camera. If youre not sure you can protect your camera from all harm, Id suggest this camera - it takes a lickin and keeps on tickin!
On: 2003-01-30
world.....
do not
i repeat
do not get this camcorder
there is nothing worse than this
i wasted [money]buying it from amazon.com
i could have gotten the same thing [for less]including firewire, 4 dvs, and a carrying case
It is honestly the worst, disgusting, and despicable electronic out there
if you get this you will have literally
literally threw [your money]into the atlantic ocean
DO NOT GET THIS EVEN IF SOMEONE PAYS FOR IT. RETURN IT. GET YOUR MONEY BACK!!!!!!!
On: 2003-01-29
I have used the camera for a month and am impressed by its features and picture quality. I agree with the other reviewers that indoor shoots require good lighting. I bought a video light and it helped a lot. Outdoor footage with sunshine is superb! If you are new to the video world (like I am) this camera is all you need to get started.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-25
I cant complain--I absolutely dont need still capabilities as I already have a much better compact digital camera than any camcorder offering. Being able to plug-and-play with iMovie on my iMac simply is amazing.
On: 2003-01-09
I did extensive research on this model (the whole ZR series) and I must say, a lot of things are positive for this little camera.
* light weight, * small, * bright outdoor pictures, * PRICE.
And some negative points raised by many so far, which of course I have not been able to test as I have not bought this item, is the motor noise being recorded and the night shots being grainy.
I will not discuss anything about it as they have been beaten to death by now.
What I want to talk about is the smaller CCD resolution on the ZR series camcorders.
As we know, the US spec ZR series have the 460K pixels, out of which only 290K pixels are used for video (effective pixels). We need about 420K effective pixels to get a 500 line video resolution on the TV. Most of us know that, the VHS format (video tapes) allow upto 240lines of horizontal resolution. The S-VHS tapes allow upto 400 lines and the Digital Video format goes to 525 lines (really crisp and sharp pictures) on the TV/visual media.So now, with mere 290K effective pixels of video resolution being recorded on the ZR40/45/50, the best lines of resolution would be around 300. Now, not everything is bad. If you intend to transfer your videos into VHS tapes for storage and future viewing, you will not have any complaints as VHS tapes store at 240 lines of resolution. But someone like me, who wants to store the video digitally, by burning them into DVDs or storing them in DV tapes, I would like to get the best resolution that I can, right? In simple words, I want 500 lines of resolution for my video, full stop! Even though ZR40 is a DV camera, its resolution is very poor for real digital quality video. By the way, the resolution has got everything to do with what we call SHARP, crisp and colorful pictures. It is the same difference you see between the movies played from the VHS tape and movies played from the DVD. Oh by the way, if your TV doesnt have a 500 line horizontal resolution capability, you are not getting the moneys worth by renting DVDs. The TV I bought about 4 yrs ago, a proscan 32 inch, has 700 lines of horizontal resolution. So I can assume most TVs in our houses have capable enough TVs. Going slightly off topic, do you know why the picture quality of HDTVs are so sharp? Bcoz their resolutions are almost double than the 500 lines I am talking about.
On: 2002-12-31
Well, I recently purchased a Canon ZR40 at J&R, not amazon, too expensive. Anyway, this is a great camcorder. It does everything possible for the price. The digtal effects are great and the playback is great, too. The only very minor problem is that it has a short battery life. You have to recharge it a lot, but its really fast to recharge. GREAT CAMCORDER!!!!!!J&R, thanks.
On: 2002-12-13
I almost passed this by, because of the motor noise many people mention. But the price is unbeatable - do a good internet search and see for yourself. You do not pay for useless features, like magapixel stills - who needs 1MPix digital stills anyway - any digicam is at least 2 MPix? There is some noise; however I compared it with a friends Digital8 camera, and it also had some noise, although Canons is more high pitched (but not noticeably louder). It might be that the noise is amplified during playback on the camcoder - I only import digital video on my computer for editing and I really have to look for noise in order to notice it.
I am totally happy with the camcoder.
On: 2002-12-03
This is an excellent camera, and if youre going to be using this camera with a computer for edited purposes, you dont need the still shot feature that the more expensive cameras have, because you can just pull any still shot you want out of the footage once you have it uploaded. The picture quality is great, its lightweight, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the audio quality, even out of the built-in microphone. Its one of the best deals in video cameras I think. I would recommend a spare rechargable battery though. It doesnt last very long.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-11-03
Things I like...- price
- size Thing I didnt like and made me return - performance under regular indoor house lighting very grainy and considerably worse than my 8mm analog. Doing further research it appears this is likely not unique to Canon but common to DV camcorders. I am going to stick with my 8mm for a couple of years until DV tech improves since much of my use is indoors filming kids, etc.
On: 2002-09-19
Unfortunately I had a very bad consumer experience buying this camera. I had borrowed a ZR20 from a friend the year before and liked it, so when the ZR40 came out I wanted to buy it. I read online that some people were complaining about motor noise with this camera, but I figured I try it anyways. I bought it at Best Buy (should be called Worst Buy), and when trying it out found that it does have super bad motor noise. You cant hear it while recording - its when you are watching a tape you recorded playback on your TV etc that you hear it. The motor noise is recorded in with your audio, so you hear a loud hummmm in the background. It was too loud for me to live with. If I was recording something with no background noise (like my baby playing), then it was as loud as his voice! ... I have now ordered the Panasonic PVDC152 which is supposed to have good sound. Well see...
by: Anonymous On: 2002-09-06
I bought this camcorder to replace an aging 8mm GE unit that Ive had since 96. I cant believe how far technologies come in such a short time. The video is amazingly clear with the optical zoom (although it does get grainy when the digital zoom kicks in) and quality is good in many lighting conditions. I just got a firewire interface and even though Im only using the two "(inexpensive) and free" software packages (the firewire card came with ULead Video Studio and the Canon comes with ArcSoft Showbiz), Im having a blast editing video with my computer (in near realtime). Quite a difference than just 4 years ago when I was using a Truevision Bravado card and my 8mm (Quality was never that good and it took FOREVER to preview/compile video).
On: 2002-08-08
This is really the ideal entry-level camcorder for someone just getting into digital video editing. The optical image stabilization is far better than the electronic kind, and the picture quality is pretty good. It has a tendency to overexpose in bright sunlight, but you can easily adjust the exposure down half an f-stop. Its small and light, the viewfinder and flip-out screen are both color, battery life is pretty good with an add-on high capacity battery. Best of all, you can connect your old analog camcorder to it and import all your old videos to DV! Works great with Apple iMovie.The one downside to this camcorder is the audio. Its a problem with most tiny cameras, and this is no exception: motor whine. DV requires a high speed rotating head, which means fast motors--and because of the small body, theyre too close to the built-in microphones. My solution was to spend an extra $99 on a Sony WCS-999 Wireless Microphone kit. Its a clip-on belt pack with a "tie clip" style mic, operating via 900MHz wireless. Just like professional TV presenters use, but at a fraction of the price. After that investment, I got great sound.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-07-30
I have had my ZR40 for a week now, and it has exceeded my high expectations.
The 18x optical zoom is phenominal. I can read the headlines on a newspaper two blocks away, or a number in a phone book 20 feet away.
I was impressed by the cameras ability to perform in low light conditions. In my poorly-lit living room, I exerienced no graininess or loss of quality.
I took the camera outside 30 minutes after sunset and was still able to record satisfactory video.
Hooking the camera up to my TV for playback was very simple. Recording off my VCR was also very straight forward.
The remote control (which wasnt mentioned in Amazon.coms review, BTW) is handy for recording our nephew who gets shy when he knows hes being filmed.
I recorded in some quiet settings, but was not able to hear the electric motor turning the tape or adjusting the lense when zooming. If thats a problem, its easy enough to hook up an external microphone to the ZR40.
If you get this camcorder, dont forget to claim Canons free ShowBiz video editing software (see their web site) with proof of purchase. (I havent gotten it yet, so I cant rate it now.)
On: 2002-07-09
Expecting a baby, I did research for about three weeks before I ended up with this Canon ZR40. Couple of features that I wanted to have were external mic input, analog input, no still images since I already own a nice digital camera, and most of all, affordable price tag. Amazingly, ZR40 had this all! 18x zoom is nice and its compact size is pretty neat. Still, I have minor complaints after extensive tests.1. As pointed out by many people previously, the picture is somewhat grainy specially indoors. Because this is my first digital camcorder, I dont know if this happens for other high-end models, but I suspect it may stand out somewhat more for ZR40 with only 480K CCD pixels.
2. What has also been noted was the motor noise, which is my primary concern for now. Maybe, I would not been able to tell if I had not read those reviews, but I could certainly hear the noise when recorded in a quiet environment. I tried to use an external microphone to remove the noise, in which case the noise is gone, but the external microphone does not match the internal microphone in sensitivity. (I used a low-end microphone for the test with the sensitivity of -75 dBm, though.)
3. This is a really minor point, but the camcorder automatically shuts down if I dont start recording within 5 minutes. Overall, I think ZR40 has great features at such a price and is certainly worth owning if you are looking for one in the price range.
On: 2002-07-03
I just bought this camera on 6/30/02. I love the size, it is in the midi-palm category, so it fits nice and snug in your hands. The 18x zoom is what grabbed my attention the most. I was in the market for a Sony camcorder, but decided on the Canon and glad I did.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-07-03
I have this camera and I noticed two things that were kind of annoying:
When you play back what you have recorded you clearly hear the cameras motor in the background, so you should use an external microphone. Even [an inexpensive] one (like the one I use) has better sound quality than the cameras internal mic.Also, the manual is VERY vague on the cameras specs. I edit my video on a PC and there is a lot you need to know when uploading video via FireWire, like if the camera has a 4-pin or a 6-pin port, if it is NTSC or PAL, that sort of stuff that you MUST know in order to upload. Overall, this is a very good camera, just with some minor flaws.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-06-06
We have had the camera a week and did some taping indoors in a quiet room. When we did the playback through our television the sound was awful. The noise of the motor on the tape is very loud and distracting. We have heard better sound on older VHS camcorders. Is it because the camera is so small? Is there a fix for it? This has yet to be determined as we plan on calling Canon about it. We have read other reviews of other Canon models and also similar Sony camcorders with the same complaint. Sorry, but for this much money the sound is totally unacceptable. If you buy it we recommend taping a short bit and hooking up to your TV to see how it sounds before it is too late to return.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-06-06
Pros:
1) 18x Optical zoom. I can clearly see the faces of people sitting across an indoor stadium. Dont settle with 10x on many similar models! 2) Size. Very comfortable and easy to hold for an hour, but heavy enough to prevent shaky hand, and not too small for big hand. 3) Image stablization. It actually works, especially if the objects dont move a lot. Very important if you go near full optical zoom. 4) Shooting modes. I tested both low light and spot light modes in a very low light indoor stadium. Spot light works like a charm, if you dont want to see the audience at all. Low light let you record everything, and the video is grainy yet acceptable. Overall, shooting modes work as advertised. Cons: 1) Motor noise. The microphone picks up a LOT of motor noise, and this can become VERY annoying if you are recording in a quiet environment without a lot of background noise. Taping a sleeping baby in a quiet bedroom? forget about it. 2) Color. The color often looks untrue, especially outdoor under stronger sunlight. On the video, trees and grass often are not nearly as green as they actually are. 3) Battery life. The battery only last 50 min with LCD on half of the time. Replacement battery cost quite a bit.
On: 2002-04-22
Im always been fond of the Canon line of consumer DV cams. They always have great optics, electronics, and durability. But what really sets them apart is thier menu systems! Its totally disgusting that on most any other brand, including ones as prestegious as Sony, that they lump all the menu options into a hoard of small, finger nail sized, buttons for most of thier consumer models. For Canons you simply press the menu button then scoll and press a togele wheel. This way, once you get the hang of the wheel, you now understand how to use the whole menu system for any function. This is a great improvement over those that require the manual to find that "secret button combination". This is a consumer camera but I use it for many large applications. It has been sized down from its Optura and Ultura ancestors but pretty well all the functionality and then some. It has other sister cams such as the ZR45MC and ZR50MC. These pack the all-in-one memory card digital camera and mini Dv. I have friends who love these models dearly. Personally I go for a seperate camera with larger resolution. Whatever your needs are ...Ive noticed a large number of reviews that say something to the affect of "I pulled it out of the box, plugged it up, and the image was grainy" or "I turned on steady shot and nothing happend". This might be old news for most but to explain for those of you that might be concerned by this ... Video cameras these days still thrive on ample lighting! This and other cameras have a sort of slow motion low light mode (accessible from the menu) that works by slowing down the frame rate and sucking every bit of image data off the CCD. THis is ok for an emergancey but if you want good image, turn on an extra light or two. Human eyes are so adaptable that you might not even notice if the lighting is more subdued than usal but it will make a mile of diffence for the camera. Secondly, get to know the manual menu and exposure system. The auto functions cant always guess what your trying to do. About steady shot... this only takes of the headache inducing shock that occurs when you jar the camera. Its extremely useful in its own right but it wont keep you from waving the camera around. This is a great cam that I fully recommend. THere is one issue that doesnt dampen my five star rating but is noteworthy. To size this camera down to an even more portable size, the engineers made it with the DV cassette loading from the bottom instead of the top. THis is fine except that if you are a true believer in tripods, as I am, then you have to take the camera off the tipod or tripod plate every time you need to swap tapes. Just a minor concern...
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