Specifications

>From what we can tell,
Canon has made a vast
improvement with the
ZR-300 digital camcorder
over the ZR models last
year. This model is a tight
and compact unit that we
found fairly easy to han-
dle and operate. While it
still has a few deficien-
cies it's price is right in
line with the features of a
digital video cam-
era in this cate-
gory.
The ZR 300
weighs less than
a pound and we
find it quite easy
to operate with
one hand. The
zoom and opera-
tional buttons
are user-friendly
and easy to oper-
ate once you easily learn
where they are. The
camcorder includes a 22x
optical zoom which had a
nice flow to it and we
liked how it slowed down
when reaching the opti-
mum zoom levels. The
2.4" TFT active matrix
LCD viewer swings out
from the side of the cam-
era with a vivid display.
With some brands of digi-
tal video recorders we
see that auto-focus isn't
up to par with expecta-
tions, however the ZR
300 has an impressive
automatic mode (and
auto-focus) that will leave
you wondering if you
should take it out of auto-
matic or not. There are
preset modes built in to
the camera for low light,
spotlight, sand, snow,
stitch-assist and night
settings. We really like
the Super night mode for
shoots in an extremely
low lux environment.
You'll find a
host of transition effects
with the camera including
beam, flip, corner or win-
dow wipe, zigzag and
your standard fade effect.
The camera uses MiniDV
media for video storage,
so you do have a range
of movie lengths avail-
able. While the device
includes an 8MB SD
memory card for still pho-
tography, you'll probably
need more memory if you
use it for this function.
During our unit test the
Lithium-Ion battery lasted
around an hour and 15
minutes of shooting time
and an AC adapter is
boxed with the ZR 300. If
you do a lot of off-and-on
shooting though, you
may want to consider
carrying along a spare
battery just in case.
The camera professes its
High Definition 16:9
capabilities, which for the
most part work well.
We did notice howev-
er, that when we shot
the same subject in a
4:3 environment (with-
out changing zoom or
other settings) that
there was a slight
variation between
the two modes
regarding the
coverage area.
Color representa-
tion was quite
accurate in well-lit
areas and as we expect-
ed some of the definition
and color are lost when
using the two night
modes.
The average price of the
Canon ZR-300 digital
camcorder is around
$450 at most of the pop-
ular chain stores, howev-
er we did find a few inter-
net retailers that reduced
that price by $40 or so.
Canon's web site at
www.canon.com has
more information and
specifications on this
affordable video camera.
REVIEWS
+
-
VERDICT
BCM
www.canon.com
MAIN FEATURES
OTHER INFO
An impressive auto-focus will
leave you wondering if you should
take it out of automatic or not.
PRICE
$410
An inexpensive cam-
corder with excellent
auto-focus and effects.
You might hear some
camera movement on
the audio.
EASE OF USE
95%
95%
100%
VALUE FOR MONEY
SUPPORT
9977%%
OVERALL PERCENTAGE
Canon ZR 300 Camcorder
Cameras
Business Computing [54] September 2005 www.businesscomputingmagazine.com
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Camera
REVIEWS
+
-
VERDICT
BCM
www.canon.com
MAIN FEATURES
OTHER INFO
The camera is compatible
with more than 50 EF, EX and
EF-S lenses.
PRICE
$720
Produces some of the
most detailed images
we've seen.
You'll need to buy a card
with lots of memory to
house pictures.
EASE OF USE
95%
100%
100%
VALUE FOR MONEY
SUPPORT
9988%%
OVERALL PERCENTAGE
Cameras
[54] Business Computing September 2005www.businesscomputingmagazine.com
This Canon digital camera is
a keeper. Not only are the
images astounding but the
price of this camera is way
below what we would expect
to pay for a device with this
power. The 8-megapixel
capacity produces such
defined images we found it
hard to find a photo printer
that would do this camera jus-
tice. With a myriad of different
features we award the Canon
EOS Rebel XT Digital SLR
camera our Editor's Choice
Award for performance, quali-
ty and price.
When you take an
initial look at
this digital
camera you
might make
the mistake
of assuming
this is a
35mm cam-
era. Its
style, look
and feel has
the appear-
ance that
closely
resembles
that type of
camera. But
we guarantee
you, it isn't.
The EOS Digital Rebel
XT is one of the few digital
cameras that we would rec-
ommend to a professional
photographer. Compatible
with more than 50 EF, EX and
EF-S lenses we're sure you'll
be able to acquire the right
image you need in any type
of environment.
This Single Lens Reflex
(SLR) camera has a
PictBridge interface for easy
transferal to a photo printer
and uses a CompactFlash
card for storage. We should
warn you, if you plan on tak-
ing pictures in the high quality
mode, you'll need the largest
card available as the
3072x2048 maximum resolu-
tion image will eat up around
3MB of memory per picture.
The automatic mode of the
camera provides easy use for
the novice but it also allows
the professional to make
manual adjustments accord-
ing to their particular
needs. The burst rate
of the Canon
EOS
Digital Rebel XT is quite
acceptable with an average 4
images per second for a max-
imum of 14 pictures.
The digital camera weighs
around 1.6 pounds in addition
to the weight of any add-on
lens. Owners may find the
1.8-inch LCD review display a
little on the small side and we
notice a bit of washout when
using the camera in direct
sunlight. We should mention
though, that a lot of cameras
with LCD displays experience
the same problem.
The Digital Rebel XT has 12
shooting modes including 6
PIC (programmed image con-
trol) settings for frequent
shoots in the same environ-
ment. The camera also has
another interesting feature, a
Depth-Of-Field button allows
you to preview the front-to-
back sharpness
before you actually
take the picture.
We found it to be a pleasure
to work with the Canon EOS
Rebel XT Digital SLR camera
and are more than happy with
the picture quality it produces.
With an internet price of
$730, this 8-megapixel cam-
era will find a home with
many novice and professional
photographers. Additional
information and specifications
can be found at
www.canon.com.
An 8-megapixel digital SLR
camera that produces high
quality images.
The ZR 300 weighs less than a pound,
includes a 22x optical zoom and has a hos
of transition effects.