I am yet another careful shopper who spent a ridiculous number of hours researching the digital camera thing on every inch of the web (the most helpful sites being Amazon.com, camcorderinfo.com, and cnet reviews). I went to Best Buy twice, CompUSA, and Fry's Electronics like, three times to talk to the sales people about what type of camera is best (mini DV, DVD, hard drive) and how this specific camera compared to others and blah blah blah. (By the way, NONE of those people gave me good solid advice and most were just kids who didn't seem to really know what they were talking about, so beware). In the end I decided on the Canon Elura 100 because of it's price range and the proclaimed performance value. Yes, yes, yes, I had heard about the motor noise problem, but, darn it, I wanted this camera, so I was going to give it a shot. But, yes, yes, yes, I HAD the motor noise problem (it wasn't AS bad as some of the samples of video I had seen from the camera in a forum on camcorderinfo.com if you happen to look, but it WAS still constantly noticable, even outside). The camera I am replacing is a 1998 Sony Hi8 (which was more quiet)and this was supposed to be a big upgrade for me. So I went ahead and gave it another shot and ordered a replacement from Amazon. The next Elura had the same sound (which makes me wonder if it gets any better than that) so I returned it. I didn't want to give it a third shot, so I started OVER in my ridiculous search. I guess the irritation of the whole thing made me care less about cost and more about quality, so I decided to buy a Sony DCR-HC96. A man called "thehickoks" posted a good sample video of its footage at camcorderinfo.com you can check out. Overall, I think it is absolutely worth it to pay more (I paid $592 from another online retailer and that went really well) because it is SO much better in low light and the picture quality is much sharper and more colorful. The Elura's picture quality just wasn't much different than my old Sony Hi8. This is where I was most disappointed because I had read lots of reviews saying it was great. If you KNOW you don't have much of an eye for or aren't very picky about crispness, color, or brightness, you very well might not be bothered. BUT, from one mom to another, I bet you would care if you could see the difference. Low light (i.e. regular indoors lighting) is bad. And, as a mom, I film my kids inside a lot. I totally know that the price difference is an issue, but for irreplacable family memories and the use and life you will get out of these things, get a better one--it is worth it.

Here's a few more things: (1) With the Elura, it was tiny and cute, but the hand strap was too low in my hand or something, so if I let go of my grip on the camera, it would flop to the left away from my hand instead of staying in the same place. A handstrap should keep the camera in the right position in your hand. (2) The "motor noise" is like a faint nasally "eeeeee" sound. I know SOME sound is normal because of how close the mic has to be to moving components on these mini camcorders, but, normal or not for the Elura, it is not acceptable. It made my footage seem crappy and very homemade. There are other cameras available with less of a problem. (3) The shape is very boxy and small, but isn't NEARLY as comfortable to me as the Sony HC96. The Sony doesn't feel like you are trying to hold on to something like the Canon Elura does. It's not a terror to hold and use, but it doesn't feel totally natural. The buttons placement on the Sony is perfect. Your fingers are right on them. (4) The viewfinder doesn't move on the Canon. Not much of an issue I suppose, because it has an internal battery so you won't have a battery on the back end to push your face upto to see through the viewfinder. In comparison, Sony's pulls out and accomodates the bigger battery you can put on it (NP-FP70) and brings the viewfinder to where it would be if it was pushed in and you were using the smaller battery (NP-FP50). (5) I felt insecure about the internal battery because you can't put a bigger capacity batter in it. You could of course get one or several replacements though. I just don't like that. I like the control I feel from having longer life batteries. (6) I was glad the thing had a built in lens cap, BUT you have to remember to open and close it manually (unlike the Sony, which does it automatically when you turn it on/off).

Good luck. This is hard stuff. A lot of the reviews, technical or not, still won't help you to exactly know how YOU will use the camera and what YOU will like or dislike. And it's hard to tell at the stores if you like the look and feel of certain ones when there is a gigantic security thing attached to it. I would recommend all parents get something with good low light quality. I considered all the big shots in the 2006 line up (including some over $1000) and chose the HC96. Some ones like the HD and hard drive are so new that you might as well wait until they get better and cheaper. By the way, that footage clip thing on camcorderinfo.com compares the Sony DCR-HC96 to Panasonics GS300 (look for post by thehickoks in the forum). The Sony compared to this one has better low light and color (although I've seen in another review that it is barely less crisp at distant shots) and has a much better design for my taste. I am happy to help if anyone has questions for me.

Regarding the Canon Elura 100, this is my third camcorder. Having had a Sony analog and JVC Digital in the past, I spent considerable time researching what my next camcorder would be. Ideally, I wanted a Panasonic PV-GS250, but that's just to high an investment for my personal use and abuse.

The earlier purchaser reviews do a great job at detailing technical pros and cons of the Elura 100. Personally, I have not experienced a problem with motor noise in my recordings.

I have a large hand but I enjoy the compact size of this camera -- I can easily slip it into a coat pocket.

Recording in true widescreen is new to me and takes a bit of thinking to adjust old habits of framing the person I'm recording. But the results look great.

Video transfer to my Mac (OS 10.4) and iMovie HD works fine with firewire. I haven't been able to get iMovie to recognize the Elura when hooked up via USB cable provided.

The Elura's on screen menu is fairly intuitive. Navigation by the new joystick isn't hard to get used to.

I love the built in lens cover. No more hassle with stupid lens caps dangling in front.

The instruction manual provided has enough details to answer the few questions I had.

I'd rate the battery as the worst feature of this camera. My complaints:
1. Battery life is horrible. I don't understand why it is nearly drained every time I pick up this camcorder.
2. The battery is mounted internally. You open the view screen and remove a plastic cover to access the battery. Not easy to do on the fly. Nor can you buy a bigger size with greater capacity like externally mounted batteries.

Keep in mind a few things when considering a new camcorder:
1. How much are you willing to invest? That includes buying SD card, spare battery, or any accessories you don't already have like a new tripod or case.
If you say your max budget is $500, then you can get decent video quality for a $400 camera and spend another $100 on the accessories.

2. Who will use it? In my household it is mainly me. But if you have to share with wife/kids, think about how the camera might get abused.

3. Where will you use it. Many early reviews on other sites said the Elura 100 doesn't perform well in low light conditions. They are right. But if you are smart about where and when you use the camera, low light probably wont be an issue. Take advantage of natural light. Turn all the lights on in a room indoors, even during daytime. Pick well lit part of the room and try to steer your subjects there.

4. Do you want to digitize your old analog 8mm or VHS tapes? Those old memories are deteriorating and Do It Yourself digitization has never been easier. The Elura 100 is one of the few cameras I could find that had A/V input along with decent performance features.

5. Even though this takes still pictures, you should invest in a separate good quality digital camera. I carry both when I'm out with the family. The camcorder still camera feature wont provide as high a quality as you can get from a dedicated digital camera.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

There's a lot to be said for compact cameras and digicams - most people will be happy with the results, and they get used a LOT more than bulkier, heavier, more complicated versions. 2.2 x 3.0 x 4.3 inches is pretty small!

But there are some inevitable compromises - the main one being, the size of the lens and sensor has a lot of impact on the quality of the images, especially in low light. Personally, that's fine for me - there are so many shots I'd otherwise miss, that I get with a compact camera. So if that's your approach, you'll want to consider this entry- to mid-level budget Canon.

The Elura 100 is the replacement for all of last year's Elura models - the only 2006 Elura. (Amazon has it wrong, this camera was announced January, 2006 and just became available.) It's a step up from the ZR line, but below the Optura line.

There's a lot of info above already, so some key points that might not jump out:
- Video is headed toward widescreen; this camera is actually designed for it, not just in the video capture but also the LCD and the viewfinder. It may take some getting used to shooting with it, though.
- At 1/5th inch, the sensor is larger than some low-end models; though it claims 1.33 million pixels; that's reduced in practice, but still more than many at this price: using 16:9 widescreen mode, it's 750,000 (with image stabilization) or 880,000 (without); and using 4:3 traditional form, it's 690,000.
- It has a semi-usable snapshot mode; you can actually make an OK print from a 1 megapixel (1152 x 864) image. You need a memory card, though.
- The lens accepts accessories, like a wide angle converter.
- The external microphone connection is a plus for some, the kind of thing you might realize later that you want; though there isn't a place to physically attach the mic.
- The built in lens cover is handy.
- Like many (but not all) camcorders, it has an analog input; so you can convert your old tapes to digital by using this as a recorder, or even just passing the signal through the camera.

Some caveats:
- Compact cameras can't perform as well in low light as some might like. Experiment a little before you really need it, to learn how to make the most of what it can do.
- Controls may be small and awkwardly placed for some.
- If you want to transfer the video to a computer, you still need a Firewire cable and port. The USB port is only for stills, and analog to digital conversions.
- The viewfinder is fixed, not moveable.
- The movie mode that records onto the memory card is too low-resolution to be any real use (320x240 15 fps), but that's not what you're buying this for.
- The feature menu is a little complex.

I'll leave it to others, for now, to comment on how they like the joystick; the lights; and the low light performance.

Stuff you might need to buy: get an SD memory card for images - they're cheap enough that it's worth having just in case, and standard speed will do, given that there's only low res video modes; and a Firewire cable to transfer digital video.

Filter diameter is 27mm.

The Canon site has more info, and the Support Download Library has a PDF of the manual. Google for reviews, though few are out yet.

And as always ... never pay list price!

My Elura 100 just came in. I really just bought it to replace our aging Sony Hi8 and to hold us over until more HD cameras had come out with big HDD's. After my first few days of using it though,
I don't think we'll be replacing this one with a HD one anytime soon!

I have to say I was utterly surprised at just how small the Elura is, any smaller and it just wouldn't be usable anymore. Still, at this small size it is easy for me to operate and use and I have rather large hands (I'm 6'4"). All the buttons on the back do not bother me the least. I honestly rather have them there then deal with a touchscreen LCD!

The video quality is outstanding, even indoors and with only little daylight/artificial light.

I had looked at a lot of cameras, but here is what I persuaded me to get the Elura 100:

- analog to digital pass-through (a lot of new cameras start skipping that this year)
- good color performance
- good low-light performance
- small size
- lens cover built in (that way it won't get lost)
- quick startup time (probably 1-2 secs)
- TRUE widescreen (although not HD, but that'd cost another $1k right now; most budget cameras just crop the image)
- easy to use, yet still somewhat powerful/manual friendly
- good price

At this time I haven't found anything I don't like about the camera; however, here are some things you should now:

- Camera is VERY small. I still find it easy to operate with my medium to large size hands, though.
- Don't "rest" your thumb on the joystick, rather "lightly" guide it in the desired direction.
- By default the camera is setup to play on a widescreen TV/projector. You need to change that first in the playback menu (not the widescreen/standard button on the back), if you want to play your video properly on a 4:3 screen. Or just leave it be and everybody will compliment you on how this camera makes them look like they dropped 20lbs!
- SD card and/or tape are NOT included.

I personally haven't noticed any more motor noise than with any other (super) small size camcorder, even when filming just our youngest (4 months) laying on the bed chewing on his foot (very quiet scene). Be advised that due to the small size of this camcorder, the mic is closer to the motor than on previous generation camcorders.

Final Verdict:
For a "budget" camcorder (well under $500), this little jewel packs an awful lot of bang for the buck!

Owned it for 3 weeks now and I am impressed with the price to features ratio. Purchased $309 from Amazon.

I stayed with the Mini DV format because I needed something to read my older Mini DV tapes I already possesed. I also chose this camera because it offered the Analog to Digital option not found in the current line of many low end Sony Mini-DV camcorders.

My last Canon Mini-DV ZR50 (which I purchased for $440 in 2002) died after 4 years faithful service. I captured close to 70+ tapes with that camcorder so I got my money's worth. I thought that was a good camera, but comparing the color, sharpness and low light level capture with the ELURA 100, it was obvious that there was a gigantic leap in technology and in a smaller package (around 25% smaller than the ZR50) too!

I finally got to play with the special effects and my kids get a kick out of the "mirror" effect. If you set it right you can make your kids appear and disappear on camera like magic!

Daytime filming is very good in my opinion for a camera in this price range. The color balance is great and the auto focus is quick and sharp. Manual focus overide is great, you just need to master how and when to use it.

Digital zoom when enabled is pretty effective, you just need to utilize a tripod to avoid the shakes.

There are 2 negatives (albeit minor)I can think of:
One is I instinctively mistake the joystick control center button as the shoot button as my thumb settles naturally in that position. This produces a few embarrasing moments when I think I'm shooting when I'm actually not and vice versa. Only repetitive use can fix that.

The second is that though the low light capture is vastly improved from the ZR50 I wish that the external light shoe was still an option. The built LED light is only effective in my opinion to objects within 4-5 feet and in a narrow field, Otherwise it is useless. I can only speculate that the small internal battery could not sustain the current draw for such a light and operate the camcorder at the same time but if it just had a shoe for a self powered unit would be nice.

All in all I am very happy with my purchase...a nice little camera with a lot of features at a low price.

Just remember never buy at retail price, get that free shipping option and shop via the Net to avoid paying sales tax - then you're a happee chapee!!!

So far so good. I like my new Elura 100 MiniDV camcorder. It has a lot of options and is within a good price range. Most of the reviews below covered the important aspects of the camera. I bought this to replace my old RCA, analog camera. In general the quality of the picture is much better on the Elura. This was something I was worried about in switching to the digital format, but the pictures from the Elura have been incredibly crisp and show up well on a large (standard resolution) TV set. The only exception is low light recording, where the RCA seemed to do a little better. I'll break it down to pros and cons:

PROS:
1. Small size--a true palm sized camcorder. By the way, there were some reviews that were critical of the 'small controls.' I have at least average sized hands and the controls, including the joystick, were easy to operate. They do take some getting used to, but they are very straight forward.

2. WIDE SCREEN FORMAT: 16:9 and 4:3 formats are available. One caveat, is you will need capture software for your computer that can handle the 16:9 format to make DVDs from this. The software supplied with the camcorder is barely adequate and very clunky. But it is usable.

3. ZOOM: 20x Optical Zoom--some have larger zooms but stabilization becomes a real problem after 15x or so. This camcorder has electronic stabilization which seems to work well. I've turned off the digital zoom option. Digital zoom just makes for a grainy and unstable picture. Theoretically, the camera can go up to 800x. This is, of course, completely at the expense of the picture. 20x is a fine Zoom range. The highest zoom range in this class appears to be 30x. As I said before, above 15x it can be a chore to keep the image stable and probably requires a tripod.

4. LOTS OF MANUAL CONTROL if you want it. You can either control Nevertheless there's an automatic mode which most of us will use 99% of the time. Exposure can be totally automatic, you can use pre-determined 9 scene modes, or manually control the exposure. Very nice. Focusing can be done automatically (two different algorhythms to choose from)or manually using the joystick. I'm not a fan of the the effects but you have 9 different fading effects and 9 different digital effects to choose from. (This is fine if you like it, but most of this is better done post production on your computer.) Interestingly, the manual makes all of these features appear incredibly complex. In practice I have found the camera to be quite intuitive, and it is far easier to use out of the box than it would appear to be if you look at the manual.

5. ANALOG VIDEO TRANSFER: You can transfer video tapes or old analog video to digital through the camera. You can even record right off your TV. This has been a nice feature to transfer my old Hi8 videos to digital video.

6. LONG BATTERY LIFE: I'm getting about two hours from a battery so far. This depends on usage, but is generally good. Others have stated that battery life is poor, but I think about 2 hours is great. I wonder if there is variability in the quality of the batteries supplied.

7. INTEGRATES WELL WITH WINDOWS XP: no problems with firewire capture of the mini-DV. The ease of capture may depend on your software. Mine is pretty straightforward. Windows recognized the camera instantly. (I have a fairly neanderthal set up--right now I am using a 900 mhz Athlon powered laptop. So if my computer can find the camera, I imagine yours can too...)

8. COMES WITH A REMOTE CONTROL: not necessary, but a nice feature.

CONS:
1. NO TRUE USB CONNECTIVITY: One of the reasons I bought this camera was because the hype stated that it has USB connectivity. Well it does. But then again, it doesn't. Being a MiniDV/digital video virgin, I didn't realize that the USB connectivity only works only for images on the SD card. It DOES NOT work for standard MiniDV capture to a computer. For this you need a firewire connection. Once you have the firewire, there's no problem with connectivity.

Some reviews thought there was something wrong with their computer connectivity. Nope. YOU NEED FIREWIRE TO GET VIDEO TO YOUR COMPUTER. So you will have to invest in a firewire cable if you don't have one and make sure you have a firewire port on your computer (or buy a card).

The funny people at Cannon only supply you with a USB cable as if that is all you need. This only suffices to transfer the 1 megapixel and the 320 x 240 (76,800 pixels) video on the SD card. Even if the thing took great still pictures, they would only be 1 megapixel. This is less than most cell phone/cameras nowadays. The video recorded on the card is a joke. It might be 'fun' for a website, but it looks small and grainy even on the flip-out screen on the camera itself. It will look more ridiculous on your computer. Skip the SD Card. Use the MiniDV tape and record at 690,000 pixels or greater depending on the mode. This may not seem like a lot compared to a standard still camera, but this represents far more pixels than can be displayed on a conventional TV and translates into a great picture.

2. "MEGA VIDEO LIGHT": These twin LEDs are supposed to help with illumination indoors. You turn them on using a separeate switch. If you do not manually correct the light balance, however, you will find that all your subjects have an eerie bluish cast. Additionally, these small LEDs don't provide the 'mega' illumination needed for subjects that are beyond a few feet away from you. They're better than nothing and a nice try, but not very effective and so they really don't enhance the low light perfromance in a real, palpable way.

3. LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE IS NOT SO GOOD: One area that my old RCA analog recorder did better than this one is in low light performance department. This probably was due to the lens being three times larger in diameter. It was less compact, but captured more light. Still, in this price range, low light performance appears to be universally poor. At times, you have to manually override the automatic exposure as the shutter speed is set so slow that moving objects have small tails like comets flashing through the night. Also subjects become more mono-chromatic and grainy. Once again, this kind of poor low light performance seems to be a 'class' feature. Reading the reviews, the Elura 100 may be one of the better cameras in its class.

4. STILL PICTURES ARE SMALL: Not great still picture capability. This is standard for these kinds of camaras. I guess it would do in pinch, but is absolutely no substitute for a digital still camera. There are a number of features you can use for the pictures, including a 'burst' mode, but given the size of the image, none of this is worth the worry. Given the lack of megapixels, I'm not sure why Canon spent a lot of time on a wide feature set here. I played with stills initially, but given the low megapixel count, I don't really use it any more.

CONCLUSION:
All in all, you get a lot of bang for the buck. If you have an extra $200-$300 to spend you might want to try a 3 CCD type camera. But in the under $350 budget range, MiniDV category this one is well worth it. This camera may not be for the amateur cinematographer, but is a great, easy to use, and portable family camera. The picture quality is excellent for a camera in this range and it has a broad feature set as well.

The Elura 100 is an impressive camcorder for the prices it's going for these days. Good low-light performance for a sub four-hundred camcorder (in fact, even good low-light performance for a sub six-hundred camcorder). The video quality is great (hard to believe what's coming from this bargain).

Months ago a few people ran in to problems with bad motor parts making terrible noises on their recordings, but my new Elura 100 doesn't suffer from this problem. Like most other budget MiniDV camcorders, you can hear a soft, high-pitched whirring from the motor in quiet filming, but the Elura 100 has an external mic jack that could eliminate this common MiniDV characteristic when you need to.

The Elura does suffer from some design flaws. The rear controls are a LITTLE awkward at first (the Power/Record/Playback switch can be really hard to activate when holding it at certain angles), and the top mounted zoom buttons are poorly placed. But these are things you can get used to and eventually not notice. Least important to me (must perhaps most important to some), this thing is ugly. There are some nice looking budget MiniDV camcorders out there, but this is not one of them. An excellent camcorder review site said that the Elura 100 is all about function over form, and I have to agree.

All and all though I'm very happy with my Elura 100. I would highly recommend it to anyone who can't afford to spend much on a camcorder, and can handle turning in some comfort and style for a better end result.

I've had it for a few days now and I tried to transfer to DVD already. I got it for $285 from Dell though not Amazon.

The plus:
- Inner battery I think makes the camcorder looks better and more compact
- Battery life so far so good. I have finished an entire 1 hour of Mini DV tapes, and still able to replay it directly on my TV (so I believe the battery life is almost 2 hour, depends on usage though whether you turn on and off frequently)
- Sharp picture for outdoor, indoor I don't expect too much but it is still usable
- The noise that everybody talking about is not there when I transfer video to my computer and DVD. The DVD is silent. For those who has the noise problem, they might be using the camcorder to replay the video on TV. I agree that the playback on camcorder itself is noisy (I think the playback mechanism is not very good)
- Most important, the price is right

The cons:
- It is noisy when playback movies in camcorder, but I am not intend to do this for I believe if I play around with the camcorder playback often will ruin the motor mechanism. I will also get a DV rewinder isntead using the camcorder itself to rewind.
- Still capture is not good, very grainy.

Overall I'm very pleased with this camcorder.

I bought this camcorder after returning the Sony DCR-DVD305 my husband got me for Christmas. I had a lot of issues with the Sony - you can read my review if interested.
br /
br /Anyhow, I did a lot of research, and although the warnings about motor noise concerned me, I decided to risk making the purchase. I bought mine from BH Photo Video for $359. I chose them because of their reputation and they do not absolutely charge a re-stocking fee if you return it, it depends upon the condition of the items upon return.
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br /Overall, I am thrilled with this camera, especially compared to the Sony. The video quality in regular and low light is by far superior on the Canon. I like the idea that I can copy my old VHS tapes through this camera to my computer and burn them to DVD, I LOVE that I can add a wide angle lens, and the firewire port makes transfer to the PC super simple.
br /
br /To test the camera compared to the Sony, I recorded a video of my son similar to the one I had taken with the Sony - same room, same lighting, same everything. Again, the video quality of the Canon is much better and less grainy. The picture was brighter and more vibrant and it picked up more in low light than the Sony. The sound was very good, picking up all conversation, even some background stuff from another room, and you could actually hear what was being said - it wasn't muffled. The optical zoom is great, but unless you are as steady as a rock, close-in will require the tripod, although the more I used it, the better I got at keeping it from jumping around. I think it takes some practice to understand how the camera reacts.
br /
br /The noise everyone mentions from the tape motor is there, especially if you are looking for it. My Mom didn't notice it, but I did and so did my husband. That being said, the Sony, which was a DVD camcorder had noise too on video playback. It was slightly less in volume, but higher pictched so it was actually more annoying. The noise from the Canon, when played back on my PC was like the sound of an airplane motor but from far away. Lower but constant. On my TV, after burned to a DVD, it was much less noticeable. At first it bothered me greatly, but when I played both the Sony video and the Canon video back on my TV I realized that it's actually not that bad.
br /
br /If they could reduce the motor noise even by half, this camera would be perfect! I plan on keeping this camera and using it for many years to come.

Let me start off by saying that I love Canon products. My first and second 8mm camcorders were Canons, and I have a Canon S750 bubble jet printer. I'm also using a Canon PowerShot A75, among the best class of digital cameras on the market. I'm thoroughly satisfied with all of these products and I will be buying a Canon Powershot S2 IS before the summer travel season.

Wanting to take the leap to a digital camcorder, I did a lot of online research and found that Sony, Panasonic, and Canon were the best choices. In my research of Canon's ZR and Elura camcorders, I found many reviews that mentioned motor noise as a flaw that caused the buyer to return the product. Having a bias for Canon, I discounted these reviews and purchased the Elura 100.

I charged up the camera and used it the following night to record a school concert. When I replayed the tape at home, everyone in my family (myself included) complained about the unbearable motor noise. The excellent music did not drown out the constant, annoying, high-pitched noise. I returned the camera the following weekend and purchased a Panasonic PV-GS300 digital camcorder. The PV-GS series utilizes Panasonic's advanced technology in the commercial market. It works great, takes great video, and it doesn't so much as whisper during operation. That's right, you can't hear it while it's recording! Bottom line, I love my Panasonic PV-GS300 and its amazing features.

I learned many things from this experience: (1) Canon makes great products, but they're no longer serious players in the camcorder market, (2) Amazon reviews are an excellent resource for product research (I can't believe I'm submitting this review), (3) Amazon reviews must always supercede brand loyalty, and (4) if you record a concert with Canon's ZR or Elura series camcorders, make sure no one is sitting in front of you or behind you, because the motor noise will ruin the experience for all. Worse for you because you'll live with it as long as the tape holds its ones and zeros (digital speak).

Folks, please think twice before considering this camera -- the motor noise is truly a legitimate and serious problem. If you want to capture and enjoy special family memories without the irritation of high-pitched motor noise, buy yourself a Panasonic PV-GS series camcorder.

I just bought this camera and am very pleased with it. I own a Canon digital camera, and for the money I couldn't find a better camera. So I figured I'd stick with Canon for a mini dv and my research brought me to this Elura 100.
I can't say anything bad about this camera considering the price/performance ratio. Its excellent for family usage, shooting kids sporting events, parties, etc.
The motor noise or tape noise is present when recording to tape but I couldn't detect it during playback but it probably can be heard during playback if you shoot a video in a quiet room. I didn't test this so I cannot verify. Just guessing. I will note that throughout my research I noticed that people said this about almost every mini dv in this class/price.
No sound at all while recording to the SD card. I would like to clear up something that one of the other reviewers mentioned. They said "the USB connectivity only works only for images on the SD card. It DOES NOT work for standard MiniDV capture to a computer".
This is not true...well sorta. You can record lower res. video to the SD card, but the max size is 320 x 240, which is actually perfect if you are intending to email it to friends or upload to the internet for viewing.
I'm loving this camera and very pleased with my choice. Sure there are higher quality cameras out there, but of course they will cost more coin. The things that most attracted me were the price, the fact it has usb and firewire connections, the ability to transfer video from a vcr or other video camera, (I have a sharp hi-8 that I have been converting footage over from and it works like a champ).
And finally the small size & weight since I plan on getting a mount for my motorcycle so I can shoot video from the bike.
No firewire cable and no firewire card in your computer? No problem:
I purchased a firewire card from newegg that came with a firewire cable and Ulead video editing software all for ten bucks. Hook yourself up with that and you are set. If your research has brought you to this mini dv based on your needs I say grab it. You won't be sorry.

I did a great deal of research before purchasing this for Christmas. It cost $329 with free shipping from Amazon. The camera does have some minor motor noise, but nothing the lay person would notice. The camera is feature pack (other reviews have gone into detail) and has a great picture. Most of all, I love the you can easily change the analog out to analog in from any source (old 8MM vids), connect firewire from the camera to my computer and either save on hard drive or burn a dvd of my old videos. Nothing else on the market comes close to this camera for under $500. I would also recommend buying the Cannon bag, as everything fits into it quite nicely.

Just received this camera a couple of days ago and used it today to film Chicago from the Sears tower skydeck. When played back on my 90 inch home theater projector screen, the sharp, 16:9 widescreen picture is amazing. Color saturation is right on. The sound is great. A very slight, but very normal motor whir is noticable only in a completely quiet room. Buttons, like the zoom control could have been laid out more ergonomically, but overall a great camcorder. 4/5 stars. One point off for button placement. A GREAT camera for the money.

I used the camera on a trip to Hawaii and was quite impressed with the results. I did not notice the camera motor noise as others have noted. Even though I purchased an external mike to eliminate the reported noise concern, I never used it. Since most of the photos were outdoors and the pictures were more important to me than hearing other tourists make their ignorant comments, I never hooked up the external mike.

In terms of the battery, I experienced 2 hours out of the standard battery if you use the viewfinder rather than the display screen. Power 2000 sells an extnded life battery for this camera (from 850 mah standard to 1,000 mah). Unfortunately, my Power 2000 battery arrived at home after I had left on my trip so I could not test its added horsepower. Since the mini DV tapes only last an hour anyway, changing batteries with every other tape was not a problem.

I would recommend purchasing a back-up battery and an external battery charger, rather than using the camera to re-charge batteries. Perhaps even better might be a charger with a an optional auto lighter cord so one battery can be replenished in the car while driving. Still two hours is pretty long for a single battery.

Although there is an internal lens cover, I used a UV filter and although this protected the camera lens, shooting ocean photos meant cleaning the filter frequently from the spray. It was easy to remove the filter and clean it rather than touching the camera lens.

The small joystick could be slghtly larger, but it is manageable.
I found that in some cases to steady the camera from rocking or movement, I would use my left hand to block the camera and in this case it was almost more comfortable to operate the zoom with my index finger on the left hand. Again I am using the viewfinder rather than the screen to shoot photos.

In terms of the zoom 20X is just fine; any more and an individual can not hold the camera still enough for reasonably clear photos and a tri-pod is required. If you want more there is a 2X telephoto lens available pushing this camera to a 40X zoom. Similarly there are .5X wide angle lenses available.

I am pleased with the camera and its overall performance for the price. [I was able through Amazon to purchase it for less than $300 with the deals being offered. This left room in the wallet for a camera case, filters, lenses, battery charger, external mic, etc.] I have an older Nikon digital still camera, so the Canon was purchased for the express purrpose of taking videos especially outdoor views and met my expectations. I created a mount on my tri-pod where the Nikon and Elura could share the same three legs with the Nikon having a manual shutter release to minimize bumping the tripod. I was able to capture sunrises and sunsets in both video and still images.

The compact size of the Elura was convenient in that it could be stowed in a pocket in my shorts leaving my hands free when not in picture taking mode.

Each camera has its features and disadvantages; I suggest you give the Elura 100 a test drive and see if it works for you compared to others on the market.

I ordered the camera from Crutchfield on a Saturday and the camera came on Friday. I read reviews about motor noise but decided to buy it anyway. I should have listened to the reviews on Amazon.com, I noticed motor noise also. It was annoying to hear while recording, also while playing back on the computer or TV.

I returned the Cannon to Crutchfield and ordered a Panasonic PV-GS300 camcorder from Amazon.com. Virtually silent operation, could not hear the motor noise at all during playback. The picture quality is excellent since it has three CCD's.

I would not recommend buying this camera since the motor noise is annoying, and my fianc? heard the noise too.

I second the review below. Overall the I liked the size and features of this camera. The only reason it went back was due to the motor noise being picked up by the camera microphones. Even my wife who is essentially tone deaf picked up on the noise in the background. Tried two different cameras with the same result. I have owned two Canon still cameras and been very happy. I am very disappointed that Canon would release a product with this type of design flaw.

PROS:

-Excellent price
-Excellent quality in exterior shoots.
-Big zoom at 20x
-Wide screen and 4:3 aspect ratio
-It accepts lenses (.5x, 2x, fisheye, and more)
-Battery life is very good!!!
-Maximum 2 seconds to start up
-Vivid colors
-Can record low quality videos onto SD card to send via email or internet
-Able to digitalize your old VHS
-Can attach a microphone.
-Lens cover included
-The LCD is really REALLY good.
-Love the remote control.
-Did I tell you it's really cheap?


CONS:

-No accesory shoe... if you want to add extra light or microphone, it won't let you stick it on it.
-Grainy quality in low light scenes (average).
-The back controls are not so easy to use, at least not for me (I have a big hand... any girl interested?!!!)
-The printed manual doesn't include screen captures to show the user how to choose the options, everything is narrated :s
-The software IS NOT FOR CAPTURING MINIDV VIDEO, it's just to capture the SD pictures and SD mpeg's. ¿Why would I want to install a mega loaded software with some drivers just to copy pictures that I can load to my pc by just inserting the SD card into my SD reader and acces the files via "My Computer"?
-You CANNOT DIGITALIZE YOUR MINIDV VIDEO USING THE USB. The USB seems to be only to access the SD card. If you are planning to get your pictures with a SD card reader, SELL THE USB CABLE AND DON'T BOTHER INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE.
-The kit doesn't include an I-Link (or fireware) cable (used to capture your video to your computer)
-It doesn't include a decent editing studio like ulead
-The menu is easy to use but I would appreciate to have hints or built in help to learn how to use it without the manual book.

Overall, I really like it... These cons don't affect my camcorders performance, that's why I'm still giving it a 5 stars, but most important it costed me 320 dlls, shipping included. you'll never get a better camera for this price.

My next camcorder will be a Hard Drive or SD based, but I'll wait until they get better..... and cheaper!!!. And for now let's shoot like crazy!!!

After researching the Panasonic DV cams for months, I decided to go with the Canon Elura 100 on impulse. I was looking for three specific features: Widescreen filming, firewire connectivity, and analog/digital pass through. Elura 100 has all three of these features.
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br /I'm quite pleased with the picture, especially in low light. And I love the camera (1.1 MP was enough for the casual blog pictures I needed). The zoom is fantastic. Records great sound quality. I find the battery life pretty good.
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br /I do have some gripes though. I wish the firewire port wasn't positioned so high as one of my cable plugs makes a very tight fit to access. Other cables are fine though. The night mode isn't very good. It's too choppy and blurry to be of use. The motor noise is loud when recording in quiet areas (it gets picked up on the tape). However, in outdoor situations and any place without quiet noises, I don't notice a problem. The strap that anchors the camera to your hand is very flimsy and feels rather cheap. In fact, the strap on the test model in store had snapped.
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br /At first, I felt a little buyer's remorse after my purchase; definitely after my tests with the loud motor. But I recently took it on a vacation and loved its performance. It's not a perfect camera, but for $350, with its plethora of features, it's well worth it. 3.5 - 4 stars

Quite simply you can't touch anything this good for the price. Great picture (real 16:9), great features, good still shooting. If you want a better camcorder (and there are better ones) you will need to spend about $500 to get anything comparable. I did a lot of research. For $500-$600 you can get an quite fablulous camcorder (better than this model) but there is nothing close to Canon Elura 100 in its price range which is why I'm giving it 5 stars.

I just received the canon elura from Butterfly Photo and am promptly returning it for another. I hope not to have the same issue with the motor noise, but the one they sent was terrible. I recorded for about five minutes and the replay on both the camera and T.V. was very noticable and problematic. I went to Best Buy to hear their floor model and did not hear anything compared to what this camera's motor noise was emitting. Did Butterfly Photo send me a refurbished camera? It seems that there have been various reports of this issue. Obviously, some of the cameras do not have the motor noise problem, while others clearly do. Butterfly promptly sent another camera without the motor noise. Thanks!!

This was my first home video camera. I purchased after doing much research on cameras less than $400. It is small, that's for sure. The remote control comes in handy when zooming in or during playback on a TV. Three things that I really enjoy about this camera when compared to others within its class are

1) The fact that it has a true 16:9 widescreen mode. Some cameras advertise 16:9, but they will have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when played back on a tv. The ELURA 100 16:9 widescreen takes up the entire screen of a widescreen TV. Cool! OR you may choose the regular 4:3 mode.

2) You can attach an external mic. This is good for doing interviews in which you attach a lapel mic to someone. Cool!

3) You can buy Telephoto and Wide angle Lenses to attach to this camera. You can also buy a fisheye lense for it too. Cool! Not many home video cameras do this.

The video quality is about as good as you'll find for a single CCD camera under $400.

I've already dropped the camera on the ground once and it didn't fall apart. It must be pretty sturdy.

I've uploaded the video to my PC using Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 through Firewire. The video quality was outstanding.

Great home video camera!

This is my first digital cam purchase. I researched extensively online and many arrows pointed to the elura 100. I wanted external mic input and analog to digital through port capability---has both. After looking at hard drive models and dvdcams I decided the minidv was for me since I borrow a three chip sony at my school and can take the tapes home.
br / I purchased locally for a very good price ($288) Of course, they try to sell you an extra battery by telling you it only has 10 minutes (nonsense). I ordered the firewire from amazon so I can download videos to computer. I began using the camera and found it's features to be wonderful. The small size is amazing, the powerful ccd (1.33) gives great clarity and wonderful color. Low light doesn't seem bad and I don't think you can do much better unless you get a larger camera with less zoom. The 20x zoom is fantastic and i like the little viewfinder in case I really want to stabilize the camera. The built in mic sounds very clear and has good fidelity. (doesn't pick up much motor noise as some complained). I'm a musician and will record my jazz group with built in mic or external stereo condenser mic. Am looking forward to using it much more than my old 8mm tape yashica (though it still works after 14 years).
br / In this price range, I don't think they come better. My local stores have been blowing out other models for under $200. and they are very good but I wanted something a little better. Good luck.

I have now owned this camera for 7 months and have used it extensively. From the previous reviews you can see that while some camera's may have some sound issues this is hardly standard. I for one have had absolutely no sound issues. The picture quailty is very good outside or in a brightly lit room. As with any camera in this price range it will struggle in low light situations. For the price you will not find a better more compact camera. Amazon has a great return policy...if you end up with one that is too "noisy"...return it.

About every 5 years, I buy a Canon product. Each time, I am pleased by outstanding optics and convenient control layout.

Pluses:
High quality optics, including 20x zoom
Large, easy to see LCD (with normal and bright display modes)
Reasonable battery life (approximately two hours)
Easy to use features (record, playback, photo)
Easy to use recording modes (fully automatic or sports, night, sunset, snow, beach, ...)
Easy to use setup menus
Thick but clear user manual in English, French and Spanish
(want to know how to use the camcorder as a analog to digial converter between your VHS cassette player and your computer?)

Extras:
external mic input
ability to dub a sound track onto a recorded sequence using the external mic or the AV input
AV input and output
analog to digital recording or analog to digital passthrough
wide recording 9:16 mode or standard 4:3 mode

Minuses:
When recording a silent scene, the built-in mic picks up the cassette motor and lens zoom motor. On playback, the sound is a low volume whrrrrr. When recording a normal scene, the motor noises are not audible.

Have used mine about a week. Picture plenty crisp and clear, even in lower light. Don't know how low folks are complaining about, but it performs fine indoors, at night, with the lights on. Daylight through open windows provides plenty of light, but then I've got a lot of windows; ) Autofocus plenty responsive and smart enough to pick out the main subject. 20X optical zoom more than enough.

Wee bit of motor noise, but far from 'nails on chalkboard'. Using the analog to digital pass through (which works no problem with iMovie) I've noticed more motor noise on my old Panasonic VHS-C camcorder's tapes.

Ergonomics are a bit wonky for my big hands, camera is kind of 'boxey' but it is more than manageable.

Can't comment on still pics as I haven't, and probably never will, use it for that. Overall I'd definitely recommend it. Just recently purchased the Lowepro Edit 110 bag and it will fit this camcorder, it's accessories, a spare battery and two spare tapes, all snugly and securely.

This is a fantastic camcorder! Granted, I don't have an extensive frame of reference (this is the first one I've ever owned) but it performs exactly how I want when I want. I had to opt for less than 5 stars in the interest of integrity as noted below.
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br /Great out of the box and TV setup.
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br /Great battery life.
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br /Great film results, especially outside.
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br /Decent sound.
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br /It's easy to set up and use right out of the box. I'm STUNNED by how small and light it is. The controls are easily accessible and fairly intuitive. I had read a few reviews that suggested they were cramped. However, in my experience, I've been quite comfortable using the camcorder despite my large hands. The "Easy" mode is great, and there are plenty of manual controls to use as I learn more about the camera.
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br /The video quality, especially outside, is incredible. My wife and I were both amazed at how professional it looked on our TV. It should be noted, though, that there is a noticeable difference when you record inside particularly in the evening. I more or less expected this when purchasing the camera, I knew I wasn't purchasing a professional model. I was on a budget, but wanted solid results - and I feel I've received those results from the Canon Elura 100.
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br /Regarding the motor noise being heard in the film, I'm sad to say the rumors are true. I read reviews where the user hated the camcorder because of this, and other reviews that claimed the noise didn't exist. I knew this was the one risk with this camera before purchasing it. However, this should not be a deal breaker. In most situations, the noise is imperceivable except in quiet environments.
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br /All in all, you can't touch a better camcorder with more value in this price range +/- $200. I'm thrilled about this product and the moments I've captured with it, and it's been worth every penny I've spent.
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This camera was a gift for my daughter, it has met or exceeded all of her needs. She is 17 and creates short films for school and to put on the internet and she is completely satisfied.

Terrific camcorder for use with a Mac computer. Downloads easily, also has a great zoom. Seems easy to operate.

The video quality on this camera was great but all that was ruined by a VERY VERY loud tape drive. The sound coming from the MiniDV tape drive was so loud that it was picked up by both the built-in microphone AND an external microphone placed a good 5-6 inches from the unit. The distortion was so bad I returned the camera. Canon needs to address this issue as I have been reading about this a lot lately. Let the buyer beware with this camera.

I've had this camcorder for 2 months now and use it several times a week. I have to say -- coming from the Sony world of camcorders -- that the Elura is far superior. The only thing I miss in my Sony is the touch-screen control, but the joystick of the Canon works just fine. I was in Prague in August when my Sony simply upped and died on me -- and it would have cost more to repair than the camcorder was worth. Very pissed, I used my Canon (Elph) digital camera to take movies (in addition to the stills it was already taking) and came home with some good movie footage that I stitched together using Windows MovieMaker. But that's not what I bargained for.

Now I own the Canon Elura 100, and I've been using it hard for 60+ days, and have downloaded (via FireWire) tons of footage, and most of it shot at 16:9 widescreen. And it's GREAT! Especially for its price, the Elura is a no-brainer. I don't seem to suffer from the motor noise I keep reading about. Ninety percent of my shooting is regular daylight, and I use all the effects and controls available (especially the fun "mirror" effect), and this little thing is a charmer. Kids and excursions, family dinners and high-school outings, flying kites and visiting relatives -- these are the things we use our camcorders for. I am one happy fan of the Elura 100.

While I don't yet own a Mac with iDVD (check in with me next month!), I have been making cool videos with the free Windows MovieMaker and with Adobe Premiere Elements. This is why god made computers -- so we can have some control over our lived lives and depict our roles, families, loves, and travels for the generations to come. The Elura 100 rules.

Agree with many comments about how it's great, easy, and totally appropriate for home use. I used it for home use and found it just fine. Recently we just finished an overview of the hospital department, and I took over 3 hours of video to edit down to 10 minutes. This little jobby worked great. Battery live was superb. In fact, I had purchased an extra battery out of fear from reading some reviews, but I have yet to use it. It lasted way more than the 1 hour I expected per charge. The joystick control worked fine once I slowed down and read the on-screen directions carefully. Stabilization - probably worked great, but my hand must be way more wobbly than Sherry's, because her video came out smooth, and mine was shaky when I panned. I am way over the age of 50, so that might be it. I got this camera at [...].

For this price range, the picture is great. I can also verify the noise from the motor of this camera. But, I also had a similar noise problem with my Canon ZR-20 (which I still own and use). Personally, I don't use MiniDV's for their audio and if I needed to, I'd go for some external solution.
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br /Bottom line, I paid $800+ for my ZR-20 in 2001, and now for $349, I got an "upgraded" image, much smaller footprint, AND the ability to use an SD card for additional video.
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br /Nice pocket video camera, but there is some noise....

I switched from a Hi8 camera to this. It took me a little getting used to. To me, the picture quality of the Hi8 was actually better, especially if you play back to a monitor directly from the camera, but I wanted a digital camera for downloading and editing ease. At first, I did not think the image quality was that good: colors a bit off, too much distortion when moving the camera fast. I think I was able to make a few color adjustments but mostly I think I had to reconsider the way I took shots, trying to not move too fast and, since it is a wide screen format, which I like, I needed to step back to frame a good shot. I have uploaded to my computer and that is much easier and faster than with a Hi8. Overall, I think, for the price, this is a very good entry level digital camera and I am not sorry I bought it, just took a little getting used to.

In general I am extremely pleased with this item. I had not had a movie camera since a sony bulky super 8. THis camera is super small and generally easy to use. I would have appreciated a "Quick set up page" . Instead you need to actually read much of the manual !. I still am unclear why there is a movie tape and a SD card to choose between. I think they could have included one movie tape and a samll card so that you could "shoot right out of the box". You also need to buy a case. That would only add a few dollars to the price. The quality of the film is what I had expected, good but not fantastic. Transfering to TV or computer was easy as long as you have the right plugs available. I would recommend this camera. Great value for the price

First off this is a pretty good DV camera for the most part but my pet peeve was the design is misleading...
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br /The mic jack is limited...
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br /After my first recoerding I heard the faint motor noise. So to counter act this I thought I could use a wireless mic and that would get rid of the noise...not! the mic jack can only be used in dubbing mode thats a great feature if you are editing film on the camera but for my uses (i use a video editing program) it's worthless.
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br /This is the only thing I hate about this camera. Evrything else is great!
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br /p.s. Recording on the SD card feature from the tape is awesome too! especially if you are using the night vision mode I sugest you don't use it directly on SD this will make it record slow.

When I first decided to purchase a camcorder, I didn't know the difference between a MiniDV, DV, digital, etc. So I did a lot of research online and looked at a lot of reviews. I ordered the Elura, and when it came, I didn't open the box for a week because I thought I changed my mind and thought I should get a DV camcorder so I could conveniently put the DVD right into a DVD player, even if the quality wasn't supposed to be as good. But I decided to open it, and when I saw how small it was, I decided to keep it. I figured out how to use it for an event the next day, and then I realized I didn't have a case to carry it in. It turns out that it fit into an old camera (not camcorder) case. I could not believe that I could carry a camcorder in a camera case. It's so convenient. However, I do agree with 2 negative things about the camera. The strap to hold onto the camera could be better, but it's not terrible. And the zoom in and zoom out button could be more conveniently placed. But it does take great video.

First, I did not have any issues with the motor noise. It's present but I did not find it noticeable. Any ambient noise where you are filming masks the sound.
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br /Love the size. It literally fits in the pockets of most of my pants and shorts, so you can forget about carrying around a bulky case.
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br /I find the joy stick controls a little annoying because they're small, but it's not a big issue. One thing that does bug me is I have a lot of dust trapped in the viewfinder and I cannot get it out of there, even with an air compressor. Tempted to take that apart but it's probably a bad idea. I convert all my movies to DVDs and I'm happy with the quality. I miss my old Sony's nightshot capability, but this is a great replacement unit.
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I purchased this camera to start a videography business. I know I know you need to have the $1000+ Canon GL's and XL's for that! But, I just could not afford so I started hunting.

The #1 thing that drew me to this camera was the single LARGER ccd. It seemed that most other cameras in this price range/category were smaller and had some poorer reviews.

The second item that drew me was the price point. I needed something within my budget that would offer what I needed.

Third, I use this to film in foreign countries. There are times that having a small descreate camera allows for capture of other wise uncaptured footage. It's size tucks away nicely in almost any shoulder bag and well...there is not much weight.

I have used this camera for two weddings and two documentaries. In my most recent wedding I borrowed a pv-gs150 and shot from the wedding from two different angles. Ready for the cool part...When editing and viewing the video there is NO difference to the average person which video came from which camera.

Sure the Canon does not shoot AS WELL in lower lighting. But how often are you going to shoot in the dark?

Some of the features I have grown to love on my Elura is the effects button and still photos.

First the effects button allows you to on the fly change from your pre-determined effect, my case b/w, without shutting the camera off.

Second, I like to incorporate some still photos into my videos to change things up. This camera will rapid shoot to a sd card and I have gotten some CRAZY good pictures. Here again I like the ability to use the effects button. I have also found out it is not to painfully bad to switch from video to still and back w/o much effort.

Ok...so I do like my Elura. BUT, two main issues leave me on the hunt for another camera. There is NO shoe whatso ever on this camera. I very much want to add a shotgun mike, in an effort to reduce background noise. (I did not mention, but the built-in mikes don't do a horrible job. They just pick up to much like most other mikes.) To work in conjunction with that, the controls for the shotgun mike volume would be better accessible. (Actually I guess to say the input.)

I did add an inexpensive wide angle and filter. (Even though it has a good wide angle w/o) and have plans for a shotgun mike.

This is an amazing camera for the money, still pictures are just above cell phones quality but with better optics, but when it comes to video... it outperforms many other more expensive camera...

There's been a lot of reviews of this camera online. A lot of praise from websites such as camcorder info and then user reviews that slam it because of noise. I tested this camera against an older Sony Digital8 which is a much larger camera that originally cost over $1000. My point with this review is not to go over what all the other reviews can tell you (good and bad), but to offer my comparison and findings.
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br /I edited the footage side by side and watched it a few times. Firstly, the noise on the Sony was WORSE. I was concerened about buying this camera because of the reports on noise. I noticed a noise in very quiet environments (NO other noise in the indoor rooms). Then I heard my Sony (which never bothered me in terms of noise before) and it was WAY louder.
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br /What I am getting at here is when you listen for it, it could bother you, but other cameras are much worse. That's not to say some other cameras aren't better, but for the price and tiny size of the camera and the overall picture quality, this is a really great camera.
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br /Its VERY important to note, however, that some folks DO have a real noise problem. Do a search on you tube and you'll hear some bad examples. Check those examples out and if you get one like that return it. Interestingly, when I place my hand or finger over the microphone on the camera, the noise is terrible, and sounds like what the bad you tube examples sound like. Almost as if the YouTubers had their hand over the mic. There are also good examples there so listen to both, that way you'll know when you get it if you have a problem or not. But the basic low level, "have to listen for it to hear it" noise is very much within the bounds of what can be expected of consumer mini dv cams, if not actually better. In my case, way better than my old Sony.
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br /When writing this, I knocked off one star, because in low light the picture is a bit dark and a little grainy. Compared to my old Sony, although the Canon footage came out a lot darker in LOW light, it was actually far more accurate (in terms of darkness and colors) wheras the Sony brightened it more automatically, and added lots of saturation to the colors. The Canon was actually more accurate and true to life. So considering that, I decided to give it back the 5th star.
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br /Worth mentioning is this camera is SMALL!! Smaller than anything you'll see in stores right now (in the minidv range). That is extremely handy for travel, and as someone once said, the best camera is the ONE YOU TAKE WITH YOU.

Purchased this camcorder for my daughter's family. She finds it very easy to use and lightweight so she can carry it to school functions easily. The tapes are readily available and easy to find. However, as time goes by, this format will become obsolete so don't buy it for the long haul. Nothing lasts that long these days anyway. I would recommend this camcorder as my daughter is taking nice movies of my grandchildren!

The camera is fine for the money you pay, but I'm not that happy with it over all. The motor noise in the recording is ridiculously loud. The picture is not nearly as good as the Sony I had before this though. If your looking for a camera under $400, this has some nice features, but if your looking for quality picture, you could do better.

This unit has performed well since we've gotten it in June. We love the widescreen format and the compact size. The features seem good.

Indoors, however, we tend to get dark pictures in a normally lighted room. If we are filming we have to turn on more lights if it is dark outside. The other main issue is the sound does pick up the motor noise from the camera so it isn't great for quiet scenes.

It needs a firewire cable for downloading to the PC and you don't need to load software.

Again, overall a good product but with some reservations.

After putting my 10 year old Sony to rest, this camcorder is a real treat.Easy to use, very portable and fun. The only negative is that the little flap to access the memory storage card and back up battery is so flimsy and poorly attached by a single hinge that it is sure to snap off at some time. Otherwise, highly recommend.

The experts had a lot of good things to say about this camera, so I bought one.
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br /I would recommend this camera to anyone who intends to transfer their footage to a computer for (even small amounts of) editing and eventual transfer to DVD.
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br /The still images, while of decent quality (especially with respect to the price of the camera) are not great. The still images appear to be highly sensitive to hand motion.

The camcorder is very portable and easy to use. We shot video at a conference swim meet and the Elura did very well in those light conditions. So far, my main problem has been the joystick on playback. The other controls are very well designed.

After conducting a couple weeks of research for a camera to shoot family events(Holidays, birthday parties, etc.), I decided to purchase this camcorder for 2 main reasons. The size and the picture quality.
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br /If you are looking for a nice small camera this is perfect. Sure the other minidv cameras are small but when I compared the dimensions this one was a bit smaller then the other Canon camcorders I was looking at. And since size really does matter, this was a "huge" factor.
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br /Picture quality in normal light conditions is good, but in lower light the picture is a bit grainy and the LED lights don't do anything to help.
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br /The negatives? In quieter conditions, there is most certainly a hissing noise in playback from the tape motor. Enough to make me return the camera? No, but if I was using this for any other reason then to shoot family events I would more than likely try a different camera.
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br /Another negative is the cheap handstrap, and the plastic covers that cover the different inputs. I'm guessing after just a little use those little cheap plastic covers are just going to fall off.
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br /All-in-all I'd recommend this camera for people looking to shoot family events. If the hissing noise didn't exist this camera would be 5 stars(for a budget priced camera).

Overall the camera is fine. The only complaint, which I had already heard about going into purchasing, was the fact that the images can look dark when shooting inside, even with the light on. The camera would be perfect if the lighting was better or you could add a light. The functions are great and easy to use and undersatnd, especially if you have used other Canon digital cameras before. It is good buy for my first camcorder. I would recommend this camera to others.

I have gotten a lot of use out of this video camera. It is not a fancy design, yet it has worked well. Audio with the internal mic is acceptable, but better with an external mic. (This is one of the only small camcorders I could find with an input for an external mic.) It is very good considering the price. I have used it with Adobe Primere Elements with good success.

After using an isight for last year for my videoblog, I finally coughed up the coin to buy this little gem. It is performing to my expectations. The true widescreen picture is awesome and very "arty".

The inbuilt light and microphones were surprisingly good.

Recommend it to anyone.

I had a canon zr 60, which I made four DVDS for sale, Turkish Nights, was the most popular, about belly dancing in Turkey. the zr60 was on its way out when I bought it, but I was impressed by the quality. ( I drug it everywhere an used it hard)
So I am going back to Turkey and will make another DVD, and needed a smaller camcorder, The only drawback to the zr60 was the weight.
this is sooo light, and will fit in my day purse.
the movie quality is stunning, and there is no motor noise, just watch your breathing, or the people around you. It picked up birdsong in a meadow.
Like the zr 60, it is a long range shooter, made to catch big distance shots, at under 25-40 feet I have trouble getting back far enoungh to frame, this was a problem at some of the dance shows, think about shooting weddings, etc.
The Elura is so light, I have trouble stablizing it, It swings more than I like, so I just took a piece of cord about two-three feet long, tied it to the stap and made a sling, like you would have for shooting a gun. I can stablize the camera with this very movable cord, by tossing it around my shoulder and neck.

Good buy, made my first DVD, easy to run, light, can use the battery charger overseas!!!!! (with an adapter)
You will have to buy a 4 pin 6 pin firewire to down load to the computer, best price is here on amazon.
I like canon products, own a few and they work well.

We just bought this camera three days ago and love this camera. We are replacing a VHS-C camera (which has done a great job for the last 10 years) but wanted a smaller compact digital camera for trips and everyday video captures of our 2 yr old.

The camera is easy to use. Within 15 minutes we read the manual and was operating the camera with ease. We have not used the still picture yet, but we did not buy it for this reason. I have a small canon A40 that takes great pictures which we can use for that. And with the compact size of both- you can easily do this.

I have played back the video and have not noticed and "whinning" noise that another reviewer has mentioned. I give two thumbs up for this compact camcorder.

We bought this camera right before our son was born and now we are movie making maniacs. We love this camera. It is small (it fits in my husbands jacket pocket) and lightweight and does the job for what we need. It has crisp, clear pictures and great sound. It is quiet when running. It has a slight motor noise (I can't remember the technical name for that) when viewing, but it is very slight and I am very sensitive to sound and from what I understand this is quite typical of video cameras, although some reviews really frown on the louder noises of other cameras. We experimented with the still shot mode and it surprisingly gives really clear pictures; they are just small in size. I don't know much about the quality of high end cameras, but I read a lot of technical reviews on this particular camera before we actually settled on it. In fact, we bought this one after reading other people's reviews (we had another one originally picked out). We love it and the price was right. And, as always, Amazon was a great place to buy it. We have NO regrets.

This camera was fairly easy to use, BUT read the manual first. It is very small, but operates via a joy stick that makes it easy to hold and use for large hands. It has many functions which makes it better than many of the other, more expensive cameras I tried at Best Buy. A good camera for movies, or snap shots.

This is a great camera for an amateur exploring video. I purchased this as a gift for someone very passionate about photography, as a way to experiment with video. It is both small and easy to use,(a rare combination), and the quality of image is excellent for the price. A pro would want more, but for the novice it is fantastic. Canon makes a great product.
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br /The supplier was Wholesale AV, and their packaging and delivery is both timely and efficient.

I am not a professional camera person. So I can only talk about personal home usage of this camera. It is easy to use, picture is great, battery lasts for a while and we are really happy with it. It is lightweight and easy to operate.

This a value priced camera, which would serve very well to those wanting to keep family memories. Easy to handle, very small size. Great quality images.
br /Best I could get in its price range.

We purchased this miniDV camcorder 2 years ago online from Amazon.com. I had done a fair amount of research on the selection. I also work for a major market research firm that covers consumer electronics. At my disposal are very smart people who track the size, technologies and trends within the consumer electronics markets.
br /Before purchasing the Elura 100 I asked our analyst who follows the consumer photography market, if the product is a good why to buy. He said it is and so I bought it. I have since learned that he has not been satisfied with his either. He had the same experience with Canon customer support which is basically, send to the repair facility in NJ and wait. As it is a consumer electronics device and this is an exceptionally aggressive marketplace, they simply cannot afford to put enough resources to make repair a decent experience. We had used the camera less than 10 times in two years before it broke, the repair should not be needed in the first place.
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br /The circumstance for the malfunction is bizarre. I was filming my daughter at a poetry recital. One moment it would accept a tape, the next it would not. I tried everything including reseting the camera as the Canon rep suggested. This involves removing both batteries, presumably to completely disconnect all power to the unit, and then re-installing them. I did this on several occassions to no avail.
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br /Try to avoid this one if can!

i purchased this product as a gift for someone and they really enjoy it. simple to use and compact, yet not too expensive.

I purchased this camera for work and have been satisfied with the results. I interview members of the community for our oral history project and video tape them to record it. The camera is not professional quality, but on our small museum's budget it does the trick. The images are clear, the camera is easy to use and small enough to haul around when doing interviews at people's homes. I purchased a firewire connection so I can upload the images onto the computer and make DVDs of the oral histories. They might not be movie quality, but they are good enough for displaying in exhibits and for researchers to access.
br /If you want this camera for home use or other small events I recommend it.

This camera is everything I hoped it would be. I wanted a mini-dv tape format, and there is a dwindling number of those available. I wanted it to include a port for converting my analog videos to digital, and I wanted an external-mic port. Few current camcorders in the under-$400 price range contain these options. The Elura met all these criteria, but I had concerns about its low-light capabilities, since I film a lot of family events indoors. I also had concerns from reviews that slammed it for having a high amount of motor noise.
br / I'm pleased with the quality of the Elura's low-light images. As for motor noise, my experience for comparison was only with a large VHS format camcorder; it had no problem with motor noise. The motor sound of the Elura 100, while alarmingly noticeable next to my ear when recording in quiet settings, is not a significant problem on the recordings. It might be a factor if it were recording a silent scene in a still room, but it has not hurt the sound in any of the situations I have yet used it.
br / The manual is organized pretty well, and is usually quite clear in giving instructions.
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br /CONS:
br / Reviewers sometimes mentioned the flimsy port covers, and I have to agree. Everyone who handles my camcorder is instructed to deal very gently with the port covers, and they have held up so far.
br / The toggle switch for selecting menu options is quite short; it takes a more precise touch than others I tried, but after extra time practicing with it, the user can navigate quickly among the options.
br / The hand strap is positioned so that the camera flops sideways in the hand if I release my grip on it. It should rest more stably in the hand.

I got this camera to replace my ZR10 which I purchased in 2000
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br /besides the usual canon quality it also had these very important features (to me anyway)
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br /- top load cassette
br /- audio jack

Firts excuse me, i don't speak English, but i try... at the end is in my natural spanish :-)
br /This camcorder is excelent for home use, easy to use, the quality of de video are very good.
br /I think the noise mentioned in other reviews is not catastrofic. For me this sensibility of the microphone is and advantage in most of situations.
br /With this camcorder i can record directly to the sd card but a great advantage is that i can record first in the DV tape and after, in de play mode, i can record from the dv to the sd card only the segment of the video tha i want to save (conservar). It is a great funtion because you can put in the pc and make a DVD easily if you want.
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br /Esta cámara es excelente para uso doméstico, su calidad de video es muy buena y sus funciones fáciles de usar.
br /El ruido mencionado en otros reviews es causado pro la gran sensibilidad del micrófono, en algunas ocasiones me ha tocado filmar a msi hijas susurrando y esta sensibilidad del micrófono ha sido de gran ayuda.
br /Una de las funciones que me encantan de está cámara es la facilidad con la que puedo pasar mis videos de la cinta DV a la tarjeta SD, luego pongo la tarjet aen el lector de mi PC y listo.. puedo hacer un DVD si lo deseo..
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br /Saludos Desde Venezuela

I did lots of research before I bought this camera and very pleased with the purchase so far. It is a good camera in this price range. Before buying it, I was concerned about motor noise (from other people's review), however I don't think its that bad. Camera is ergonomically challenged though. Canon could have done better job with button placement. However,its no big deal.
br /No firewire included in pack...Overall, its a good purchase..recommended.

When I went Camcorder shopping, I looked at all the reviews I could find. My final choices were the Canon Elura 100 and the JVC GRD-650.The reason for this is that these were the only 2 camcorders with 3 ccd's that were priced under $500. I never got to actualy see the JVC model in the stores, so I bought the Canon. I'm very pleased with it. I have some spectacular images of our cruise ship leaving Aruba at night. My experience with Amazon.com was Fabulous. The camera even came a day before the expected delivery date, and I live in a small town in Puerto Rico. This is a first rate product with first rate service. THANKS!

I was deciding what type of camcorder to get and didn't want to spend more than $600 on the good stuff nor $200 on some cheap miniDV. I read about the Canon elura 100 many times but the camcorder was out for 1yr already. I wanted to get the latest and greatest thus I purchasing a basic Panasonic DVD camcorder(D230)...boy was that a mistake...I thought I can record onto dvd, pop it in my dvd player and start watching it, or copy the dvd video(vob) onto my desktop for editing, but NOoo, it doesn't work like that. After you finish recording the DVD you have to finalize within your camcorder while it is plugged in (won't finalize if not plugged in), the process takes about 10-15min for a 30min footage, and the finalized DVD is not recognizable by the PC, so you'll end up with tons of DVD-Rs. (no sure if this is true for all dvd camcorder or just the panasonic one I got)
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br /Anyhow, I decided to go back to miniDV (can transfer to the PC, easier to edit, superior video quality compared to DVD and HD camcorders and more compact) I wanted to get the Elura but it was discounted, and all the new Canon MiniDV's had worst video performance than the Elura (based on numerous reviews). Also, none of them had 2 LED(don't do much but better than nothing) and built in lenses cover. I was torn. After researching some more I found out about the new Sony DCR-HC48. It is about the same price point as the Elura, about the same size, similar CCD, got a sliding lense cover and it can record in infrared (which I thought was pretty cool)!
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br /I end up buying a refurbished Elura online and a brand new HC48 at local store. First thing I did was to test for motor noise since so many people complain about it. I took both camcorder to the bathroom where the echo is loudest and recorded 1 min footage on each. I then played it back on both camcorder with volume turned to the highest, to my surprise the Sony camcorder actually had much louder motor noise than the Canon. The Sony had a loud motor noise while the Canon had a light whirling noise.
br /The canon's video performance was also better, with more accurate color and auto focus. The infrared on the Sony was fun for 5min, but I don't see any particle use for it (unless you either want to create some Pariz Hiltxn video with glowing green eyes, or if you want to record someone in the dark without the person knowing, but keep in mind the range of the infrared LED is about the same as a regular white LED, the camcorder needs to be 3feet away from the subject in order to illuminate it in infrared) Anyhow, I kept the refurbished Canon and am happy with the decision. Oh did I also mention that the Elura is the most compact miniDV camcorder in the market? the major downside of the Elura is that is has been discontinued and only refurbished units are available online now.
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We have had this camera for a year, and have been very pleased with how it has worked. It is easy to operate, and gives great results. Have noticed only a bit of background motor noise when we have recorded in a very quiet setting (interior locations without any conversation.) While we were somewhat concerned about noise because of other reviews, it has not been a problem. Great battery life.

This is a nice, small camcorder. I was looking for a reasonably priced model that I can carry in my cargo-pant pockets. The camcorder has all the features necessary for casual recording. The program modes work very well. I also like the built-in lens pretector. Only downside is that the image stabilization does not work well for high zoom level.

This is my first camcorder & I'm completely delighted by its capabilities (& low price!). The long reviews on this site helped me decide. I still only use the "easy" mode, but the results are great, and so too is the convenience of being able to take still photos. Mind you, editing the resulting movies is more of a challenge: be prepared to need lots and lots of hard drive space, or a new firewire drive, not to mention a manual, such as David Pogue's.

The controls are a little bit different from what we were used to. But after our 9-year-old daughter explained them, it was no problem. Battery life is good so far, and the clarity of the video and audio is great. We would highly recommend this camcorder.

I'm really happy with the Elura. I've never owned a camcorder before and was surprised at how easy it is to operate. Now, I just need to figure out how to get it on my computer and then onto a dvd!

What is the story with the motor noise on the Elura 100?! I just don't understand how this product made it through the design/production process with such an obvious defect. Perhaps the annoying noise is louder in some units than others - that's the only explanation I can come up with for how many 5 star reviews are posted here.

I love the features, size and image quality of the Elura 100 and am a huge Canon fan. But, like the people who posted negative reviews here, I just don't think I can live with such a loud hum as background noise to all my videos. Some reviewers say the noise is only audible if you film in a quiet room, but that's not my experience at all. I just made a short video on the sidewalk by a busy street and the noise is too annoying to ignore.

Like another reviewer here, I was impressed by the # of positive reviews and ignored the warnings about the motor noise. If I could find the exact same camera, minus the noise, I'd buy it. But this one's no good.

My camera was too noisy to handle when I tried to watch it on the computer(my luck?)but was not as noticable on TV; the quality of night shots is just poor, I couldn't understand the purpose of the LED light; after converting the film onto a DVD film, the film was way too fuzzy for my taste (remember that the camera comes with a basic program); I was able to take much better short films on my SD630 than this camera; I had to return it. I guess it was okay for others.

I am very happy with the purchase of the elura 100! This camera work as expected

i bought this great camera like 3 months ago.. but since then i didnt use the DV-PC firewire connection, i bought a cable that works with DV's panasonic and sony on my PC, but it isn't working with my elura.. i dont know if theres a factory problem.
Besides that the camera is great.

This is a horrible item! Very Noisy!!! Do not recommend!!!

Good value/price. picture colors are good, sound is ok but need an external micro.

The reason went to the Digital Movie Camera was I had a Analog Camecord that I wanted to but my Movie on DVD but the Dazzel lets you transfer Analog to Digital if you considering that at all do not by a Dazzel the Canon is the best Digital on the market DV tape were great

The Elura 100 had all the features I wanted, but the unit I ordered had unacceptable motor noise. It was always present even when recording video with normal talking. I returned the camera and will look for another brand to purchase.

We Love this camcorder very small and easy to handle and manuveur, I'm glad I made the choice of listening to my brother in law.

I just got this camara yesterday. Having never previously owned one I was quite naive in my selection even after having read pages of reviews.
The directions were easy enough to follow and it was up and running in a short time.
The playback noise is not really so bad. It exists, but is only evident if there is no other sound. The ability to attach a microphone that does not need to be held would be beneficial.
Similarly, it would be nice to be able to attach a light. The mega light helps but is not very "mega".
The strap seems hard to adjust. The camera is difficult to hold and I have been using both hands.
On the positive side, the zoom is great, the steady shot feature is very helpful and the videos are good.
It's not a $3,000 camera so why expect it to perform as one. It does a fine job for the price. You need to shop for the features you want most as they won't all be on one machine in this price range.




Good luck!

So after having this camera a couple months and filling up my first video cassette, I have been pretty happy with the performance. However, I come to learn that I have to purchase a seperate cable in order to transfer video to my computer...how cheap can you be, canon? I paid $400 for a camera, give me a d*mn dv cord to put this thing to work. I will be returning this, my first ever canon, and going back to sony. I'll stick with the brand I can trust

Overall Design

First off let me say that I will be posting the same review for both the ZR 500 and Elura 100 since I found them both to be basically the same in design, video, and audio quality. That being said the first thing to talk about is the overall design and ergonomics of this years ZR and Elura models. The main problem I had with the design is that the camcorder is simply TOO SMALL. It is much smaller than my old Canon ZR85 and almost as small as my Kodak CX7530 digital camera. It is so small that when you try to hold it your pinky finger will sit very close to the lens and will move in front of it occasionally and you will be videotaping your own finger. This also causes video to be shaky since you can't even get your other hand onto the camera to brace it from movement. My hands by the way are not large at all and I can't imagine how somebody with larger hands would be able to use this camcorder.

As for design changes there are a few from the previous models and none of them are to my liking. Canon has decided to make the viewfinder sit in a fixed position flush with the back of the camcorder for some very stupid reason on the three ZR and one Elura model this year. Not only does the viewfinder not extend out and upwards like the old models but also it is smaller and virtually unusable. I would guess that the viewfinder is probably about half as large as the one on older models was. You will have your face pressed against the camcorder when trying to see through the viewfinder. Personally, I choose to use the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen on my digital camera and camcorder and this was a major inconvenience to me. If you get a longer lasting battery on the ZR models I can only imagine that this will be even more of problem for you since they will sit out further than the viewfinder.

The second design change that I did not like was that the lens and body of the lens now sits flush with the front of the camcorder instead of protruding out like it used to. This causes problems when trying to grip this small camcorder and as I said earlier your finger will occasionally slip and cover the lens.

The next questionable design change is that this camcorder does not have an accessory bracket on the top meaning that even if you did choose to get an external microphone or light there is no place to mount it.

Another problem is that while the ZR500 has a plug for an external microphone the ZR600 and ZR700 do not. I have no idea why this is the case but it is pretty stupid.

An Elura specific problem is that the battery sits underneath the LCD screen meaning that you cannot buy a longer lasting battery unlike the ZR models. The Elura battery is about a quarter inch thick and I would imagine does not last very long regardless of what Canon claims.


Controls/Menus

Canon has chosen to go to the joystick for most menu controls and this is not the best system in my opinion. I would rather have the controls on the body of the camera instead of trying to navigate with a clumsy joystick. I found that when trying to push the joystick in to accept a change in the menu I would often nudge it to the side and enter a submenu instead.

The second problem with the ZR and Elura models this year is some of the defaults. By default the sound is set to 12 bit, video is set to widescreen, and the wind screen is on. After changing the sound to 16 bit and video to full screen they stay set to your liking but to keep the windscreen off you must be in manual mode and change it every time you turn on the camcorder. I have never liked the performance of the Canon windscreen since it seems to cut out a lot of lower sounds that you may like to hear and this was a big inconvenience to me. I also found that the widescreen button is too easily hit and can be accidentally turned on very often. Now I know somebody will probably argue here and say that widescreen is better but personally I absolutely hate widescreen and I'm surely not the only one with the preference for full screen out there.

Video Performance

Now I will review the filming performance of the camcorder. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the low light brightness of this compared to others that I have tried. Compared to the Panasonic GS120, GS150, Sony HC26, Sony HC21, and Canon ZR85 this was clearly the brightest picture in low light. Under a streetlight outside on Auto mode it looks very bright, even brighter than my old ZR85 was when turned on Night mode. The picture does have a LOT of noise and grain in low light situations but at least you can see something. Night mode however is still absolutely useless since it slows down movement so much that people look like blurry robots.

Indoor performance is basically the same as older models which is very grainy with a large amount of noise and overall a pretty poor picture. Also I found that whenever you zoom in on something indoors the camera automatically slows the shutter speed down and movement looks about the same as when night mode is turned on. This can cause a problem when taking video of anything moving indoors. Overall, after trying many different camcorders I would say that there is not a single Mini DV camcorder out there that can produce better or even comparable video quality indoors or in low light than VHS-C, Hi8, and even the old VHS camcorders did, sad but true. Perhaps if they stopped trying to make them smaller they would have larger CCD's and take better video but that doesn't seem to be happening.

Outdoor performance is basically the same for the Elura and the ZR models compared to my ZR85, no real improvement there. It's not the best and has some washed out looking areas when viewed on a large TV but overall is pretty good for the price.

The image stabilization that Canon uses is horrible compared to Sony or Panasonic camcorders. The image basically floats around the whole time and is very annoying to watch in slow motion, as I like to do with many videos. I would rather have no image stabilization rather than this garbage; also it takes up pixels that could otherwise be used for sharper video.

Audio

The motor noise of the ZR series camcorders and also the Elura 100 is a problem that cannot be ignored and was the main reason that I returned them both to the store and bought something else. It is a high pitched squealing sound that feels like somebody is scratching a chalkboard in your ears, and makes any video you record unwatchable unless you watch it on mute. There is no way to get around this motor noise. I tired using an external microphone held a few inches away from the camcorder and above as if it were mounted there but it just picked up the noise anyways. Hey, don't take my word for it go ahead and take a look at any Canon forum and see how many people are complaining about this problem. While some may say that the motor noise may be different from one camera to another due to a defect I personally tried two ZR500's and an Elura 100 and all of them had the same problem. I would say overall that the Elura was even louder than the ZR model. This noise is apparent in any recording situation whether there is a lot of background noise filming outside or in a silent room

Overall

Overall I would say that this camcorder is not a good buy unless you can put up with the motor noise constantly grinding in your ear when watching anything you record. Also, have a good look at the design and realize that the viewfinder does not move and see how it feels in your hands. Definitely the low light performance is improved from past models but still falls short of so called old technologies such as VHS-C, Hi8, and VHS camcorders. If you have tiny hands, a small budget, and can put up with the motor noise this may be for you otherwise keep looking, I would recommend any VHS-C camcorder over this though. I would say the Elura 100 is a better buy than any of the ZR models this year since it comes with a brighter video light than the top of the line ZR700 and also allows an external microphone for the same price, other than that they are pretty much the same.

I just returned a refurbished Elura 100 to BH. I think I have the bad luck. I got one with huge whining motor noise recorded on the tape. Even my wife can't live with it. Other than this motor noise, this is a perfect camcorder for me. It seems the refurbished elura 100 on the market got a very high rate of motor noise (refurbished from the motor noise return :) ). I don't think canon will fix the motor noise when they recondition the "motor noise" returns. The label on the refurbished box claimed that it passed Canon's test for new elura 100. So I guess there is a lousy audio noise test at Canon. Wish you are not the next victim for the "motor noise".
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br /Note: the "motor noise" is not the running motor singing you heard while you are recording (I can live with that). "motor noise" is the sound that acturally got recorded to the tape that you can hear during play back. I think a better directional mic will solve this problem for canon. Maybe it is not that simple cause there are still good numbers of canon camcorder got ruined by the recorded "motor noise" regardless of which level. I think this is a pretty serious issue to canon. e.g. I'll not try canon camcorders for at least 5 years. Most people had similar experiment will probably have the same thinking.
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br /Now I have to pay 200 dollars more for a sony HC96 :). I just hope HC96's audio can match my sony trv608. Sometimes I see sony is unbeatable or my last hope for the quality and feature, though I am not 100% satisfied with sony products.

I am just testing this camcorder and I have no complains at all!
The size is perfect, the price is very competitive, the image quality is great, even the image stills photos are awesomes.
Don't think too much and buy the elura 100

I am sorely disappointed with this camcorder. Its lighting is not only poor -its erratic !! Sometimes at whatever angle I record, even in bright light, the resulting picture has unpredictable dark and bright lighting. This camera is just not worth it. The rewind and forward operations are plain frustrating. JVC wins hands down anyday!

I researched a lot of digital camcorders over the past three months. This camera came out ahead of all the others in this price range. The camera is perfect for filming family events and those special occassions you want to capture for future viewing. The true 16x9 imaging feature is a definite advantage over other offerings on the market today.

No comment. Everything is OK !
br /Regards,
br /Cristian

I just returned one canon elura 100 camcorder today. The white balance of this products is so bad that it looks like there is a red filter in front of your camcorder. And this defect cannot be solved whether in auto mode, indoor mode or sun light mode. Really bad experience.

DO NOT buy this if camcorder your computer does not have a Firewire/IEEE 1394 DV Terminal. Our computer is only 7 months old and we do not have this Firewire connection, so we went to Best Buy to get a $50 converter cable so we could transfer the videos and burn DVD's. No luck, even with the extra cable, the videos require Firewire connection to transfer to the computer. I have returned the Elura after this discovery and ordered the Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom. This one records directly to the mini DVD's and plays perfectly on DVD players and the computer. Plus I can burn extra DVD's to send to family. Highly recommend the Sony, but not this Canon Elura.
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The hand strap doesn't seem placed correctly. It does not cause the camera to instinctly lay into your palm. But the worse part is that if the leather strap ever breaks or gets cut you will have to send it in for a replacement. The anchors for this strap are located inside the camera. Also a clip to anchor the camera to a neck strap would be nice.

I RECIEVED THE CANON ELURA 100 ABOUT 3 DAYS AGO, AND STARTED TO PLAY WITH IT. MAKING A TEST VIDEO AND BURNING IT TO DVD USING ADOBE PREMIERE ELEMENTS 2.0 SOFTWARE,AND BOY WAS I IMPRESSED!!
THIS LITLLE PALM SIZED PERFORMER LVES UP TO ALL THE HYPE I"VE READ ABOUT ON CNET ETC....IF YOUR LOOKING TO BUY THIS CAMCORDER DONT HESITATE, ITS WONDERFUL IT HAS A EASY MODE FOR PEOPLE THAT DONT WANT TO USE ALL THE BUILT IN DIGITAL EFFECTS AND WIPES THAT THE CAMCORDER OFFERS SO IT REALLY IS A PROCONSUMER TYPE CAMCORDER WITH OPTIONS FOR BEGINERS. IT REALLY IS WONDERFUL