Digital-Camera Reviews

This camera was the best investment in my photography that I could have imagined. Without the cost and concern of film and processing, I was free to make as many photos as I wanted, and to adjust the settings to learn about the effect of such control. With my EOS lenses, my existing investment was prolonged. I have printed and posted much of my work, and the quality has met or exceeded local labs.

The D30 is a great camera and takes outstanding photos. I will put it up against my friend's Nikon any day and his camera cost much more. The battery life on the D30 is amazing as I expected the same life as that on the Nikon. Instead, the battery on the D30 just keeps shooting after the Nikon is dead. This is not to knock the Nikon as it is one of the premier cameras around and is a true professional camera, but the Canon will match it picture for picture for less money. Either camera will make you a very happy photographer. I regularly use a Canon EOS 35mm. camera so the transition to the digial is very easy as the controls are so similar. The fact that I can use my Canon image stabilized lenses makes it even better. The D30 does call for one of the EX flash units, so that will add to the cost; however, the on-camera flash also works well . Picture quality is outstanding. I have had no problem with the software, but I generally download all pictures to my computer and do any adjusting, etc. with Photoshop. Hookup to the computer by way of USB is a snap and downloading is fast.

If you want the ultimate in digital photography, the Canon D30 is the ticket as of December 2000 -- especially if you already own Canon EOS lenses, because they're completely compatible. Canon won't call this a "Pro" camera, because it's not as weather-tight as pro models, but the body is rugged and the output is first-rate.

The D30 has enough features for professional photographers, yet a novice can get great looking pictures from the start. As you learn more about the camera and its capabilities, your images really start to shine.

Want to experiment with long-exposure photography? Go right ahead! Feedback is instant. No more waiting for processing. No more developing costs. Want to blow up your photo to 8x12 inches? No problem. With a little massaging via Adobe Photoshop (tm) and/or Genuine Fractals (tm), even poster-sized prints look great, using photo paper and a photo-quality inkjet printer. Software to get you going, including Photoshop LE, is included.

The D30 accepts IBM Microdrives (1 gigabite of storage in the camera!) as well as compact flash. The included 16 meg flash card is enough to test the camera, but you'll really want to get something bigger, right away. The D30 offers a variety of image compression options -- including the Raw format, which allows the most flexibility and avoids jpeg artifacts. The wide variety of storage options means freedom to shoot at will and experiment. An included cable allows you to connect your camera to your computer's USB port and download images at will.

As I said, all Canon EOS lenses will work with the D30, but there is one difference to consider. Because the CMOS chip is smaller than a 35mm negative, the field of view is different. For example, a 100 mm lens on an EOS film camera works like a 160 mm lens on the D30. They call it a 1.6x multiplier effect, but what it means is that long-distance shooting is easier, and to get wide angle shots, you have to get a REALLY wide lens. For example, a 14mm aspherical wide angle results in a 22mm wide angle shot on the D30.

When the D30 was first released in the Fall of 2000, the demand was far beyond what Canon could produce... in the United States and around the World. As of this writing, the cameras are still in short supply, but well worth the effort and the investment. Kudos to Amazon for adding the D30 to their digital photography offerings.

I purchased this camera about 6 months ago, it's a great camera and I haven't had 1 problem with it. I bought a few accessories..EX420 Flash, Canon 75-300 lens (there least expensive one, USM & IS wasn't an issue me)
lt's fast in auto focus. Purchased the battery grip also. Camera looks good, the grip helps with vert. shots and you have a slot for a second battery. Bought after market battery for $9.99 instead of $49.99 for OEM (look @ EBAY for batteries). If you purchase this camera you'll be very satisfied!

I upgraded from my 4-yr old Kodak DC-260 digital to the Canon Digital Rebel in October, 2003 and am glad I convinced myself to do so dispite the $1000 price tag. This is an absolutely outstanding, high-quality camera that can be used by any novice in fully automatic point-and-shoot mode as well as in several other user-selectable priority modes that provide the advanced user with professional level control capabilities. Picture quality is outstanding, and the auto-focus and auto-exposure are the best I have experienced. Although it has a thousand buttons and controls, I found even the advanced features relatively easy to learn and use after reading the detailed owners manual. It also comes with a lot of great software; I especially like Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 which costs over $80 when purchased separately. Definately order the camera with the optional Canon 18-55MM zoom lens which is perfectly suited to the camera, and a type-II compact flash card of at least 256 MB (I have a very fast 512 MB SimpleTech type-II CF card that works perfectly with this camera and holds over 150 shots at max resolution). After two months of use I have no negative comments about this camera -- its fantastic.

If you've been using a digital point-and-shoot for a while and you want to upgrade, you couldn't do any better than this camera. If you can operate a high-end P&S camera, you can operate the Digital Rebel. Simply choose your shooting mode (i.e. closeup, landscape, portrait, sports, etc.), press the shutter button halfway down to autofocus, then press the button all the way down. First you'll notice how fast the autofocus function is: you won't have to worry about missing shots. Then you'll see the photos, and you'll be amazed. If you use the "Large/Fine" setting, you'll have files which easily be printed at 16"x20" without any discernible loss of quality ... try doing THAT with the photos from your 3MP point compact.

But wait, there's more.

You CAN use this camera as a fancy point-and-shoot... or, if you invest a little time and study, you can get creative. The Digital Rebel allows you to control aperature, shutter speed, ISO settings, white balance, autofocus points, etc. It also allows you to use any Canon EF (autofocus) lens -- over sixty at last count. Telephoto lenses, wide-angle lenses, macro lenses which allow extreme closeups ... you're limited only by your imagination, and your accessory budget.

If you already own a film SLR and want to go digital, you're going to love this baby... especially if you own a Canon autofocus SLR. You'll be able to use your old lenses, flashes, and filters, and you'll be saving money on film and developing. Professionals may want to spend the extra $600 or so for the Canon 60D; it allows a bit more flexibility with light metering and has a more sturdy magnesium body which will better withstand the rigors of photojournalism ... but this is more than enough camera for anybody who isn't going to be using it to earn their daily bread.

One last bit of advice: get this one fast. Based on the buzz it's generated in various photo magazines, I'm guessing that the Digital Rebel will be flying off the shelves. Buy now before you get stuck in backorder purgatory.

This has been one of the greatest cameras until...problems...And I have two of them! On fast re-wind they will sometimes destroy the tape. On both, I only re-wind on slow rewind. Now one will not accept a tape at all. I think someone rewound on fast and hurt the mechanism somehow. A call to Cannon did not admit that they have problems. Still trying to determine cost to fix...if possible. I am reading others on internet with Elura 40 which is similar and they are having problems with totally destroying the tape and $600 to repair??????

To be somewhat fair, I use mine with a helmet camera, carrying the camcorder on my chest. I have not crashed on it but it is not a perfect lifestyle. As a back-up, I bought another... Almost out of the box I had the rewind problems. I could live with those...until now! Changing brands of tapes made no difference.

I use the picture MMC side alot, but remember that it is only 2.0 megpixles and can't take much blowing up. But the pictures are e-mail friendly. The digital zoom is AWSOME!

Other than Tape problems, where you can loose everything, a great camera! 5 stars and falling fast!

This Canon Elura is the best camera iv'e seen my whole life from Canon. Its good quality pixels is so much better than the sony brand, and its small size and new mini-DV ability is sumething everyone needs to get out of the dark age of cameras!

I need an Adapter ( power adapter) for CANON MV20 ( Canon DM-MV20E , it writes on the battery spot ). My cam is same as ELURA but the difference is that MV20 is" PAL System " and ELURA is on " NTSC System ". I guess that Power Adapter would be same for both types.If someone knows where could I find a product please let me know. Camera is perfect, no doubt.

We purchased the Elura 65 for our new baby who is due in one month. This camera is small and sleek with a very nice look to it. We just received it a few days ago and have done several tests in different lighting. The quality is BEAUTIFUL outdoors and indoors with the lights on or with the natural sunlight coming in. However, the picture was very dark and grainy when we filmed at a wedding the other night. Keep in mind that the lighting in the place was very dim...there was little to no light. I've done a lot of research on Mini DV camcorders recently and I've yet to see one that takes good pictures in low light areas. I'm wondering if there is an external light that I can purchase for my new camera. This is not reason enough to return the camera, since the reviews on all the other brands and models state the same problem. I just think it's something that needs to be fine-tuned on ALL mini DV cameras in general.

The 16x optical zoom is fabulous on this camera and there is NO motor noise (or at least none that we can hear) as the Canon ZR models claim to have.

One drawback which MAY be a problem is that since this camera is so small (smaller in height than the Canon ZR models), it seems like it can be hard to hold steady...but I'm hoping that's where the image stabilization will come in.

Overall, it's a great little camera!

I bought my Elura 40MC 1.5 years ago. For the first year it worked fine. However, after the warranty ran out I began to have the notorious "tape eating problem" that everyone is talking about. I would steer clear of this product since Canon is reluctant to do anything about it.

I bought this camcorder for a trip to Europe and I love it. I could store it in my jacket pocket when not using it and didn't have to drag around a huge bag with a bunch of useless equipment. This is my first camcorder (and first camera since an old Olympus 35mm), so I'm clearly an amateur. It's got more features than I'll use in 2 lifetimes, so there should be enough to satisfy almost everyone.

Video--is excellent, especially outdoors. Weather doesn't matter, as long as it's outside. It was cloudy all but one day and the video is awesome. Indoor is grainy if the light is too low, but reading reviews of other camcorders, I couldn't find one which said "great video quality indoors." All are grainy indoors. Live with it. You buy this for the size.

Still Pix--are not great. But are you buying a camcorder or camera? If all you care about are still pix, save yourself a few hundred bucks and buy a still-camera. No small camcorder offers a 4 or 5 megapixel resolution with stills. Even the Sony MicroDV only offers 2MP still resolution. With the exposure set to "super fine" I was pleased with the resolution, but I've seen pictures from a 4 MP still camera, and the images don't compare. The pix are not bad, but not excellent. But then, I care about video...not pictures--it's a camcorder afterall.

Sound--I think is great. Yea, there is the motor whine when it's quiet. But guess what, after a few seconds, you tune it out and forget about it. It is not very annoying at all. It does tend to amplify the voice of whomever is doing the recording. But what microphone doesn't amplify the sound closest to it?

SD/MMC card--is only tested by Canon to 64MB (per customer service) which is bad. They recommend not using anything higher than 64.

Battery--doesn't last too long, especially the smaller one. I forked over the money to buy the larger battery and it is well worth it. This way, when it runs down, you pop in the small one and you have another 30-50min of filming.

Ease of Use--I had filmed some items and was watching it on TV within 20 minutes of taking it out of the box. I had the still camera and fader/digital effects figured out within another 20 minutes or so. You must read the manual. It's real easy.

Buttons--are not small considering the size of the camcorder. If you need bigger buttons, buy a bigger camcorder. Remember, you buy this for the size.

Overall--it is great. Fantastic outdoor video and sound pickup with unbelievable portability and ease of use. This is not a "professional" camcorder. It should be used for "hobby" filming and as a great travel-size camcorder. If you need more bells and whistles (external mic mount, attached light) you need a bigger camera. As far as the "save yourself the trouble and buy a Sony" crowd, I've owned many Sony products and find they don't perform any better than anything else. But Sony always seems to want a few hundred more of your hard earned dollars to make you think their product is better. Ask someone about software compatability with their MicroDV camcorder...then watch 'em squirm.

Armed with lots of research and my wife's two criteria for selecting a camcorder (it had to be small and easy to use) we bought the Elura MC 40 for its list of features in a very small and very cool package -- plus the canon quality. This one has all the features of a full-sized DV cam, but fits into a small, padded waist pack with a couple of tapes, batteries, and the charger without a problem. This was key as we are expecting our first child and didn't want to add too much to the extra baggage we'll be carrying.

This one doesn't have megapixel stills at 1020x960, but it's still tons better than 640x480 on most compact cams, and we have a 35mm for the serious photography anyway. Lots of great on-camera editing and shooting features, and some basic photo and movie editing software included. If you're going to do some serious movie editing, I'd recommend purchasing a better software package or taking advantage of one of Canon's mail-in rebate deals.

Mac users, you'll love this one. We had a pre-USB Powerbook running OS 8.6 and bought USB and Firewire PCMCIA cards for it. It runs just great without spending the extra cash upgrading the OS like the card manufacturers say to. Also, I wouldn't spend the extra cash on the expensive firewire cards that a Mac specific. I picked up an inexpensive IBM card [$$] at the local computer store, plugged it in, downloaded the supporting drivers from Apple, and it fired right up.

You will have a lot of fun with this cam. We took it out for the first time on July 4th, and everyone was amazed by it. Plugged it into the S-video on the nearest TV, and we had a great time watching the day's events!

Sending mine back-- liked the small profile and features. Shot a few minutes of video on a new tape. Brought it home to watch it and ate the tape up when I tried to rewind it. I'm glad I was only trying it out, I'd hate to have the tape of something important get eaten by the machine.

This camcorder combines ease of use, picture quality and convenience in a very small package. It has a wide variety of features, most of which I have not even begun to play around with.

For travel purposes, I can't imagine going anywhere without this compact yet powerful camcorder -- you can throw it in a fanny pack and hardly even notice it's there (but be sure to buy the 2 hr extended battery if you plan on shooting footage for more than 1/2 an hour). It also doubles as a digital camera, but take note that the digital photos it takes on the multi-media card are not suitable for print-quality photos; rather, it's a handy way to take pics and send them over email or post them to a website with decent picture quality without having to go and buy a digital camera (or travel with both).

It's also great for capturing high-speed action with the digital scan mode. Tape a golf swing, hockey game or skiing action and replay it in slow-motion.

I have no complaints to level against this product, and I have no reservations recommending this if you're looking for a high-quality camcorder that you can take just about anywhere and not have to worry about weight and bulk.

This is absolutely the best camcorder I have ever seen. We went to several electronic stores looking at different digital camcorders. I was impressed, but felt they were still too big to take along everywhere I needed to go. I went on-line and searched for camcorders seeing if there was anything smaller. The Canon popped up and I got it on that basis.

Little did I imagine the power and features of this little device. A few highlights:

1. The size is absolutely perfect. It fits easily into a front pants pocket, where it can be forgotten until needed.

2. The quality of the resultant output is wonderful. The auto-focus and auto-exposure is usually dead on. The resultant output looks more like DVD rather than the VHS-like quality of the older analog systems.

3. The firewire interface allows you to capture scans to your PC. Add an editing package like Adobe Premiere and you can make really professional movies. While it's true, as one reviewer says that it doesn't come with the firewire cable, mine came with my PC card.

4. The total effect of this camera, small size, quality and PC interface results in a whole new animal. Digital cameras and image software have given users complete control of a digital darkroom. This Canon brings the same result to movies.

A few minor complaints:

5. Battery life is quite short. You will want to pick up at least one extra battery, two if you're doing extended filming.

6. The Zoom seems backward, pushing forward should zoom in, not zoom out.

7. The still camera is handy for embedding still shots in your films, but the resolution is probably not good enough for printing to paper. On the plus side, I got a larger memory card that can hold over 500 shots on one card.

Overall though, i couldn't be happier with this camera. A wonderful tool for preserving memories and producing first-class movies.