Excellent digital camcorder at a great price!

I've owned my ZR 500 now for about two weeks, so I have yet to really delve deeply into all that it can do. It is my first digital camcorder I've ever owned.

So far, I am very impressed with this camera. It is so small it fits in the palm of your hand. It is also very light weight. Makes my Sony analog camcorder look and feel like a monster!

The "play", "rewind", etc. functions are located ON the viewing screen itself in the form of a tiny "joy stick" - they're not actual buttons on the outside of the body. This took me about a minute to get accustomed to. I am used to having these buttons ON the camera itself. This tiny joy stick handles ALL actions and menu functions on the camera - except for "record", of course.

Another thing I like about this camera is that the lense cap is not attached by a string. The "cap" opens and shuts over the lense via a slider located near the lense. No more annoying lense cap dangling all over the place while you are recording!

The battery that comes with the camera is ok. It doesn't hold a charge for very long before you need to re-charge it. But, it does re-charge very quickly.

All in all, I feel that I made an excellent choice for my first digital camcorders Although there are a few things you'll need to get used to coming off of a typical analog camcorder, you will not be disappointed. I am giving it four stars and not five as I'd have to assume there are better cameras out there... but I'd have had to spend a lot more for them.

Upon using this camcorder a little more, and transfering video to iMovie, etc., I find that there is a bit of motor noise audible during playback. This is the one negative I have to say about this camera. I believe this issue has been addressed with the newer ZR600(?). Still, all in all, a good Mini DV camcorder.

Canon ZR500 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom $222.88
Along with its stylish Blue Mist finish, the ZR500 boasts Canon's longest zoom ever. It also comes with features found on more expensive camcorders. An easy-to-read menu system makes it a breeze to operate. The joystick lets you easily operate playback, focus, exposure and menu options with a single controller. And a big 2.7" LCD lets you lets you see exactly what your camcorder is recording.

You want your memories to last forever -- that's why you've taken the time to capture them. And you want to shoot in widescreen format to get everything you can out of your new widescreen TV or home theater system. So, why is the way you record widescreen images so important? Because you want an image made for widescreen, not adapted for widescreen. Because every HD television is widescreen -- widescreen is the future. The story of how it is done may be a bit technical, but the result is clear to see. Canon camcorders use the entire width of the image sensor to capture video in true 16:9 format. What difference does this make? It's simple. With more pixels captured, you get better image quality. Some competitors' camcorders force the wider picture into a smaller space on the sensor -- giving you a less true image, with fewer pixels and lower quality. With a Canon camcorder, your videos of your travels will let you relive great memories.

With the ZR500's AE Mode, you select from a variety of exposure or scene modes for the best results under difficult lighting conditions, including: EASY, P, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks. For example, the Sports setting automatically selects a faster shutter speed, ensuring sharp images of your child's hockey game; and Sand and Snow settings compensate when shooting a subject against a bright background. Minimum Illumination 2 lux (Night Mode); More than 100 lux advised Unit Dimensions - 1.9 x 3.6 x 4.5 in. (49 x 92 x 115 mm) (excluding protrusions