Comments on: Canon Elura 70 MiniDV Camcorder w/18x Optical Zoom

By: D. Gordon

D. Gordon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:41:56 +0000

The camcorder I purchased was factory refurbished, hoping all the issues other people have had with the tape mechanism have been fixed. I purchased it with an extended warranty just in case. For the price, the camcorder is a great buy. I wanted the MiniDV style since we're going on a week long vacation and wanted to be sure we could simply pop in a new tape and keep taping without the need to upload data to a computer first. I also wanted the ability to use the camcorder to pass through the analog signals from our older vhs tapes.

We've had the camcorder for a few weeks and so far, everything seems as good or better than expected. Light and dark image quality is very good, as-is the built-in microphone (this camcorder also has an external microphone jack). Image quality when passing the analog signal through is acceptable, with the only breakdown coming when the vhs image is transitioning from dark to light.

The only problem I had was I received a component kit for the wrong camcorder, so half the parts were missing and I had the instruction manual from a completely different model line (again, factory refurbished and factory sealed - so definitely a Canon issue). ElectronicsClub, my Amazon retailer, quickly took care of the issue. Rating: 5 / 5

By: S. Morrison

S. Morrison — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:36:02 +0000

Out of the box, the Elura 70 is fabulous. Amazing shots, nice 18x optical zoom, and great image stabilization. But after recording about eight tapes, the camera started to reject tapes when insterted. The error message “Remove the cassette” always appeared and the tape ejected immediately. Now the camera is unusable. Each time I put in a brand new tape the camera will start up, spin some wheels, and then stop the wheels, and eject the tape. I have tried an off-the-shelf mini-DV head cleaner, but that didn’t work. Please, beware of this camera.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: Ming Wu

Ming Wu — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:19:04 +0000

I had an Elura 50, it had the worst problem in all the camborders I owned. It randomly gave you a ‘remove cassette’ message, and you can not close the chamber.

Search the internet, and you will find Canon has lots of complaint about this problem.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Rodrigo M. Pereira

Rodrigo M. Pereira — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:11:41 +0000

I bought my Canon Elura 70 and after four hours of use (4 one-hour tapes recorded) the tape compartment refused to close. The camera was sent to Canon Factory Service for repair. Canon has the most horrible customer service I have ever seen in my life. I sent the camera and never received any feedback from Canon. An entire month passed and they didn’t sent me a single email nor a single phone call to acknowledge the receipt of the camara. I called them many times. In the fourth time, an enlightened sould gave me my order # and they found the camera. They shipped the camera back to me but after a few recordings, the tape compartment was not closing again. My Canon Elura 70 will now go to where it deserves most: the garbage bin. I will never again in my life buy anything from these crooks. There is one word that defines what Canon products are: CRAP. If you are in the market for a Digital Camcorder I would strongly recommend you to stay away from the Canon Eluras. Go for a SONY. SONY products are more expensive than the Canon Elura 70, but believe me, they will save you a lot of headaches.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:26:16 +0000

Bought one from dell.com, after one day test with this “high” rated DV, decided to return it back. It’s a horrible canon DV.
Pros:
None
Cons:
1. Very bad resolution of recording on SD card, even worse than my cheap webcam.
2. Unaccept noisy while recording tape.
3. Compare to USB stream or usb mode webcam, DV messager is a joke function, hard to use and bad compatibility.
4. Light shoot is another joke from canon DV.
Rating: 1 / 5