Canon ZR500 Camcorder Review

Ease of Use (5.0)
When a camcorder comes with a button on the side labeled Easy, you have a feeling it will do well in this category. Yes, the ZR500 (Review, Specs, $224.8) is easy to use. Even those daring enough to engage the manual controls will find the joystick a fairly simple interface. When in “P” mode, which is akin to “manual control” mode, pushing the joystick in will call up the exposure and focus controls. All other controls are found by pushing the Function (FUNC.) button.

The joystick has certainly made things easier to control than the interface on last year’s models. The ZR100 (Review, Specs, $219.95) and its siblings employed a jog dial, which apparently displeased enough people to necessitate the change.

Another key feature in ease of use is the quality of the automatic controls. Described above in more detail, the short answer is that the camcorder can perform under most conditions with aplomb. This is not the choice for shooting a feature film, obviously, but your kid’s birthday will come out just fine.

Handling (8.0)
The ZR500 is certainly a slim camcorder. Only 49mm (1.9 inches) wide, the squeeze forced the body upwards (92mm / 3.6 inches) to fit everything in. This can result in some handling issues for people with smaller hands. I happen to have rather large hands, and through the zoom toggle is well situated for my index finger, I found the rest of my fingers struggling to find a proper grip.

Now consider the opposite approach. Panasonic also decreased the size of their entire line, but choose to flatten and widen the bodies. Speaking with them at CES, a representative told us that it was precisely because of the sort of handling issues found on the ZR500 that a squat camcorder is much easier to hold onto, even if it comes at the cost of some aesthetic value. That’s just something to consider.

Portability (8.75)
Following a trend common in the camcorder market over the last few years, the Canon ZR500 shows a 16% smaller frame and a 12% lighter weight – drastic reductions which produce an even more portable camcorder. The Canon ZR500 measures 3.5 inches long, 2.1 inches in height, and 1.1 inches in width. If the dimensions are actually measured with external projections and battery pack included the user will find that the camcorder gains about an inch in length and 1.4 inches in height and 0.6 inches in width. And since you probably aren't going to be shooting with this camcorder without viewfinder, DVD compartment, or battery, we thought it nice to provide you with some alternate and more realistic dimensions to consider. The camcorder weighs a reported 4.8 ounces although it feels distinctly heavier.

The user will find that the camcorder easily fits in the palm of the hand when not shooting and won't tire or tax the user during the short term. If carrying the camera for longer periods it could be easily placed in a side bag or purse due to the limited size of the body and its slender frame. The only real concern with the Canon ZR500 comes with the durability of its design. If the hand strap was caught, it would only take one good yank on the camcorder in order to snap the MiniDV compartment open. Also the internal lens cover could easily be opened if the slider is jostled when transporting or inserting the camcorder into a tight space, thus leaving the lens open to scratches and dust. The small and slender frame makes it a good initial choice when it comes to portability, however the overall construction could make consumers think twice about slinging it along on rougher excursions.

LCD/Viewfinder (7.0)
The LCD screen on the Canon ZR500 measures 2.7” and has a pixel resolution of 112,000 pixels, which is a bit below the 123K count found on the LCD screens of manufacturers like Panasonic and other Canon competitors. The LCD has increased in size from last year, where the ZRs had 2.5” non-widescreen LCDs. The electronic color viewfinder is, to put it nicely, a petite feature. This severely undersized viewfinder can neither extend nor pivot out from the camcorder body, making it nearly impossible to use, especially with the battery pack in place. It hardly seems worth the effort on Canon’s part, other than to praise themselves for putting in a token effort. If saving battery life is important to you, or if you just prefer viewfinders over LCDs, look at higher-end MiniDV cams like the PV-GS500 (Review, Specs, $1040), one of the last holdout in the well-designed viewfinder category.

 
The side of the LCD panel, with the LCD backlight button.  

Battery Life (8.2)
The included BP-25L battery pack was tested for longevity during shooting. We leave the LCD open, the LCD backlight off, electronic image stabilization on, in 4:3 aspect ratio, and an SP recording speed. We do not engage zoom and any manual controls. In this case, we left the camcorder in Easy mode for simplicity’s sake. Under these conditions, the battery lasted 81 minutes and 47 seconds (1 hour, 21 minutes, and 47 seconds). This is an average score, but an improvement over last year’s ZR100, which had a battery lasting only 65 minutes.