Canon ZR700 Camcorder Review by James Murray Published on Mar 14, 2006 1:00 PM

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (5.25)
The Canon ZR700 (Review, Specs, $277) is definitely a camcorder intended for the point and shoot user who is perhaps looking to perhaps engage manual controls. Although the menu structure is easy to navigate and fairly intuitive there are some users who are looking to shoot video in sheer auto mode which can perform with success and produce quality image without entering menus or making adjustments to manual settings.

When shooting with the Canon ZR700 like all of the ZR camcorders released by Canon comes with an Easy mode option. The Easy mode for the ZR700 will still allow the user to set image quality and self timer when the Function Menu. menu is entered and although other menu settings from regular mode are displayed they cannot be entered or altered. The ZR700 will automatically alter controls for white balance, focus, exposure, gain, aperture and other image parameters so that beginning users don’t need to worry about incorrectly setting these features.

When shooting with auto controls in place the Canon ZR700 performed with varied success. The auto focus for this camcorder had a tendency to drift into focus, taking a few moments to properly gauge and settle on a proper focal depth. Although not the fastest in reaction time, the slow drift into focus was far less obtrusive in comparison to camcorders that breathe dramatically in their attempt to attain focus.

White balance in auto mode also tended to struggle some with more complicated lighting situations where interior and exterior light sources were being mixed. When shooting within these situations the camera tended to adjust to the interior light source while disregarding outside lighting that resulted in an unhealthy bluish tone being cast upon subjects.

Exposure shifts of dramatic levels were also an area of initial inaccuracy for the Canon ZR700 with movement between darkness and strong lighting resulting in the camcorder shifting to a blown out white frame before shifting to an appropriate exposure level.

If the easy mode is a bit too rudimentary but manual controls are still threatening the Canon ZR700 does offer a handful of preset shooting modes when the camcorder is switched into P mode. Once in P mode the camcorder has a series of preset modes available within the Function Menu. These controls are the first listing displayed and will allow users to select between portrait, sports, night, snow, beach, sunset, spotlight, and fireworks. These modes will tailor the image parameters of the camera to react to shooting situations which generally reflect the general parameters of each of these shooting modes.

And finally, a series of digital effects and fader options are included with the Canon ZR700 and are accessible through the Function Menu. The digital effects for the ZR700 are fade trigger, wipe, corner wipe, jump, flip, puzzle, zigzag, beam, and tide in terms of fade effects. Digital effects filters included with this camera are listed within the same menu as the fader options and will allow for settings of black and white, sepia, art, mosaic, ball, cube, wave, color mask, and mirror to be used. To say that most of these filters are a bit cheese is a kind understatement and most users will find these auto control options to be unnecessary to their shooting process.

Overall Manual Control (5.0)
While certainly not as resplendent as the manual control settings found with Panasonic camcorders in this price range the Canon ZR700 does provide more options than auto-centric camcorders released by manufacturers like Sony at this price.

Manual controls are all placed within menu structures that are navigated and engaged through the joystick found on the edge of the LCD frame. And while definitely a better navigational device than some on the market, the placement and size of the joystick caused some consternation. The joystick was just too small and too ornery to allow for fast alterations and movement to be successful especially when fingertips were sweaty or shaky. In addition, the placement of the joystick on the frame of the LCD will mean that users won’t be able to use the viewfinder or save on battery life.

Most manual controls are found within one or two button presses when shooting with the Canon ZR700. Focus and Exposure are accessed by pressing the joystick an action which will display a diagram of this controller in the lower right corner of the LCD. White balance is accessed by pressing the Function menu where it is listed on the first screen. The only manual control not immediately accessible is the shutter speed control which is found by entering the administrative menu located within the Function menu. Once in the administrative menu the camera setup sub-menu can be opened and the shutter speed option will be displayed.

Manual control settings for Canon ZR700 are a shutter speed that includes six manual speed settings, white balance offerings of two presets and a manual mode, exposure control with 11 EV steps, and focus via a sliding scale that does not display a numerical distance. The manual control interface of Panasonic has stood out this year as being one of the best out of the box in terms of both external interface and menu structure. The touch screen of Sony will necessitate too much user-initiated menu restructuring and the JVC four-way touch pad brings up the rear with few if any benefits with its design. Also, tapping a touch screen is more likely to jiggle the camcorder than a joystick.

Zoom (8.0)
Zoom is controlled through a zoom lever which reacted with a sensitive handling that allowed for controlled shifting of zoom levels. Zoom control is easily controlled with the index finger of the right hand. The camcorder did tend to snap a little when moving into the fastest zoom speed which could be avoided with some practice and patience.

Zoom Power/Ratio (25.0)
The Canon ZR700 has a 25x optical zoom lens and a maximum digital zoom of 1000x maximum. The digital zoom can also be turned off or capped at 100x. Digital zoom control can be accessed by entering the administrative menu followed by the camera setup sub-menu where the d. zoom option is available. It should be noted that image quality will degrade quickly when even a slight level of digital zoom is used.

Focus (4.5)
Focus is manually controllable and accessed in the same manner as exposure levels when shooting with the Canon ZR700. The focus control is entered by pressing the four-way controller located on the frame of the LCD screen. Once the four-way is pressed a small diagram appears in the bottom right corner of the LCD which displays what can be controlled by each cardinal direction of the four-way controller. The focus control is selected by pressing the down arrow which then alters the diagram to display icons for portrait and landscape depth that can be selected by pressing the left or right arrows. The smaller size of the joystick made focal control tedious. That said, when it did work the focus worked cleanly and smoothly although fast focal shifts will not be possible with this digital interface.

In addition to this manual focus control there is an option to control the focal frame selection mode when the camera is not in Easy mode. The focal mode can be selected by entering the Function menu followed by the administrative menu where the camera setup sub-menu is located. Within this menu will be a focus priority Option that allows for selection of either center point or 9 point AiAF to chosen. When shooting within Easy mode the camcorder immediately switches into 9 point AiAF. The focal mode control option is an improvement over the Canon ZR500 (Review, Specs, $224.8) that will only be able to shoot with a center point AF system.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.5)
The Canon ZR700 does allow for manual control over exposure compensation and this setting like focus, is controlled by pressing the joystick control located on the frame of the LCD. When the joystick is pressed a diagram will appear in the lower right corner of the LCD so that selections can be made without entering the larger menu structure. The exposure control is entered by pressing the up arrow on the joystick. Once pressed the diagram changes so that the right and left arrows switch to +/- controls for exposure levels from +11 to -11. The exposure level is displayed on a scale in the upper right corner of the LCD. This scale has a numerical label that shifts as changes are made to exposure. The small size of the joystick did complicate entering and using this control menu and it would be nice to see a better external control designed for these features. Of course, the ideal control is one that allows for actual aperture control in F-stop meaurements. This is something you'll find on all Panasonics. Upper-end Canons also have an Aperture Priority mode that allows for F-stop adjustment with automatic shutter speed compensation.

Shutter Speed (3.0)
Shutter speed is manually controllable when shooting with the Canon ZR700 which is great even if it will be necessary to enter the Function Menu and then the camera setup menu to access this setting. Once in this menu the camera setup menu must be selected and the shutter speed sub-menu highlighted. It would be nice to see this control located on the first screen when the Function menu is opened since casual users are less likely to realize without reading that shutter speed is located within this backwaters menu. That digression aside, the shutter speed can only be accessed when the camcorder is in Program AE mode and once in this mode manual shutter speeds of auto, 1/60th, 1/100th, 1/250th, 1/500th, 1/1000th, and 1/2000th are selectable. These options are displayed on an opaque square which blocks most of the LCD live view when being engaged.

An unfortunate aspect to the shutter speed control will arise if the shooting mode is switched from program AE to a preset and then back to program AE. When modes are shifted in and out of program AE the user will lose manual shutter speed settings and will find it necessary to re-enter the menus and reset this feature. The likelihood of this occurring seems high considering that the small size of the four-way controller will lead to accidental selection of shooting options when scanning menus. Upper-end Canons offer a Shutter Priority mode that allows for a greater range of shutter speeds while automatically compensating exposure by shifting aperture.

White Balance (7.0)
The white balance control on the Canon ZR700 has both preset and manual options for user control so that both casual and more advanced users will have concise control over this feature. The white balance control is located on the first screen of the Function menu. The function menu will display control options along the left side of the screen with settings for each control being located at the bottom of the LCD. White balance options with the Canon ZR700 are auto, daylight, tungsten, and manual and all options are displayed with live view. It would be nice to see more preset white balance options for the beginning user still not wholly comfortable with manual control but wanting control over white balance parameters.

Gain (0.0)
The user will not be able to control gain levels. If control over gain is desired camcorders made by manufacturers like Panasonic will be able to provide an impressive gain control layout for around the same price as the ZR700.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
The Canon ZR700 does not come with any other manual control options for its users.