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

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (8.25)
The ZR700 (Review, Specs, $277), like all the Canons this year, offers true, 16:9 widescreen that uses the full width of the sensor. Other camcorders, like some Sonys and Panasonics, employ a “crop and zoom” technique, wherein portions of the top and bottom of the frame as cropped so as to make the picture conform to a 16:9 frame.

Shifting between 4:3 and 16:9 is very easy with a button labeled “Widescr” on the LCD panel. The difference between modes if apparent when you toggle back and forth, but a wide angle test confirmed that in widescreen mode 10 degrees were added to the width of the field.

Scan Rates/24p (0.0)
The only scan rate for the Canon ZR700 is the native 29.97 frames per second.

Other Features (6.5)
Analog to Digital Converter - The Canon ZR700 is definitely capable of analog to digital conversion which is a great feature on a $399 camcorder. To engage analog to digital pass through the user must enter the administrative menu and select the VCR setup where the AV-DV on/off control is located.

Video Light - The video light for the Canon ZR700 is positioned on the front of the camcorder beneath the lens. This light is activated via a button located on the frame of the LCD screen. While certainly functional in some situations anything beyond a few feet will not be illuminated and will remain cloaked in darkness. Subjects that do manage to be within two feet of the camcorder when the video light is on will find that the LED light quality is anything but flattering.

Audio Dubbing - Audio dubbing is possible when shooting with the Canon ZR700 so that users can re-record audio tracks over previously captured video. This in-camera feature can be great for laying in either a narrator track or soundtrack. The camera must be in playback mode and the administrative menu must be entered so that the audio setup/audio dub. sub. Menus can be accessed. Once set to on the user will be able record audio while viewing scenes from previous shooting on the LCD or external viewing device.

Electronic Image Stabilization - With 25x optical zoom, the Canon ZR700 is going to suffer from camera shake that can be somewhat compensated for through an image stabilization system. The ZR700 has an included E.I.S system that can overcome some shakiness, however results will be nowhere as successful as those found on camcorder systems that use optical image stabilizer systems.

Wind Screen - This audio filter can be turned on by entering the administrative menu and selecting the audio setup sub-menu. Once entered the wind screen can be turned either on or off. The wind screen effect acts a high pass filter that allows higher frequencies to be recorded while blocking the lower tones produced when wind strikes the surface of the microphone.