A GREAT First Camcorder!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great picture quality, Small price

Cons: no view finder side window

Author's Review
***Before you read on, let me state here I have not tested this with just the battery yet. I have been told that the battery life is around 2 hours but it is always smart to have a back up which runs around $69***

I just bought my very first camcorder! Friday afternoon the day after Thanksgiving, I went to Best Buy to hit the big sales. I was intrigued by the fact they had a JVC Camcorder on sale for $229 and I was ready to finally purchase one!

When I finally go to Best Buy and talked to the sales people asking them about the different products and saw that the JVC was slightly larger than I thought it would be, not only that, the sale ended an twenty minutes before I got there. I had seen the Canon ES50 on the other side of the display and it was only 10 dollars more than the original camera that I was looking at, and asked about it. The sales person explained the difference between a VHS-C and an 8mm, and explained that the final decision was up to me, but that the Canon was probably a better picture and had less complaints.

I was very skeptical at first, but I finally told the person to ring me up, I figured for 10 dollars I could always return it later. Well, let me tell you I was in for 1 pleasant surprise after another!

My first surprise was when I was ringing up and the price of the camcorder came up at the $229 dollar price (it normally runs $279). This was a very nice surprise and I was very happy and in somewhat of a shock at first that I got so lucky!

My next surprise was when I got home to use my new camcorder. I had decided I should see how hard this would be to use for myself. I was surprised that I was up and ready to film in minutes! This camera is so easy to set up and use it is a wonder I was so scared of buying one in the past.

I had heard that camcorders were usually hard to set up with the controls and that they were not easy to use. Not the case with this camera at all. This camera is so easy, I let my friend's 7 year old child use it to film around the apartment. I sat with him while he focused on myself and his mom, and cats. I have since looked at the video, and was shocked how clean and crisp the picture looks.

The Canon ES50 does not come with a little view window like some of the more expensive cameras, but it does have some nice features that I have already found very helpful. These features include custom keys, and the light for night video taping.

The custom keys are used to set a "favorite" key of what option you like to use without having to manually change it. I specifically bought this camera for the light for night video taping. This camera is going to be used for outside taping and for a trip I am making. I know we are going to be spending a night on the town and will be outside for 90% of the time and would like to have this as a memory.

The big difference between 8mm and VHS-C is the picture quality and the way you can watch the tapes you make. You have to actually hook up the 8mm camera to a VCR or TV to see the tape. The Canon ES50 makes this very simple. The instructions are actually user friendly so no worries about not being able to do something!

I happened to have picked this camcorder at the perfect time considering I just recently became an extended family "aunt" on Thanksgiving day and now I can film my little "nephew" as well.

I love my camera so far. I have used it repeatedly since its purchase 3 days ago, and I seriously doubt anything will change!

I definitely recommend this camcorder to someone who is looking to make the investment but just isn't ready to spend enormous amounts of money to have one.