Canon ES8400V Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD Screen & Image Stabilizer Camcorder Reviews

Canon ES8400V Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD Screen & Image Stabilizer

Simple operation, excellent results & great price / value! 2003-04-09

Its light, simple to use, and the picture quality is excellent. For under $300 this is a great piece of technology. Forget Digital, its not worth the price and hipe. They record on magnetic tape also, (surprized?) but offer you the option of PC editing. Big deal. Are you really going to go through all of that fuss? Sure Digital gives you a TAD more sharpness, but unless you are a fanatic, and you are not if you are browsing Hi 8 camcorders, go with this model. I have had many a Sony product break down after a year or less, so I don't even look at Sony. Canon makes wonderful cameras, and great lens for the photo industry. The camera is very well thought out and easy to use. My 80 year old mother taped me making a pizza and it came out great. I had my bestgirl go for a ride practice with it and she came back with a respectiable 20 minute video, that was really quite funny, after only a 3 minute lesson on operation.
The Digital zoom takes over automaticly when you reach the limit of the optical zoom, and like any other digital zoom quality goes down when you reach way out there. The first 1/3 of the digital zoom is still not bad at all. I like the seconds counter in the viewfinder, it helps you cut your take so your movies are not boring, it counts up to 10 seconds.
I used to make serious amature movies, and this camera and its features rival the professional film camera I used to use. The fade feature is very nice. You will not be disapointed with this model. The viewfinder is B/W, not a big deal, as you trade this off for features that are useful, as comparied to the next level down that has a color view finder but does not have a LCD display. That feature (LCD View screen) is really nice to shot things with out looking in the viewfinder. Hard to see in sunny outdoors, but very handy. And you don't need a battery hogging large screen. As you can see I am sold on this Camcorder, its my first Canon Product and I think its well designed and well made.

Top of the Line 2003-03-29

I may be 13, but I know a lot about camcorders. I've had my eye on this one for several months, and soon enough my dad gave in because he also needed a camcorder for a few things. So he ordered it, and two days later it came. Its silver body is very cool, and the whole appearance is amazing. It has a very compact size and for the great price the camcorder is even better. The effects include art, (you look like a cartoon) B&W, (black and white) sepia, (western- tinged)negative, (turns all the colors inside- out) mirror, (you see double!) mosaic, (little squares all over the screen so it looks sort of like a collage) 16:9, (Makes the screen stretch out lengthwise or up/down wise) cinema, (black lines at top and bottom of screen like a theatre)strobe, (picture after picture, kind of like a strobe light) and ghost (When you run around you look invisible and leave a trail). They're all really cool. This is my third day using it, and I find that the sound is very, very clear, the zoom is easy to use and clear when you're not zooming in on something within 7 feet of you, and the photo mode is very helpful- a 7-second picture at the touch of a button. Overall, the camcorder is one of the best you can get, and it's something I highly suggest!

The Best in Hi8 Model - Good Customer Support 2002-12-31

I had bought a ES2000 model (very first model in Hi8 - 6 Years ago) and I like it. Accidentally, I had dropped it and called the Customer Service (luckily, it was just before the 1 year warranty expiry). They were very nice and they adviced me to take it to a local repair center. Found out that the motor was damaged and got it repaired within 20 Days. I was using it after that and it didn't give any problem for a long time after that. I have adviced my friends and they like this model.

Now, I recently bought the OPTURA 100MC camcorder, as I wanted to burn DVD/VCD and get digital quality.

If you want a cheaper camcorder, this is good. If you are willing to pay some $$, Optura 200MC (Recently released) is good. Compared to Sony, far cheaper and better quality.

Full of Features! Great Name-Canon! Fantastic Price!!! 2002-12-31

I don't claim to be any type of expert on camcorders (and this is my first) but I was really surprised just how great a unit the Canon ES8400V is! I was shooting video within five minutes of opening the box! It's that easy. But don't let it's ease of use detract from it's capabilities because this little guy (yes, it's small) has an array of high-end features, bells and whistles too for those who want to go there. I truly cannot recommend it highly enough! I gave it the full 5 Stars because I really couldn't think of anything negative to say about it.

It's a Canon of a Camcorder! 2002-12-20

Excellent first camcorder. Bought it and in ten minutes I was recording and reviewing the tape of my first born child.

Amazing 800x digital zoom, 22X optical, and image stability. If you are not looking to be a motion picture director and need a great video recorder that works with all the basic features, get this Canon. The price is really nice too.

I love the light on the right side of the camcorder as well, it improves the picture greatly. As an IT professor I know that the industry tries to "sell" the high cost of some products when most camcorders are not used professionally but used by non-pros for personal use.

The reason for not giving the product five stars, well, there is no such thing as a perfect product.

Es buenisima 2002-12-03

Yo soy de Xela, y compre esta camara por internet, es mi primera camara y resulta muy buena, pues trae varios efectos especiales y es muy sencilla de manejar, otra cosa que me gusta es que graba bien en condiciones de poca luz y me agrada que tenga iluminaciòn integrada, lo unico que no me gusta mucho es el estabilizador de imagen, pues yo siento que no funciona muy bien...

worst product you can buy 2002-11-14

Just stopped working after 2-3 hours of use. Retailers don't honor supposed lifetime warranty and Canon wants to charge approx. 30% of the value of the camcorder in order to repair it. Definitely a no-no. Thought that with a "reputable" company like Canon would have no problems and warranty would be honoured; don't make the mistake I made... buy Sony.

My husband likes this camera 2002-11-12

I bought this camera as a gift for my husband. He previously asked for a model that had tons of features, however after receiving and using this one, he felt he had all the features he really wanted/needed. It's a decent, basic camera for home movies.

Great Bargain 2002-09-07

I brought this camera because of the price compared to a digital camcorder. The camera does exactly what I want it to do and with excellence. The picture quality is great if you use the correct lighting. Save your money if you don't need digital this works just as well.

A good camera for a good price. 2002-08-31

I recently purchased this camcorder from amazon and I am quite happy with it. Before I bought this, I used an RCA camcorder that I was satisfied with. However, the RCA used VHS C tapes that weren't very good quality. I shopped around looking at different cameras. The digital cameras are the newest, and eventually will probably be the way to go, but the good ones are up around $1000+. Then I came across this camera and I decided to buy it.
I am very happy with the features on this camera, especially the 22x optical zoom. I usually find myself zooming in often because at the extreme wide angle position, you do lose some picture quality. Also, the digital effects are fun to play with; I especially like the negative conversion. Another nice feature is that the playback also lets you hear sound. The image stabilizer is very helpful as well, especially in telephoto. Also, people have been saying that the LCD could be bigger, but I think that a screen much bigger than that would drain the battery very fast. The built in video light is very nice too.
As much as I do like the camera, there are a few cons. First of all, the view finder could be in color, I often find mysef using the view finder on sunny days, because the LCD gets glared. Also, I wish there was a way to turn off the microphone when you don't want sound. Also, there is no way to program your own titals into the camera. The pre-set titals are too general, and I can't program in the ones I want. Another thing is that the 800x digital zoom isn't all what it is said to be. When you zoom into the digital zoom, immediately you see diminishing picture quality, and if you zoom in 800 times, the pictures are grainy that you can't distinguish the picture. But the zoom is nice at the low stages of it.
Overall, I am very happy with this camcorder, and I am enjoying it. I highly recommend this camera to anyone who is seeking out a good camcorder for a good price.

Picture Qua;ity 2002-08-11

I read the other review which said that the picture was grainy. More so than a Sony camera of comparable qualty. I took pictures in good light and found that the video quality was excellent in normal and telephoto shooting. I used Hi8 video tape. The picture was grainy only in low light situations. In a low light situation I don't plan to take videos, although the lens is light sensitive enough to take such pictures. I have several other camcorders of different models and types and this camera stands up with the best of them. It is also small and very easy to carry and take pictures... I plan to keep it. It is an excellent camcorder.

Great for First Timers 2002-07-30

We just recently purchased the Canon Camcorder and love it. After looking at the digital camcorders, I just couldn't spend the money. I also own a Canon Rebel-G SLR camera. I love the automatic settings that this Camcorder has like the Rebel-G. I didn't give a 5 because the LCD could be bigger and the Eye View Finder could be in color. Other than that, I love it.

WOW! I LOVE IT! 2002-06-27

THIS IS THE BEST CAMCORDER EVER. DONT GO SPEND 1500 BUCKS ON A DIGITAL CAMCORDER,THIS IS BETTER AND NOT TOO BIG W/ IMAGE STABILIZATION.HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!

GREAT CAMERA 2002-06-23

This camcorder is great.It has image stabilization witch helps alot.The flip out screen is big enough to watch what you recorded.Highly reccomended.

First time user feels like an expert! 2002-06-14

This is the first camcorder I've ever bought and used, and I'm pretty happy with how easy it is to use. Plus all those options to work with, especially the image stabilizer! It is also very easy to copy the Hi8 tape onto VHS tapes. I still have to experiment with all the different settings, but I know I will have fun doing it! Make sure to get a longer-lasting battery pack; you'll have so much fun you'll forget about the battery lasting only so long!