After a lot of comparing in the store,
I picked this up for the great warranty (full year on parts AND
labor) and slew of features when compared to it’s rivals in the same
price range.
However, I was very disappointed by the audio quality.
When filming my kids just talking in a normal quiet room, there is a
background whirring motor noise on the tape recording that is much
more noticeable than you hear from the camera itself while you are
filming. You also can hear the zoom "click" every time it
stops & starts.
I do not know how it could not be heard by the
the other ms reviewer on other cams re. the ultrasound - maybe it’s an intermittent
problem with Canon, but I have read about it on other ZR200’s as well
as most camcorders in this price range. It only seems to go away
completely when you get up in the $500 range. If you can live with
the noise and don’t do much filming in quiet environments, it could
be a nice choice.