CANON FS200 FLASH MEMORY CAMCORDER WITH 37X OPTICAL ZOOM

This would have been a winner hands down for the one feature that it has that every other camcorder in it’s price range lacks, an audio input jack for external microphone. Every other camcorder in it’s price range had neglected the need for good audio.

But, the video format, according to another reviewer, is not compatible with most professional editing software. Sorry. FAIL.
Rating: 1 / 5

I bought this camera to video the birth of my child. I use a MAC and found that it is impossible to upload video images to imovie or to my computer. I am pleased with the size of the computer but do not like the requirement of having the camera plugged into an outlet to upload images – even if it did work. To make things worse, on the cannon site the MAC driver files are missing. The camera might work for those with PC’s – I would discourage MAC users from buying. I am probably going to have to replace it.
Rating: 2 / 5

This camcorder has a lot going for it in terms of size and ease of use. Unfortunately, the picture quality is too bad to ignore. The camcorder is very compact and fits into the side pocket of my khaki pants (albeit snugly). Ease of use is outstanding, I got everything up and running in a few minutes without looking at any manuals. The menu controls are straight forward and easy enough to figure out. There were a few instances where I didn’t know what a menu function did, and I had to look it up in the manual, but that’s hardly the camcorder’s fault! Battery life is pretty decent, no complaints. Zoom is outstanding on this camera (37x!). Built-in mic is reasonably clear – no complaints. Now for the deal breaker. The VIDEO QUALITY IS TERRIBLE. I was a little on the fence about buying this unit initially. I pulled the trigger only after reading other reviewers attributing the bad video quality to user error or inflated expectations. Without having to post a lengthy technical resume to prove my worthiness, let me assure you that I know a thing or two about operating electronic equipment, and I feel like I have pretty reasonable expectations for how they should function. The video is frequently out of focus, and the sharpness and color of the video is just terrible. While the quality seems to be better outdoors than indoors, the bottom line is that out of the box, my Canon digital camera takes better video than this dedicated camcorder. I think that statement speaks for itself. The only advantage this camcorder has over a digital camera’s video function is that it has zoom. So, if you are looking for something better than your digital camera’s video function, this is not the camcorder for you. I returned this camcorder and replaced it with the higher end Canon VIXIA HF200, which is of course more expensive. But, for the vast improvement in video quality that you receive, I think it’s worth the premium.
Rating: 2 / 5