Canon FS200 Camcorder - Silver (41x Advanced Zoom, 2.7 inch Widescreen Colour LCD)

As I can see no point in having a camcorder that an not produce good sound. Unlike a camera, taking a picture where you don't expect sound. I needed a camcorder that had a connection for a radio mike. There is nothing worse than having to be close to the person to hear what they say. plus the annoying sounds of every one round about who you can not see. So is nothing but annoying. Anyone making a video, that can not also have good sound is producing rubbish. Good sound effects is the most important feature of filming. Without it The resulting film, either has to be a silent film, with you supplying any commentary, Like the olden days of filming. Or you have to be filming in a place of silence, so the only voice that can be heard is the voice of the commentator. But then what has he or she got to commentate about.This was the only camcorder, under £1000 that had this socket.Now I did buy mine over 10 years ago, and as I am not a professional, I am not going to compare it to other camcorders of the type as this is the only one I have had. I used to have a Sony, which used a tape and also had a external mike socket. I wish those tape camcorders were still being made, and tape players. for a simple man like me they were so easy to use.I have no problem with camera shake, I use a tripod. I tend to film my wife about 200 to 300 yards away, so that I can get the overall view of the area about which she is talking. before using the zoom to get close ups. All you hear is her, and any other noise which is around her. not the camera I am filming with. So a car passing you see the car, Someone talking near by, you see them talking, so it is understandable, and natural. It seemed that all other manufacturers stopped fitting extension mike sockets when they changed from tape to chip. heaven knows why. Still you can not find a cheap camcorder with Mike extension socket And as I say. Why are you prepared to buy camcorders that are not fit for purpose, demand a mike socket. They can not cost much to fit, but if idiots are prepared to use camcorders without sockets, So get amateurish sound,I suppose the manufacturers think why bother.

I expected more from this camera, having done the research I did. I'm far from a camcorder expert but I'll list the problems I had:1. Overall picture quality was not much better than a sony camcorder I bought over 9 years ago. I heard that this was one of the better standard definition camcorders available, but having nothing recent to compare it to I can't really say how better it is against other standard def models around.I think it may be worth paying that little extra to get a HD camcorder if this is one of the better SD camcorders.2. Picture is very shaky, even for small movements. Was not happy about this at all, I probably would have keep the camcorder if it were not for this.3. I have no idea why Canon would makes the video files in the .MOD format. Hardly anything is compatible with this file type so you will have to fork out another £15-30 for software to deal with this. And the software given is incredibly slow to use.4. The shortcut buttons on the flipout screen have no backlight so even in a poor lit room they are difficult to see.5. Menus are a pain in places, it took me 4-5 clicks to delete a file.Pros:1. Good build, lightweight, simple controls.Even if looking for a simple point and shoot camera I would look elsewhere. I'm just sorry I cannot recommend anything better as I'm still looking myself

neat and light, blurrs on action shots, trying to remedy with faster card, we'll see. steamed up on one occasion. photos ok in close up mode. good battery life. file name awkward , change file name .mod to .avi using SDcopy, very small but perfect free program online, that way you can make free flowing disc copy and very transferable to other mediums. I spent a w/e going mad with other file swop programs, the answer was so simple. Without this program I would be very frustrated with this camcorder.

I already have a FS200 which I took to Egypt recently recording for some 4 hours. Sadly, on return the X-Ray machines had fried the USB electronics so unable to download to Imagemixer 3 software. Reading the card directly does not produce the same flexible results. I scoured the web only to fine that the FS200 is discontinued, however, this ex-demo one was available at a good price. It came with original packing and accessories but minus the memory card and battery, hence only 4 stars. It works well and I will keep this one for downloading and let the other one get fried at the airports!

I went out on a walk in order to try my new camera. On the little display, everything looked very nice. When I got home and downloaded the video on my laptop, I was very disappointed. The quality was so bad, that even a cell phone camera would do a better job.The outdoor conditions were perfect - it was sunny, no clouds, a perfect light condition. The image was not smooth, but rather grained.I returned this product, since my photo does better video than this camera.

Hi, Sorry to say this product disappoints me badly. After doing alot of researches online and reading reviews of this camcorder, I purchased it along with the memory card and USB reader.The function is really basic as I'd have expected. Well afterall, point and shoot is something I really want just to get the job done. Though, the worst part is the camcorder shake. Holding my breath and shoot is definitely less than ideal, let alone shooting while walking (forget about zooming). Shooting in the dim lit light is less than useless, or perhaps just really poor in a normal lit room.Why did I buy it? Coz of the budget constraint... lured by the cheap price and fancy silver colour.