~~ Mickey! Donald!! Goofy!!! SMILE!! ~~

(UPDATE ~ WE GOT RID OF THIS CAMCORDER AT OUR YARD/MOVING SALE, SO I HAVE NO LONG TERM KNOWLEDGE OF HOW MANY YEARS OF WEAR AND TEAR IT CAN HANDLE)


The holidays are around the corner, and my family and I are preparing for our very first Disney trip!! YAY! I think I am more excited than the kids! We already have 2 other camcorders in our home, but they are somewhat bigger and bulkier than what we feel we could handle carrying around an airport and all of the Disney parks. It is very difficult to find something handheld that has pretty much everything you need. We will be outdoors for the majority of our trip, so we were lucky when we found the Canon Elura 100 Mini DV Digital Camcorder, a step forward in technology for my family!! Of course, as simple as you would think this is, I am techie-challanged. My hubby, who is the ultimate Gadget Guy, has to show me how to set this up, use it, save the photos, and basically use every aspect of it. I am ready to go!

How did this find our home?

I found this online at Office Depot, for a steep, but very much worth it $280.00 with a 10% off coupon and free shipping, that evened out the tax. It arrived per UPS, safe and unharmed, and the only disapointment that I had was that it did not include a memory card, I had to buy a seperate one! I mean, for that price, couldn't you give me my first videos for free?? I was pleased to feel how lightweight it was and knew that lugging it around in my beachbag would not cause a problem, or get in the way of items we purchased, or water bottles that we will need to carry! Since most people hold camcorders with one hand, I felt this would be easy to use, and keep the videos from being wobbly and amaturist! It has a very fast warm up time, almost as soon as you turn it on, it is ready to go...The pictures are very clear and crisp, and the sound is as clear as someone who is standing next to you talking! I was pleasantly surprised! I tested it out on the kids being silly! I used the microphone jack to test every aspect of it out before we take it on one of the most important trips of our lives!


The Canon Elura Has....

* Widescreen LCD 2.7" ~ This allows you to watch what it is that you are filming, so that you can zoom in or get out of the way of someone's head blocking you!

* Fast Close Focus ~ In those important moments that you are out of focus, it instantly gets you into focus.

* 20 X Optical 800 X Digzoom ~ This is the rate of speed, and the depths of zoom action, including speed and distance.

* Remote control ~ Can you believe it? An actual remote control, another remote that I do not need in my home. I can not even figure my tv remote out! Useless, in my opinion, but I am sure the guys will love it!

* Fast set up ~ I am very impatient, especially with my electronic equipment that supports capturing a special moment, so the fact that this is so fast is awesome!

* Microphone Jack ~ This is a fun feature that allows you to narrate the video hands free!

* Still Image Feature ~ This allows to keep what you have recorded stand still to make a picture out of it, or correct the color, zoom, size, etc...

* CA-570 Compact Power Adapter ~ This helps you to recharge the battery, hook it into the dvd player, etc

* Rechargeable Battery Pack ~ This is for the charger when the battery gets low, around 2 hours.

* Stereo/Video cable ~ Typical feature to hook to outside sources!

* USB cable ~ Cables that hook with other equipment

* Digital Video Solution Disk for Win/Mac ~ This is to upload your videos on Windows or Macitonsh

* Mega video light ~ This helps adjust the lighting for indoor/outdoor/daytime/nighttime/sunset/daybreak

* Instant replay ~ This allows you to instantly watch what you just recorded and decide if you want to keep it or record over it.

* Pictbridge compatibility ~ Compatible with pictbridge!

* Digital DV ~ The type of equipment that this is recorded on

* Image Processor ~ Enables you to control the zoom and crop techniques

* Smooth Zoom Control ~ Zoom is smooth, not jumpy or blurring

* Level Shot Control ~ Your target will shine more clear and level with this built in feature

* Present picture modes ~ You can decide what you want to keep and go back to where you want to see what

* Programming guide ~ Very clear manual with helpful tips and tricks of the trade

* Built in flash ~ As said.

* 1.3 Megapixels ~ The memory of the camcorder and quality of color, size, ability

* Wide Angle and telephoto lens ~ The LCD screen allows you to get a broad range of subjects into the moving picture without cut offs

* 2 hour record time ~ Nothing is perfect, but if you turn it off to save the battery, and only record the important things, you won't waste it.

* Supports Secure Digital memory cards ~ When you shop for a memory card, but this one.

This is manufacturer item # S5187906

I look forward to not only taking this to Disney, but since I am a "field trip soccer mom", it is going to be such a relief to take these on my sons school trips, or events that are usually hard to take because of the bulkiness of our other cams blocking the view of other people! It is so wide that it is easy to get everybody in the photo without having to be too far away! I feel like this product has renewed my excitement in camcorders! Even though this is an addition to what we already have, it is my baby!! If I can do this on my own, anyone can!

I hope I have inspired you to take this for a spin! Technology is making everything smaller and easier for us working, busy parents!