This is the first dv camcorder I've bought. Its size appealed to me, and it seemed to get great reviews online. At first I liked it, only being a bit dissapointed in the grain you get in anything except for very bright outdoor scenes. A few months later I had to send it in for repair because it started recording a few pixels as constant red. This was very distracting and pretty much ruined any picture. I was told the repairs would take 2 weeks. They took a month and a week, but at least I got it back fixed. It worked fine for another year, when suddenly it became a very expencive doorstop. It started when I put in a tape and got a "Remove this Cassette" error. A few more tries left me with a camcorder that won't even close anymore. It just beeps and spits out any tape I put in it. I can't even close it without a tape in it. I searched for this online and found hundreds of people complaining about the same problem. It seems like this camera only has about a 1 year lifespan. Other canon cameras seem to suffer from the same problem. I'm really upset about having spent so much money on something that didn't last a reasonable amount of time. Do your research before you buy this.

I'm a little late in the game here -- after taping for about a year - going back and looking at the video now, I am crushed - missed my son's birth, baptism, husband's 40th birthday, and the list goes on and on. The tapes are all scrambled -- the camera store told me that the heads were dirty - NOT. I am continuously having this problem - missing event after event. I had to break out my old Sony Recorder (bought in 1986) to make sure I didn't missed Christmas morning with my children. I will NEVER by anything CANON again. They do not stand behind their product -- by the way -- this happened 1 month after the warranty expired!

I'm a little late in the game here -- after taping for about a year - going back and looking at the video now, I am crushed - missed my son's birth, baptism, husband's 40th birthday, and the list goes on and on. The tapes are all scrambled -- the camera store told me that the heads were dirty - NOT. I am continuously having this problem - missing event after event. I had to break out my old Sony Recorder (bought in 1986) to make sure I didn't missed Christmas morning with my children. I will NEVER by anything CANON again. They do not stand behind their product -- by the way -- this happened 1 month after the warranty expired!

I bought this camera over a year ago. It has not had that much use, nor has it been handled roughly. The size is very handy, but the battery life is dismal, 30 minutes if I'm lucky. Video quality is acceptable, but I've seen better on my old analog camcorder. Audio leaves a lot ot be improved. Its very susceptible to wind interference.
A few months ago it started intermittently stopping in the middle of recording and jamming tapes. Using a head cleaner did little to correct the problem, which got worse. Finally it just started eating every tape I put in it, so its not the tape's fault.
I'm very dissatisfied that a camcorder that costs this much has such little longevity before needing repair.

For most consumer users, this will be a great choice. Definitely for the entry to mid level consumer, but a wonderful general purpose camcorder.

Pros:
- It provides much better than average video quality in high light situations.
- It provides the most common controls on the exterior of the camera, so you can control the camera without opening the LCD screen. This feature also means that you will not need to worry about batter power as much.
- Canon did a great job with the controls and menu interface.
- An extremely small camera, so it can go with you just about anywhere.
- Plenty of input/output jacks for audio and video.
- Great ergonomic design. It is very easy to control this camcorder with one hand.

Cons:
- Small LCD, but that couldn't change due to the size of the camcorder.
- No accessory shoe. However, most consumers will not use this feature anyway.

Please be advised that Canon U.S.A., Inc. has posted information on the web regarding the Elura 40MC and Elura 50 camcorders. This information relates to the "Remove the Cassette" message being displayed on the camcorder's LCD screen.

This information can be accessed by visiting Canon's on-line support at the following URL:
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&keycode=2112&fcategoryid=227&modelid=9037

[...]

The "remove tape" issue and damage to tapes started in less then two years. We spent $1000 for this camera for two years, you can buy two camera's for that cost now with the same features. I wish we would have read the reviews before buying. It was a nice camera when it was new thats why it gets 1-star from me and not 0-stars.

I just got my camera back from Canon today. Repairs, which were free (Canon paid for shipping both ways), were completed in about a week.

I give Canon credit for owning up to the camera's desing flaws & providing free repairs even thought the cameras are WAY out of warranty.

I've owned 5 Canon cameras, and I will continue to buy & recommend their products. The cameras have worked well, and I respect the company for fixing their problems.

As a lifelong Canon user starting as far back as 30 years ago with my AV-1, I cannot believe the cr*p this company is capable of producing. After a little more than three years and only 6 tapes worth of footage, I have vowed NEVER to buy another Canon optical product again. My Elura 40MC was purchased in Singapore but has been in for repairs more than half a dozen times in three different countries! It is now at a repair shop in Bangkok and the quote I just got from them is that it will cost me another $375 to get this into working condition. Unit has never been dropped, no scratches, still looks brand new. But every time I replace one part, two months later another problem emerges. I have now spent more than double the cost of the unit on repairs. This was sent in three times for the "Remove cassette" problem and the first two times Canon service could not fix the issue, the third time I had the entire drive mechanism replaced at my own expense. The only reason I kept spending the money to have this lemon repaired was because I LOVED my Canon and refused to believe that the company could build such a faulty product. Sorry Canon, but you have lost all future sales from me and I am determined to tell EVERYONE I can about my story. I will continue to use all my other Canon products but when these kick the bucket, I plan to replace them with competing brands. I've already begun the switchover -- two years ago when I needed to replace my compact digicam, I looked at Casio, Kodak, Panasonic, Minolta and Pentax -- but not a single Canon....

Ken in Bangkok

I have accused Canon of holding a policy of planned obsolescence & I repeat it here. After just a few years of owning, taking immpecable care, & minimal amount of recording on this thing, this once-already repaired camera has died. The required part alone is almost half the price of the original price.

I always thought Canon was the Rolls-Royce of consumer camera & now I'm convinced its the Edsel.

Canon, you are disgraceful.