I had a thread in the past on this camera, and I will be purchasing the camera very soon. I am beginning to see that it is worth it but are there any other cameras out there that can compete with this one? I have heard for the price nothing can get in its way. And its steadyshot system is superior to the Sony's? So I guess what I am asking is, are there owners our there that would like to comment on it? I would like to see all of the pros/cons... I think this is the one.



Thanks,
Circa

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Circa

we've had the elura2 for 2 months and it works flawlessly. i compared some video i took on a previous machine (sony trv11 and i couldn't find any qualitative difference. low light (meaning, indoor, house lighting) seems fine for home movies - i can't see it getting any better unless we went for a 3ccd machine (along with it's larger size and very expensive price tag). we've been editing using a pismo 400 and imovie 2 and there are no glitches in down/uploading. the only thing that i do think is a drawback is that it wont dump directly to an external firewire drive (we have a small 10gig hd in the pismo and were thinking of getting an external drive for editing rather than go through a internal hd swap but the canon machines wont support this feature - the sony will). the only concern i have is that the inside membrane control panel seems to be coming unglued near the top where the control buttons are - i dont know if this is a quality control issue or just my machine, either way, i use the camera too much to want to send it to the factory though i should. otherwise the construction of the elura2 is solid. it has resisted scratches even though i routinely put it in my pocket or my wife's purse with no bag - i do have a uv filter on the lens to protect it from damage though. and the feel is great - i can actually hold it comfortably at long outdoor events where i'm moving around and a tripod would be a bother (steadyshot works great!). i have medium size hands and it fits really comfortably too. the battery is the only other con - although it has the same life as the pc5 (45-55min). yes you can buy another battery but that's one more pce of equipment to lose, or have to worry about bringing along - for me the ultimate draw of the elura was the drop in pocket and go factor - no bags, no wires, no extra anything - not even tapes since it wont even go through an entire 60 min tape.

well, hope this helps in some way - the best thing to do would be to go see one at a store - bring your own tape and tape some footage in the store, then play it back right there on the external video monitor.

[This message has been edited by antonio (edited 05-22-2001).]

I've had the Elura2 since December and it has worked flawlessly. I wasn't aware of the incompatibility with Firewire drives but I have a 60 GB drive on my Cube so it's not much of an issue for me.

One advantage of the Sonys is direct analog-to-digital conversion to the Mac. On the Canon, you have to convert analog to digital tape first, then download it to the Mac. But that's a minor inconvenience for me.

In all other respects (build, design, ergonomics, etc.) I prefer the Elura2. If you do any stop-action work (e.g. freezing fast-motion video, say to analyze your golf swing or capture stills) the progressive scan feature is a bonus.

The Elura2 comes with a separate charger. That way, you can recharge one or two batteries while using the camera. I find this very useful, even though the charger is a bit cumbersome for travel. Some other cameras have on-camera charging which may be more compact but prevents you from using the camera while recharging.

All standard batteries on mini-DV's have short lives. It's the price you pay for compactness. The standard battery on the Elura2 lasts 30-45 minutes depending on whether you use the LCD screen, etc. You can buy additional batteries of the same size, and/or an extra capacity battery that lasts 2.5-3 hours. I have one of each, and this covers my needs well. Whatever brand of camera you buy, you will definitely need extra batteries. Count on it.

You can't really go wrong with either a Canon or a Sony.

[This message has been edited by zigzag (edited 05-22-2001).]

Hey guys thanks for the comments! The explanation is great, I am really starting to think that this is worth it all the way. You both seem to be very happy with your cameras and satisfied. I am impressed...

Thanks.

I have the Elura2 as well. For the sake of brevity, I'll just say ditto to everything that has already been said.

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I got a yellow slinky from Outpost.com

The camera is for sure worth it in every way, the price here in Canada is very well priced.

One thing to consider is the Canon Optura pi. I got mine for $899, not much more than the Elura2 (found the price on CNET). It's definitely bigger, but I really wanted the Optical Stabilization and better low light performance.

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-Toyin

ToyinFayemi.com

You see I took a look at that camera as well its great. But man you just can't beat the small size of that Elura 2.