Canon MD225

External microphone jack, 42x optical zoom, adequate performance for the asking price

No USB/FireWire cables, MiniDV format is falling from favour

The MD225 is a decent MiniDV camcorder that will give entry-level users little to complain about. The lack of a still image mode and memory card slot may put off some users, but at this price it remains a reasonable option.

Very, very high optical zoom. An image stabilizer that actually works. Easy switch between TV formats. Very small and light weight. external mic jack. Very good CCD for price. I like it.

Box contents is a bit poor but for the price what would you expect. No PC driver discs or anything, not that you would need it. Battery could be a bit more beefy. I would have liked a remote controller like the MD245. View finder is a bit hard to look...