Sony DCR-IP1 MicroMV Digital Camcorder

Sony's $950 DCR-IP1 is the smallest camcorder in this roundup, at just under 2 inches wide, 4 inches high, and 2.5 inches deep. But the camera is so compact that it can sometimes be difficult to hold and use, although the safety strap does provide some degree of security. We kept accidentally waving fingers in front of the lens, and had to remember to curl them back out of the way. But we didn't have to deal with a dangling lens cap: an internal shade closes over the IP1's lens when you turn the camcorder off.

The IP1 uses the same touch-screen menu system found on Sony's DCR-HC20, except that the screen is slightly smaller, which means we occasionally made wrong selections. On the whole, however, we navigated the menus just fine, and the screen felt durably mounted on its hinge. One drawback: You have to keep the screen out all the time, though, because the IP1 doesn't have a viewfinder.

The IP1 clocked in a respectable 1 hour and 28 minutes of battery life. It delivered great-looking video as well, scoring second only to Panasonic's PV-DV953. The IP1 delivered good colors in our low-light tests despite the fact that it lacks built-in lights and saves video in a highly compressed MPEG-2 format on diminutive MicroMV tapes, which are smaller and hold less data than MiniDV ones. Each MicroMV tape holds 60 minutes of video, though--the same as the MiniDV tapes. The video looked great in our tests, but this higher compression may mean a loss of quality when the video is edited. And not all video-editing programs support the MicroMV format: Pinnacle Studio 9 and Sony's own MovieBlast are the only major packages to do so.

The MicroMV tapes are expensive, too, costing $10 to $12 for each 60-minute tape, and they are not that widely available. The IP1 can take still photos at a relatively high 1280-by-960 resolution and save them to the included 8MB Memory Stick Duo card (an adapter to use the Memory Stick Duo card in a standard Memory Stick reader is included). The IP1 comes with an attractive docking base that recharges the unit and also offers USB and FireWire ports.

In the end, we can't recommend the IP1 because of its high price and media constraints. You should consider this model only if you absolutely have to have a very compact camcorder. And you should try it out first to see if it fits comfortably in your hands.

Upshot: For users who seek small above all, the DCR-IP1 is a compelling choice, but it costs twice as much as some MiniDV peers, and it uses pricey, hard-to-find media.

Bryan Hastings