Sony Handycam HDR-SR1 AVC 30GB Hard Drive Camcorder (1.99MP, 10x Opt, 80x Dig, 3.5" LCD)

Reviewed by: Gadget_Maniac

Duration of ownership:

Strengths: High Definition, Hard Disc Drive, Surround Sound, 3.5" screen, Touch Screen, CMOS, Auto and manual focus, Mic Input, Ease and quikness of transfer to computer for editing, Quick Start-up.

Weaknesses: Hard drive not upgradable! Battery life not enough.

Overall Evaluation: I am a gadget freak and all my money usually goes to buying electronic gadgets and after I got and played with it when I go to bed, eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, go to bed and not sleep but play with it for about 2 days now I can proudly say that it's worth every penny I spent. I'm even playing with it right now while I'm typing this review. The video and sound quality is 100/100....I know this because I use professional tools like Pro Tools for Music Production and Video Editing. Ounce I've recorded my first movie with sr1 and transfered it to my computer and played it, right away I can tell the difference in the video and audio quality...no question about it that it's the best home video quality I've seen in my editing screen so far, Not to mention the ability to use manual focus on both video and still image...I love using manual focus because it gives me flexiblity and control on my subject..and also one more thing...if you want to focus on a specific subject you just touch the subject on the screen and it will automatically focus on that subject....isn't that cool, I love the touch screen because it's way easier to navigate...just like navigating my palm lifedrive. The only flaw I can see as of the moment is the not upgradable hard drive. I don't know why they didn't design it that you can swap the hard drive to a new one when your other one is full...and also so that in the future you can buy a bigger hard drive and use the other one as back-up...something like that anyway...the technology that we have now...they should have done it that way...just my opinion. Maybe they're just cutting cost and the bigger the hard drive the bigger power you'll need and of course more money because of bigger battery and more heavier too, and the processor will take longer to access the files because of the bigger hard drive. I have my laptop anyways so even if I'm out somewhere I can transfer the videos if needed to in one click of a button. If you're not like me that can't wait till there's a bigger hard drive and high definition out there, then I highly recommend that you get this one..but if you can sit and wait and just wonder how it's like to have a Sr1 in your hand then just wait till a new and better one comes out...after all the new era of Hard drive cam and high definition just begun...I'm pretty sure the competitors are brainstorming right now on how they could beat everybody else on the market. COMPETITION that's the word I'm looking for.