Join the community and start enjoying the benefits:
* Total cost includes estimated tax and shipping in the continental US. Prices and availability are subject to change by merchant without notice. Sales taxes and shipping costs are only estimates. Please check with merchant for details.
07-20-08
Duration of ownership: 3 Days
Strengths: Picture, ease of use and available accessories
Weaknesses:Cames stripped down: bottom of the line battery, editing software slow and difficult
Overall Evaluation: I have had this for a coupl of days and so far so good. For the price I think Sony should have at least put in a longer battery, memory stick and HMDI cable. I have purchased an waterproof case from S
05-28-08
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: Size (small and lightweight)Large and high resolution display screenTouch screen interface
Weaknesses:Included battery is a bit short on timeNo HDMI cable included to hook to HDTV
Overall Evaluation: I've had this camcorder for two months now and very satisfied with my choice. I had just got done converting my Hi-8 tapes to DVD and didn't want to go through that process again so I started my searching for a new camcorder. I was a bit influenced by the $130 rebate Sony offered when purchased with a SonyCard. That helped offset the higher price of their new models. The camera overall is very easy to use - the touch screen interface helps a bunch in that area. Quality wise the HD looks super - I burn the AVCHD to standard DVDs and play them on my Bluray player to a 60" projection TV - no complaints. I was bit miffed that an HD camera didn't come with an HDMI cable to connect it to my HDTV - without it or a Bluray player any type of HD quality playback can't be done. I called Sony on it and they offered to sell me one for $40 + shipping - easily purchased for $5 at other places. It uses a standard mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. I also purchased and additional NP-FH70 ($65 from Amazon) battery and wall charger. The wall charger is nice and small. The originally battery gives about 90 minutes and the second battery gives me about 150 minutes. All in all I'd have no problems recommending this camera to someone looking for a HD camcorder.
04-08-08
Duration of ownership: 4 Weeks
Strengths: Size, HD Picture Quality, High Res LCD Panel, Viewfinder, Battery Charge Level Info, Quick On, Manual Focus, Built-in Flash, Zoom Mic With 5.1 Dolby, 60GB Hard Drive (7hrs HD Storage)
Weaknesses:Editing Software, Price of Pro Duo Cards, No External Charger, File Transfer to External Hard Drive Requires PC, Fade to black or white hard to use.
Overall Evaluation: I have been researching HD Camcorders for over 2 years and finally purchased this Sony. In my opinion, for the money this is the best HD camcorder on the market today. It has most all the features you need and gives you a full 1080i HD recording. The picture quality when watching on my 50? plasma is excellent using either the AV component or HDMI cables. * Some of the features include a "Quick On" standby feature, saves on the battery and you can switch to recording mode in 1 second. A zoom option for the Mic which does a nice job of picking up voices. All the jacks you need are on the camcorder (Power, Mini HDMI, USB, A/V to Component, External MIC and Head Set), so you don?t really need the base. Has a built in speaker. Ability to quickly change from video to pictures and capture still images from video. * It is one of the few HD camcorders with both a viewfinder and a flip out LCD panel. Viewfinder is nice for outdoor video or pictures in bright sunlight. It has a high resolution LCD panel, but it washes out in the sun. The touch panel on the LCD works well. Able to tap icons with your fingernail, so you don?t get fingerprints on the display. * Another nice feature is the LCD shows you the minutes of recording time remaining. Also, when the camcorder is off, you can press the ?DISP/BATT? button and it shows you the % of charge remaining. When watching video on the LCD, you can press the same button to hide icons/indicators. * There are a few disappointments. 1) Wish the included editing software was more robust. The best software for AVCHD appears to be Sony Vegas Pro ($300+) 2) the power cord for my Canon camcorder could be used to charge a battery w/o the camcorder. So you could always be charging a spare battery. Sony power cord requires the battery be attached to the camcorder to charge it. You can spend $45+ to get an external charger. 3) Wish you could move video files directly from camcorder to a portable hard drive via the USB port w/o a PC. You can bring a laptop on trips or buy a Memory Stick Pro Duo cards or portable DVD burner to back up video on the fly. 4) Camcorder is a bit heavy for its size, have to adjust the strap just right to get a good balanced grip. 5) 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo cards are expensive ($100). 6) Fader option is virtually useless, have to turn it on to fade in. Then while recording, you have to go thru menus to turn on fader again, to fade out. * Overall, I highly recommend it and feel it is worth a 5 star rating.
04-07-08
Duration of ownership: 5 Days
Strengths: Feature full. Beautiful, crisp video and stills.Intuitive touch-screen controls.Software to manage AVCHD files.Battery(SONY) Monitor
Weaknesses:Need to watch Low Light-video conditions.Time to store pict. taken during video recording.Optical Zoom is sufficient
Overall Evaluation: I put this camcorder through its paces taping a long weekend of footraces (for hire), a bridal shower, and ball-game w/Grandson. I'm no professional - but a knowledgable amature. Straight forward operation is very easy to make great videoes and pictures. There's an "EASY" button, but I can't figure out what it does for me! I think there for people like my wife, because the camera intimidates her. But, theres no reason to fear using this one.The unit is solidly made and provides a little heft (MOI in golf terms!) for stable handheld operations that other lighter cameras can't. For the rest of us, there are enough controls to provide creative options that someone with a little more than basic photography/videography will desire. To get much more, I'd expect you'd have to go pro. Storage: I'm barely denting the storage after all the above - more than 2 hours of videos and a couple dozen stills. I was never in doubt that I had storage even while heavily using the unit taping 2 mornings worth of foot-races (Large 10K, Kids Run, Half/Full Marathon!) and the associated events. Before buying - I looked at nearly 25 camcorders, in person, because I had to justify the cost. I'm Very Pleased with the selection - every other unit would have traded some feature for cost.Buy this one. It it clearly the best unit available.
04-03-08
Duration of ownership: 1 Weeks
Strengths: Large LCD, Image quality, easy to hold, mic, all the bells and whistles
Weaknesses:Pricey, a bit larger, pro duo cards, camera
Overall Evaluation: With so many camcorders to choose from I found this at the top of my list (barely above the Canon HF10). I researched these way too much. I find the hard drive models will give you the most bang for the buck for the next year or two, but then flash memory will take over. This also has about every input/output you'd like (except firewire). My favorite feature is the large LCD screen. You can see every detail with it so clearly. I didn't think I would like a touch screen, but I enjoy it very much. The image quality has blown me away. Details are so crisp. My only complaint is that a progressive mode would have been nice. So far my PC has worked fine with editing the AVCHD format. Also, the mic on this thing is amazing. Overall this is a great camcorder.
Today's Most Popular Computer Hardware
