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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.
04-01-08
Duration of ownership: 6 Days
Strengths: 1920x1080 HD resolution sets the stadard for today's home videos. 60GB HDD is awesome. Hybrid storage (HDD and MS Pro Duo) and 10MP pictures are great.
Weaknesses:limited software in the box and on the store shelf (including online). I agree with other reviews 90 minute battery for $1K camcorder is bad business.
Overall Evaluation: With new baby in the house, I needed a camcorded to create long lasting memories. Reading reviews and comparing specs, I have made my decision to go with SR-11 rather than SR-10. There are few of them: better photo pictures, lager HDD, viewfinder and lager LCD. Yes, I looked at other brands, but I bought SR-11 and I don't regret. Looking forward to use it more on upcoming vacation.
03-31-08
Duration of ownership: 2 Days
Strengths: Picture Quality, Easy of Use, Large View Screen.
Weaknesses:Needs better software. Does not come with HDMI cable.
Overall Evaluation: After 2 days of use, this is by far one of the best purchases I have made in a while. Out of the box, the camcorder is well built with no loose or fragile parts. It reminds me that this is a great Sony product. After charging it up, I hand the camera to my wife and see what she can do with it after never giving her any instructions. Guess what? She was recording in no time! Not even that, but she was able to set the time and other settings by using the touch screen menu on the large screened view finder. As for the view screen, she is in love with it! It is the sharpest screen we have ever seen on a camcorder.A few things to know though before buying. One, you need a very good computer to start editing your own DVDs. Editing HD video will take forever even on a great computer. Second, the software provided only touches the tip of the iceberg when it comes to editing. It would have been nice if Sony gave a coupon for their Vegas Pro Video Editing software. Third, the package did not include an HDMI cable, that will have to be purchase separately. You can however hook up the component cables.In short, a great camcorder that is easy to use and gives exceptional video.
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