Sony DCR-SR82 1MP 60GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included) Reviews

Great camera, easy to use
I bought this camera mostly for home movies, and after doing extensive research on camcorders. First was the decision of going to Hard-drive over DVD or Tape. The ease of downloading videos to your computer, plus the fact that it's the way most camcorders are going to be heading in the near future made this almost a no-brainer. Then was the question about which model to buy. I chose the SR82 over the SR42 and SR62 because of the extra storage capacity, and the improved resolution over the SR42. The video resolution for the SR82 is good enough for most televisions. If you want HD video, you will need to spend at least $200 or $300 more for an "entry-level" HD camera. I'm not too worried about the 1MP still photos because, let's be honest, I'm not planning to use this camera to take pictures! I have a digital camera for that, which has better resolution, low-light performance and options than a camcorder will ever have for taking pictures. Plus, it has a flash, which camcorders usually don't have (unless you're willing to add an accessory shoe and external light).
Picture quality as I mentioned is pretty good, even in low-light, and the camera is very intuitive and easy to use right out of the box. Downloading to a computer was a breeze too. Do get however an extra battery, since the one it comes with usually runs out pretty fast

Buy Sony DCR-SR82 1MP 60GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included)

Sony DCR-SR200 2.1MP 40GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Pro & Cons

This is my first HDD camcorder. I owned several MiniDV camcorders in the past. I have owned the camera for 2 weeks, so this review should be considered as initial impression.
PROS:
- Picture quality is very good in good daylight. I had some shots at night in well lit family room, and the video is not as sharp as day time shots, but still very good.
- The Super Nightshot feature is fun to have to take kids video while they are sleeping. As expected, the video is very grainy.
- The quality of still pictures is acceptable.
- Zoom is very smooth
- The touch screen is awsome. Hope the screen won't get scratched in the long run
- Camera is easy to use without having to read too much into the manual
- The menu is sort confusing in some areas, but not too bad
- Lightweight

CONS:
- Pricy, compared to MiniDV models of similar quality
- Battery sticks out too much off the back of the camera making it look sort of ugly
- Allows only 3 still shots during video. I wish I can snapshot still photos from video like most of Panasonic models.
- All connectivities are on charging base. This means one more thing to carry with on vacation
- No separate battery charger. Battery is charged on the charging base or on camera
- Only 10x zoom

Overall, pretty happy with the purchase, and will be a lot of funs making family videos. I did not make a single DVD from my previous MiniDV's. This is a 4.5 stars rating.

Buy Sony DCR-SR200 2.1MP 40GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-SR65 1MP 40GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Reviews

Very good camcorder

I bought this camcorder after a lot of research and I'm glad I made the right choice. The only camcorder comparable with SR65 was the JVC MG330 or MG360. JVC 330/360 has less than 1 mega pixels and the price difference between the two was not much and I found it was worth spending on the extra resolution for better video quality.

Video Quality : Very Good. I ve taken video Outdoors and Indoors. On burning and playing it on 27 inch flat tube Sony TV, it proves to be very close to or almost DVD quality, especially for outdoor .

Audio Quality : Dolby Digital. Very good sound quality.

Camera Menus : Easy and Intuitive

Ergonomics : Pretty small. Easy to handle and buttons are easy reachable.

Still Image : I would not care to take still image using this, it s as good as taking pictures on a cell or PDA.

Zoom : 25x is good enough. Anything above that would be difficult to hold it steady, unless you would be using a tripod.

As long as you re not looking to spend over $800 for a High-Def quality for which you need to have High-Def LCD, High-Def burner, HDMI and the entire package, this camera is just perfect for the low $500 range.

Buy Sony DCR-SR65 1MP 40GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-SR85 1MP 60GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Reviews

Great Value for the Money!
I just received this camcorder (DCR-SR85) and I am very happy with it! It is so small & lightwieght, plus it takes fantastic videos. The videos download very quickly with the included software, and are crisp and clear as any DVD movie that I have (standard definition). I stuggled with all the choices out there, but I am very satified with this product. I use it mostly to document procedures for work, but it is great for home movies also. I think it would be nice to have a larger mega-pixel camera in it (only 1 meg) since it is so small it could easily replace my digital camera also! I also purchased the extended warranty from Sony for only 89.00 (3 years), and an extra battery. This one is a keeper!

Buy Sony DCR-SR85 1MP 60GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-SR42 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom Reviews

I got this camcorder a few days ago. It is very user friendly and simple. This is great for those of us that are not the most savvy. Sadly user friendly can also be a curse. Even though the picture quality of the video is great(still shots not so great, but thats not why I got a camcorder) special effects and other features are lacking. So if you want a camcorder thats easy to use and will make great home videos this is a good buy. You'll have few worries and no tapes. Easy DVD burn(just one button). If you want features and loads of them you may want to browse some other models. No light, but good night vision. No view finder, but the lcd screen is pretty good, I could even see it well outside with the sun hitting it. No adjustments to still picture quality. No special effects built into the camcorder. But really easy to use.

Buy Sony DCR-SR42 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom