The new features with the mini DVD format are invaluable!
Written: Oct 07 '03
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Pros: Go directly to any video clip.
Superior video quality.
Plays right in my DVD player.
Cons: Only 30 minute recording size on DVD media (SP).
Still pictures are poor in low lighting.
The Bottom Line: It's definitely worth the extra cost. You'll find you actually watch the videos you take now because it's easy to with no fast forwarding or rewinding.
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| sotto's Full Review: Sony Handycam DCR-DVD300 DVD Camcorder |
I recently purchased the Sony DCR-DVD300 Camcorder and I love everything about it.
Features:
No more fast forwarding/rewinding: The best feature that sets this camcorder apart from any other digital format camcorder is the random access. Every time you start and stop recording you create a scene. When you want to watch a specific scene - just go to play mode and a list of thumbnail pictures comes up of all of the scenes you have recorded. Click on the one you want to watch and it plays instantly! It does take a little bit when you first turn on the camcorder to start recording (maybe 20 seconds) while it access the disc - but still, no fast forwarding or rewinding!
Never accidentally record over anything: Another great feature you get with the DVD format is that when you start recording you don't have to worry about recording over something you've already recorded. Just turn on the camcorder, press record, and it automatically starts recording right where you left off. This is invaluable to me having a young daughter that I want to catch on video sometimes and now I don't have to waste any time checking a tape to be sure I am not going to record over something.
Playlist: When you start a new mini DVD you choose if you want VR mode or not. VR mode allows editing. I've played around with the editing and it's pretty nice and simple to use. With the playlist you go to separate tab on the menu and from there you can choose any of the scenes you've already recorded to create your own movie. Move the scenes around in any order. For example. On my first mini DVD I recorded lots of miscellaneous video. My parents stopped over and I wanted to show them all of the video of their grand-daughter. So on the playlist, I select only the scenes with my daughter and put them in the order I wanted, and that was it. They had a little movie of their grand-daughter!
Picture Quality: The picture quality is just what you would expect from a Sony and a DVD - perfect. However, at first I was a little disappointed with some of the video I took. I thought the Digital-8 format might be better on my Father's camcorder so we compared. I found that I wasn't using the backlight feature while indoors which made a tremendous difference. In low lighting (especially indoors) you will want to pay attention to the Backlight feature - it makes a big difference - really brightening things up and giving a clearer picture. The picture was seemed to be the same quality as my father's Sony Digital-8 camcorder after using it properly.
30 minutes of video: You can record in LP, SP, or HQ (Long Play, Standard Play, and High Quality Play). I noticed no difference in Standard or High Quality Play. So I use Standard Play which is 30 minutes recording time. HQ is 20 minutes and LP is 60 minutes. I haven't compared the picture with LP yet.
Mini DVD-R vs mini DVD-RW format: You can use two different types of media - a mini DVD-R or a mini DVD-RW disc. I think the mini DVD-R disc is basically worthless. With this disc you can only record once and you can't delete anything off of it. With the mini DVD-RW disc you can re-format it and clear everything off of it. I bought a 3-pack of mini DVD-RWs (Best Buy - $33) when I bought the camcorder and I think if I do the following that is all I'll ever need to buy. After filling up my 30 minutes of recording time on the disc I hook up the Camcorder to my computer via USB 2.0 and dump all of the pictures to my hard drive. Then I can reformat the disc and it's brand new. I plan on buying a Plextor DVD Burner (Get one that does burn in all the formats -R, -RW, +R, +RW) and then burning the full size DVD discs with my video. The full size DVD-R discs are much cheaper and hold a lot more video. I haven't played around much with the software, but I think I remember seeing something that says you can move video back and forth between your computer and the camcorder. This would be especially nice feature.
No memory sticks: The camcorder records it's still pictures directly to the mini DVD instead of a memory stick. There are different tabs to view the movie clips, still pictures, and playlist. The nice thing about recording right to the mini DVD is that there is a ton more room. You can record up to something like 2000 pictures in the best quality on your mini DVD. I like not having to worry about dealing with two different types of media for my camcorder too - and the memory sticks can get pretty expensive.
Play mini DVDs right in your DVD Player: This is so cool. You can finalize the mini DVD and put it right in your own DVD player. It takes about 5 minutes for a full mini DVD to finalize before doing this. (I guess it's longer with less video). When you are done and want to record more, just put the disc back in the camcorder and unfinalize it. Just be sure to use the mini DVD-RWs to do this. Again - I haven't played around with the software yet - but in the manual it looks like you can easily create some cool DVD menus on the computer before burning a DVD.
Miscellaneous Features: The camcorder has plenty of other nice features that I haven't played with yet. I was mostly interested in the main features - Recording Quality, Random Access Features, Still Picture Quality, Recording time, etc.
Progressive Shutter: If you have an HDTV it has Progressive Scan which means a much better picture quality. I believe that the Progressive Shutter means the camcorder basically records in a way that HDTVs can take advantage of to have a better picture. I haven't had a chance to hook up to an HDTV yet to see if there is a difference.
Dolby Digital Sound: It's only two channels (left and right) of sound in Dolby Digital (normal Dolby Digital is 5.1 - 5 surround speakers and a subwoofer), but it is great sound.
Size: I was surprised at how small the camcorder is. It is very small (but still feels sturdy) and fits nicely in your hand.
Price: I purchased mine for $939. It was priced at $1039 at a local store and they had a Sony sale of $100 off camcorders over $1000. It is worth every penny so far.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 939
Recommended for: Home and Families - Keep Memories of Family Vacations
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sotto
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