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Opinion Summary
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Good basic consumer camcorder
by maxpat0 | Dec 02 '03
Pros: Price, ease of use, large swivel screen, ready-to-play DVDs, random scene access
Cons: Bulky unit, low still image quality, poor DVD reliability, awkward zoom, NOT for video editing
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OVERALL RATING
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REVIEW UPDATE / Re: DVD problems (Reply to this comment)
by maxpat0
REVIEW UPDATE: After a few more weeks of use, we still agree with most of the initial review.
However, our use of this camcorder has significantly dropped, due to the DVD problems, especially making copies for family members. I guess one DVD was not good enough, even when it worked. Fortunately, we didn't rush to buy accessories, so even if you want to benefit from the 60-day 20% discount from Sony on accessories, I suggest you use the camcorder for a few weeks before deciding to invest any more money in it.
One unexpected benefit of buying this camcorder is that we realized that tape-based camcorders were not that bad (besides the revinding and dropouts issue), and after buying a $40 Firewire card, we have finally started transferring our 5+ years-old DV tapes (not specially well handled during all these years ;-) to hard drive and DVDs with less dropouts in nearly 20 tapes than in 10 DVDs, and a significantly higher quality (noticeable mostly on large screen 33"+ TVs).
I also suggest readers with computers and CD/DVD burners to include in their evaluation list the new generation of card-based camcorders (using 512MB or 1GB Compact flash cards or likes). They have a clear size and reliability advantage, and even though the price is high per medium, they allow you to create RELIABLE copies on DVDs or CDs. On the drawback list, they still have the issue of limited editing (due to the nature of MPEG-2 encoding, as for the Sony DVD), and the medium is limited to a few thousand recordings limit.
As for the DVD camcorders, you might want to wait a few more months to see more online user reviews, get manufacturers to fix their bugs, then make your purchase decision accordingly.
GOOD LUCK!
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Also, in response to the previous comment:
1) Regarding DVD reliability:
DVDs don't seem to have the reliability that people expected, even when "properly handled". Recent articles such as http://www.computervideo.net/sep03-1.html report an increasing trend of failing DVDs from consumer and professional users, partly due to mishandling, but also to the commercialization of grade B discs. DVD problems have been identified over the past couple of years by storage professionals (and their clients, especially imaging centers where I work), and DVD-jukeboxes are being replaced by tapes or other magnetic or optical devices, with data that could be salvaged from them.
In our case, after a few DVDs were burned and failed attempts to play smoothly or even do error-free copies of data files on several DVD players (standalone and PC-based), a magnifying glass exam of the surface of the problem DVDs showed a few tiny round "specks", contrasting with the otherwise regular visual aspect of the disc. I couldn't find similar defects on the "good" DVDs, but of course, it would take hundreds of discs to give some statistical significance to this. Also, only tried 2 brands, with only a slight advantage to the Sony brand. DVDs were "properly" cleaned following standard procedures, and this didn't make a difference in our case.
The fact that the camcorder cannot detect/skip defects or at least try to alleviate them during the finalizing process is I believe a technological issue rather than a manufacturer's problem, and I don't know any DVD burning hardware/software that could do that anyway.
The problem here is that you find out too late that you lost part or possibly all the scene you had recorded for posterity. Tape mishandling, on the other side, usually starts to show its effects on the long run, so you usually have quite some time to make a backup of it.
Maybe the camcorder could address some of these problems when using DVD-RWs, but we couldn't test that. We ordered several packs of Sony DVD-RWs from CDW and PcConnection.com months ago, and they are still out of stock, although listed as available, so we could only use regular DVDRs.
I agree that proper handling can reduce the risk of read/write errors significantly, but it's only part of the equation. DVDs might have an advantage over tape for random access, but they lose hands down in short-term reliability (and maybe long-term too), due in part to the low grade commercialized discs and the possible mishandling you mentioned.
In short, be prepared to try several DVD brands to find the high quality discs that work well with this camcorder, and be extra careful with handling (and storing) of the DVDs, and make sure you try to do a backup ASAP to another disc to confirm your precious moments are there.
2) Video editing
I completely agree with the previous post that Sony never intended this for video editing. we are just making this CLEAR for the readers who might think about it or have missed this point in the datasheet.
3) Sony did not INTEND... Sony EXPECTS... people considering this camera HAVE already owned...
I don't see your point and how you know what Sony intended to do or what they expect from their users, or who is considering this camcorder. etc. Are you a Sony rep. or one of their resellers ??? ;-)
Anyway, you record as many DVDs as you want, and with the limited recording time, 20 min in high quality (up to 60 in low), you better stock up a lot of discs, and be ready to change DVDs often. More handling... be even more careful! ;-)
To conclude, I understand where you're coming from (and probably working for ;-), but I think that reviews here need to be balanced and try to show the advantages and drawbacks of each product, based on everybody's own experience. Bias is hard to achieve, especially when experiencing frustration with a product, but we still tried to remain objective. We also wanted to make sure that people considering the same product we purchased are aware of the potential (in fact real) problems they may encounter.
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Jan 29 '04
9:22 am PST
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DVD problems (Reply to this comment)
by fishreed
Most of the DVD problems you stated are from lack of reading the directions and specifications of the camera. Sony NEVER intended this camera to do video editing nor did they intend to make you buy a ton of these small DVDs to archive your recordings. This camera is very limited without a computer and a DVD burner but Sony expects a person buying this camera to already know that fact. Most people considering this camera have already owned several tape based cameras and know what they want. This DVD based camera gives the tape camera owner A HUGE upgrade to video movie making capability without a lot of HASSLE.
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Jan 27 '04
11:01 am PST
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