First generation digital
Oct 11 '99
The dcr-vx1000 was one of sony's first mini dv cameras, and as such, targetted at the prosumer market (think weekend wedding videographers and hard core gadget freaks).
I've had my vx1000 for about 4 years now, and have taken it to several foreign countries, shot four or five documentaries with it, and I use it to feed my digital editing system.
I really like this camera. It's not the best image quality (see xl-1). It doesn't have the widest range of features (see sony's own 900), but it is a decent compromise as far as durablity vs weight vs features.
I've spent a bunch of money adding stuff to this camera, including a shoulder mount (great, but a pain to carry around), a beechtek xlr adapter (flaky, I'll write a separate review at some point) etc.
The problems with this camera mostly stem from its age. There is no cool little flip out lcd viewer, which I don't miss, mostly cause I've never had a camera with one. There is no analog video in, which sucks, but so far I have managed by borrowing other people's 900s.
The one real problem with this camera is the auto focus. Until the last year or so, Sony's autofocus sucked. There's no other way to put it. In a hectic outdoor run-around situation, it is serviceable, but there is nothing more aggravating than watching a tripod interview shot with the autofocus on this camera. It constantly hunts, losing focus slightly periodically, and generally looks bad. But if you use the manual setting the push auto (use the auto setting to get focus then leave it on manual) works fine. And the focus indicators in the viewfinder are great.
For someone stepping up to a prosumer-level camera, I would probably recommend the sony 900 (can't remember whether it's a trv or vx). More features, an actual functional autofocus, and it's cheaper too! I don't have a sense of the durability of those things, but they seem pretty solid. The advantages of the 1000 over the 900 are the shape: I am not a big fan of the box shape of the 900; and the lens. At the very top end, particularly on longer shots, you'll get better pictures with the 1000, but if you're gonna quibble, you'd probably be better off with the xl-1 anyway.
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Epinions.com ID:
sashax
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Location: san francisco
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 10 members
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