Sony Handycam DCR-DVD300 DVD Camcorder

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.

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 ...

Pros: DVD-RW recording is THE BEST. .
Cons: Short battery life with supplied battery using the LCD flip out screen.

This camera is the one I have waited for 10 years to own and I spent 15 years in the consumer electronic "rep" business. I use only the RW discs and then transfer to my computer for video editing and burning to full size DVDs so one only needs a couple ...

Pros: Excellent styling, good color saturation, easy to use, nice video editing software included.
Cons: Out of stock most of the time. Mini DVD software is a bit pricey.

For many years, the VCR has been a "die-hard" product that refuses to go away. Well, finally, its' demise is inevitable. The DCRDVD300 will have a lot to do with the validity of the VCR. The camcorder has many features and functions that will ...

Pros: Easy specific scene access, value for the technology and quality, still shot/video all in one
Cons: Supplied computer software NOT user friendly, still shot quality could be a little higher

I just purchased my DVD300 Dec. 5,2003. I went from C-VHS to mini DVD. How conveinent can you get? If you are looking for a certain scene, just scroll through the thumbnails and hit enter, the scene comes up on the screen. I wanted to have a unit that ...

Pros: Great picture quality, easy to use, DVD Media for the masses.
Cons: Expensive add-ons and accessories

One of the main advantages to using this camera was the fact of actually recording directly onto DVD, which gives you great control and durability over tape. However, such feat does not come cheap. During the first minutes of camera operation, I realized ...

Pros: Image Quality, Low Light Image quality, Easy to use (to do the actually filming).
Cons: Short Media Length (30 Minutes/better quality), Incompatible with Adobe Premiere, Sony Support Nonexistent

We bought this camera for the benefit of being able to take the mini DVD disc out of the camera and being able to play it immediately in a DVD player or computer. Our other objective was to use the camera to create editable video. We returned the ...

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

I got this camcorder for my wife about a month ago. The price was good, compared to a similar Sony midi-DV camcorder, for a quality almost as good. We used to have a PC10 miniDV for 5 years before that one, but due to extensive use while traveling, the ...

Pros: Great idea, direct DVD recording, all digital
Cons: No DVD-Rs, DVD-RWs to use in camera, no assistance from Sony, Camera returned!

I recently purchased this product from Best Buys with their discount coupon. After purchasing this product on Saturday, December, 6th, I tried to find the DVD RWs they promote with the item to save on the cost of the single use DVD-Rs. After being told ...

Pros: Random scene access. Burst and bracketing options provide multiple still pictures of the subject.
Cons: PC transfer software seems clunky and non-intuitive. Indoor still pictures sometimes need flash.

I've wanted a digital camera for a long time but decided to wait for technology to advance beyond tape storage (I hate jammed tapes!). The DVD feature makes this camcorder almost as easy to use as a digital camera - no rewinding and searching for scenes, review the last scene instantly and delete any scenes you don't want to keep. No worry about writing over scenes either. Playback on television is simple to skip from scene to scene using the on screen visual index. Randomly transferring scenes to a PC is also simple - no fussing with tape positioning. Digital quality plus ease of use... this is what a digital camcorder is meant to be like!

Pros: Random Access, Ease of use, Perfect format (Mini DVD).
Cons: Battery time.

I used a mini DV handy cam for the last 4 years and I always hated the tape problems. If it wasn't jamming then you were accidentally recording over stuff. With the Mini DVD you can random access to any scene in seconds. I highly suggest taking advantage of the 20% off coupon in the box 2 buy Sony brand accessories. I bought the ACC-DVD Accessory Pack, AC-SQ950D Charger, and NP-QM71D battery a week or two after. The Nightshot feature is very nice during low light situations. Other than that the camcorder is great.

Pros: Worked well with home DVD player.
Cons: Slow at power up. Software could have better features.

We have been using a HI-8 style Sony Camcorder for years, but finally it decided to go south. I have always enjoyed top of the line technology, but I have wondered why I spend so much, since I just like to point and shoot. Our last Camcorder cost $1500, so $850 for a DVD Handycam seems like a great deal, Barnone! We decided to stick to the Sony DVD100, the specs are not much different than the 300 with the exception of the screen, bigger is nice, but it uses more power, plus slightly larger video screens have made little difference for us. The quality of the video is beautiful, and the capability to select scenes is DVD style! The digital picture option on the DVD100 is fair, but not the reason we bought the Handycam, since we own a Sony 5.1 Mega Pixel camera. We now have the best of both worlds.

Pros: Camcorder operations, functions and quality of video.
Cons: Computer software leaves much to be desired.

I've only had the camcorder for about a week. I generally pick new ideas and things up fairly quickly. The camcorder itself works very well and is pretty easy to use after a short learning curve. Low light quality is fine on video and yeah the stills could use a flash...but it isn't bad by any stretch.
I wish I could say the same about the software that came with it. It is clumsy at best. I figured out how to combine video sections on the camcorder's DVD into the software(computer) and then back to the camcorder to make a copy. It is a little slow and not very "common-sensical". I have yet to figure out how to make a copy of the stills to a CD or copy them back to the camcorder(other than to make a "movie" out of them..... takes a ton of time for the software to convert the stills).
If there is other software available out there, I intend on finding it !

Camcorder: 9 out of 10 :)
Software: 3 out of 10 :( :(

Pros: quick zoom, clear and efficient. Light, easy to hold.
Cons: software, software, software, software, software. need i say more? wish i had known!

My husband bought me this camera for Christmas and I was very excited about it. I video alot of soccer games with my kids and the zoom is absolutely wonderful. It zooms in and out with minimal blurring (in comparison to the regular vcr camera's) I love this feature.

The only problem is the software that comes with the product. Quite frankly, it is pathetic. It is hard to transfer pictures outside of the program. I sell on ebay and thought since it also took still pics that I could just transfer to ebay. NOT. I wanted to get rid of the digital camera and use this one as a multipurpose camera, but after over a thousand bucks, I am not able to do that.

Maybe Sony will upgrade and make it available to those of us that already purchased one!!

Pros: To show off to your friends that you have own a new gadget.
Cons: slow, big, heavy, expensive, and cannot edit the video

I had this camcorder for about 3 months now, the reason why I bought this camcorder is because I thought that it would be very easy for me to edit the video, but I am very disappointed with the editing software that comes with the camcorder. The imagemixer editing program can only make a lot of DVD coaster for your home decorations. The camcorder is heavy to hold and the size is too bulky. The mini DVD-RW is expensive, and you have to keep on changing the disk when you want to shoot for a long period of time. The start up of the camcorder is slow. (I missed a few scene, when my friends are already shooting with their conventional DV camcorder).

Pros: Thumbnails.
Cons: Cannot use software other than what came with the camera, which is extremely limited.

This camera is incompatible with most user-friendly editing software. The software that it comes with is extremely limited. I was very excited to get this camera, but am so limited in editing that I am going to sell it and try again. Sony has assumed that consumers of this camera won't want to do any editing--big mistake. I am very disappointed and wish I would have listened to the professional reviews who said to stay away from this camera.