Don't buy Sony

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great when it works.

Cons: Doesn't work for long.

The Bottom Line: 
Don't buy it, you'll regret it. poor manufacturing and non-existent customer service.

Author's Review
Sony camcorders have a problem that Sony refuses to acknowledge, despite overwhelming evidence from people who have bought their camcorders that this is a manufacturing defect. There are well over 10,000 incidents of the same error code on Sony camcorders across the board, regardless of model number. Because reviews are conducted on brand new equipment, you will not see this mentioned in reviews, only on websites where people go to complain about shoddy merchandise. If there was a website where they followed up 2-3 years later, you would be astounded at the number of complaints against Sony products.
Sony gives you instructions to deal with this error code, which virtually never work. (I will explain where you can get the evidence of this at the end of this review).
When confronted with this evidence, Sony denies any knowledge of it, and states, and I quote: ‘Sony does not take information about possible manufacturing defects from customers or review websites. We only pay attention when our own techs notify us that there is a problem’. Either Sony has the worst techs in the world, which I doubt, or management has specifically told them to keep their mouths shut, which I have no problem believing.
Despite the fact that at least several hundred people, myself included, have brought it to their attention, Sony refuses to act. Instead, they tell you that they will fix it for a MINIMUM OF $211.00, WHICH IS ABOUT $40 LESS THAN THE CAMCORDER COST BRAND NEW.
The problem is error code c31:23. When you look this up in the manual, it tells you what to try, which as previously stated, virtually never works. You will be amazed at what does work for most, although it didn’t work for me. In my opinion, Sony ignoring this is tantamount to a criminal action.
You will find all this information by googling ‘sony camcorder error c31:23’. The first entry to come up is camerahacker.com, where you will find enough information to curl your hair.
If, despite this warning, you purchase a Sony camcorder, just remember this review when it breaks from this error. Most people had this error within the first two years. I would like to prevent you from experiencing the aggravation I went through, but all I can do is inform you, it’s up to you to make a choice. In my case, it broke right in the middle of my nephews wedding in Seattle. Because there are no ‘mini dv players’, I now have to buy another camcorder just to see my previously recorded tapes.