Best Base Model

Author's Rating:

Pros: Very easy to hold, Very Well Built

Cons: doesn't have input jacks

Author's Review
I am really impressed w/ my new Sony handycam 517. I looked at nearly every other brand available within the same price range. The quality of the JVC was really no comparison. The Cannon was awkward to hold, my girlfriend couldn't ever reach the zoom button w/ her smaller hands. The Sharp as just plain strange w/ its unique style.
This Sony offers Zero Lux recording, THIS IS SWEET! It has night vision up to about 15 feet away. This does however run the battery down quickly. The standard battery seems to give me about two hours worth of time but I figure that is because I constantly play with every feature. Features like adding titles, edit scan(to see where the tape is if you are adding in material), 200x digital zoom, 20x optical(higher optical zoom is more important than digital zoom, 20 is good), instant playback(too bad it doesn't have a headphone jack!).
The Sony is 8mm which means better recording quality than a standard VHS, and even my mom noticed how good the coloring is on it, unlike the older camcorders that seem to wash everything in white.
8mm means that its tapes will not play in any vhs player, but the camera will hook up to most VCRs and TV's with the supplied cables. If you don't have audio/video connections on your tv or vcr you will need to buy a separate adapter, for about $40.
The 517 doesn't include a case but sony sells one for $20 and the 517 comes w/ a Sonydirect $20 gift certificate. 8mm tapes sell for about $4 each and are available up to 120mins in length.