Now we can focus on family.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Affordable, high quality, entry level camcorder with everything you need. Excellent Value.

Cons: Batteries are pricey, wide angle could be wider.

The Bottom Line: 
An excellent value. Its may not be the BEST out there, but typical for Sony, incorporates more features than you need in an affordable, easy to use package.

Author's Review
We have wanted a camcorder for some time now, and finally decided to go ahead. The options and features out there are formidable.

As far as digital vs analog recording: We decided that we would not likely be doing a lot of editing on the PC, nor would we need to add a lot of special effects to our shots. The quality of digital is better, but for our use - family gatherings and assorted fooling around - analog would suit us just fine.

We did choose the Hi-8 format as it is supposed to be better quality than regular VHS.

All this led us to the Sony.

The feature set on this model is rich. The ones I like and think I will use:

Titles, fading in/out options, built in light, manual focus option, some auto exposure settings like back light mode (for people standing in front of a window, for example).

Features we have but probably won't get used much now that "play time" is over: Special effects (mosaic, sepia, 16:9 view, etc.), night vision with infrared.

The menu system is easy to use, and has a thumb wheel for scrolling- a big plus.

The manual is well written, though I was able to get through most of the features without the need for the book. Only a couple features required a lookup.

The camera comes with a good battery, and keeps track of how much "time" is left on the battery. The drawback is that these 'smart' batteries are kind of pricey. We will be getting a spare for about $50.

The quality of the picture is good. Its hard to say how it compares as this is our first camcorder since the kind you had to rest on your shoulder. We have a huge TV, so the picture looks poor compared to a TV station.

The LCD screen is excellent. It rotates to almost any angle, and when you flip it 180 degrees so its pointing in the same direction as the lens, the picture automatically flips so it is right-side-up to the viewer. This is great for when you are shooting yourself and want to keep on eye on the shot.

The package comes with everything you need except film. Hi-8 or any 8mm cartridges are readily available and hold 120 minutes of video.

There is no "camera" function on this one for snapshots, but we didn't want that because we have a digital camera already. You have to spend a LOT to get that capability built in with any quality.

This unit is light, and very intuitive to operate for adults and kids alike.

The night shot feature is neat- you can get images (green) in total darkness, using the built in infrared 'light'. This would be fantastic perhaps to film animals at night. The range of the light is about 10 feet. After that it starts depending on the surface and other factors.

Like most, it has stability control, which helps get rid of "the shakes". I turned it off to see what happened, and couldn't even watch the video. I turned it right back on. Excellent feature.

The zoom is 20x optical, and after that 460x digital zoom. All in all, I think the digital zoom is worthless after about 20x digital zoom. The picture starts getting grainy. (You can set max zoom, so I set it at 20x digital). The optical 20x, though, has been great and so far all we have needed. If I could have anything, I think I'd ask for 0-40x optical and forget about digital.

The widest angle to me could be wider. To film the whole dinner table at once, the camera has to be set up in the other room... not a good placement. A wide angle lens might be a nice addition sometime in the future.

Sound is just what we expected, which is to say we turn up the TV when watching. The built in mic works fine. Its mono- not stereo.

We bought a case from the store. Get one that is bigger than the camera. The power supply/charger, a few tapes, and the TV/VCR connector cord filled all our accessory pockets right up.

If you are looking for easy entry into home movies- this camcorder is for you.