No comments about Panasonic HDC-SD100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom.

5 comments about Panasonic Pro AG-HSC1U AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom.

1. After reading many reviews of this camcorder and others, I decided to make the jump for this one. I had previous experience with other panasonic professional camcorders so I had some idea going into this what to expect. I rate it a full five stars because of the outstanding image quality, ease of editing, small form factor, and because it uses SDHC cards which are readily available and affordable. The high definition image quality is nothing short of fantastic. There is fineness in detail. When shooting into bright light with people between me and that light, it compensates very effectively so everything is naturally exposed. There is a film-like quality to it that looks fabulous. In bright sunlight I always use an ND and polarizer filters. This camera turns on instantly and I am ready to start shooting. It has a good selection of manual controls. There is no manual focusing ring. Why they left that off, who knows. I use a step up ring to use readily available 49mm filters. Battery life is excellent but get another one or two- that goes without saying. Better safe than sorry when you are in the wild. It is small, lightweight and easy to operate. I use it handheld most of the time with a flash bracket I bought in a second hand shop for $3. This bracket allows me to better hold the camera more steadily. I also use cinesaddles instead of tripods and fluid heads. The built in OIS works great. I like the variable speed zoom servo. I can get silky slow zooms and fast ones if needed. It is still photo capable and I have used it but it's of lesser importance to me.
   
   Perhaps the best part is that it records 1080i/60 directly onto SDHC cards. No tape mechanism to jam. After shooting you pull out the card and place into your computer for fast and easy transfer. iMovie '08, Final Cut Express 4, Adobe Premiere CS3, and other software titles work flawlessly in handling the high definition footage. Editing is quick and easy. It does come with a handy self-powered 40gb HD for transferring footage in the field from the SDHC card. Very thoughtful of Panasonic to include this. It means you only need one or two cards to shoot with. An 8gb card will hold 83 minutes of HD footage or a 16gb card will allow you to shoot for two hours and twenty minutes. Remember don't forget spare batteries! The LCD viewfinder is large and bright. I have no trouble using it on the brightest of sunlit days. The 5.1 audio works great and does an excellent job when shooting interviews. I just love this camera and would not go back to tape ever again. We will be putting up sample footage on our website www.kineticimagefilmgroup.com soon.



2. The AG-HSC1UP is easy to use, light and compact, and takes great video. Transferring AVCHD footage from the camcorder itself to a Mac is a breeze. Do note that if you transfer video from the camcorder to the included portable Hard Disk Drive (VW-PT2), and then try to transfer those clips from the HDD to a Mac for editing in Final Cut, it can be confusing. Here's a solution:
   
   Connect the portable hard disk drive to computer using USB cable and turn on the HDD. Icon "untitled" will appear on desktop.
   
   Open Final Cut. Click Final Cut in menu bar > System Settings > Scratch Disks. Click "Set". Then select destination folder (for example user name > document > Final Cut Documents > new folder (and name the new folder). Then also click "Set" for Waveform Cache, Thumbnail Cache, and Autosave Cache.
   
   Then on the menu bar, click File > Log and Transfer. When new screen appears, click icon "Add Folder" in upper left corner. then click "Untitled" icon > Pana > 080311_1 (or whatever number appears). Click Open. Drag clip from "Name" to "Untitled Project 1" where it says "Drag Media Here".
   
   The next time you open Final Cut, click File > Import Files > Documents > Final Cut Documents > Capture Scratch > Untitled Project 1 > and there, by golly, will be Clip #1.mov. Click on Clip #1 (et al) and it will appear in the browser window.
   
   It's easier just to get some extra SDHC cards and forget the HDD.



3. This is a good produce except for a few things. The battery life on both the camera and the external hard drive is very poor. The software that comes with the camera can only work on Windows XP or 2000... sorry Mac or Vista users. However Panasonic does have an application that can work on Windows Vista but it is in Japanese's. If you do run Finial Cut Studio 2 in your Mac you can import it in to your timeline. I have not got it to work with Adobe or Avid editing programs. The audio is quite good give the nature of the camera. Unless you need a small 3 CCD camera that stores on a memory card I would suggest you consider something a little cheaper... maybe a Sony HDV cam? Hope this helps!



4. The AG-HSC1U is a VERY small camcorder, for my particular use the size and solid-state recording was a big part of the choice.
   
   Once in use the camcorder impressed with beautiful pictures, however for interviews one need to mount a bracket to hold the microphone, I got one with 2 shoe mounts for a video light to pop the faces and also a microphone, it would be nice to have a headphone jack, but there is no such thing, instead there is a recording level indicator on the screen, I was a bit apprehensive about this starting out, but in practical everyday use this works well.
   
   This camcorder is a "Pro" version of the older Panasonic SD1 camera, the colors have been tweaked to match the look of other professional cameras, this works well and I find the shots to play nicely with much more expensive panasonic pro cameras.
   
   Unlike most serious camcorders this camera is mostly menu driven, there is no exposure-compensation. however there is a small joystick which makes it easy to adjust the lighting. the most common used adjustments are accessed by sliding the mode slider to Manual and then pressing the joystick once, this will let you toggle through the settings one at a time, you can select a option by moving the cursor sideways - once selected you can move sideways to increase or decrease a setting such as aperture, gain, or shutter speed, press downwards to exit a option. in practical use this works easy and are simple to figure out, I use the aperture all the time and it is the first option when I turn on manual because it was used last. The camera have zebra stripes so it is easy to judge exposure.
   
   The camera could possible have a bit more dynamic range, but I have not found it being a problem, I typically shoot outdoors interviews with a graduated ND filter to control the sky and use a reflector to pop some light in the top of the face which also is in the ND filter, the result look great and do not look like something from a cheap camcorder.
   
   The lens is longer than the other SD cameras with 12x zoom, which really is about as long as you can hold still any way, I use this camera mostly on monopod or handheld in the cockpit of airplanes. The lens is sharp and with no vignetting.
   
   The AVCHD files edits well with Vegas Pro 8, I have not tried the economy compression and only use the best quality setting which looks beautiful on the screen. A added bonus is the 40gig portable harddrive which ships with this camera model, the drive is battery powered and I have successfully dumped 5 days worth of cards to the drive with no recharge required.
   
   Generally the camera performs well and overall I am very pleased with this purchase, it plays well with other cameras and I am about to pick up a second for the company. In my personal opinion this camera is highly recommended as long as you realize that have have some limitations it will serve you well and deliver images you can use for production. Ultimately, only you can determine if this camera will "do the trick" for you, based on your needs and the performance vs price of the camera, you can find larger cameras with more features at the same price, but they are pretty darn hard to stuff in the pocket in the cockpit.



5. I love this camera. It's tiny, but does not feel like a toy. The auto-focus is very good and fast enough for my needs. The 12x optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilization is great. The image quality is amazing (though I should say I jumped a number of technologies as my previous video camera was S-VHS).
   
   The lack of broad AVC-HD support did cause me some pain (mostly financial) as to solve it I switched from Adobe Premiere to Sony Vegas (for a number of reasons including the lack of AVC-HD support in Premiere). So far I haven't been successful in being able to view AVC-HD videos in any Media Player so I have to load Vegas just to view the raw video on my PC. I also purchased a much larger 16Gb SDHC card since the included 4Gb card was just too small for my needs, and after using the camera for a while I plan to buy a second battery (I get about 80 minutes out of the battery).
   
   Speaking of the battery, the charger has a strange quirk in that you can't charge the battery at the same time you are powering the camera. This seems weird to me, and I have forgotten to unplug the cable from the charger once or twice and not ended up with a charged battery (it doesn't matter if the camera is actually connected, or on, there is apparently a switch that is hit when you plug in the camera's power cable so it must be unplugged in order to charge the battery). Also, the camera itself will not charge a battery in the camera, so you can either power the camera or charge a battery, never both.
   
   The microphones (all 5 of them) on the camera work great when recording video, as long as the action is fairly close. This isn't a complaint as I would have been shocked if the camera did well at recording far away (it's not magic) and thankfully it does have an external microphone jack (which I admit that I have yet to use as I usually digitally record the audio on-site with my Wolverine or Nomad Jukebox 3). For family videos it is does great at capturing very reasonable audio.
   
   You should know that the external backup hard drive is big. The hard drive is nearly as long and as wide as the largest dimensions of the camera itself (not as thick in the third dimension) and while the camera is heavier, the hard drive gives it a good run. The hard drive does work, and it works well, but my feeling is that if they are going to force you to buy this as part of the package, it should at least have been a large (100Gb or larger) hard drive (especially since the retail price for 40Gb drives are well under $40). It should be optional or an accessory. I'll stick with my Wolverine for this as well.
   
   My biggest complaint is that the camera constantly resets the image numbering. All of the other digital cameras I have owned keep a running count of videos or still images taken and numbers the files accordingly until I specifically reset them (for example, my Sony F-828 is currently generating images like DSC08428.jpg, which means that I've taken 8,428 photos with that camera since I last reset it). Having the file numbers constantly starting from 0 on the media means that I have to renumber them all before I copy or take a chance on accidentally overwriting a previous file.
   
   Another complaint about the camera is that it refuses to record more than about an hour at a time in "normal" quality. I'm guessing that this is a file size issue and when it comes close it starts blinking the display and then just stops recording. How dumb is this? I understand that the file system on the card might have limitations, but how hard would it have been to simply open another file and keep recording until the media was full (hopefully without a video skip between the files)? If there is an option for this I haven't found it yet. This limitation caused me to miss a few minutes of video in the middle of a performance I was recording, so I was very annoyed. Now that I know about the limitation I can likely work around it, but why should I have to?
   
   The camera takes still pictures that look reasonable, but many of them have a strange "cut-out" quality to them (like the foreground and the background are disconnected). I'm not sure whether this is a haloing affect or something else, but I didn't buy the camera for stills and for the occasional still it's good enough. It will definitely not replace my F-828 for still photos.
   
   I can't comment on the software that comes with the camera as I don't use it. I did download the "AVC-HD to DVCPRO Transcoder" from the Panasonic web site (they didn't make the software easy to find) from https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/desk/e/download.htm. Note that you'll have to go through some significant annoyance because they must send you an e-mail with a custom password (which didn't work for me the first time but did the second).
   
   Summary: In general I think this is a great camera for HD video in a very small package with the features I needed. There are a few quirks and I have a few other minor complaints, but they are, so far, all easily worked around. All-in-all I am very happy with this camera and now that I know about the file size limitation it's not too hard to work around it. Support for the AVC-HD encoding is sparse but growing quickly.

5 comments about Panasonic SDR-S7 Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Black).

1. I was looking for a camcorder to capture memories of our kids. I'm pretty cheap and not a video snob. That being said, I wanted a camcorder that wouldn't break the bank and one that I wouldn't be afraid to take out of the house. I purchased it from Best Buy only because I needed it right away, it was on sale for the same price as here. I brought the camcorder home and charged the battery and started shooting. Played it back on 42' DLP HD TV and the picture quality, while certainly not HD, was just a good if not slightly better than our old Sony HI8 camcorder, and this was SP video setting (medium). I tried some recording using XP setting (highest quality) and didn't notice enough of a difference to sacrifice half of the recording time. Dark settings do not record well, I think there is a night setting but haven't explored that yet. The 40 minute life of the battery isn't anything for Panosonic to brag about but for my needs, multiple 1 to 2 minute clips and occasional longer ones, its longer than you think. I found many websites that sell the battery for as little as $11.00 and ac/dc chargers for $20.00, a very affordable solution in my opinion. Now the ultimate test, will it work with my macbook? Yes. Sold. I just pluged it in and iphoto grabbed the still pics and imovie grabbed the vids. I have a new macbook w/ intel processor and iMovie '08, I understand older versions will not work. To sum it up, Affordable price, good video quality, compact and lightweight, and not afraid to take it anywhere. It is just what I was looking for.



2. I recently purchased this product from best buy (yesterday) and will be returning it today. The picture quality is just too bad to justify the $300 dollar price tag. It does have positive attributes such as size, portability and ease of use. The problem is my digital camera (still) takes the same if not better quality video as the SDR-S7. It's too bad because the positives would have made this a great camera if not for the YouTube like video quality.



3. I only feel obliged to write this because I have owned both camcorders. I bought the Panasonic at Wal-Mart the 1st of August. I wanted to tape my sons football games with it. The first couple of weeks I tried it ou and it seemed to do OK. Even though the MOD files could not be recognized by my computer the supplied software, while basic, did transfer them from the camera into the computer as mpg files that it would recognize. I successfully created a DVD using Roxio 10. As I used it more I noticed how bad the video was (I guess the newness wore off). The background in shots looked extremely soft and fuzzy. Anything that was close (10 to 15 feet) or if you zoomed way in was OK. When I was really disappointed was when I tried taping my sons first football game. I used it in conjunction with the video mode on my Fuji camera. I just put the panasonic on a tripod and did not zoom in far so I could capture the whole play with out moving the camera. I was not expecting to see good detail doing this but what I got turned my stomach. It was so fuzzy and the color was so bad that I could not tell one team from the other. there was no way I could have ever read a jersey number. Even being able to sort the players by teams would have helped but the video was useless. Luckily I had a few days to still take it back. I paid $299 for it at Wal-Mart. I decided to go with the Canon FS100 ($399 at Wal-Mart but I got mine through amazon for $315). It is a SD Card based camera just like the Panasonic. The Panasonic is the smallest camcorder I have ever seen, so it is handy to have if the video quality is not an issue. The FS100 is about twice the size but fits more comfortably in larger hands (still smaller than a pop can). It feels more solid. When I saw the video I knew I had made the right choice. it records in MOD format also. Unfortunately the software that came with it would not load on my computer. I have heard that the software is not worth much any way. I had WINAMP on my computer which converted them. I have read that you can just change the file name from *.MOD to *.MPG but I have not tried that yet. I had video from the Panasonic on my computer still so i duplicated those shots using the CANON and made another DVD alternating Panasonic,Canon,Panasonic,etc. The difference was unbelievable. If you want a small camcorder for goofing off with friends the Panasonic might fit the bill. If you would actually like to be able to go back and enjoy the videos, produce good DVDs and use the videos as a learning tool, choose the CANON FS100. By the way - I just started buying stuff from Amazon and they are wonderful. I ordered the camcorder on Monday about midnight and I was playing with it by noon on wednesday.



4. I got the cheaper (silver) model here on Amazon about a week ago, and am mostly pleased.
   
   In my opinion, the real competition for this camcorder are not the Canon FS100 or similar flash-based mainstream camcorders, but rather the "Flipcams," Aiptek handhelds, etc. Compared to any of those that I've tried, the quality is much better, and the size is still miniscule.
   
   That said, the quality is slightly worse than the 3+ year old MiniDV camera it's replacing... but at 1/4 the size, and entirely flash based, it's MUCH more convenient, very much a "go anywhere" pocket camera.
   
   Key reasons to get this:
   - size and portability, a "go anywhere" portable camcorder
   - convenience and low cost of flash memory
   
   Key reasons not to get this:
   - want a more general-purpose camcorder
   - want a useful still picture resolution (VGA-resoltion stills are useless.)
   
   Other Pluses:
   - good zoom range
   
   Mixed bag:
   - decent video quality
   - good range of controls, but not the easiest to handle through the menu
   
   Minuses:
   - so-so low light performance
   - electronic rather than optical image stabilization



5. After seeing mixed reviews on this product (Panasonic SDR-S7 Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom), we decided to try it anyway. Only took a minute or so of video before the camera got so hot you couldn't hold it in your hand. We let it cool off and tried again. Same thing. We took the memory card out and plugged it into the computer to view the result. The images were broken up and jerky. We sent this camera back for a refund -- it was utterly useless. We really expected better from Panasonic.

5 comments about Panasonic PV-GS320 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.

1. I have the Panasonic PV-GS320 for about 3 weeks. Took it on a trip to get some practice with it. Easy to use and set up. Make sure you have an extra battery. The one that come with it is good for about 25-30 minutes.
   
   Best results are outdoors and in bright light. It has a camera feature to allow still pictures to a 1 GB storage card, which is kind of neat. Cassette tape goes in and out easily.
   
   Single worst feature is the lack of good quality sound. It has no audio jack, so the sound is a bit garbled if you don't speak loudly and into the mike. Otherwise, for the money, it is a good camcorder which is fun to use.



2. This is a great camera. I bought it a few months ago for an rv trip and the moment the battery was fully charged i hooked it up to the camera, put in a tape, and walked around the house experimenting. On the trip, it performed excellently. When properly exposed, the camera's three CCD chips reproduced colors surprisingly well. The microphone has a neat wind-cut function that works very well.
   
   Pros
   -great image and sound quality
   -10x zoom
   -color electronic view finder (which is becoming very rare in consumer camcorders now)
   -very simple menu navigation
   -photoshot feature
   -nice joystick navigation for menus
   
   Cons
   -Poor low-light shooting
   -no hot shoe
   -no manual focus ring
   -manual/auto switch inconviniently located
   -no firewire input
   -you have to remove the battery and go through a messy process to hook the camera up to a computer
   
   
   
   
   I highly recommend this camera for beginners or even enthusiasts with a low budget.



3. Great camcorder, watch for the color settings, It would help to point it at something neutral, like a hand befoe using it in extreme sunlight. Excellent product for the price!



4. I bought this camera for two purposes: 1) to replace an older VHS camera and 2) to use for converting my VHS tapes to DVD's. I give it 4-1/2 stars for #1 and 0 stars for #2. (In my research before buying the camera, I managed to miss the fact that the GS320 does not have AV input, so can't be used to convert analog to digital. Rats!)
   
   However, for everything else I wanted, I was very satisfied. Other reviewers have pretty well expounded on the pros and cons. I'll just say that the quality of pictures (both video and still) that we get with this camera is really great. When I first got the camera, I handed it our son who is studying Film Production and works with professional camcorders. After fiddling with the controls and looking over its features, he expressed great delight with my purchase. (Yesss!)
   
   It took me a while to figure out the menus and I haven't enough experience to handle the manual control options well, but overall, I would highly recommend this camera.



5. Choose this camera if you want quite good picture quality but don't care about extra features.
   
   (I've owned this camera for six months and use it fairly regularly.)
   
   The Leica lens and the 3 CCD's are normally in much more expensive cameras (often called "prosumer")
   
   The picture quality really does look great -- the video picture is sharp and the colors wonderful (not so much on the still pictures, though). I am totally happy with the quality and, for me, that's the main thing.
   
   It DOES have a few "extras" that I use:
   
   1) The still camera. While not a good quality as my dedicated digital camera, it is adequate. It solves the problem of having to carry two cameras.
   
   You can also take "web quality" frame grabs from footage as you review the tape. This is pretty useful if you are posting trip photos to a blog.
   
   The photos conveniently go onto a card which can easily be removed and put in a card reader.
   
   2) A/V out
   You can hook this up to your TV and it works nicely. This is one of the few feature for which you don't have to remove the battery.
   
   3) "Quick Movie Magic" software
   This is very basic software to get the footage onto your hard drive. It works nicely and allows you to fairly easily divide the scenes up and the like. I then use the clips in the editor of my choice.
   
   4) Manual focus
   5) Back light
   6) Find end of tape, search
   
   (All these items are easy to find and turn off/on)
   
   Honestly, that's about all the extra features that I use.
   
   FEATURES MISSING:
   
   I don't care about bells and whistles and I like basic "do the job" equipment.
   
   However, I miss:
   
   1) Plug for an external mic.
   2) Plug for headphones
   3) A proper shoulder strap
   4) White balance

5 comments about Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 30-Minutes (Black).

1. I have had my flip ultra for about one month. I really like it! It's small size makes me grab it and bring it with me everywhere. The quality of the video is great for everyday recording. Even night video is surprisingly clear. I LOVE the simplicity of the flip. I looked into the mino and the ultra and I picked the ultra because it felt better in my hand. The mino really was too thin for me. I already have 2 friends who have bought this camera after I have raved about it. It is a lot of fun!



2. I bought this after a friend got one. For the price, this camera's picture and sound quality is stunning. As an avid photographer, I believe the exposure metering is phenomenal. From bright sunshine to indoors, this camera handled it all and accurately. The size and shape make it easy to carry in a pocket, ...fun!
   I have seen the various colors and they're all very cool. But the black has a very pleasant and sure handling texture.



3. What a great gadget! This product is everything it is claimed to be. Can be used right out of the box. E-mailing videos? No problem! Posting to YouTube? No problem! Marvelous natural light videos. Editing software limited but for 90% of my needs the camera's capabilities will suffice. If more editing is needed, you'll have to switch to another product such as Microsoft MovieMaker. (If only the Microsoft MovieMaker was so easy to use and realiable!)



4. This camcorder fits in your pocket and the palm of your hand, yet it is packed with incredible features. Record video anywhere, anytime in a very inconspicuous way. The image is broadcast quality SD and if you get the ULTRA you can easily capture an hours worth on content that you can then download to you PC just by plugging the handy USB pop-out into your computer or laptop. The built in software self installs on your computer and allows you to edit the length of your clips before downloading them to your PC and the camera even comes with a cable so that you can plug the camera into your TV and watch what your shot.
   
   I was extremely impressed with the quality of the image. The image is crisp, the color extremely accurate and the camera self-focuses extremely fast as lighting changes. It is truely point and shoot.
   
   A few years ago, I spent close to $5,000 for a camera. I hate to say it, but I can get comparable images from this tiny wonder. I think everyone should have one of these cameras. We took two of them to the Democratic National Convention and got some great footage. If you want to see what we do with it, check our blog at: http://www.michaelmadison.com



5. The video camera is so easy to use and down loads quickly into your PC or laptop and the picture quality is great - however I would recomend Lithium® batteries - they will last way longer - a very good product !!!

No comments about Samsung SC-MX20 Flash Memory Camcorder w/34x Optical Zoom (Red).

5 comments about Samsung SC-DC173U DVD Camcorder with 34x Optical Zoom.

1. While I bought this as a christmas present for my wife, She has yet to be able to use it. She tried to record a small video and it would not play back. Then the camera started telling her weird things like, the disk is not formated and do you want the camera to format it. When we answered yes, the same message just continued to come up. I called Samsung and was told that there was a patch I could download onto a dvd which could be put in the camera to correct the problem. When I told them I did not have a DVD burner, they offered to send me a disk. After waiting 2 weeks, the disk arrived but was on a full sized CD rather than the mini DVD so I could not put it in the camera to download. I borrowed a computer with a DVD burner and copied the file onto a mini DVD. Then when I put it in the camera, the camera told me the disc was bad. I did this three times with three different discs and the results were the same each time.
   
   I have now sent the camera back to the on-line store which sent the camera. They indicated that they will send me a new one. I am just hoping the software patch has been installed on the new camera when I get it and my problems are resolved. I was hoping to just get my money back and try a different brand but at this point, the distributor just wants to send me the same camera.
   
   Based on my experience to date with Samsung, I don't think I would buy anything else from that company.



2. I've had nothing but problems from this camera. It sucks the battery down lightening fast, it won't shut off sometimes and this weekend, it would skip on the recordings so it didn't record all of the event I was trying to capture. Returning this immediately!



3. Camcorder is Ok but it seems like the batteries go down to easy. Tried
   several batteries, but have the same results.



4. I don't usually write reviews but, I feel the need to let everyone know what a poor camcorder this is. I unfortuantely didn't do any research prior to buying on black friday 1 week before my new baby was to be born. The whole 8 mos that I have owned this I was only able to record and finalize 1 disk with no problems (the 1st disk) since then it stops recording mid disk says "write error" & it won't finalize. I thought maybe it was the disk so I bought some more/different brand of dvd-r it worked fine then mid disk same thing when I press record it says "write error" doesn't record or finalize this time it erased the month worth of taping my new baby. I tried to take it back to the store were I purchased but, since I didn't buy a protection plan and it was over 30 days I am stuck with it. Called Samsung and I have to send it in for the repair. My son is about to crawl anyday and it will be missed. I am not the only one with this problem. Now that I have done some research a lot of people are having the same problem. For something as important as taping precious memories I wish I would have paid more for a better camera. Memories are priceless.



5. I was given this camcorder as a Christmas present when I gave birth to twin girls. I recorded on it and found it would not finalize and repeatedly received a disk error message. I tried again and got the same message. Now I have two unviewable disks with precious family memories on them. When I called customer support I got a woman who barely spoke English who went through several steps with me and then told me to only purchase Memorex RW disks. There should be a warning with the camera. Nowhere in the owners manual is a specific brand name disk mentioned. I did use a Sony disk once and it did finalize but am at a loss as to what to do with others. I am very unhappy with this product.

5 comments about Sony DCR-DVD205 1MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom.

1. I bought this camcorder and have exchanged it three times. The first one I bought before I even had it a full week broke and had an error message I called sony and they informed me I would have to send it in to be fixed! Uh, NO, I think I'll take a new one, thanks! made the mistake of exchanging instead of just returning! the second camera had audio problems which, come to the third to find out that this is just the sound "non"-quality of this camcorder. There is an everpresent frog croking noise in the audio of the recording from the camcorder that I was informed is the gears from the dvd and is supposed to be there, they turned the mic level down in hopes of it not picking the noise up, didn't help. I would buy a different camera or just get a cheap mini dv since they seem to make these things to be replaced every two years!



2. I am happy with the quality of the video of the Sony DVD Handycam. It is easy to use and basiclly easy to record to a regular DVD. I wish the picture taking capability involved a memory stick. This is easier.



3. I am still somewhat in awe of the accelerating technology which puts such a potent camera in one's hand. It does everything that one can hope for or expect, just select the 'easy' mode and point and shoot...and voila! How can it be so easy? Videos permantly on DVD - easy to play on any computer or player - also easy to copy to regular sized DVD's and sent to friends or whomever. A great buy, user friendly consistantly delivering a quality product.



4. This was my first Camcorder purchase. It is just the right size and the features are worth the price. Most important the picture is clear and sound records crisp. This will be a good investment.



5. I bought this camera as a replacement for one that recorded with tape. That's about all it did. Well I tried it didn't like it and brought it back for a refund.Right then and there I decided that I was going digital if I could find the right camera at the right price.I found this one on Amazon for $300 bucks.The price range went from $700 to $300.I bought this one and I'm tellin ya' I'm one happy camper.It is so easy to operate a kid can do it,yet it takes great videos and pictures on dvd format. It's touch screen so if you have never done that,it will take a bit of practice to get used to. There's 2 filming formats. One for the advanced user and another one called easy.I use them both because with either one it works just great.I also ordered a camera bag that came with assessories.DVD's and a handy wallet to keep them in.The photo or still picture as they call it is as close to rapid fire as you're going to see at this price. I gave it a 5 rating because it's great. It has a lot of cool features I haven't mentioned because there's to many to name here. Buy it you won't be sorry. Believe me!!

5 comments about Sony DCRTRV460 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom.

1. I have had this camcorder for at least 3 years. I received it as a gift. I love it. It's easy to use, takes great still photos as well as awesome video. I make many little home movies with this camera along with my computer. It's zooms in and out nicely, had night shot and the battery charges quickly and lasts a long time. I did require a special cable that didn't come with the camera though. But as a long time user of this camera I must say its worth the money. I know it was under $400.00.



2. I bought this camera in winter of 2004. It was a good camera for about a year and a half. This past summer I started getting the same "Video Heads are Dirty" message that everyone is getting. I've tried cleaning, but am still getting the message. Now it won't even recognize that there's a video cassette in it.
   
   Looks like I need to take it to be serviced, but I fear what the cost will be.



3. I've read some poor reviews on what's happened over time with other people's Handycams, but I must say that mine still works after 2 years, a few typhoons and several 'dropping' accidents. I'm just now beginning to find some of the neat features of this camcorder, too!
   The reason I purchased this camcorder was because of the colored infrared nightshot, which works great! You can take pictures in pitch darkness. Although I must say recently I've noticed problems with the handycam's playback feature. It keeps switching to Hi8 mode when the video isn't taken with the Hi8 feature (this makes the LCD screen turn blue so you can't see the playback). I'll most likely buy another Sony with the color enhanced nightshot, but I think I'll switch to the DVD or harddrive version.



4. Works well. Has fire wire and is Digital Quality. Would recommend this product.



5. I bought mine in late 2005, but didn't use it when I was overseas because the supplied software was TERRIBLE and I never could get it to work. I ended up using the video capture on my separate Digital camera. So, a year later, I fired it up this week and spent an entire day trying to play a video I recorded yesterday on my PC... being a digital video novice, here are the caveats you need to know after I spent all day on it, plus read all 43 review before this one:
   - I like the features of the camera, the zoom and fold out screen, but the pain is usability and working with the videos or pictures once you take them. If you just want to take taped videos, and watch them on a TV using the provided AV cable, it is ok, but NOT if you want to see or use the video on a PC and edit it. So read on...
   - You really need a second battery, which I ordered automatically, which added to the price. Some of the reviews here say you can use 3rd party batteries, but others say an embedded chip prevents using them. Mine was an expensive Sony battery.
   - There are no tapes in the box, so you have to buy some.
   - READ the simple manual first for each task you do... for instance if you try to plug in the USB cable to a pc first it screws up the drivers, and you have to go to troubleshooting sections to manual delete the drivers, then reload.
   - Sony uses a 4 wire firewire cable called "iWire" (they don't say firewire anywhere).. BUT THEY DON'T PROVIDE THE iWire CABLE. So the user wastes time trying to get provided USB cables to work and after two hours trying to install, reinstall and use the TERRIBLE Sony provided "Picture Package" software, or keep flipping through all the touchscreen menus to turn on "Burn DVD" which uses a CD-R (not DVD) and never find a way to transfer the video to the PC. I finally got the low budget USB Streaming player to work so I could see my video in a small screen on the PC, but there was no option to capture it to a file (stupid). Sony also provides an "AV" cable that has three composite rca jacks to plug into your vcr so you could play the video through that method, but I don't have a VCR anymore - I use a Comcast DVR which has the physical jacks, but they are disabled (a whole separate story about Comcast DVRs).
   - Using firewire - finally, I fired up my previously purchased Pinnacle Studio version nine, which apparently can't recognize the Sony USB connection, as it kept saying it was looking for a connection on ieee 1394 input, which is firewire (Sony refuses to say that common name). I finally figured out I needed firewire for best transfer to the PC (and so do some of the reviews), and ordered the 4 wire to 6wire Sony iWire cable by part number (read the Accessories catalog) because my PC does have the standard 6 wire Firewire jack on the back. Just after I ordered it, I found that Belkin had much lower priced cables of the same type on Amazon, or you can order used ones or generic ones. ALSO, I happen to have a Sony laptop, and it has a Sony design 4-wire firewire jack on it (not the standard 6-wire jack), so I ordered a Belkin 4-wire to 4-wire cable to connect my camcorder to the Sony laptop.
   - Sony doesn't provide any memory stick card at all so you can't use that storage feature until you buy one. Other reviews here say 64-128mb are fine for storing the 1mpx pictures it takes. 1-2 reviews say that you can't store movies on the memory stick, but I would confirm that - I haven't tried it.
   - Conclusion:
   - Get a second battery
   - Don't rely on the USB connection for anything except a streaming video to the Sony viewer, but you can't capture it. Go for firewire, which means you need the cable (see below) and a standard firewire port or Firewire card on your pc.
   - Get a 128mb memory stick to start (which means you also need a memory stick reader on the PC or laptop). The HandyCam pictures are only 1 megapixel, so I will rarely use it, but the memory stick is how you transfer the pictures to a PC (There might be a way with the USB line, but I don't want to waste anymore time on their software)
   - Order the 4 wire to 6 wire iWire or Firewire cable for playback and transfer, and if your computer doesn't have firewire, add a card with it. The Sony part number is VMC-IL4615 - but get the Belkin alternate or another supplier - Sony's price is $39.95 when Belkin's is 1/4 of that. (I ordered it, but haven't gotten it yet).
   - Expect to not be able to do ANY work on the PC editing your video with the USB cable or Sony's poor software. Instead, try using firewire and the free Microsoft Movie Maker that comes with XP. OR, expect to pay $100 or more for Pinnacle Studio, or ULead's Movie product, or Adobe's video maker products. Pinnacle has special high end audio visual cards with firewire you might look at. Or just make sure you have a good AV card with firewire and the right hardware specs to use the video editing software (i.e. ATI Radeon, etc.) . MY HP has the right specs, so I didn't need an additional card.
   - To process video files on the computer, you might need to add more memory - if the editing is slow, determine if more RAM will help.
   - The camera doesn't come with a bag, so you will need one.
   - The battery is charged by plugging the power brick into the camera and charging the battery in the camera. It is slow, and means you can't use the camera while charging, but I always have two batteries charged, so that is what you have to live with, or buy an external charger.
   - Misc - I bought an infrared filter and tripod also for the camera.
   - Cost - So even though you budgeted $400 or so for the camera, the true price with all the above is more like $600-700 to actually be usable.
   
   And now, my budding You Tube production might actually happen, once I get those cables...
   VJ

5 comments about Sony NSCGC1 Net-Sharing 5MP CMOS MPEG4 Camcorder.

1. I never have been a video recording nut. My wife and I take ballroom dance classes from Parks & Rec, but while we can do quite well during classes, only a few weeks later we have forgotten what we learned. Using this to record what we learned while at our last class provides us with a great visual 'review' to remind us just before we go out dancing! For a minimal investment, this has served us very, very well.



2. It takes great pictures but the video is not all that good but its a nice little gadget.



3. This is a convenient camcorder with its size the ease of use, though need a little time to figure out how selection button works. The video quality is not good, but uploading to Youtube is fun and easy. Overall, I like it, except the blurry video quality.



4. i got this camera a year ago and its still working to this day i use it almost everyday.... one thing i love abot this is that it uses a memory stick for its memory and if u have a psp u can just put the memory stick in there and view ur videos or pics without downloading anything... the handstrap that comes with the camera is also very usefull its comfortable and doesnt feel cheap... as for the camera itself its nice small easy to navigate and its incredibly small for a videocamera and the battery lasts for a long time. the video quality is not the best.... and its not the cheapest its DECENT its gud enough, lets say that
   
   now the only downsides are....
   
   recording at night, does not work all that well in low lighted areas..... u cant get an extra battery for it... the battery indicator sometimes isnt very accurate but that really isnt a problem unless u are going to use ur camera for long period of time wiht out charging
   
   overall the camera is GREAT for the price i got mine which was $100(but did not get it on amazon) dont spend over 200 on this camera...... :)



5. the shipping was too late.
   
   the camera works nice, but I think that to use this as a cam is not possible.