Sony camcorder questions

[jorodopo]

I would love your professional thoughts on the Sony DCRDVD203
The zoom 12x optical/480x digital is less then on some of their cheaper camcorders but even with image stabilization how much can you really zoom anyway?
The USB port seemed a big plus as did the ability to change all our old vcr tapes of the kids into minidv's.
I've read that battery life with the supplied battery stinks so I plan on getting a longer life backup.

Seems a little pricey but probably in our ball park for three kids school plays, etc and many trips to WDW.

Anybody out there really love it or really hate it?
Thanks

 

[ndelaware]

When I bought my camcorder I looked at Sony's dvd camcorders like this one. I didn't like the noise from the dvd drive. Also it used mini dvds that were expensive, hard to find, and could only be used once. The dvd camcorders were also more expensive for lower optical performance and less features than the mini dv style. I ended up with a Sony mini-dv tape camcorder. I am very happy with it. Since it is digital it is easy to transfer the video onto my computer. And I can edit it before I burn it onto a normal sized dvd. Unless they have improved alot in the last 18 months, my UNprofessional opinion is stick with a mini dv tape instead of a dvd based camcorder.

BTW, digital zoom is basically usless. It doesn't bring the image closer it just makes part of the image bigger. Which really degrades the picture quality.

 

[scoutsmom99]

I have the Sony DCR-DVD301 so my thoughts will be on the 301, but I would think it is fairly simailar to the 203. I got it in August at a really decent price and I used it on my trip to WDW in Sept/Oct and I loved it.

It is the 1st camcorder I have ever owned and it was nice and easy to use and I love that it had a 10x zoom (you can really get close up to things). I found the image stablization to be great even zoomed in all the way (I taped Hallowishes and the Halloween Parade and they came out great). The battery it came with does have a short life, but I got the NP-QM71D battery and the life on it is amazing. It is nice to just put the dvd in the dvd player at home and just watch the movies. I have been satisfied with my purchase and I have not had any problems with noise from the zoom or any other moving parts of the camcorder.

The downsides I can think of are the USB port and that the mini dvds only record 30 minutes. If you want to do any editing with a program like Adobe Premire, etc. then you need to have a firewire port. Also sometimes the discs hold less than 30 minutes of material if you do a lot of short shots. I read a lot of reviews that say if you do not use the sony mini dvds that sometimes when you go to finalize a disc you can loose all of your material you have recorded.

Check out this message board. They have lots of great info on all comcorder brands and have dedicated sony boards.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I had a look at the DVd camcorder ranges of a few companies, but the quality seemed not to be as good as my Sony TRV900E Mini DV camcorder. (The E is for European model) This has been verified in articles in UK camcorder mags funnily enough.
In the end I went for a Sony HDR-HC1E High Definition (1080i) Mini DV camcorder and I am so please that I did. The quality in HD mode is fantastic played through my plasma and even the SD mode onto DVD's is superb. Whne Blu-Ray recorders come out next year there will be nothing to touch these HD camcorders for picture quality