Camcorder Reviews

I recieved this camera as a gift and used it 6 times before the amplifier went out, so that when you were watching your videos-you got sound, but no picture. This happened with our first camera, but you could see the video but there was no sound-also the amplifier. Unfortunatly it didn't fall under warranty so we have a broken camera lying around and must buy a new one. I give it three stars because for the time that I was able to use it, it was a great camera. If you do decide to buy this one-maybe think about an extended warranty?

I received the "HandyCam" for Christmas,wow!,I'm Very impressed.I've looked at many,this is more than I could've hoped for.The Options,like "title",fading,special effects are Great!,& Sooo Many!. Thanks Mom & Dad! *wink*

I just used this camcorder after my son came home with it and I am impressed. Ease of use, picture quality,sound and lightweight.All 5 stars in my book. Priced right for the working stiff also. Nightshot feature is great. I'm on my way out to "grab hold of one" now.

Hi Everyone, I believe that this is a good cam corder but recently I bought Sony DCR-TRV 120. It is year 2000 model and has got all the features normally you find them in Sony camcorder, plus it has got 45x/450X zoom and I got it for 650$. Very good deal. Picture quality is amazing. 21/2 " screen is kinda small but still it works fine. In short check out this camara before you go for any other model.

This is by far one of the best entry-level camcorders. With all the features including night vision, it is well worth the $$.

This camera is as close to digital as you can get without the price, it has many features and is simple to use, a great buy

I actually borrowed a DCR-TRV720 from a friend to shoot my kid's school play. Then purchased a DCR-TRV330 which is smaller with a smaller LCD. The DCR-TRV720 was so much better I took the 330 back and purchased the older 720 model! The large LCD is great and I find the color viewfinder helpful.

The DCR-TRV720 has excellent video in good light. At low light levels it gets a bit noisy. The super low-light mode (NightShot) is amazing. You actually can video in NO LIGHT! It is a bit green (due to the infra-red) but compare that to getting no image at all.

When coupled with Adobe Premier and a firewire enabled computer you can produce near broadcast quality video.

The still image mode is too low resolution for anything other than quick snapshots for the web (640x480). But hey, its a digital video camera! Ideal for using with your computer to edit your video with no loss. The memory stick also allows for some special overlay effects I've yet to play with.

Overall I am very pleased. I found the image quality better than any other DV camera in it's price range. Battery life is GREAT! But you'll want to buy a second high-capacity battery...

Great camera, video recording is phenomanal and the 450x zoom is a fun feature not to mention all the cool filter options for recording and editing (solarized, B&W, etc.)... One thing though - it only records photo images resolution with 0.3 megapixels (640 x 480) that's a snapshot and can not really be manipulated on a computer(enlarged) with out revieling excessive pixelation. I reccommend 2.0 megapixel (1600 x 1200) at a minimum, it offers much more room for enlargement and manipulation of the photograph.

I am working with one of these 720's every day since 2.5 years and I think based on my experience that the 720 is one of the most beautiful and versatile camcorders ever built by Sony

This camcorder is very affordable and easy to use for beginners. My husband has always strayed from "technology" but can use this camera easily. I like that the camera has many options (fading in/out, titles, dates etc.)that make using the camera a little more challenging (and fun) for me. You can definately afford this camcorder! My only concern: the viewfinder seems to put the pictures in a yellowish tint and it is distracting.

I was given the ES60 as a gift, and I think its a wonderful camera, especially for the price. The digital effects and titling are great for filming events and holidays.

I just got this camcorder and did some filming with it. The
quality of the pictures was very good. The features are excellent also. The microphone picks ups sound well. If it
keeps working the way it is, it's a winner.

Picture quality is good, loud & sensitive mono sound, easy and not too heavy (about 2 lbs with battery), not too big size for travelling (about 4.5 x 5 x 11 inches). STANDARD BATTERY that came with this camera works 2 hours for B&W viewfinder recording 50 minutes with color LCD recording. If you play black a lot on the LCD (I like to do that), this battery will last about 30 minutes, charging time is about 1 hour. Option batteries are available, and I think I should have one.

Night shot and super night shot movies is just like in a horror movies, every things look faded-green or B&W and people has silver eyes, well, at least I can see the objects (I shot in total darkness). The battery consuming is higher with the night shorts. By the way that tiny built-in light is useless. Remote seems to be useful for the play back only, hardly used at all. I love the multivotage adapter that came with the camera, I wish Sony adds the PAL playback too incase of travelling to Europe and Asia (Hitachi has this feature).

Photo effects are not very useful but programe AE are good and easy, however the icons of programe AE are very tiny, quite difficult to figure out what programes am I on (my eyes are getting old). Every one looks good on that small color LCD, however in the strong day light it is very difficult to see that screen, the manual recommend to use the B&W viewfinder instead. Multilanguage titles with custom setting options.

If you live a hi-tech life, do not buy this cam. because the output is only A/V (2 jacks), no s-video connection, so it's not working with my TV-video capture card in the computer (I use Avermedia product), I heard that it might work on pinnacle system, but did not try it yet. I think I might be able to connect it through the VCR which has A/V connector and can be connected to my TV card, however this attempt hasn't been succesful.

The accesories price are quite expensive (i.e. separate battery chargers, spare batteries, filters, car battery adapter) espectially if you buy them direct from sony....

I just received this today and I'm very excited about this camera. It comes complete with bag (in primary colors), strap for camera, A/V cable, remote, batteries for remote, AC adaptor, and rechargable battery pack. Only thing you need to buy is the 8mm tape. Well worth the money considering you don't have to buy the extras. This camera will help make some memorable holiday moments last forever.

I bought this camcorder back in July and I have enjoyed it ever since. I have taken a lot of footage of skateboarding in my area and such. All I need to do is find a cheap fish-eye lens, and some cables to go to my PC. Can anyone help me find the right cable for this camera to a PC? Thanks. Joelizlar@mediaone.net

Great Volume, FM is average but I've droped it many times and never had a problem. Very Great purchase!!

If you're buying an Intel Pocket Concert, save yourself some time and get the accessory kit right off the bat (or choose the package that includes it with the player). You'll want this kit...

For a start, it adds rechargeability to the Pocket Concert, sporting a pair of nickel metal hydride (NiMH) "memory free" AAA batteries. The docking station featured in this kit serves as your desktop charger... Just insert the Pocket Concert, and it'll begin refreshing your batteries.

The docking station doubles as a fancy (and more practical) USB connection to your PC for downloading your tunes into the player. And while I question the value of the feature, the docking station also has a pair of RCA connectors providing line-level output for your stereo system (or to the line inputs on your computer, presumably).

The carrying case is superb. According to the brand legend on the zipper pulls, this is a Case Logic case -- a fact that Intel doesn't bother to present. But typical of Case Logic products, it's a well made and useful way to carry around your Pocket Concert.

Finally, the standard issue cassette adapter provides you an easy way to play your Pocket Concert on the move in your car, or anywhere a standard cassette deck is available.

The reason I rate it 4 stars, not 5? Price... At late-2001 "ballpark" pricing, this kit boosts the overall price of the Pocket Concert ..., which is at the high-end for 128 Meg audio players. (By the time you read this, no doubt pricing and competitive issues will likely be different, so make your own assessment.)

But price aside, it's still an important thing for any Pocket Concert user to have.

The accessory kit is awesome!! I have the dock set up by my home stereo with a cord running to my computer. It is nice becasue you can send songs directly to it from your computer and then play them through your stereo. The only minor complaint is the rechargable batteries do not last as long as real batteries but I was able to go over six hours on a plane with them. I only wish it had a remote.

I've owned Sony Hi8 cameras before and finally decided to jump to MiniDV with this Panasonic GS200.

While this Panasonic really delivers great picture quality and colour, my real gripe is the stability of the image when hand-held ... it's awful compared to a Sony (yes, I did have image stability turned on!) It really needs to be used with a tripod.

Other features of the camera are impressive although it has too many things crammed into menu's. Some things are difficult to find - especially when adding titles. I really miss the thumb-wheel navigation that a Sony has.

Also impressed with the digital stills, although when compared with a digital stills camera, the images are fuzzy around sharp edges.

Overall, it serves my purposes as I need good picture quality and colour. The 3CCD's are excellent and battery life is reasonable.

I have a Canon $2,500 Canon GL2 camera to compare this to so my video standards are high.

Good controls and ergonomics make it realatively easy to use. The manual is not great, but you won't need it too much because the controls are pretty intuitive. The low light properties are not great. A camera like the Canon GL2 blows it away due to the larger lens and CCD sensors. But with enough light, the video quality is impressive for such a small camera. Good resolution, and fantastic color. In fact, I may like the color of this camera more than the Canon. Beautiful greens.

It works with iMovie on the Mac, except that the scene cut detection does not always come through.

This camera has very good still photo quality for a camcorder. Very good color (probably due to the 3 CCDs). Very little chromatic aberation (purple fringing). Typical for camcorder stills, there is a little bit of visible noise and some of that "video" look.

The biggest suprise was it's macro capability! You can focus just a few millimeters from the lens and get sharp, bright pictures.

Definitely one of the best performers for the price and size.

I just got this so I'll give some first impressions. I'll come back in a month or two to fill in more details.

In short, this is the camcorder you've been waiting for: vivid, almost broadcast-quality home videos. OK, that's assuming you know how to shoot steady and well-framed videos. The camcorder with its three CCD chips gives you the technical superiority over your next-door neighbors, but ultimately if you shoot trash, you get trash. But for those of us who know how to shoot like a pro (e.g., no in-camera zooming, steady and slow pans, no in-camera special effects), the results are simply amazing. If you, for example, are a serious amateur home-movie maker or an aspiring filmmaker, you'll definitely love this camcorder.

Because this is an affordable camcorder, Panasonic seems to have cut a few (minor) corners. Indoor/night shots are no better than the average consumer 1-chip camcorder. Of course if you have plenty of lighting, you'll once again reap the benefits of having 3 CCDs to capture light. But if you just use existing indoor lighting you won't find this working wonders. Also its optical zoom is lower than many newer camcorders. As always, digital zoom is next to useless.

The camcorder is pretty easy to set up and use; no Ph.D. in VCR programming required. For this review I just wanted to focus on its main selling point, the 3-chip video capture system. Other amenities include manual focus, 2MP digital still camera, remote controls, etc. Battery life seems average, after you cycle the battery properly a couple times.

If you want to take beautiful (outdoor) videos and don't have a fat wallet, you should definitely consider getting this camcorder.

NOTE: From what I read, the cheaper PV-GS120 model foregoes the manual focus ring, the wired remote and the flash. I assume that model has the same video quality as the GS200.

I replaced a 7 year old Canon HI8 camcorder with this one. I've had the 109 for a couple of months now and here are my comments.

GOOD:
Size: It is really small and compact. Well built and solid.
Motor noise: My camera has no motor noise. Absolutely none. I have seen some reviews that say their camera has motor noise. My suggestion is, if you get one that does, replace it. Perhaps you got an early one or a gray market?
Battery life: I get about 2 hours with the standard, tiny battery. Interestingly, the same reviewer that said he had motor noise claimed to get less than an hour with his battery. There must be something wrong with his camera.
Low light: Seems to be pretty good and better than competition.
Simplicity: It is very easy to use as a point and shoot. There are only a few buttons. The LCD screen doubles as a touch screen for the menu.
Docking station: Makes it convenient to plug-in to the computer because the docking station is always connected to the computer, and to a wall outlet for charging.

BAD:
Small LCD screen: I guess this is a tradeoff with the small camera size (but if you have seen Sony's new T1 still camera, they know how to put a large LCD on a small camera). Also, the LCD can wash-out in sunlight, like most other cameras.
Docking station: Although convenient, the only way to recharge the battery is to plug the camera into the docking station. This means, for trips, you have to take the camera, the cord, and the docking station with you. This is inconvenient and bulky. Sony could have easily made the cord plug into both the camera and the docking station for recharge, but Sony instead has elected to release an optional "compact" battery charger for around $70. Typical Sony. Similarly, the camera itself has analog video outputs. To get digital outputs, you have to go through the docking station.
Microphone: It is placed on top of the camera, so it does pick up some non-directional noise (from places other than directly in front of the camera). It seems to be somewhat directional though because it doesn't really pick up noise from the shooter.

I just got this camcorder, and played with it about an hour, so it might be a bit premature for a detailed review. Yet, my first impression was "wow". It is slick, compact and good-looking.

That was until I inserted the tape. Someone said there is no motor noise. Not ture. This is really major drawback especially for me since one of the major reason I bought this was to replace my aged Samsung SD60, which had an excessive background noise. I compared these two side-by-side, and noise level is about the same to my surprise. I recorded video, and yes, there is white noise (from the motor) in the background when played back on my TV. This explains why the built-in microphone on Sony is located on top of the camcorder.

Still, this is an awesome camcorder. I do like the touch screen LCD, which will be taking some time to get used to, and mostly the compactness and slickness of it.

Things can add up to put this camcorder in good use. I already spent more than a few hundred bucks on accessaries; Polarized filter lense, portible tripod, extra battery (NP-FF71), matching carrying bag. And considering to buy the microphone to reduce the amount of the noise from the motor being recorded.

Lastly, the battery (NP-FF51) seems to drain quite fast. I would not last an hour in typical use. An extra battery seems to be a must.

I bought this in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during a camera fair. I guess the most important thing to me was size, as I wanted to make sure the camera was with me as often as possible. Having a small camcorder REALLY increases its utilisation, as it's not much of a bother to bring it with you to most places. I felt it would have been a pity to spend all that cash on something and yet not fully utilise it. I have had it for 2 months and have since used up 6 miniDV tapes. It helps also that it is simple to use. Good for the point-and-shoot users as well as the slightly more technically inclined.

I've only really used the video function as I have a Canon Ixus400 which takes care of my still-shot needs. But the still pictures taken with the PC109 are not bad for those rushed moments. You can even snap a still pic while recording video, but only to 640x480.

Outside and in bright conditions, the picture quality is excellent. In dark situations, of course the image quality suffers. This is the case with any camcorder, and I feel the PC109 does better than other compact camcorders. I have purchased a light (HVL S3D) which helps a little. Also has some features like "twilight mode" and "backlight" for subjects lit from behind which also help.

The mic is placed on top of the camera. Not the ideal place, as it picks up noise not from the front of the camera. It sounds okay when played back on TV, but could be better. I will probably purchase a mic for the hotshoe.

The LCD Screen is ok for a camera this size. Very clear in most situations. Direct sunlight makes it a little harder to see, though.

This camera handles Analog input AND output as well as Digital Input AND Output. I have hooked it up to an older camcorder to convert to miniDV. I have hooked it up to TVs (A/V) and computers(iLink and USB). I've made VCDs with the supplied cables and software. I've recorded video from computer to tape. No problems.

Extra:
1) Touch Screen - Very stylish. Also lessens the clutter of buttons found on most cammcorders. You can also customise the menu with features you use most often. Some labels on the menu are not self evident though.

2) Hot-shoe - definitely welcome. For using a light, mic etc. Canon Elura models are otherwise comparable but lack a hot-shoe. This is why i bought the PC109.

3) No discernable motor noise.

4) Placement of buttons is quite logical. I have had no trouble pushing the wrong buttons. After some practice, very easy to operate.

5) Cradle - quite useful as you dont have to keep plugging cables into the camcorder itself. Just drop it into the cradle.

6) Battery life of included battery is okay. enough for a 60 minute tape and a bit more.

7) Super Steady Shot seems to do the job.

Could improve:
1) Doesnt have a focus ring. You have to use the touch Screen.

2) No built in light. The PC105 at least had a built in flash for still shots.

3) Mic Placement on top. Not the ideal location but practically all the vertical cameras do this. Most of my shooting is done at close quarters so not a big deal. I will eventually get a zoom mic though.

4) Tape door is on the bottom. A minor issue for me as i rarely have time to set it up on a tripod.

5) The Software provided is quite basic. And its weird that when i convert to VCD, it handles the data in 10 minute pieces.

keeping track of memory sticks is much easier with the holder. also protects the delicate contacts. chose the aluminum one for the cool factor only.

Just agreeing with another buyer,the aluminum case is very nice butheavy. I'm retiring & travelingsoon, so light is nice.

I knew I wanted a solid case that would hold eight sticks, but didn't realize the aluminum model was so heavy. Aluminum should be lightweight, right? Well, they made it thick to make it protective, but now it weighs more than a battery.

Given the postage each way, it's not worth it to me to return that one and get this durable but lighterweight plastic model - but I wish I had to begin with.

We received this camera as a Christmas present last year, and we loved it at first. Loads of features and easy to use. However, the camera died after 6 hours of use. We took the camera into an authorized repair shop, and it has been there for the past 4 months!!! The RCA Customer service department is HORRIBLE!!...So now we have a camera sitting in a repair shop, and a manufacturer that won't return our calls or stand behind their product.

This video camera is the best camera I have used in a price range of under one-thousand dollars. I work with Canon GL1's, GL 2's, and XL 1's and I like this camera the most, when considering price and ease of use. Anyone considering buying a camcorder should look no further!

I just got this camera. I am a novice at digital video, so I am reading Rubin's "little digital video book", and as per his tutilage, I made my first video of my bedroom using this gem of a camera. The 3.5 inch LCD screen was large, looked like a little TV set, and doing the shooting was a pleasure. When I played it back, low and behold, the shakies had disappeared -- the built in digital image stabilization. What fun! So now to try to make a real video out of that. So I bought a firewire card, plugged it into my PIII (850mhz) pc with 390 RAM, and installed adobe premiere. Would it work with the RCA? Well, setting the software to "generic" camera, it worked!!! I could control the camera from the software and capture the clips. Now for the editing. I was able to make a little video along with a disolve transition between clips. Eureka!!! double fun.

This camera is lovely. I debated whether or not to get a Canon or a Sony, but the Amazon price on this was hmmmmmmm most compelling compared to the prices on similarly equiped cameras of these other mainstream brands. I'm not sure it will be available again on Amazon because it was a closeout, but if it does, it's recommended.