Camcorder Reviews

In the main compartment, where you will store your camcorder, there is a little zippered pouch under the top flap that can be used to store extra batteries or a light. On the inside of the main compartment you will find two padded dividers with velcro. One has a deep U shape which easily accomodates the viewfinder's eyepiece. The other is a square shape. You use these to pad both ends of your camcorder. If your camcorder is small enough, you will get extra storage space between the dividers and the inside of the end pockets. I store my camcorder's remote in one of these areas.

There are five zippered pockets on the outside of this bag. A flat on on the back with one gussetted end, one on either end of the bag and a large one in front with a small zippered pocket. The end pockets are large enough to hold the ac adapter/battery charger for my camcorder, the A/V cable and the cord and cable for the charger. The pocket I like the most is the front one. When you open it, you will see a small mesh zippered pocket and four elastic holders. You can store extra tapes, a pen/pencil, a small notebook, etc. in there. When I know I'm going out with the camcoder, I don't need to take a purse with me. This bag has enough space to hold my camcorder, the accessories, extra tapes and batteries and my wallet and keys.

My only complaint and the reason for scoring only three stars is the zippers. The top zipper has a tendancy to split and catch on the inside fabric which can be a pain.

Key Features:

BP-512 battery:
Soft carrying case:
detachable shoulder strap
zippered, padded main compartment
zippered, padded pocket for accessories
carrying handle
belt loops
kit includes 60-minute Mini DV tape

The quality of the video is fine - but not quite as good as mini-DV. Also, I would like a wide-screen mode, like was available on the ZR-10. It is, however, immensely convenient to record to DVD-RAM. To me, it's worth the 20 fewer lines of resolution and the lossy compression of MPEG-2.

The battery only lasts about 1/2 hour, but I'm OK with that. If you shoot more than 1/2 hour at a clip, you're making boring movies, but it would be nice to have a bit more leeway.

I download the video to my hard drive and edit with Vegas Video - so haven't tried the in-camera editing and probably never will.

The software that ships with it has a definite Japanese accent, and it not all that fabulous. However, it is stable once you figure out the wierd menus and procedures.

I find that I must pay a bit more attention to the exposure modes than I did with my ZR-10. But if you set it for low light, it does a pretty good job in low light. Don't set it to "Sports" and shoot in incandenscent light. Trust me on this.

I have used both DVD-RAM and DVD-R. I prefer DVD-RAM, since it acts like a disk drive. In fact, you can connected it to your computer via USB 2.0 as a DVD-RAM drive. You can't drag and drop the movies, however. You need to transcode it with the included software.

It seems to be a bit finicky about media. It didn't like Sony DVD-R media, but works fine with Maxell.

I just bought a 256MB SD card which will hold over 1000 pictures at the 1 Mpx resolution. The photos are good enough for web and video, but not for printing. You can't record photos to DVD-R, but you can record them to DVD-RAM.

Overall a good camcorder, but don't throw away your Mini-DV if you want the highest picture quality availaible in consumer gear today.

Which brings us to the bundled software. As a Mac user, and knowing that video is still very Mac-friendly, the Windows-only software was a grave disappointment. Even within the Windows environment, this software is still quite clumsy. The DVD-RAM disks require drivers to read (Included Windows drivers seem to work well). The video files are *.VRO, which is an MPEG-2 variant many decoders cannot parse, including QuickTime.

Still the bundled software allows rudimentary DVD editing and some degree of MPEG transcoding. For serious offline editing, you'll need an expensive suite of software and a good computer.

Despite its software limitations, this camera is an excellent device for capturing source material. Its three DVD-RAM resolution modes, STD/FINE/EXTRA provide a useful set of tradeoffs. Don't use the STD mode unless 60 minute continuity is essential. My 4 megapixel still camera means its unlikely I'll ever know how well the DZMV-380A operates in still mode.

In short, if you're serious about DVD content creation and have the computer tools and expertise, this camera is second to none. But the casual user will be disappointed at the expense of DVD-R disks and the complexity of using DVD-RAM.

A Five-Star camera bundled with Two-Star software. Four stars.

It comes with sonic MyDvd which makes pretty decent DVDs. It also comes with a program that can convert the camcorder files into Mpeg files. Once they are mpeg files you can use them in any decent video editing software. I usually edit the video files and then use Sonic to burn a DVD. I have not tried VCD and considering the poor quality of a VCD, I don't know why someone would want to.

As far as video quality, I used it to tape my daughter surfing and the quality was excellent. The optical zoom is great but the digital zoom pixilates heavily at anything higher than 40x. I have tested the different recording formats (std, fine and xtra) and I now only use the highest format as the other ones show up with scanning lines on my 40 inch TV. In auto mode it sucks at low light...until I manually set it to low light mode and everything showed up but had a brownish hue.

The media is still more expensive than DV tapes... At highest quality a single DVD-RAM holds a half an hour (15 min each side). I have not tried the DVD-R as I am having a hard time justifying spending [the money] to record to a disk and not be able to do any post editing. The discs are nice as each time I turn the record on and off it creates a small movie that is accessed much like a scene menu on a regular DVD. On a DVD-RAM, I can then edit it, add transition effects or I can delete it. No more rewinding tape. Let me write that again - no more rewinding tape. That has to be the nicest thing about this toy - no more tape.

It only has a USB connection - no fire wire. I am running XP and connection to the computer was a snap.

It takes 1 mega pixel photos which are the quality of, well, 1 mega pixel photos. I have an old 2.5 mega pixel Olympus that obviously blows it away but in a pinch it makes decent small pics.

Would I buy this again? Yes. So far the overall quality is on par with its peers and not having to muck with tape is a big benefit for me. It loses 1 star for the media recording length and price of the DVD discs.

The only thing I could think of that I would want is a 3-chip version of The Little Camcorder that Could.

Whether you're an old hand, or just getting into video, you need to check out Sony's Digital8 system. The tape stock is a lot cheaper then Mini DV, plus you can still play back your 8mm/Hi8 tapes on it.

Of particular interest on these Sony Digital 8 are Steadyshot (works very well), Nightshot (can see subjects in 0 light via infrared light emitted from front of camera), the ability to send the digital data (via iLink (IEEE1394, Firewire)) to your computer and autofocus/exposure.

The design is perfectly fine: very lightweight, compact enough to fit into a modest size camera bag and it charges the NB-2L battery in about an hour give or take (charge time is mostly a function of the charger). It has flip out plugs (2-pin, non-polarized if that matters to you, and it may if you live in a real old building or outside the US) that fold back into the body - there is no cord, it plus directly into the wall socket. And thus, the only potential for design improvement. Most outlets are placed low to the ground, so to recharge your batteries, you must either stoop down or hook it up to an extension cord, but then it won't sit too well on a desktop. There is one other manufacturer, and the only one I've found, that makes a CB2LT compatible charger that is a desktop charger - it comes w/ an A/C adapter and sits nicely on the desktop. I'll be nice and not mention where to get it but look around on the web, you'll probably find it.

If you go with the Canon charger, amazon's price is pretty competitive (as of this writing).

REGARDS,
RM

The great advantage of this bag is that the entire top unzips (it's actually a double run zipper which gives you a wide storage space while everything stays in place). It was great for my movie camera so I got another one for my digital still camera. I can keep 20 mini CDs plus marking pens, extra battery and charger, and my bulky but essential viewing hood. When the bag opens you can see everything, place everything, and when it closes everything stays in place. After a year I've decided the design is probably the most convienent I've used in 30 yrs.

I had been kicking around the idea of buying a camcorder for a couple of weeks and bought this model just two days before going on vacation. I didn't do a whole lot of research, I just liked the look and the price. It is small and sleek and super easy to use. It can use regular 8MM tapes, Hi8 or Digital8. I used it for recording live music performances in Nashville and was happy with the quality of the video and audio on playback. There are 8 effects for shooting (sepia, stretch, etc.), along with three fade-ins/outs. So I have more options than I really know what to do with at this point but I'm sure I'll get into them as I use it more. The display is sweet and can rotate around.

My one complaint is the battery area. The battery clips on the back, but there is no cover - my Sony digital camera has a locking compartment the battery slides in. I'll probably also be picking up a spare, even though it seems to hold a charge well. I really like the size because I have small hands and short fingers, but I can still use the strap and reach all the buttons.