16 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
Great camera. Better than JVC.
Date of Review: Jul 18, 2005
The Bottom Line: I recommend it based on crisp excellent quality image - isn't it the most important feature of a camera?
OK I just discovered an amazing feature this camcorder has. It works as a baby monitor and it is the best baby monitor you will ever find.
Here is what I did. With attached cable I connected camera to TV, I turn camera on and I can see my newborn right on my TV screen laying down there in his little bed. Sony Handycam has infrared night vision option which means I can see objects in a complete dark. OK here is where my excitement comes from: I also was considering JVC 270 camcorder which was almost 100 dollars cheaper. JVC had actual light embedded in it to see at night. No good! I am so happy I settled for Sony. How can you monitor a child with a bright light in his eyes? Infrared is just what I needed. It is amazing how this small camera can work so good in a complete darkness and give you such an excellent picture.
Daytime picture quality is also great. Much better than that of JVC's. Sony has Carl Zeiss lens which stands for quality, it is a famous German optics company with a long history. I read different reviews on digital camcorder websites that claim that overall JVC is better. Not so. When you look JVC viewfinder you can actually see blurred image while camera is moving. Sony does not do that. It has sharp image all the time no matter whether you move your camera or you stay still. I checked them both in a store and saw the difference immediately.
But my wife likes JVC brand so we got both and then compared. Sony is more expensive but seems to have better features such as quality of image, night vision, touch-screen (I read another review that said screen gets dirty and therefore this feature is bad. I disagree. It is user friendly, fun and more 21-century than old style buttons.)
The only problem I encountered was the software. It simply doesnt work. I was able to transfer a 5 minute video to a CD which took about an hour to complete. But you cant see video on your computer. Well with an advice of another reviewer I got a third party software and everything works great. Of course software cost extra after your 30 day trial period expires. (To be fair I should mention that JVC's software was even worse.)
Good thing about this device is that you dont need to read manual to start up and go. It is very user friendly. Although I do recommend to read manual when you have time because there are quite a few features you might not even know about. They make life much easier. But when you just buy it and wanna start shooting right away - use that touch screen, it will help you to navigate through.
What else? Well original purpose of this camera is to record life important moments on MiniDV which is a cute little digital rerecordable tape that cost about 5 bucks and lasts 60 minutes. Much better than those miniDVD disks. They only last about 20 minutes and cost 10 or 15 dollars.
I already mentioned baby monitor option. It can work with either TV or computer. Well I dont wanna keep my laptop running all night so I prefer to use TV set.
Also you can use this camera as a computer webcam of a very high quality. Much better than all those cheesy webcams.
One thing you probably cannot use this camera for is still shots. I havent used it for this purpose yet but according to other reviews photos come of a crappy quality. Also it is kinda confusing because there is no separate media for still pictures. You have to use same MiniDV tape you use for videos. Resolution is 480 x 640 which is not very high. JVC in that respect very much better equipped it mini memory stick plus twice highter resolution. Personally I dont care because I have a separate still camera.
Battery life. It seems OK for me cannot complain. Lasts about an hour with regular use which means open LCD screen and zoom-in zoom-out option. According to the manufacturer it can last up to 125 minutes. I guess that works if you use only viewfinder and no zoom functions. JVC only works 80 minutes according to manufacturer. Considering they both telling the truth Sony lasts much longer which is important when you shoot your baby's first smile, word, poop etc. I didnt have a chance to test full range of JVC battery. Then you always can buy longer lasting batteries from either one. But thats again extra money.
Viewfinder is black-and-white. Some reviewers complain. Do I care? No.
By the way Sony made an interesting remark in software manual - certain features will work with Sony Vaio computer but wont work with you Other Brand computer. In other words if you wanna have great multimedia experience buy our Sony camcorder for 400 bucks, Sony computer for 2000 and Sony plazma TV for 5000. Now you can enjoy.
Almost forgot - one drawback, Sony does not have easy volume adjustment, you have to go through on screen menues. JVC has this feature you adjust volume with a tough of a button. Probably the most disappointing moment. During playbacks easy volume adjustment is important.
Overall this is a great device I use it during daytime to make videos of my baby, during nighttime to monitor him on TV screen, for video conferencing when I am online, and when my relatives arrive I can easily hook it up to my TV to show them videotapes already made. Quite a hardworking little machine there I am very happy with my purchase.
