Great cam for the price

I bought this cam for a vacation that we're going on and I thought I'd give it a good run before that. I've had it now for about 2 weeks.

This cam is smaller than the first and second generation Sony DVD cams. It's actually around the same size as the small miniDV camcorders by Sony.

Build quality is very good. The LCD and the viewfinder (LCD too) didn't have any dead pixels. The camera has very few buttons and that’s because all the menu buttons are now 'soft', as in they are all on the touch screen LCD.

A term that's new to me but I quickly learnt is that some DVDs have to be 'finalised' before you can simply place the disc in a DVD player and watch. I guess finalising is a process that makes the DVD ready and final for viewing. You cannot re-record content on it unless you 'un-finalise' the disc. I was surprised to learn that the finalising process takes a while; the manual says it can take from a few minutes to an hour. However I found it to take much less than that. It can vary depending on the content length. Un-finalising takes only a few seconds to a minute. But be aware that re-recording can only be done, obviously, with RW DVD discs and not with simply DVD-R discs.

The good news is that the cam accepts both DVD+RW and DVD-RW. The +RW does NOT need finalising so I decided to stick with those discs instead of the -RW. They also seem to be the same cost.

I was amazed to see no Firewire connection on the cam, but soon after that I realised all Sony DVD camcorders use USB instead. Now here's a trick that I also found out later. You cannot capture video from the cam straight into video editing software (such as Adobe Premiere) as you would normally using MiniDV cams. With Sony DVD cams, Sony supplies special software that downloads the video to the PC using USB. And from there, the saved video can be edited normally.

Another little surprise: Sony DVD cams record audio using a format called AC3 (Dolby Digital), as opposed to the standard PCM Stereo sound from miniDV cams. This creates an issue. Most video editing software don't natively support AC3. I found that out by importing a video and then realise that there is no sound. But the Sony software, used to download the Video from the cam to the PC, actually has the option to convert the audio for you. This however adds yet another step to the work flow.

The video is captured and compressed to MPEG2 format in real time (same video format as regular DVDs). However the compression seems to be (technically) aggressive since SP (Standard Play) mode you can have 30 minutes of video on one 8cm DVD disc (about 1.4GB). Compare that to miniDV which holds 60 mins of video on a 15GB miniDV tape. The video is compressed alot more than miniDV. However, when viewed on a TV screen, they are visually very similar. Personally I was stunned by the video quality when you consider the degree of compression.

This brings me to another point. The discs seem to hold about 20 mins in High Quality mode, 30 mins in SP and 60 mins in LP. I found LP to be too poor in quality so I avoided using it. SP mode strikes a good balance. But this to me is one of the big negatives of this type of camera. 30 mins per disc isn't much especially when you factor in the cost of each disc and the inconvenience of having to change discs often.

One really neat feature is that you can view an instant replay of a footage you just recorded. And you can delete it in an instant if you're not happy with it.

The cam has alot of features. The Super Steady shot works great to eliminate the effects of shaky hands. Super NightShot is also great to shoot video in near-total darkness. The battery is amazingly small and lasts about an hour of use. A little longer if you don't use the LCD.

I didn't test still picture functionality as it’s a feature I wouldn't use. I have a fairly good stand alone digital still cam for that. But I don't expect the picture quality for stills out of this cam to be that good. The imager isn't even 1 mega pixel (It’s actually 680,000 pixels).

A benefit of DVD format against miniDV is that you don't need to wait rewinding and fast-forwarding. It’s like comparing music tapes to CDs. A side benefit of this format is a near-silent drive operation.

The Sony DVD camcorders don't have a lens cover, but a built-in lens protector instead. This works much better as it doesn't leave you fumbling with lens covers and it automatically opens and closes based on the mode the camera is in. For example, in Playback mode the lens protector is closed.

There are some basic manual controls like digital effects and manual focus etc... But they can only be accessed through the touch screen, and that can be a pain.

Sony also bundles in some video editing software but it’s really basic and you'll soon want a separate DV editing package. Also included are a DVD-R (write Once DVD), USB and AV cables, cleaning cloth, power bar that works on international voltage and the battery. The camera manual is handy and easy to read but the software documentation is poor.

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. I think DVD cams definitely have some advantages over tape-based camcorders but they also have their limitations.

I think if you're very serious about video and you'll be doing alot of editing, then a miniDV cam might be a better choice. If you're a point-and-shoot type of person but you still want a quality product, I'd say absolutely consider the Sony DVD cams.

For me the major disappointment was finding out that I can only fit 30 mins of video per disc (You get 60 mins in LP but the quality is very poor in that mode). Apart from that, I'd have to say it’s a great camera.