Customer Reviews
iMac friendly but the Jury's still "out" on this one... 
2008-03-05
I got this camcorder a few weeks ago and have tested it in a few different locations and under a few different lighting conditions. I bought it specifically because it was on sale, and it is compatible with my iMac (intel based). Overall, I'm less than impressed with the quality of the camera when considering how much it was originally priced at. However, since I purchased it at a "steal" of a price I'm taking it all in stride.
Positives:
-Lightweight
-Takes "on the fly" still pictures during video recording
-Easy to use menu system
-Works with my iMac! (Intel based iMac and iMovie '08) No problems so far.
-Harddrive storage for video
-SD storage for still shots
-battery life is decent on all settings (not great, but not bad. Decent)
-all normal video/cam controls are easily reachable w/out using left hand
Negatives:
-The video capture to my computer takes an eternity; longer than I have recorded.
-Does NOT handle low light situations well AT all. Very grainy.
-Does not seem to auto-focus in low light situations.
-Low light pictures are downright awful.
-Pictures taken in the best of lighting conditions are very low quality
-Handle/strap is uncomfortable (weird). The cam flops away from my hand.
-I consider the boot up time to be "extensive".
-no view finder
-"on the fly" still pictures is limited to 3. After 3 you must stop and restart video recording in order to take more
-no hook up areas for an extra lanyard or anything of that sort
-zoom is incredibly sensitive. It "goes" so fast it's completely unrealistic and almost uncontrollable.
If I were to give a bottom line right now I'd say that unless I come into some grand understanding of how I have my camcorder set at the wrong settings, this puppy's probably going back. It's a powerful little beast, but it certainly rears it's ugly head in low light conditions, and I want to have all the kinks worked out before High School Football season rolls around. I'm getting plenty of practice in before I "need" to use it for the real deal. I'll need to be sure this cam takes great distance shots during night games under the lights. If it won't do that, I will be returning it and finding something that does.
Good priced Entry level HD Camcorder 
2008-02-19
Well, this is a good entry level HD camcorder. We purchased this before Christmas and the price was perfect ($300 less than what we saw in Best Buy and Circuit City). Couldn't beat that price. This camera is easy to use. The picture quality is amazingly clear. I love the fact it's got a HD, so no need to have SD cards (there is a slot which you can use).
One thing I'm not a big fan of, is Sony's software format (AVCHD or something like that). It makes it hard to convert to DVD format. There is a docking station it comes with and there's a "copy" disc" feature. I have not used that as I have tried to scour the web to find a coverting program that is econimcally feasible to buy. Until then, I can download the videos to our PC for future copying.
Another thing this camera doesn't have is a "viewfinder". I never even though about that until I was actually using the camcorder. You need to use the LCD display (which also drains the battery faster than a viewfinder would). After using the camcorder, I miss the viewfinder, but that's only my opinion.
Great images 
2008-02-14
You can not find such a good video image for such a price! Great choice
hd sony camera 2008-02-09
This particular camera has a great picture and takes great pictures as well. The only thing i didnt like was the ability to record in one format only. The controls are easy to figure out in my opinion.
GOOD PRODUCT 2008-02-08
HE ONLY BAD THING IS THE IMAGE IN THE NIGHT. THERE IS SOME KIND OF NOISE IN THE BLACK COLOUR. BUT IS A GREAT CAMERA.
Don't record in HD 
2008-05-22
My husband and I purchased this camcorder back in October, and found it to be a great little camcorder. We recently went on vacation, and got the idea to try recording in HD for the first time. We were able to play back the video ONCE by plugging into an HD TV. After that, we have been unable to retrieve ANY of our HD videos!! We can not even use the playback feature on the camcorder ... hours of video, now useless.
I really wish that we had done some more research before purchasing this. After many frustrating hours doing research, and downloading software, we have come to learn that the software for HD pretty much doesn't exist ... thus making the HD feature an expensive, yet useless "perk". Stay away from ANY Sony HD camera until more software becomes available.
Stay Away from the camera 
2008-04-27
I spent a lot of money on this camera and thought it would work well with my VAIO laptop but the other reviews are accurate - Sony has horrible support and you can't do much with the videos. I'm insulted that they would expect me to pay another $200 just to do some editing. If you have a Mac (we have both) it wont work with it. The CD that came in the box was damaged so I couldn't even transfer my files to the PC without paying $30. Sony was arrogant when working with them. Stay away....
Fabulous Camera 2008-04-05
I've had this for a few months and am really pleased with it. I've taken many movies, still shots within the movie, and just plain still shots. The quality is exceptional!
Nice Cam 2008-03-26
This is my first video cam so I'm speaking as a totally newcomer to this world.
I must say it is a great camera with a great HD video quality compared to SD, although it is not very good with low light.
This is a good product with very good characteristics.
Nice Camcorder 2008-03-11
It makes a beautiful crisp video. I didn't realize that there is no mic input or earphone output jack. The internal mic works well though. For the money you can't beat it!
