Customer Reviews
Complicated but impressive 
2008-03-01
I actually just bought this camera today and I've already gotten the hang of it. It took me a while to realize that I could only take 2 pics because there is no memory card. I was stuck on that for about 3 hrs. But overall the camera is well worth the price and I love the swivel screen so I can do self photos. I highly recommend this camera if you're looking for a device that has all the basics. (web cam, video, camera)
U get whay u pay for 2008-03-01
Pros:
1. Good picture quality (for the $ paid)
2. Small size / weight
3. Simple to use in movie mode
4. Very fast start-up (1-2 seconds)
Cons:
1. Editing software (no easy way to translate MP4 into MP3)
2. Mediocre sound (sound wheezing while skiing and I am not that fast skier)
3. You need to add a memory card
Overall - for the money paid, it's a good deal.
Lightweight 2008-02-28
So this was my first video camera. Thus far it has been great. I have used it for online video presentations, my longboarding, and general wheather conditions i want to show online. Only problem i had with it, when i was recording my speech, there was feedback from the mic from any movement. Other than that, it is great. Ha, and because i have big hands, i have still have a habbit of covering the lens while i am holding the camera.
Great little video camera... LOVE IT!! 2008-02-07
This is our first video camera. I love how lightweight and portable it is. Recently took it on our road trip to San Francisco. It takes fantastic moving videos on the road, or when I was standing still filming at Fisherman's Wharf. I even dropped it once, and it still kept on working with no problems. I have used it every day and especially enjoy filming my grandkids. Pics outdoors are great. I even took great videos indoors at Oracle Arena during and after the basketball game. Perfect.
I have uploaded videos and emailed them with no problems. Now, 3 more friends are buying one. BTW, I also have a Sony Mavica digital camera, and now I reach for this one before lugging around that huge camera!!
Doesn't live up to expectations of a sony product. 
2008-01-25
Generally, my first impression was that the camera is cheaply constructed. The LCD screen feels very very brittle, and friends who have borrowed it said the same thing. The door over the connectors is held in with a small piece of again cheap plastic or rubber material. I see this door falling off in short order. Recordning is fairly easy. Push the button and it starts, push the button and it stops. The video quality outdoors is reasonable. Indoors is not so good - and low light conditions is horrible. I assumed you could turn on the flash to use it as additional lighting but that is not the case. Low light is poor and you can do generally nothing about it other than providing an external light source. Not good if you are outside and its getting closer to dusk -- or indoors and you forget to turn on all the lights in the room before you catch that magical moment of a toddler (jk).
This brings me to software. I use a mac and iMovie or iPhoto like the camera. The built-in software is only for windows. I cannot find a mac version. I think that is a good thing because I tried the software on windows and its really quite poor. I am fairly savvy with computers and yet I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish with this horrid software.
So, in general - I am very unimpressed and would not recommend this camera at all. I originally bought it to keep around and use outdoors to not have to worry about a more expensive camera - well, I should have applied this money towards the purchase of another camera or even a digital camera with video mode - because I think that would have been much much better.
Convenient but low video quality 2008-07-21
This is a convenient camcorder with its size the ease of use, though need a little time to figure out how selection button works. The video quality is not good, but uploading to Youtube is fun and easy. Overall, I like it, except the blurry video quality.
Nice 
2008-06-25
It takes great pictures but the video is not all that good but its a nice little gadget.
Sony NSCGC1 2008-06-16
I never have been a video recording nut. My wife and I take ballroom dance classes from Parks & Rec, but while we can do quite well during classes, only a few weeks later we have forgotten what we learned. Using this to record what we learned while at our last class provides us with a great visual 'review' to remind us just before we go out dancing! For a minimal investment, this has served us very, very well.
The jury is still out... 2008-05-19
I have shot news professionally and still own a broadcast Betacam and my faithful Canon GL 1 mini DV camera.
I bought this camera as a Sony-refurbished play-thing with MPEG-4 technology.
I also was told that is should be seen by newer Macs with the latest iLife software as an AVCHD camcorder. My iBook is 7 years old so when I fire up my Mac Mini - I will have a better idea on IF it will work with iMovie or not.
This camera reminds of some low light and compact Sony Hi8 cameras of 15-18 years ago. No zoom but some had a tele lens switchable to a fairly wide and fast normal lens. I would not put "the glass" on this camera in the same league as the afore-mentioned camera series.
After shooting in daylight and at dusk with this camera - this has to be a "bright daylight use camera". I recommend a small sturdy tripod for it. There is supposed to be some minimalist stability when using the video side but --- use a tripod.
The zoom is not designed to be used when filming - it jerks.
The camera has problems around engines - car, motorcycle or diesel train engines and picks up microphonics or noise in the video. I am a train buff and tested this on some METRA train run-bys and even at 40 feet away - the video jittered. More so when talking to a friend on his Harley.
Setting all of the many camera settings can be a pain - my purpose was for web based stuff - am going to the Indy 500 and was going to throw this baby in with my other stills gear for shots on "Gasoline Alley" - not the race.
So I am still putzing around with this thing.
The wonderful Sony memory cards are great but very pricy. IF you buy this camera - buy another makers' card. It should be cheaper.
A good thing? The stills camera side is not bad in the headshot mode - did not take any tele shots with it.
Lastly - is this a good kid's camera? Yep - to play with and try shooting YouTube home movies.
But if your kids or grads are more serious - buy a Sony/JVC/Canon/Panasonic mini dv camera or SD card camera...
I like it 2008-03-10
I purchased the camera out of the box at a local Circuit City a couple of weeks ago.
Its easy to use and upload stuff now that i know how to use the camera. For those without advanced computer knowledge it would be very frustrating. Getting video up on You tube and other sites is easy.
Converting MPEG4 files needs to be accomplished and you need to get software to do this.
The video quality is fine but not as good as camcorders that i have owned.Stick to outdoor video or very well lit indoor scenes.
Still pictures are great outdoors. I find indoor pictures even with the flash to be pretty poor compared with a digital camera
Overall, good for the 80 Bucks i paid plus the 29 bucks for the 2 gig storage. Lots of space for short videos and lots of pix.
The battery stays charged for a long time too. I like this feature. No more batteries to charge or purchase.
I even youngsters in the family play with the camera.
