Customer Reviews
Sony HDR-SR10 video camera 
2008-06-14
absolutely horrible customer service - never recieved the item, already two month waiting for the refund! no replies to my email from neither Amazon or the company, do not even take a chance with these guys. I posted bad review once for other product and the company called me the same day to check what went wrong, these guys care less no matter how much you write to them or about them...
Go for the next model up SR11 & skip this 2008-05-21
This camera performs poorly in low light, as a matter of fact, when I used my 6 or 7 year old Sony TRV17 I could not tell a difference between the 2 pictures on my 50" Plazma TV. At least not for interior and low light video. Outside the picture was very bright and there was definetly a big difference between the two.
I returned this one and splurged for the SR11. You get a 60gig HD, 10MP digital stills, and just a huge difference in picture quality indoors and out. And with a 10MP still camera built in, I almost don't even need a digital.
The camera fits nicely in the palm of my hand, all the controls are convienently located.
The menu's can be a little confsing at first, but after a few minutes it becomes pretty easy to navigate around, and if you're not too tech saavy, there's always the "easy" button.
Oh also to save battery life and if you're recording in bright sunlight, the SR11 has a viewfinder which this model doesn't.
I guess I should be leaving this in the SR11 reviews pages, but definetly save a few more months, or just spend the extra money on the SR11, it's well worth the expense.
Excellent camcorder 
2008-05-05
Overall, it is very satisfactory.
Pros: Light weight Easy to learn and operate, Good video picture quality (I like the slow motion video quality), Big storage (40GB is big enough)
Cons: Included battery (FH60) is ok, but FH70 would be better. AVCHD format to MPEG is not perfect. Uploading from computer hard dist to camcorder hard disk is not possible (in order to play on TV, I need to bring my laptop to TV). No view finder (but, it is ok since the SR11 w/t view finder costs lot more than SR10).
Decent entry model into Full-HD 
2008-04-30
I got it for $750 at Dell actually, which was the best I found without a risk of using potential fraud-sellers I found on google selling it cheaper. I think it is a good entry model into HD filming. It is probably the cheapest of the decent full-HD ones.
I am satisfied with the quality of the video. I believe that the more expensive models might have better video quality supported by better sensors, bigger lenses and better lower compression/quicker memory write times, but I think it is a good toy that will allow me to watch family videos 20 years from now without laughing at the quality of SD camcorders.
I am not very satisfied with the quality of the stills, but hey, I have a compact Canon S3 IS for that, so I would not count it for the rating. My S3 also records videos that are decent, but not perfect - that's why I am getting an HD camcorder. Otherwise I'd say the S3 beats SD camcorder.
The 40GB HDD allows for too many hours of videos and can be accessed as USB Mass Memory device, so you can put other stuff there too.
The battery life seems a bit shortish, but you can get a bigger replacement battery for $30 - a cheap upgrade.
It also lacks a carrying case, so I recommend getting at least the cheapest sony one. Overall Sony accessories are very pricey, but you can get cheap replacements that work OK.
The AVCHD format does not have a lot support yet, but that will come eventually, since Sony seems to be winning the HD formats war. I believe new Macs should be able to play AVCHD. I also ordered Sony Vegas software for editing (less than $100), that looks OK from the trial version, so you might consider it, unless you want to convert to AVI/WMV before you do the editing in Windows Movie Maker and lose quality through repeated compression. I also considered Pinnacle Studio, but read the reviews with complaints about crashes and decided to get the software from Sony (through Amazon :) ).
There are probably better cameras, but they are more expensive. Sony wants to rip you off with its accessory prices, but that's their right and you can choose replacements. It's not perfect so I guess it is worth 4 stars
Remember to get that carrying case, a tripod and a battery somewhere. A mini hdmi cable might be of use too.
Great for the money 2008-04-22
I bought this camera with a little hesitation because of some of the so-so reviews, but was more than happy with the purchase. The videos look amazing. Using the HDMI cable to hook up to LCD TV makes it completly worth the money. Bought this to record my wedding and am fully satisfied. The only con is the AVCHD format is not widely supported yet. My laptop won't play the files without jumping like crazy, but you can still burn the movies directly onto a DVD and play them in Blu-Ray Players like the PS3 and loose no quality. I would not let a new technology hold you back unless you plan on keeping your older computer for an extended period of time. (Then you should prob look into VHS)
Great Camcorder
Nice Camera, but I want more 
2008-04-15
The HDR-SR10 Handycam camcorder delivers everything you need to shoot stunning Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution video and 4 megapixel still images. With Hybrid recording technology, you can record to either an internal 40GB hard disk drive or removable Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo media. A professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens and ClearVid CMOS sensor (with Exmor technology) and BIONZ image processor let you capture every detail in video and still images. Additionally, Face Detection technology helps everyone put their best face forward, while the Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization system helps ensure images remain sharp and true.
Decent camera for novice users 2008-04-05
If you are new to the camcorder business, this will be the camera for you. It's easy to use and you won't have to buy media ever again. People complain about the quality but I filmed this outside during the daytime and the picture quality was great. Unless you watch your 40 inch HDTV at a 4 feet distance, I did not see much grain. It beats the standard cameras. By the way, I got this camera for less than 700 after tax and shipping. I think it's worth every penny.
poor video quality 2008-03-29
I returned this camera today as I was very disappointed with the video quality. The picture was grainy even filmed in the highest setting in bright light. Even tried the mini HDMI with no success. I believe that this is related to the compression used in AVCHD. I would recommend sticking with tape despite its lack of glamor. Tape has better quality video and is easier to edit. The Canon HV20 or HV30 is the way to go. By the way, if bought at a SonyStyle store they will charge you 15% restocking fee($150) -- if that's any indication to you of my disappointment.
