Customer Reviews
Horrid machine, horrid service 
2008-06-05
I was very excited about everything I'd read about this camera and happily bought one. However, the first time I used it for more than 20 minutes (which, alas, was after the time I could have returned it), the hard drive completely failed. I would get the warning "Buffer Overrun" or "Cannot Access HD" and it would shut down. After it happened once, the camera could not be used for more than 3 minutes without the same warning.
After I spent 97 minutes on the phone with various "Sony Customer Satisfaction Centers," I was allowed to return the camera -- at my expense -- to them for repair. They promptly and courteously sent it back with a nice little note saying they couldn't find anything wrong with it.
So I plugged it in and, after 20 minutes, "Buffer Overrun."
Uh, guys, it's the hard drive. It's faulty. Just replace it.
Sorry that this isn't so much a review of the camera. I'm sure it's a magical delight once the thing works. Just be warned that if you get this expecting to make a nice little video of your cat or your kids or a vacation, order it six months in advance and beef up your cell phone plan. You'll be spending a lot of time trying to get someone to make your $1400 work.
Great item! 
2008-06-05
The Camcorder is great. Really easy to use. takes great pictures too. It's like an all in one hardware...
The zoom is amazing.
Great buy!
Great Product 
2008-06-01
Order made From Amazon Apr 28:
shipment: Great on time no delay.
Product easy to handle, simple and intuitive. Had my vacation in Irlando with my kid made great videos.
Recodring time and battery time are excelent.
Backlite mode and manual settings are more difficult to get used to.
Stills shots however are dissapointing and the quality was less than expected.
Sweet 2008-05-30
So far a grea camera, but I haven't copied to the cpu or made any DVD's yet so I don't know how well that function works.
Best Camera/Camcorder 2008-05-20
This is the best Camera/Camcorder I have ever had. Great pictures and great videos! The menus are a little complicated to work through, and I miss the scroll wheel that my other Sony Camcorder had, but I love the camcorder.
One of the best new HD cams 2008-07-20
Great little HD cam. Easy to learn and use. Crisp, clear HD shots and no more worrying about tapes. I only wish Sony would have kept the IEEE 1394/firewire port, instead of going with USB only.
The Last Camcorder you will ever need 2008-07-16
I've now had this camera for about a month now and I couldn't be happier. The video quality is STUNNING as well as the recording sounds. It comes with a base and proprietary power and video cords (both component-HD and composite, which means that they are not interchangable with over the counter video cords), but thats ok. It also has the software for transferring the videos and photos to your CPU. Back to the picture and sound... amazing really. The sound records in 5.1 surround which is so cool, plus you have many options on the video such as night vision, black and white, sepia, old movie mold, etc and some of them you can combine (I did night vision with black and white to make a short zombie movie, it looks wicked). There are so many possibilities with this cam. The play back is all touch screen, which the screen can get smeared by fingerprints (easy to wipe out), but I suggest buying a stylus. Of course if you hook it to your television, it does come with a remote control, and you can do everything with that remote except for deleting images. But that is a positive because you don't want to accidentally delete your images. And it does ask for you to confirm deleting so it's hard to do that accidentally.
Plus, it's a great photography camera. With the flick of a thumb you can change from filming to photographer easy and it takes crystal clear pictures in 10.5 mega pixel. Although I do find it a bit awkward to reach the photo button. Now it takes better picture in photo mode, then it do in filming mode (While filming you can snap a picture also),
Another word on the night vision, I had all the lights off and it films in that greenish color sort of like the movie Cloverfield. But even filming at night without the night vision on, it picks up everything. I had a buddy drive at night, while I was shooting and the only lights were coming from headlights and streetlamps (when we passed them) and you saw everything on the camera that you could see with you naked eye and I even thought it was better than my eye.
Now when you film and take pictures, it organizes the images according to date and when you film several scenes it will play them one after another without a bit of a pause. The camera also has little doors on the back and the side so you can hook up your cords without the base, which is good. Also inside of one of the doors are an hdmi output, a headphones output and a mic input. I ran my iPod through the mic input to make a music video and it turned out great (although be sure not to have your iPod any louder than half).
The camera also has a one touch DVD burning button on the camera and the base, but I haven't used it yet.
The only real negative is that the battery only last 90 minutes, but I bought a bigger battery, which last 14 hours. That battery weighs as much or more than the camera (the camera is really light) and it sticks out the back some but that isn't really that big of a deal.
The software is pretty smart. You hook the camcorder with the use of the provided usb cable (after loading the software) and it finds the camcorder and asks if you want to transfer all the items to your computer. But the cool thing is that you can keep those images on your camcorder after transfer, film other stuff, hook you camera back up to the computer and it will only transfer items that haven't been transferred yet. This is good because you don't have to try to figure out what has or haven't been transfer and you don't get dup copies, or that annoying message about whether you want to overwrite a file. And it organizes by date and you can do a total calendar view and see what dates you filmed on. When it organized and transfer to your CPU, it organized by date filmed, not date transfer, which is extremely helpful, especially if you visit multiple locations during multiple dates.
This is really the last camcorder you will possibly buy for many many years. The only thing is that it has so many cool accessories you can buy, like wide-angle lenses, telescopic lenses, attachable lights, and underwater case etc that you may eventually end up with a $2500-3000 total purchase when you are done. The accessories are not a necessity but they do look like a lot of fun.
Auto focusing can be a pain at times, but it does have a manual focus, which you can set to infinity and if you zoom, set it up on a tripod.
Oh and one last thing, I actually filmed something for 5 minutes that was playing on my plasma in HD and it look as if its the movie itself.
Wonderful Video - complicated software 2008-07-03
I have finally become my father. I'm geezing. This is just a fabulous camcorder, but I'm way over my head trying to get my videos onto my PC and then burning the correct format DVDs to share with friends/family. Reading the "quick start" guide plus the PDF-format owner's manual on the included CD... almost made my head explode. And I've had a camcorder of various media and every type of film and digital cam in my hands since they were so big you needed a friend to help carry the components. I feel like I've traded my soul to the devil to get the latest/greatest technology, but now I'm getting the "I told you so!!" from my wife. I guess I should've accepted the one-back media of recording directly to mini-DVDs in the camcorder. Yikes!
1080i and 1080p Differences 2008-06-16
I wanted to clear the air about a little misinformation that has been posted on hi def resolutions. There are other sites on the net that explain the same thing with but with more detail, but the link below is the reference for my information:
[...]
How 1080i and 1080p Are Both The Same and Different
1080i and 1080p are both High Definition display formats for HDTVs. 1080i and 1080p signals actually contain the same information. Both 1080i and 1080p represent a 1920x1080 pixel resolution (1,920 pixels across the screen by 1,080 pixels down the screen). The difference between 1080i and 1080p is in the way the signal is sent from a source component or displayed on an HDTV screen.
In 1080i each frame of video is sent or displayed in alternative fields. The fields in 1080i are composed of 540 rows of pixels or lines of pixels running from the top to the bottom of the screen, with the odd fields displayed first and the even fields displayed second. Together, both fields create a full frame, made up of all 1,080 pixel rows or lines, every 30th of a second.
In 1080p, each frame of video is sent or displayed progressively. This means that both the odd and even fields (all 1,080 pixel rows or pixel lines) that make up the full frame are displayed together. This results in a smoother looking image, with less motion artifacts and jagged edges.
Differences Within 1080p
1080p can also be displayed (depending on the video processing used) as a 1080p/60 (most common), 1080p/30, or in 1080p/24 formats.
1080p/60 is essentially the same frame repeated twice every 30th of a second. (enhanced video frame rate).
1080p/30 is the same frame displayed once every 30th of a second. (standard live or recorded video frame rate).
1080p/24 is the same frame displayed every 24th of a second (standard motion picture film frame rate),
The Key is in the Processing
1080p processing can be done at the source, such as on a Upscaling DVD Player, Blu-ray Disc Player, or HD-DVD player - or it can be done by the HDTV itself.
Depending on the actual video processors used, there may or may not be a difference in having the TV do the final processing (referred to as deinterlacing) step of converting 1080i to 1080p.
For instance, if the TV is utilizing a Faroudja Genesis, DVDO, Silicon Optix HQV, or homegrown processors, such as the ones used in higher-end Sony, Pioneer, Hitachi, and Panasonic sets for example, may be equal to the processors used in many source components - so the results displayed on screen should be equivalent, or very close. Any differences would be more noticable on larger screen sizes.
1080p, Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD
Also, keep in mind that with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, the actual information on the disc itself is in the 1080p/24 format. Players, such as LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo player, have the ability to output 1080p/24 direct from the disc to its output.
However, since most current HDTVs cannot display 1080p/24, when you connect the LG BH100 to an HDTV that does not have 1080p/24 input and display capability but only has 1080p/60/30 or 1080i input capability, the LG BH100 automatically sends its 1080p/24 signal from the disc to its own video processor which then outputs a 1080i/60 signal. This leaves the HDTV to do the final step of deinterlacing and displaying the incoming 1080i signal in 1080p.
Another example of 1080p processing, is the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Player - what is does is even more complicated. This Blu-ray player reads the 1080p/24 signal off the disc, then it actually reinterlaces the signal to 1080i, and then deinterlaces its own internally made 1080i signal in order to create a 1080p/60 signal for output to a 1080p input capable television. However, if it detects that the HDTV cannot input a 1080p signal, the Samsung BD-P1000 just takes its own internally created 1080i signal and passes that signal through to the HDTV, letting the HDTV do the final deinterlacing step.
Just as with the previous LG BH100 example. The final 1080p display format depends what deinterlacing processor is used by the HDTV for the final step. In fact, in the Samsung case, it may that a specific HDTV has better 1080i-to-1080p deinterlacer than Samsung has, it which case you may see a better result using the deinterlacer built into the HDTV.
Final Take
In the final analysis, the proof is in the actual viewing - how the image looks to you in the real world with your specific HDTV. Short of having a tech come out and doing actual measurements, or comparing results using different TVs and source components yourself, even if you don't have a 1080p input capable Television, as long your HDTV has 1080p internal processing, you may still be able to get the benefits of 1080p. The key is in the processing, and, of course, not all HDTVs and video processors are created equal - let your eyes be your guide.
Great Camcorder With A Few Flaws 2008-06-07
I am new to high definition camcorders and I really looked forward to getting this one since I have been using a Sony DV camera for about 4 years now.First the bad, when I received it the first thing I noticed was how Sony was stingy on accessories like no remote, no good software, no firewire support(oh come on Sony),no good instructions, no mini hdmi, no memory stick, no bigger better life battery.You would think for a $1400 camera they would of thrown something in.Since I had already had a Sony camcorder I was already used to the interface and how to get to certain aspects of the camera so I never really read the instructions but a first timer may have problems with it.
In low light conditions this camcorder chokes and quality gets bad so you have to do some adjusting.Focusing for it also became a problem in low light.I noticed if I changed exposure or brightness to much the shot would get jerky.I am still looking for a way to fix this.
I wish the lens was a little wider and the optical zoom a little more.Digital zoom in my mind is worthless unless you have it set up on a tripod b/c you gotta have a robotic steady arm to keep it still.I usually only use optical zoom but noticed even when I zoomed all the way with it the picture would start to shutter and degrade.
The camera part is good if you currently dont have a camera but my Sony Cybershot is more simple to use and has better quality and easier to use than getting the camcorder out to take pictures.You can tell from the quality it is not a 10.2 mega pixel but merely face value on the camcorder to help sell.Its pretty nice to have it on the camcorder in case you want to take quick pictures.With my DV camera I could take digital stills from the video and quality wasnt that good of course so I was expecting this $1400 camcorder to really shine but so far digital stills are sub par.Hopefully as I get more experience with it I will learn tricks to fix this.The menus were easier to navigate in my DV camera as well.I am not sure exactly what I need 5.1 surround on a camcorder for but its still nice to have.I will probably do something later with it.
My final complaint is a lack of software to import AVCHD and so far I have found 3.Looking at reviews of the software the best I have found that is affordable is Sony Vegas 8 platinum.I would like to get Pro later but as of now the cheapest I have seen it is $350.
Other than those complaints the camcorder takes amazing film and outdoor locations look phenomenal.I have daughters 1 year old and a three year old and its nice to have a camera that records colors so vividly b/c I want to see exactly what my kids look like since my DV camera footage always looked different than reality.I find my self looking for things to record outside.Since I own a Playstation 3 I just hook it straight to that to watch on my Sony 40 inch Bravia.Some odd reason I always stick with Sony since I have had pretty good luck with them.Anyways As we watched the video I recorded outside and the camera moved sideways and the shake of my hand almost makes it throw up inducing.I haven't tried importing on my computer yet and my understanding is it takes a long time depending on quality of what was taken.I like a challenge and my computers about a year old so hopefully it wont struggle to much we'll see.I may make another review based on that.
Some people I read didn't like the weight or size of the camcorder but I prefer being able to feel the weight b/c to me it feels more comfortable.Its not like you start to burn arm and hand fat from holding it.Its probably personal preference.
I guess my 5 star rating comes from the overall experience from recording my family and events in their lives to just zooming in on a bees nest or just normal everyday things ,that slow motion thing is does is kinda cool.I know this camcorder will bring us joy for years to come.I usually stick with Sony products so you may find a different brand better.If you can afford it I highly recommend this.Do the research and look at other camcorders and make sure this is the exact right camcorder for you b/c what I think is great may not be what you use it for.
