Great Value For Money Easy To Use Camcorder

Very simple to use, does most things 'out of the box' with no need for much user input beyond switching it on, pointing & pressing the REC button (its in red for maximum ease of spotting!)

There are the usual options to change things like effects for how pictures look etc but really this is for people who just want to video, with some simple menu options which are quick to learn.

Its light, small & fits nicely into one hand. Its quite well made too.

Couple of points to note: there is no editing software included (use Windows Media Centre or Photo Gallery) nor is there any cable to link your camcorder to your PC.

Both these omissions are unusual & seem a bit cheap of SONY, for which I've deducted 1 star.

You do get a short 'how to shoot videos' DVD which - once you ignore the childish & annoying cartoon 'guide' - is actually quite useful.

(the lack of any bundled cassette is normal industry practise)

Using a firewall cable I've found the video transfer to my PC (running Windows VISTA) painless & fairly quick.

All in all a good buy which I purchased from Debenhams in Birmingham for just £130 a couple of weeks ago.

great performance-indifferent design

My old panasonic mini dv camcorder finally gave up the ghost after 5 years faithful service so I did a fair bit of internet trawling looking for a replacement. It came down to this panasonic and a sony model (dcr hc 47) The sony was a far sexier piece of kit, looks wise, but performance didn't measure up to the panasonic.
The panasonic has a very good optical image stabiliser (not electronic like sony) which is important since camera shake on these small camcorders can be a problem. It also interfaces very smoothly via firewire with my existing editing software (ulead video studio 10 plus)
It also helps that I already had a spare SD card from my digital stills camera whereas the sony takes a MMC card.
The pictures from the panasonic are excellent - video image is superb and even the still pictures are OK. The zoom is a bit measly (x10) but the digital zoom up to x25 is actually very good. The usability of the camera is also very good-menus are well laid out and easily navigated via a mini joystick and the instruction manual is straightforward. The buttons are all easily reached although I wouldn't want my hands to be much smaller as the zoom slider does sit quite high up.
It offers a very easy point and shoot experience and has enough manual functions to keep a 'fiddler' like me happy.
The downsides-It is not pretty (very well finished and well laid out)but no looker. You will not get envious glances from other parents when filming the school nativity play but if you rate performance over show-off appeal this is a great camera.

what you would expect from Sony

Brought this camcorder last week and have only used it a few times so i cant give a more detailed review but my findings so far are fantastic.
After unpacking i charged the battery and after a few hrs it was ready to use.
Turn it on and your ready to go !
I then loaded the software onto my PC and then uploaded the film i had recorded.
Played it back and the footage was fantastic, the sound was out of this world, i even had to turn the sound off when i thought a bird was singing outside my window but it was actually on the footage i had shot, it was so clear and precise.
Not to sure about the software it comes with as it might have some compatibility problems but then it might just have been my laptop misbehaving, will keep an eye on that one.
when i played the footage back through windows media i had no problems at all.
But the software does look good and your footage is logged onto a calender so you could go to the specific date you shot the film and find it easy.
As i said at the start i have only had it a week so still have some playing around to do and features to use but so far all is well.
As for the camera itself its smaller than i thought and quite light and fits into the palm of your hand well with all functions easy to reach.
Defiantly worth the money and a great saving on amazon compared to some high street shops.

Battery life and picture quality

The camera has a very poor battery life, a tiny fraction of that claimed by the manufacturer. The images tend to have distortion and the video tends to break up. Not really much use.

KNOCKS THE HELL OUT OF A SONY I HAD

Frikkin A is all i can say ,just superb in every way.
Initially bought a Sony like because of the name i guess and a previous fantastic camcorder they made but wait, the latest ones are useless compared to this machine very very recommended don`t get the Sony DCR-HC45 £200 camcorder what ever you do, it sucks and had to send it back well not up to the job or just plain faulty i don`t know .
By the way can`t beat Amazon for Customer Services very professional THANKS!

Good camera - little bulky

Was considering either this camera or the Panasonic HDC-SD5, both high def camcorders (reviews on the SD5 were better than the Sony so excluded the Sony SR5E). The thing that attracted me to this one was that it recorded to SDHC card as well as to dvds whilst the other only recorded to SHDC card. Very glad I went for this one.

Firstly the cons - there is only one really and that is that it is bigger than my previous JVC mini DV camcorder which was really small, and I suspect it is bigger than than the equivalent Sony and the HDC-SD5 once the battery is attached. The only other con is that there is no SD card included, but bought an 8 GB SHDC on amazon for less than £20, and you don't get them included in other camcorders either so not a big deal.

The pros- the picture on the viewfinder(you can record in HD mode or standard mode) is very very clear. You can see immediately that this is no ordinary screen. The picture on HD TV too is very good and clear, and you can see the benefit of the 3 CCD and the Leica lens.

Also, as it has a dvd recorder built in you have an option of where you wish to record onto i.e. HD card or DVD. This can also mean that you have longer recording ability (or you can just carry a spare SD card with you). Also, it means that you can play your dvds directly from the camcorder, although please note that it takes the smaller dvds (not the full size ones).

Once I got used to the size (I don't want to make out that it is really really big, just bigger than I was expecting so before you buy it may be worth going to your local Comet to make sure it is suitable for you) which didn't take long it felt comfortable in the palm of my hand. Another good thing I like about it is that if you close the viewfinder it switches the power off (or v low) and its ready to use as soon as you open the viewfinder - not a big deal but saves messing around with the control buttons.

In Hi-def mode the 8GB SD card will take approx 80 mins of video, increasing to more than double that in standard mode. Likewise, the DVD can record approx 26 mins in HD mode and over an hour in standard mode.

The software supplied with the unit is fairly basic but does the job, and there is also a trial version of Pinnacle Studio HD which I have not used.

The menu system is straight forward and intuitive, and after a brief flick through the accompanying instruction manual (in paper, not cd, form)I understood the various menus and how to work around them.

Had it for 4 weeks now and must say am delighted with the quality of the picture, it has image stabilising software which helps steady the picture, and a 10x optical zoom (with a 700x digital zoom which is not clear at that resolution) and have taken lots of videos of the kids which have come out excellent.

The other feature (common to all SD camcorders) is that, unlike my mini dv cam where I had to scroll through the whole tape to get to an earlier point), each video you take is shown as a thumbnail so you can view easily the video that you want to playback.

To get an idea of other features of this camcorder see the reviews for the HDC-SD5 as, other than the dvd recording function and the size, I think both cameras are very similar in their spec.

Overall very happy (given 4 stars and not 5 due to the size)- esp as I got it for less than £350 from one of Amazon's suppliers.

Absolutely Fantasic - No Other Way To Describe It

I got this camcorder today although not from amazon i went and got it from currys digital where it was £149.58 which is cheaper than amazon was at the time and i have to say just how superb it really is! I havent had a camcorder in the past so i cant really compare it to another one but it really is fantastic and i can assure you that you will not get as good value for money with any other camcorder than you get with this it really is superb. Hope this has helped!!

NV-GS80. Very Good Budget Camcorder.

The NV-GS80 is a great budget camcorder, with fantastic zoom and optical image stabilizer (OIS) (which reduces camera shake). OIS is much preferred to Electronic Image Stablilsation (on most competitor models) as it occurs before the image reaches the CCD.

The NV-GS80 has a single, 800k pixel CCD sensor, which is par for the course at this price point. Note, however, that the effective pixel count reduces to 540k pixels when shooting in 16:9 now standard widescreen mode.

One niggle is that to transfer video to your PC, you must first disconnect the battery to get access to the mini USB2 or Firewire ports. You also have to plug in the power supply, which is a problem if you are looking to edit footage on the go. (Note: Image quality will also suffer when transferred via USB. This is common to USB transfer, and why firewire is preferred.)

Also Panasonic are launching the NV-GS90 with upgraded spec (eg 42x zoom), and Image Stablizer, amongst other things. Might be better to wait until March when this comes out as it is likely to be at the same price point online (i.e. under £200).

You may also find that the NV-GS80 can be picked up at a bargain from March 2008 as the model is replaced and shops look to dump the old stock in favour of the NV-GS90.

Excellent camera but only in daylight

When I read the review by Phil Latham below I couldn't believe the coincidence, I am also replacing an old Sony TRV65 which has served me well for 10 years.

I bought the Sony DCR-SR290 camcorder based on the specifications and the other reviews here but I am sorry to say that after owning it for less than 24 hours I have sent it back, due to absolutely dreadful performance in artificial light e.g. in the house with all the lights on, I am not referring just to low light. The only way to get a focussed picture is to leave the camcorder completely still pointing at something that isn't moving. If you point at a moving target e.g. a person walking across the frame, or pan the camcorder horizontally or vertically at anything more than a snail's pace there is just so much jitter and picture instability I could not believe my eyes.

The problem isn't noticeable on the LCD screen, it's only when you plug the camcorder into a TV to monitor the shots live or to play-back a recording that it becomes obvious (my Grundig CRT TV is not at fault - I plugged-in my old Hi-8 TRV65 and the images from this in the same room and light levels are perfect - it's no contest).

Outside in natural light the SR290 is truly outstanding and the auto focus is very quick indeed. Thinking that there must be some sort of fault with it I got a demo of another identical unit in a Sony Centre shop, only to discover that this had the same problem. The salesman was also very surprised.

In addition to the picture problem there is an issue with connecting to the PC via USB2. With the enclosed software installed, my PC will recognise the camcorder as a USB mass storage device, and I can browse the SR290's internal drive and copy short video files across or use the Sony application software to do the same. But the camcorder does not recognise that it has successfully connected to the PC and will time-out and disconnect after a few minutes, meaning that it would not be possible to copy larger video files across which take more time. My PC is not at fault here, I experienced the same when trying it with my laptop.

You must also not touch (or even breathe near) the camcorder when it is on the docking station as the gravity-reliant connection between the two items is very 'slight'. If you touch the camcorder even lightly this will interrupt the connection, this could possibly corrupt the drive if a file is transferring at the time.

I am so disappointed as there is no other camcorder on the market with similar specifications at this price. If you only intend to use it in daylight then I would recommend it for it's picture quality, image stabiliser, comfortable weight, handling and ease of use, though the docking station and USB issues could prove very frustrating.

Try again Sony....

Scrimped on the basics

Yes this a very nice compact high definition camcorder, but for the money wouldn't you expect a little more?
For example where is the camera case? -I can understand there not being a high quality leather one, but not even a vinyl case? What about a lens cover? And wouldn't a HDMI cable (so you can connect it up to your high definition tv) be a nice addition?
Some decent software (that you could edit movies with) would be nice too.
Finally, a viewfinder so that you are not TOTALLY reliant on the LCD view screen would be neat.
Nice machine Panasonic, but you've scrimped so much on it, that the package as a whole suffers.

I didn't want to buy Sony, but...

Well, I didn't want to buy another Sony Handycam, but there's very few alternatives to choose from. I made my choice at short notice and without doing any research in store - the worst possible place, but I've ended up with a great quality camcorder. It's simple to use and produces great quality images, but best of all it's not using a Sony propriety format, it uses the industry standard miniDV format.

I'm still getting to grips with all it has to offer, but so far have been more than impressed and with two children now I have twice the excuse to get the camcorder out! My main gripe would be that the supplied software isn't particularly impressive (mainly a browser) and so you'll need to invest in some software for your video editing needs - Sony Vegas seems quite good, but again it's early days for me.

Great idea, execution left wanting

The concept, styling, weight, size and battery life are fantastic, but there are aspects of this product that leave you flat.

This type of camcorder is the way of the future for all of us who want quick family holiday snaps and especially, videos. Tiny size, incredibly low weight, long battery life allow you to literally put it in your top pocket and when necessary, take it out and start shooting in a few seconds.

The SHQ video would be great if I could view it on anything but the TV. Check that your PC's video card has codecs and is up to the task of rendering HD H264 MPEG4 video in real-time before you set off! My work PC was almost up to the task and I can say the quality looked good, even though the video hiccupped.

The 7.1MP camera produces good pics, but the video, which is its prime function has a few issues. First and foremost is the autofocus. It is incredibly slow to auto-focus. It has a face-tracker function, but the model for this must have been a short-sighted hedgehog, because even in good light it takes way too long to focus. Then there's the auto-focus motor noise which, while low in level, is audible in quiet surroundings. I find it unforgiveable to compromise great electronics with el-cheapo mechanics. On the issue of mechanics, the power and SD slot cover are flimsy, and just waiting to be broken.

The camcorder's performance is not wonderful in low light (e.g an incandescant bulb at night), but I guess I expected this, and so I wasn't disappointed by it's performance; in fact, I was a little surprised it did so well. I haven't tried the still-flash yet, but it looks a little dinky.

Overall, this is a potentially fantastic product, provided Sanyo get their act together on the focusing issue. Would I buy it again? Hmmmm, maybe I'd wait for the next model, but then I'd be missing all those shots of the kids that I would never bother taking with my"grown-up", kilo-plus, house-brick-sized, digi-camcorder.

Rubbish

As a media student, i need something small and reliable for my work. I returned this camera as i found the video and sound quality really poor, and more like a webcam. The photo quality wasn't too bad but i bought it as a video camera. The battery seemed to only last about 15 minutes and took forever to charge. I also found that i was having to spend a fortune on memory cards just to get a few minutes of bad quality footage. I did contact sanyo to see if maybe i was doing something wrong, and they were about as useful as Julian Clary entering the Mr. Universe competition. I've been completely put off sanyo products now

An excellent piece of kit

I purchased this from Amazon, and all I can say is how impressive it is. It was ordered at circa 1pm and arrived before 9 the following morning!

The machine is very user friendly, and really comes up to the mark. I haven't been disappointed, despite reading some ordinary reviews from other people.

The image quality is excellent (admittedly compared to my old tape model), I haven't come across any of the software problems others have faced (I run a PC rather than a Mac) but the photo's aren't exactly great. This last point is the only thing stopping me giving it a 5 star rating. I also like the touch screen functionality.

All in all, if you're after something to capture memories of the kids I'd say this is ideal. If you want to shoot the next big movie or use it instead of your still camera it may not be for you though.

Could do better

After reading all the above reviews it makes me feel that they must have been written by Sony employees. I've just purchased one of these cameras, mainly because I've had a long allegiance to Sony and have been somewhat disappointed to say the least. The quality of the images are good provided that it is in a bright, well lit environment, but try to record in low light levels (without the slow shutter which is useless for moving objects) and and it really fails to impress. My old Sony digital 8 camcorder was a lot better in this respect. The camera does not give you the ability to switch resolution unlike some other HD camcorders. I would have liked to have had the option to switch to 720P but you can only have 1080i- fine if you've got a 1080i tv set. The other problem with 1080i is the frame rate- much too slow for moving images whereas 720P will provide twice the framerate i.e 60fps. Another major problem I have found with this camera is its autofocus- seriously slow and again if lighting levels are low which leads to another problem- accessing the manual focus. Unlike the SR7 and SR8 you can only access it through the touch screen which is a bit fiddly in the middle of filming and even then difficult to operate accurately. The supplied battery is useless if your planning on taking it for a days filming at a sporting event or similar as it runs out much too quickly. I had it on holiday with me recently and found I had to go back to the hotel each afternoon just so as i could use the camera at night. If I havn't got rid of it before my next holiday I intend buying the npf-100 battery which should overcome that problem. Overall I would say to anyone thinking of buying this camera to have a good shop around first. As a big fan of Sony I have been left very dissappointed by them on this occassion. I had looked at the slightly more expensive Panasonic HD camera and I'm now feeling that maybe I should have switched my allegiance on this occassion.