Why I buy this one ?
- 1/6" Advanced HAD CCD Imager, 680K Pixels (Gross)
- 40X Optical / 2000X Digital Zoom
- 2.7" Touch Panel SwivelScreen LCD Display (123K Pixels)
- Professional Quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens
- InfoLITHIUM Battery with AccuPower Meter System

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What our customer's say!

"Easy to use and great quality", I bought this for my husband who wanted it to film his hunting trips. He loves it. It is a great size, the picture is much better than the one on our old camera, and it has been easy for him to learn how to use it. We will probably invest in the extended battery, based on what other users have said.

"Great gift!", For ease of use, convenient size and portability, it would be hard to beat this camcorder.
This was purchased as a Christmas gift after seeing several sites researching it on the intended recipient's computer. Unfortunately, the day before this one arrived, he bought one himself, so it had to be returned, but we're both quite happy with this item and would recommend it without reservation, especially for a novice user.

"Wonderful starter camera", Although this is a camcorder that doesn't have many features (ie: no external mic input, no headphone input), it works like a charm for those who just want to take decent-quality videos for a great price. The picture isn't all that great, but it's a nice little camera that hasn't let me down yet. It's lightweight and easy to travel with. Even without an external mic input, it picks up sound very well. I use it often, even for a major project I am doing. Get yourself some video-editing software with this camera, a firewire (IEEE 1394 is what I use) to connect it to your computer (make sure your computer has a firewire port, as this camcorder doesn't use a USB cable for hook up), and you're good to go. The best part about this camcorder: Mine didn't require the manufacturer's annoying software that you have to install in order to use the camcorder with your computer!! I love that part. I can upload the videos straight into any software program that supports DV video uploading (like Windows Movie Maker). I have used this camcorder both with Windows XP and Vista. No problems either way. I highly recommend it!

"Great Entry Level camera", I purchased this camera in mid October 2008, and so far have been very pleased given the low price. I initially wanted more features, but did not want to spend over $250-270 total (with accessories like MiniDV tapes, firewire cable, bag, extra battery). I use it for recording my children's music performances.

Plus:
- The video quality is very good. 40x OPTICAL zoom. This was the highest optical zoom I could find in a camera in this price range.
- The sound quality is good in the 12 bit mode, and even better in the 16 bit mode.
- Easy to use.
- Compact.
- Intelligent Lithium battery.

Minus:
- No MiniDV tape included. You will need to buy some.
- NO PASSTHROUGH MODE. This camera cannot accept input from analog sources (like output from an old VHS-C camera or a VCR). If you plan to use this camera to transfer from older analog to digital video, it won't do it.
- Battery life is short, 115 minutes according to book, but I get between 90 and 100 minutes. Buy an NP-FH50 and use the battery that came with the camera as a spare.
- No USB port. You WILL need firewire inputs on your computer to capture the video. And if you purchase from Circuit City, do not expect the sales people to know this.
- No Firewire cable. Factor that in the purchase price. Firewire cables are expensive ($25-$30) IF you buy from a brick and mortar store; expect to pay $8-10 online
- No Remote control. So if you want to put the camera on a tripod, you must manually start and stop the recording.
- No memory slot. MiniDV only.

"Not recognized by computer (Firewire)", I received this camera as a gift. It works fine to capture video. However, it is not recognized by the computer, so I cannot edit the images.

Yes, I connected it to the computer via Firewire and yes, I used a video capture software (tried IMovie and Final Cut on Mac, Movie Maker on Windows). None of these programs recognized the camera.

The Firewire port seems to be working, since the "DV in" info appears on the camera display when it is connected. However, the computer does not recognize the device ever. It is not possible either to transfer video from the computer to the camera (record).

Since no one else seems to have had this same problem, I believe it should be a defect of my camera. However, it is very frustrating. The camera becomes practically useless, and to fix it would probably cost more than buying a new one anyway.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Nice Camera", We have had the camera for a month now, and have been extremely happy with it so far.

a) the quality of the images are excellent
b) the ease of use is excellent
c) the compactness of the camera is excellent
d) the battery life is excellent.
e) the auto focus and auto exposure has been very good
e) The LCD panel is excellent, and is still quite satisfactory in bright light.

The only negative is that the optical view finder is very poor, and too small to use. However, this really has not been an issue at all, since the LCD panel does not seem to be a drain on the battery, and has been usefully visible under all light conditions.


"EXCELLENT quality for the $", I tried to buy this camera from Amazon but their server was trashing on 6/6/08 so I dashed over to the local WalMart and picked up one. After spending the last 7 hours going over every feature and nuance, I wish I'd had this camera last week for videoing a great rock band in Illinois... the spot metering feature would have provided me vastly better results than the old Sharp miniDV it replaced! One review of this camera is extremely biased by the buyer's ignorance of technology... firewire is the only way to go for transferring DV to computer, and this feature works flawlessly on this camera. I'm very pleased to have one, and not even sorry to have paid more at WalMart than Amazon's great price! Image quality is excellent!

"5 stars", The camera works great.

Night shot plus and steady shot IS make difference. Also 40x zoom.

Enjoy it!

"DOA", Had to send it back. Arrived but camera would not focus at all. Send it back and bought a Canon Z900, which works fine.

"Great camera at an awsome price", I have been renting a Sony DCR-HC21 from my college for a month or so now. I'm a photographer by trade but I really became interested with editing digital video so I looked around for a camcorder that was a bit above mid range. This is it, it has enough professional functions to make it just right for me. Ability to recored in 16:9 widescreen, touch screen LCD, ability to control exposure, manual and auto focus, 40x optical zoom, and at $234.99 it's an awesome buy.

The one Con I can think of is that the battery provided with the camera is very poor. Only lasts for 115 minutes, which seems nice but in comparison to the NPFH50 that lasts for 3 hours it's poor. Do yourself a favor and buy the NPFH50 Battery for $26 here on amazon.

The other thing that I can't fathom is that none of these minidv camcorders come with the firewire data cable. It seems like including an 8 dollar cable wouldn't be that difficult, Sony afterall bundles the software needed to transfer the video to your PC.

All in all this is the best camcorder for the money, I chose this over the Canon ZR900 and I'm glad that I did. It's well build and has all the features that an amateur or professional would want.