Review 5 of 14
Summary: Very portable unit with excellent video quality for miniDV, as long as there is adequate light. Good digital photos, but not as good as dedicated digital still camera (> or =2 megapixel); quality is fine for web or computer monitor viewing, but would say it's maximum limit on inkjet color prints would be about 4 X 5 inches. Although most of the digital effects are superfluous, I do get a kick out of the ability to do blue screen type special effects where you can superimpose either video or still shots over a blue background. There's a nice comprehensive review at Megapixel.net. You'll have to browse the review section of the site to get to the review. Strengths: Very compact.
Excellent video quality in good lighting conditions.
Works well with iMovie for the Mac.
Analog in/out so you can transfer your old videos to DV.
External microphone input which permits better audio than with built-in microphone.
Very good image stabilization (video mode only)
Solidly built (although I haven't performed a drop test yet ;)
Very good battery life.
Has ability to record and playback in 16:9 mode on compatible TV sets (unfortunately cannot vouch for this even though I have a Sony 61HS10 digital RPTV)
S-Video as well as analog and iLink (aka Firewire and IEEE 1394) video output.
Weaknesses: Poor microphone placement. Motor noise is picked up recorded voices seem diluted.
No Mac support for serial memory stick transfer (but is probably too slow for anything bigger than the included 4 megabyte stick.
Very touchy zoom control.
Limited wide angle (wide angle equivalent to about 40 mm in a regular 35 mm camera)
Not very good low light performance (7 lux) but does have built in IR for eerie night vision style shots.
Similar Products Used: Sharp miniDV, JVC
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