Review 4 of 9
Price Paid:
$1273.00
from Aalsmeer, The Nether Summary: It's difficult to put down just how good this little camera is. Simple to use, lightweight, superb crisp images and a number of onboard gimmicky features to play with if you don't have a PC to edit it or you just enjoy that sort of stuff. Initially I started using all the features and bundled software to create nice graphic titles and images and uploading them to the memory stick for fades etc but it all gets a little tiring! I now primarily shoot stock footage and then edit it later on my PC and, with DVD burners tumbling in price, I expect that that is where I will go next.
At the end of the day, the reason I bought this was to record the baby years of my children so the image quality and the ability to take the camera anyway as a carry-able accessory was the main factor. I would strongly recommend this camera due to its video quality and simplicity. Why haven't I given it a five star rating? Nothing is perfect, but this is darn close for me! Strengths: Numerous but the main ones for me were size and video image quality, even in low light. My friends and family are always astounded at the quality when they see the recordings. There are lots of gimmicks on the camera but would advise against using any of them if you are planning to edit on a PC - just shoot and worry about making the *magic* later.
Connectivity is simple with the USB connection for the stills and MPEG's. Weaknesses: It hurts me to say that there are a few:
1) The MPEG encoding onto the memory stick is limited to a maximum of 15 seconds (60 seconds on the smaller picture mode) no matter what size memory card you have.
2) The manual isn't available in PDF format and Sony charge €8 if you require a replacement. I wanted to put it on my PDA in PDF format but simply can't do this. Come on Sony, what is the benefit of holding onto these manuals?
3) The audio pickup of anything more than 3 metres away is poor. Don't expect clear and concise commentary unless you use a plug in mike.
4) The still images are limited to 640x480 but this isn't a digital camera! If you want superb still images, buy a quality digital still camera.
5) A tad expensive but, when you see the picture quality, you will know where your extra €'s went. Similar Products Used: None, but looked at a lot of others before I buyed. Customer Service: Never had to use it to actually repair the camera but my request for an electronic version of the manuals was answered by directing me to a website where I couple buy a replacement manual! When I repl
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