Customer Reviews

Sony DCR-DVD405 3MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I thought that I had used camcorders before, but this camera makes all the old ones look like (inferior) toys. The quality of the recordings and sound is so good that it's probably a waste for someone like me to own one. But I'm up for the challenge and will try to be worthy of this camera.

The first surprise is that with all it's capability and quality, this camera is still very small and lightweight. I suspect that it's use of a mini-DVD for recording helps, as they are very small, thin, and light-weight. Use of a mini-DVD in the camera, makes the right side of the camera look a little rounder than the other side. But this is where you put your right hand when using the camera. So no one will notice.

The mini-DVD records about 30 minutes of video, although this can be adjusted to 60 minutes (for long play), or to 20 minutes (for higher quality). This is enough for the average camcorder user, during an average day. If you need more, buy more of the mini-DVDs. The DVD-RWs are not expensive and can be reused. They are very convenient for transferring recordings to your PC. So, get a few extra mini-DVD-Rs and a few extra mini-DVD-RWs or +RWs.

The battery that comes with the camera is an FP-60 variety and it probably lasts for about 30 minutes of recording. The battery can be recharged using the camera. If you are going to be using the camcorder more heavily, an extra battery (FP-71 variety, or even better, the larger and much longer-lasting FP-90 variety might be better to have along with you.) There are two separate chargers available including a very convenient and very cool-looking fast charger. The extra battery or two might also be useful if you are going to add a light and/or flash attachment. (There is a small built-in flash, but not a built-in light.) So get at least one extra battery and maybe a charger if you are going to be more than a casual user of this camcorder. And perhaps get the extra light or light/flash attachments.

The large (2.7 inch) and very useful LCD view-screen was also a surprise. This is the first camcorder I've used where there were so few buttons on the camcorder, and most of the function was available instead by touching "buttons" (and using menus) on the viewscreen. This takes less than 5 minutes to get used to. Then you realize how nice it is to have so few buttons on the camera body, where you might push them by mistake. You can hold this camera easily without pushing buttons. Also, it is nice to look at what the camera is seeing, while you are making changes via "buttons" on the viewscreen. This is a very nice feature. And if the viewscreen needs to be wiped clean after all that touching, and mine hasn't yet, then just carefully wipe it clean. The viewscreen also is a very sharp display, showing lots of detail.

Of course, the camera's recorded picture quality is excellent. The quality of the sound recording is also very good, another surprise. And the camera takes nice, sharp 3-Mbyte still photos. All on the same mini-DVD. You can review all the little movies, and all your still photos on the touch viewscreen. Wonderful!

Still photos can be stored instead on memory sticks, rather than the mini-DVD, for people who prefer them. And of course, the camera can talk to the computer via cables, etc. But the mini-DVD is the easiest way to move your items over to the PC.

I haven't tried the remote control for the camera yet, too much too soon. But I'm imagining all the uses I'll have for it later, when I (like Hitchcock) feel the need to be in my own movies.

Ah, and lastly, the "Easy button". What a great idea for someone like me. Make using the camcorder easy! And with great results too, even for someone with lots of experience using other camcorders.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to check out how to get into a film school, so that I can do something useful and appropriate with all the capabilities of this camera. Look out Mr. Spielberg, here I come.

This sounds like bragging, but I really like my DVD405, purchased yesterday. I have done research on DVD camcorders for a while and initially planned to buy DVD403, but as soon as I heared about 405, I held off my purchase and waited until 405 came out yesterday.

Comparing with my old Hi 8 Canon camcorder, DVD405 is so much better: resolution, color, sound, ease of use. Ease of use deserves 6 star. I quickly filmed a bunch of indoor scences using a DVD-RW disk, and I was able to copy it to a regular sized 4.7 GB DVD-R, reformat and reuse my DVD-RW, all in half and hour. Nothing tricky about it.

As you can tell, I am not a video expert and don't demand a lot. But this is precisely what DVD405 is for: people who want to have quality video but don't want to bother with all those technicality or to invest tons of time editing clips.

Sony does it again...........
As an owner of many video cameras, I have experienced many cameras and have come back to the Sony DCR-DVD405. My first digital DV camera was the Sony DCR-PC100. Great camera, but a little dated. Bought the Panasonic DVD200 and it was terrible...
Then purchased the Sony DCR-DVD403 and was very impressed. So decided to go bigger and buy the Sony HD HC1. Disappointing to say the least especially since I spent $1700.00 dollars. So have now went back to the DVD405 and am done shopping. Great video, excellent Dolby sound, and pretty good battery life. Media is not so expensive when you buy in bulk ($0.48) or buy a few DVD-RW ($5.00/Sony). All my finalized DVD-R movies have played in all DVD players. I always use the High Quality (HQ) to record and yes 20min does go fast, but worth the other positives. Durability of the DVD403 was good so expect the DVD405 to be the same. I like the look and the jack set-ups on the DVD405 better. Also the power button feels more secure. So take it from my experience and check out the Sony DCR-DVD405. Well worth the money, but I still suggest the extended warranty to off-set the unknown longevity of the operating system. Any questions...feel free to email me.

Just got this camcorder last week after researching for about 2 weeks. Our MiniDV camcorder was on this blink and we decided it was time to jump to the MiniDVD format. The thing I like about this format is the ability to quickly view footage both on the camcorder and on TV after finalizing the disc. Our main use will be in recording our children, so I don't currently have a need performing time-consuming conversions and editing that the minDV format requires to produce a DVD. Picture quality is equal to, if not better that my Sony TRV-18 miniDV camcorder. Low light shots are very good as advertised.

I like the idea that I can easily copy the miniDVD to a 12cm DVD using the software that came with the camcorder. By utilizing miniDVD-RWs, I can copy the completed disc to the 12cm format and reuse the miniDVD-RW. That will be a big cost savings since the miniDVD-Rs run about $2-3 each versus 50 cents for the 12cm DVD-R.

If you think you are ready for the miniDVD format, I highly recommend this camcorder.

I bought this camera two weeks ago. Got a chance to record and review its performance indoor and out doors. So far I am very much pleased with the performance. Crisp HD like Video and good 5.1 surround audio. I did some research before buying this camera, I even tried a Panasonic PV GS 250 before buying this one. Eventhough Video quality was close at day light, I did not like its low light performance. From my experience most of the home videos are made at home ( no surprise!) under normal indoor lighting conditions. PV-GS 250 has a lot of options to improve performance by manually adjusting the setting. I still prefer the sony way of leaving the user to get the best shot without worrying about the settings. DVD405 has sharp video ( I saw some reviews saying DVD405 not being sharp enough!!, They are absolutely wrong.) Better skin tones and overall very good video and audio. I am glad I bought this one.
Pros: Better Video and Audio, Cheaper in its class
Cons: Audio 5.1 may not raise to your expectations ( May need a supplementary microphone for its full capability).

Trying to settle on a camcorder to purchase among the hundreds available is, to say the least, a frustrating experience. Does this sound familiar: You read a rave review in a respected publication on a particular camcorder, think to yourself: "this looks like the one to get," only to find disappointing reviews from real people who have actually tried the camcorder out. Or the reverse: Lukewarm reviews by the pros, but a slew of seemingly satisfied buyers. Well, I ended up purchasing the Sony DCR-DVD405 because it seemed to be one of the few camcorders that was, for the most part,universally praised by critics and buyers alike. I've had it for just over a month, and am very happy with it. I was looking for a camcorder that was easy to use and produced an exceptional picture. This camcorder fits the bill. It has a ton of features I will probably never use, and I don't plan on editing the footage (since when did everyone become film editors?; I just want to take great footage of family/friends). In closing, I'm very pleased with this intelligently thought out, great-picture producing machine.

I shopped and shopped around looking for the Best Mini DVD Camcorder. After much searching, I came across the Sony 405. This is a terrific camcorder for the money. It is very easy to use and offers many great features. The camera is very small and great for travel. I haven't had this camera for a long time but for the time I have had it, I am very pleased. I originally wasn't planning on spending the money but when I checked Amazon's prices it was worth it. This camera was far more expensive on other store's websites. Especially when you compare the features of this camera to all of the other ones on the market. I originally planned on buying the canon DC-100, and it just didn't compare to that of Sony's. The quality is fantastic and overall it performs wonderful. The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the fact that you could only record 20 minutes of video on the dvd's (using high quality mode) but when I discovered that this camcorder could use the dual-sided discs it worked out great. Especially when I bought this camera to use on a family vaction. I really didn't want to have to use multiple discs but using the dual-sided one all I had to do was flip it over and continue recording. The zoom on this camera is very sufficient. I also like the fact that it let's you take pictures as well (especially if you do not feel like taking your camera around with you). If your in the market for a camcorder I highly recommend looking into this one. One important tip to note as with this camcorder and all othere mini-dvd camcorders in order to play back the mini-dvd on your TV you must "finalize" the disc. This must be done before you place the dvd in your player to playback on your tv. This can only be done within the camcorder itself and it must be plugged in (you can't do this on battery mode). It usually takes a few minutes for it to finalize. For me, I found this to be a hassle when I wasn't using the camera at home and if I wanted to immediately playback what I recorded. But there is a way around this!!! If you use +RW mini-dvd's for recording you DO NOT have to finalize. These dvd's allow you to just record and then put the dvd into your dvd player for immeditae playback and viewing. These dvd's cost a few dollars more but are DEFINETLY WORTH IT !!! It allows you to just record and then be able to pop the dvd right into your dvd player for immediate playback. A good little tip if you do not feel like finalizing!!! Overall this is a great camcorder, and in comparison to the other models on the market you get a lot for the money!!!

This camcorder does capture good shots. But the main drawback is that it records to DVD. Initially its nice and easy to capture video and watch it on DVD instantly. It gives you instant gratification. But after capturing 4 or 5 hours of video, you will notice that your videos aren't so great as you expect it to be. Its not the fault with your camcorder. Its because all of us shoot extra footage, unwanted scenes, shakes, etc which we want to edit. You may want to add a title or two, add transitions, add backgroud music, combine your photos with the video, etc. Basically you may want to edit your footage. Its here when you find the major drawback of this camcorder. The DVD that you used to capture is non-editable. Therefore you need to download it to your computer and use a program like Pinnacle 9.0 to edit it. But the original picture quality is so bad that you won't have sufficient bandwidth to edit the video. As you know, DVD videos are compressed in MPEG2 format. This is a lossy compression that is good enough to watch the video on TV but not good enough to edit. When you edit these videos, add some transitions or special effects, increase/decrease brigthness or noise, etc, the newly edited video loses further clarity and thus makes your video look ugly and pixelated.

In summary please don't buy this camcorder if you are serious about your videos and would like to edit them. But if you are not bothered about editing and want to watch your "RAW" unedited footage forever, then go for it.

That said, if you still think you want to go for this camcorder, please read the review on its other features:
1. Super NightShot Infrared System: Not a useful feature. Its amazining to initially see how this camcorder is able to "see" using infrared light. But the moment you shoot your wife or kid using infrared light, you never want to shoot again as they will appear like devils when shot using this infrared light. Remember infrared footage appears in black-and-white and not color. And the subject's eyes really look like devil.

2. 2.7-inch wide SwivelScreen LCD display with touch panel capabilities: Good feature if you always want to shoot in widescreen. In fact I would suggest you to shoot in widescreen only as all future TVs and current LCD/Plasma TVs are widescreen. You can future proof your video by shooting widescreen

3. Digital still photos: Please don't rely on this feature. The best photos from this camcorder as as good as the worst photos from any popular digital camera. Technology has still not matured to the point where a camcorder can shoot as good as a digital camera and vice versa.

4. 10x optical/120x digital zoom: Optical zoom is good enough. Any more zoom requires the use of a tripod. You can manage without a tripod upto 10X only. Hence its good enough. Don't use the digital zoom feature. Turn it off. As mentioned above, MPEG2 compression already makes the video bad in quality. The digital zoom further makes it worst.

5. Progressive shutter system: Sony tries to mislead you into thinking that the camcorder is progressive. Not its not. Video is still interlaced only. Only digital photos are progressive which obviously they must be. Its no big deal. Forget about this feature.

6. Professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens: Yes its good. The image quality is truly great till it gets compressed into MPEG2 format for storing onto DVD.

7. Super SteadyShot picture stabilization system: Good enough to avoid small vibrations caused when going on a ship for example. But not good enough for the shakes encountered when walking with the camcorder. Don't expect to get great footage in such conditions. For great footage, you must still rely on a steady hand or a tripod.

8. Dolby Digital 5.1-channel recording: Not a big deal. If you have a 5.1 home theatre, you may get some good results. But if you are watching your video on ordinary TV, you will actually lose some audio as your DVD player downsizes the 5.1 audio into 2 channel audio. All professional Hollywood DVDs actually have at least two seperate audio information. One for 5.1 systems and one for ordinary stereo. The DVD produced by this camcorder has only one track for 5.1. So if you watch on an ordinary Tv, you may lose some audio information. I would suggest not to rely on this feature and instead shoot in stereo only as its more than enough for everyday regular home videos.

9. On-screen zoom and record buttons: Not an useful feature. The camcorder tends to shake more when you use these zoom buttons on the LCD because the LCD is always projecting outside when shooting video. Hence you shake the camcorder more when you touch the LCD than when you touch the camcorder's body.

10. USB 2.0 interface: NOt a useful feature. Its easier to remove the DVD and place it on your DVD ROM drive on your computer, than to connect the camcorder using USB cables. The USB interface is useful if you want to burn DVDs using the camcorder's DVD burning feature. But remember, this camcorder can burn only miniature sized DVDs and not the regular DVDs. Moreover its cheaper and more convenient to use the computer's internal DVD writer or external DVD writer than to use this camcorder as a DVD burner. You don't want to decrease the life of the camcorder's DVD writer as the camcorder is far expensive than an ordinary DVD burner.

11. One-touch wide-angle shooting: Useless feature. You tend to always shoot in wideangle or letterbox. Who would want to switch constantly between these modes? Also as suggested earlier, better to shoot in wideangle only and future proof your videos.

12. Picture Package software: Very useless software. The free Picasa software from Google is far better in organizning your videos and pictures than the software that comes with this camera. Forget about this software.

13. DVD-R/RW and +RW Compatible: The camcorder is somewhat slow and non-responsive when you use DVDRW. This may be because DVDRW always have slower burn speeds compared to DVDR. So this is not a very useful feature unless you are planning to shoot still photos only. The slow speed problem occurs when shooting video only.

14. Active interface shoe: You can use this to connect external flash or mic. Not a very useful feature as any external device spoils the compactness of this camera.

15. InfoLithium battery with AccuPower meter system: Great battery life. I could shoot for upto 1 hour 20 minutes with one battery. Remember we always don't shoot continously in everyday life. We turn the camcorder on and off repeatedly when shooting. This battery last for 1 hour 20 minutes during normal shooting as explained above. If you shoot continously you may get longer battery life.

Overall summary. Buy this camcorder only if you are not serious about editing the videos. Its a good buy for point-and-shoot-and-view viewing pleasure.

I went through a lot of camcorders before settling on a Sony. I bought a Hitachi DVD camcorder 1st because it was under $400 and you get what you pay for, the picture was not very clear, it had no light for dark rooms and the zoom wasn't that great. I returned it and decided if I wanted a good picture I need to be willing to pay more so I bought a $600 canon DVD camcorder and again I just was not happen with the picture quality. We have a 52" TV and when I saw that the sony handycam shot in 16:9 --Which it the setting for wide screen tv which we have--I bought it and have been Very pleased with this camera.

Best features are the zoom unbelievable how close I can zoom in on my son face when he is in the outfield at baseball. And the picture quality is just fabulous crystal clear even on our wide screen tv. And my most favorite feature is that it uses mini DVD I know other complain about only getting 30 min to a disc but I can take the disc out of my camera put it in my DVD player and watch it!! I don't have to hook up an cords, I don't have to make sure the camera has enough battier power to watch it on my TV, I just take the disc out of the camera and pop it right into my DVD player and watch it. I don't know about anyone else but I really don't care to watch hours and hours of my children playing 30 minutes is just about right.

And the Sony was very easy to use right out of the box, didn't even look at the manual and I suggest using DVD+RW they are the only ones that you can take right of the camera and pop into your dvd player and have no problems. Trust me don't waste your time buying other camera to just have to take them back this is the one and for $600 worth every pennies

normally, i'd want the most manual controls, software for editing, etc. but, i just don't have the time for it any more. if i were going to get into moviemaking as a profession, yes. however, i wanted a easy-to-use cam that could take great INDOOR video. i finally moved up the chain to this DCR-DVD405 and am as pleased as i can be.

I didn't want to invest the time to upload video from a miniDV cam then have to spend time editing and burning to DVD so i decided on a miniDVD cam. I initially bought the Canon DC100...if i were 13 and received the Canon as a gift I'd have been excited, but, as it were, the camera made poor-quality video both indoors (low-light) and outdoors.

I then moved up to the Panasonic VDR-D250 with 3CCDs (all the rage, ya know??). awesome video outdoors in bright light although the colors were slightly drab and the grass (and weeds) in my yard looked a shade of radioactive green.

Soooo...i did my research and learned that the small CCDs that panasonic used on that model ARE great for bright-light video, but hinder its low-light performance. The videos it made indoors under the light of 2x100W lamps in a 150 sq. ft. room were dim and fairly noisy (grainy). I did increase the gain to 18dB (a nice option to have by the way), but it still produced less-than-$700-camcorder results in my opinion. plus, annoyingly, you had to remove the battery to attach the AC adapter to finalize a disk before playing in your DVD player.

Enter the Sony DCR-DVD405...yes! indoors, as good as I can expect from a consumer-grade camera. outdoors, 95% as good as the panasonic 3CCD whizbangthang. plus, the audio on the sony is much better with true surround sound. (I tested this and I could actually localize the direction the sound was coming from according to where it was in my shot.) nice feature to have is the nightshot allowing shots in complete darkness. the sony can finalize a disc under just battery power, the battery is charged in the camera and it has a built-in flash for taking 3 megapixel still photos!

I must say that the touch screen LCD seems a bit counter-intuitive. I mean, placing your oily fingers on the very thing you're then going to frame your shot on isn't the "brightest" thing I've heard of, but it does function well and I don't have a complaint with it as of yet.

Is it perfect? No. But, is it perfect amongst its similarly-priced peers for what I need it to do? Yes! Thus, 5 stars!