Customer Reviews

Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Advantages:
1. No tapes or mini-DVD's; record straight onto hard drive
2. Many hours on the hard drive, even in HQ
3. Beautiful colors & resolution
4. Easy to delete and edit clips
5. Records standard MPEG video (easily edited/manipulated)

Disadvantages:
1. No firewire output to computer (USB only; see below.)
2. No headphone output
3. Included software easy, but not powerful
4. Comes with cheap composite video cable; premium S-video cable addn'l cost

I've sorely needed a camcorder for some time now, but I also wanted to avoid a future of buying and storing and fiddling with drawers full of tapes or mini-DVs... so I looked into hard-drive camcorders. Reviews of the exisiting hard-drive camcorders out there were quite mixed, at best - problems with image quality, compression, adaptability to video editing software, etc. So I held on, (unfortunately missing the opportunity to film my kid's first birthday and first steps, etc.) and I bought this machine as soon as it was finally released (initially only to Sony stores) in mid-April. It is surpassing my expectations thus far.

I really do like shooting video directly onto a hard drive. I don't have to worry about wasting tape/miniDVD space, running out of tape, or finding the right spot on the right tape, etc., so I find that it really frees me up to shoot video whenever I'm inspired - and just delete (immediately or later) if the clip isn't interesting. Very liberating. Deleting segments is very easy, just as easy as on a typical digital camera. The clips are organized automatically into folders based on date/time, and within each folder, clips are selected for viewing on the touch screen (or via included remote control), referenced graphically by the first frame of each clip. Simple. One can watch/listen to clips on the 2.7" screen (and speaker) integrated into the camcorder, or hook the camcorder up to TV or computer for playback/preview of unedited footage - resolution is excellent on my 40" LCD TV. I was wondering if I'd be disappointed in the resolution on my big screen, especially considering that nice compact high-def camcorders are now in the $1500 and less range (none with hard disk drives, though), but I'm not disappointed at all; video looks great and crisp straight out of the camcorder - especially since using the "premium" S-video cable I bought for about $35 (which should really be included in the package, I think.)

Creating quality DVDs was my real goal, though, ie. sharing the results with family/friends, and creating a long-lasting archive. Using the included software, I've created a first DVD of about 25 minutes of various length segments of video, mostly of my 15-month old daughter running around and being extremely cute. The DVD looks and sounds surprisingly clear and colorful and vibrant, even on my 40" LCD. The included software makes it fairly straightforward to import video from the camcorder's hard drive onto my computer's hard drive, for editing and authoring DVDs of video. It knows which clips have been imported already, and imports only those that are new. One you've decided what you want on the DVD, it comes out with menus and all, very cool. I haven't yet tried the even simpler "easy-DVD" burn feature, as I've been into editing the clips somewhat before putting them on DVD; I don't know what those results look like. Also, for Mac users, the instructions do include some comments about using the footage with Macintosh computers (I haven't tried that yet.)

Shooting with the camcorder is a breeze. Nice slow smooth zooms are possible, and become easy once you get the hang of it. I was worried that there would be a lag time to initiate recording (after pressing the "record" button) but there is none really. It feels pretty good in my hand. I haven't dropped it, and don't plan to, so I can't comment on whether the hard drive fails with trauma.

Some comments:
1. My computer doesn't have USB 2.0 input (which is the standard for the past three yrs or so), and I've had no luck with various adapters, so the lack of firewire output is rather annoying to me personally, and causes importing of clips to my computer to be rather time-consuming (though easy). It seems silly that Sony is abandoning firewire output on this machine, just like Apple has abandoned it on the newest Ipods. Sucks for me; though my computer is a great but oldish HP with fast Pentium 4 processing, it only has USB 1.1 support. For most of you, though, importing via USB 2.0, it should be quite fast.
2. Sound recording is very good, but I wish the camcorder had a headphone port. Oh, well. Perhaps it's a blessing, as now I have no reason to plug my head into headphones all the time.
3. The included software is really nice for getting the video from camcorder to computer, but editing is primitive at best. I'm waiting for my video editing software suite to arrive at my door (I chose Sony Vegas Platinum, based on reviews); I hope it works well. Compatibility should not be a problem, as the video files are saved, on my computer, as MPEG video files, which are a fairly standard platform.
4. You'll be tempted (like me) to start buying software and accessories (mic, extra battery, new computer with superfast processing speeds, etc.) so save a few hundred (or thousand) for those. Included battery lasts for almost 2 hours of use.

Overall a very nice machine, with a lot going for it. I'm very happy to own it, and I'm using it frequently with minimal problems thus far. I wish it had firewire output and a headphone jack, but it's great even without it.

My seven year old Sony DCR-PC100 miniDV camcorder is beginning to show signs of wear, so I figured it was time to buy a backup unit. I didn't want to relive the miniDV tape experience for two reasons: the multi-step and time consuming DVD transfer process and the inability to instantly access particular portions of the tape. I briefly considered DVD camcorders, but I don't trust their reliability (I'd hate to spend all day on a wedding video and then lose my footage to "finalization failure"). I also don't like the limited and tedious DVD editing process and I can't live with 30-minute recording times (I occasionally like to set my camcorder up for long-term unattended recording). The Sony SR100 appears to be the perfect solution. I can burn footage to DVD with the click of a button, or I can edit and then burn (the supplied "ImageMixer" software is pretty basic, but adequate for my needs). I can also access any of my clips instantly, as is the case with any hard drive. Of course I don't know yet how reliable the HD will be, but I've put a lot of mileage on a lot of hard drives and haven't had one fail yet. With the optional NP-FP90 battery, the Sony will record (unattended) for 7.5 hours - in HQ mode! You could actually use it as a baby monitor cam. The NP-FP60 battery that came with the unit is providing about 2.5 hours of operating time. In terms of video resolution, sound and color, the SR100 is exceptional...clearly superior to my DCR-PC100. I would label still picture quality as "very good", but I won't be using that feature much. The zoom rocker is smooth and easy to use. The viewfinder is bright and clear. The menus are intuitive. I didn't think I'd like the touch screen, but I do. One nice feature is being able to designate which area of the scene you want to spot meter (or focus) on by simply touching that part of the screen. So far, I love this camcorder and would recommend it without reservation.

Addendum: The battery times I gave earlier are for "playback", not record. The supplied battery (NP-FP60) should provide about 1.5 hours of recording time and the NP-FP90, about 4.5 hours.

I am very happy with the new camcorder. Buy one. I had first ordered a Panasonic VDR-D300 Mini DVD camcorder. It used the small DVDs and only stored 18 minutes on each one. Reading the manual told me I did not want that camera, so I returned it for Amazon (I love their service) and purchased the Sony-SR100

I took practice shots outside and inside, zoomed in and out, took close ups of flowers both in wide angle where you can get to 1/2 inch away and telephoto that you must be 2 feet away. Everything was always in perfect focus.

Each scene shows up on the LCD as a thumbnail. You can play time all or anyone of them, you can play the last scene instantly after you take it and delete if you want. You can make a play list by selecting only those scenes you want to play, and if you want you can rearrange the scenes in any order you want. Still pictures also are shown as thumbnails. You select which one you want to see.

This is all done on the LCD screen, which is a touch screen.

I then plugged into my 60 inch TV and played the pictures. They were crystal clear. MUCH better than those still pictures I took in Africa with my 6 Mega pixel Minolta. Those look good on computer, or printed, but not so hot on TV.

I then plugged the camera into laptop and made a DVD of all the scenes on the hard drive without loading them into the computer first. I then played the DVD on the TV and it was the same as when directly from the camera

I then imported all the images camcorder hard drive into the computer and edited them. You can delete or edit them as you wish. Each scene shows as a thumbnail and you can play each one. You can also cut out frames or a group of frames.

Great camera and easy to use. I figured out all of the above in about an hour.

If a person does not wish to edit, then you just point and shoot and put all the unedited pictures on a DVD and that is it.

The 30 gig hard drive will hold 7 hours of pictures, so that is more than enough for a long trip. I have two lithium batteries that each last about 120 minutes. They recharge in two hours. As you take pictures the readout is always showing you how much time you have left on the battery.

I am sure on my travels I will be taking mostly video and also still pictures with my 6 megapixle camera but a lot less of those than before.

This camera also takes still pictures and it also has a flash. They seem to be good quality when viewed on the TV.

For pictures when it is very dark, it has an infrared light. I have not tested that.

This is an amazing product, and I find dealing with Amazon to be the best. I had one price for this camera $300 less, but when I tried to buy it, they called and asked if I wanted the parts other than the body. They tried to offer it to me complete for $100 less then Amazon, but after that sad experience, I did not want to do business with them.

I found this camcorder works great with a Mac -- but you have to download and install two pieces of software first: (1) MPEG Streamclip for Mac OS X, which is free. Do an Internet search for the URL. (2) the MPEG-2 codeck for Quicktime form the Apple online store ($20); Quicktime Pro ($30) might also be required--not sure. I already have it. After installing both pieces of software, connect to the camcorder through the USB connection. The camcorder will show up as a hard drive "No Name." Find your video files on "No Name" and drag them to your Mac. Then use Steamclip to open your movie files. I use these settings: compressor h264 when converting to either .mov or mpeg-4. I get beautiful results.

The camcorder itself is great to use. Video is high quality. Even the 120 X digital zoom was not really so bad. The sound is terrific. Menus are easy to navigate, but I tend to forget where some settings are. Am getting better with practice.

I am more than satisfied with my new DCR-SR100. It has exceeded my expectations. It is very easy to use and the video quality is very good. The still camera quality is not as good, but I didn't buy this camera to take still photos. I highly recommend this camera.

First of all great Camcorder. Quality is great even in low light. Transfer to my PC is easy and quick. Overall the best camcorder I've used.

So why 3 stars? Simple, Sony has a poor policy when it comes to replacement batteries. Basically in the new models that are being shipped their HDD camcorders will only run on OEM batteries. Even if the battery is compatible and works after 10 seconds an error message comes up and says ... .."Use the InfoLithium Battery Pack"

Although the battery exceeds specification of Sony and is would work fine I contacted Sony directly and they told me they are no longer allowing non-OEM batteries with their HDD camcorders.

Poor decision. I will have to purchase one of their replacement batteries because it is honestly a great camcorder but be advised that you'll be paying a premium for additional components.

If anyone knows a work around for this I would love to hear it. I purchased the non-OEM battery through batteryheads.com on Amazon.

We ordered a camcorder online, from another website before our 3 month old was born. It took over a month to get to us, and when it arrived - all the accessories where in the box - BUT NO CAMERA~! Horrified we called - and the company blamed UPS! We waited and waited - and finally just asked for a refund. We decided to wait for this Sony after all the reviews we read online. My husband bought this for Mother's day. This was a breeze through Amazon - and upon opening the box and turning the camera on - we were amazed. The on screen function to navigate is wonderful! Like a digital camera! We put our daughter to bed before I opened the gift. The lights were out. I wanted to film her right away. So I laughed that the camera has Night Vision - and as soon as I said that I looked at the camera and there beside the LCD was a little button for Night Vision (how easy was that!!!) The functions offered on the screen touch are as easy to scroll through as your cell phone!! The playback feature on the screen is as easy to use as recording. The surround sound is a wonderful addition (have read that the blue tooth microphone is wonderful for plays and events!! but a little pricey) We love the all around ease and user friendliness of this camera!

This is my first camcorder. I've waited patiently for the last two years until I found a camcorder that fit my needs:
-Compact
-No new media to deal with
-Easy to use
-good video quality
-nice assortment of accessories ie. water housing, wa lens, and bluetooth mic

I waited for the first set of user reviews to come in, then I ordered mine from Adorama (at about $100 less than Amazon). I received the camera two days ago and so far have been very impressed with how user friendly it is.

First, I really like the 16:9 ratio, the backlight button and the user friendly way the lcd buttons work with the camera. The spot focus/metering seem to work very well and it can all be done on the fly while recording w/ three taps of the lcd. There is also additional record and zoom buttons located on the outside of the lcd which will allow you to record and zoom even if you're not holding the camera in a standard way. It is also very easy to organize your clips in camera w/ playlists and the transfer to the computer is intuitive and very simple.

Picture quality is above average (about what I expected)and if all of this is still above your head, there is an easy mode which I don't think I will be using.

All in all I'm very happy with my purchase.

This camera is so perfect for taking along family vacations. The quality is superb, compression quality is definitely good. There are some aliasing that's noticable, though.
It's very easy to use, I can let my [...] cousin use it and not worry about her breaking it.
Image stabilization is not perfect, though, so when panning you need to be real stable. Or else use tripod.
Of course the plus point is its hard drive, definitely more than enough for my purposes so far. File transfers is uber-fast, 5GB via USB 2.0 in under 5 minutes (it's about 1GB/minute). The files are easily editable. Drops fine into Premiere Pro 2; I haven't even bothered using the software that came with the camera.

THe DCR-SR100 Sony Hard Drive camcorder is an excellent choice. I was worried about the reviews on similar models made by JVC so I decided to go with the Sony. I've used it for about a week now and can't say I have any worries. It's an excellent product with great features. My wife wanted a point and shoot camera and camcorder in-one unit, and I wanted something that would handle all our needs. This camcorder does the trick.