Sony DCRIP5 MicroMV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Hybrid LCD

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [3.44mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000636RZ
• Item model number: DCR-IP5
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,557 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Featuring a compact, vertically aligned body to go along with its potent 10x optical zoom, the DCR-IP5 is the first of two camcorders featuring the unique new recording format MicroMV, which records using the same format used to encode DVDs: MPEG-2.

Lens and CCD
The two central components of any video camera (or digital still camera) are its lens and CCD (the image sensor). This Sony model builds around a 10x optical zoom, which is paired with Super SteadyShot image stabilization to cut down on the shakes and jitters common to most amateur video footage. The CCD sports a pixel count of 680,000 pixels--great for video--that translates the image into around 500 lines of resolution.

Size
The size of the DCR-IP5 is actually one of the features that Sony is really excited about, and it's easy to understand why. The device is extraordinarily small; it's somewhere on the order of a half-inch to an inch smaller in its dimensions than comparable models. That's quite a hefty reduction, making the IP5 small enough to fit in a pocket. Because of the small size of the camcorder, its 2.5-inch LCD becomes comparatively larger than it would otherwise be.

Cables and Connectors
Despite the small size of the IP5, there are a number of audio and video inputs and outputs, making it a very flexible and capable machine. Most intriguingly, besides S-video, there are also composite video in/outputs--composite video provides the highest level of quality in home theater setups. For audio, stereo in/outputs are included. Of course, in any digital camcorder, you should expect to find an IEEE 1394 port, also known as FireWire or iLink, which the IP5 provides.

Included with the DCR-IP5 are a wireless remote, an AC-L20 power adapter, NP-FF50 InfoLithium battery, two AA batteries, iLink Cable (four-pin to four-pin), AV cable, lens cap, wrist strap, and a software CD-ROM (software is Windows only).

Product Description

What could be more convenient than a camcorder that fits right in the palm of your hand? This camcorder uses the NEW MicroMV formatM-^Wa tape thatM-^Rs 70% smaller, yet holds up to 60 minutes of video thatM-^Rs every bit as good as its bigger cousin, MiniDV! Get crystal-clear images through the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens, and see the results instantly on the 2.5" LCD Swivelscreen. Your audiences will appreciate the shake-free images youM-^Rll get with the Super SteadyShot« stabilizing system.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Look out, this isn't DV, April 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony DCRIP5 MicroMV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Hybrid LCD (Electronics)

Actually I really like the camera, it's small size, the lens, and the features.

But what I want to share with everyone is that this is NOT a DV camera, it is MV which means your DV software will not work with this camera.

As of this writing, 4/2002, there is no software available that will let you capture MV over the firewire port. The best you can do is an analog capture board.

Pinnacle says there is no support "YET" but gives no timeframe for Studio support, if any.

The bundled software is cute and has some simple splicing features.

The MV format is promising, and the form factor cannot be beat for portability. But I am just crossing my fingers that someone will develop PC support for this.

Otherwise, this camera is great. Excellent battery life, great lens, and very portable. I take it everywhere-- with the small size, I'm sure I'll get that one in a million shot because I actually carry the thing!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars small is good, but there are some gotchas., July 17, 2002

By 

Giz "gizmofreak" (NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DCRIP5 MicroMV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Hybrid LCD (Electronics)

I was sold on this camcorder due to it's very small size and the fact the it can be held like a pistol (even tho it doesn't really have a pistol grip). It does NOT have the typical side strap holder. These always gave my hand a cramp. It's LCD is easily viewed while filming and the size is so small sometimes people don't know you have it in your hand. This can be good for those who are intimidated by cameras.

Pluses: It has speakers on the top and it's Stereo. The cassettes are small, about 1/4 smaller than MiniDV. The pkg comes with all the cords you need. Easy to set up.

Minuses: The cassettes cost about 5$ more than others like MiniDV. The batteries are also more $. The red hues on the video are not quite right; too pinkish. My pink dress looked coral colored. The zoom button is not quite sensitive enough (or I don't know how to use it). If you press hard nothing happens and then suddenly you are zooming.

Biggest drawback: Compatibility. It comes with software called MovieShaker. It will not work with any other software than the MovieShaker software, nor will it work by connecting it via the iLink cable to another MiniDV camera.

The Movieshaker instruction manual is very small; there isn't much to it. But I found the software versatile and useful. The software is installed fine via the book (I am using XP). I can slice a frame out of the movie for emailing around. Even tho the resolution is not good (like 360x460) I am still using it. The reason they call it MovieShaker is because of it's ability to take a bunch of clips and "shake" them randomly picking from each clip and make a small movie. You can pick the mood of the movie from sad to crazy and it will back your movie with music and special effects to fit the mood. I find it quite entertaining. You can then email the movie. Drawback again is that the movie can only be 30 seconds long.

The fileformats it creates are Mpeg2 in many sizes depending on which setting you pick. Yes these are large files. You can also create an Email file but it limits the movie to 1 minute. ?? I had a 10 second email file and it was 20MB. The purpose of Mpeg2 is to be able to burn the movies onto a DVD and play them in a DVD player. I do not have a burner otherwise I would test that feature. Again, I expect format to be a problem.

Bottom line; I am content to continue to copy my video's onto VHS. I feel the quality and size of the camera is it's big plus. It actually makes me want to bring it more places because it's so small.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small has its price, April 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony DCRIP5 MicroMV Digital Camcorder w/ 2.5" Hybrid LCD (Electronics)

Sony does a fine job of telling you of all the positives for such a small camera. But they fail to tell you of some of the weaknesses that come at the expense of the small size:
The microphone is on the top of the camera near the back. It has difficulty picking up a low sound subject in front of you and is more prone to pick up background noises than a front mounted directional microphone. There is no wind guard foam over the microphone so you will pick up wind noise when shooting outside. There is no input jack for an alternate mike.
Because of the limited data transfer with the MPEG file compression on to the small tape, certain shots such as panning a landscape may appear jerky. About 10% of my outdoor landscapes did not provide a smooth frame to frame transition.
Be sure to take enough tape with you. The availability of this tape can be very limited. On my last trip to France, I had to search out a Sony store to buy more tapes.
There is no Night Vision feature on this camera but it did work well in low light situations.
I probably would buy this camera again because of its small size. It is easy to tote around and tha camera, extra batteries and tapes can fit in a very small of camera bag. To bad Sony didn't find a better design solution for the microphone. To offset the jerkyness, you just need to remember to move the camera a little slower so that the camera has a chance to keep up with the data transfer.