the DCR-DVD300 sits atop the recently released line of miniDVD camcorders from sony. other models in this line are the DCR-DVD200 and DCR-DVD100. the main difference the three camcorders in this line are LCD size and CCD resolution:DCR-DVD300: 3.5" LCD, 1MP CCD
DCR-DVD200: 2.5" LCD, 1MP CCD
DCR-DVD100: 2.5" LCD, 640K CCD
pros:
records dolby digital stereo.
carl zeiss lens.
10x optical zoom.
video quality almost at par with miniDV camcorders (at slower recording modes).
Super SteadyShot image stabilization system and sony's system really helps.
three low light shooting modes: Nightshot, Super Nightshot, and Color Slow Shutter.
big, 3.5" LCD display.
great connectivity options: firewire, USB 2.0, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
USB 2.0 support for fast downloads.
the convenience of DVD navigation simply select the scene and you're there!
supports analog-to-digital conversion.
hot accessory shoe with lots of optional accessories.
cons:
expensive as with most sony products, you pay a premium, plus you pay for DVD convergence.
average low light performance.
no memory stick support; if you want to take a still picture, it is saved on the DVD.
mic picks up DVD spinning noise in quiet environments.
finalizing a DVD takes upwards of 10 minutes, and it can be a confusing process.
don't expect much from the still images recorded, even at 1MP resolution.
no pop-up flash for taking stills and no built in video light but you can get a flash/video combo light for less than a hundred bucks.
no manual focus ring.
getting video into editing software (e.g. Final Cut Pro) is harder than it should be.
not Mac friendly.
poor battery life with included battery so add $$ to your budget to buy a higher capacity spare.
compared to current release camcorders, this is a pretty big one at 3.1 x 3.8 x 5.6" weighing 1 lb 9 oz.
this is a nice, solid effort by sony and i give them points for dvd convergence. however, in my opinion, the DCR-DVD300 is too big and not easy to use. it's expensive for the feature set but the alternative to this dvd camcorder (a miniDV tape camcorder and DVD recorder combo) is even more expensive. i already have a dvd recorder so for me, a smaller and easier to use miniDV camcorder makes more sense. if this is your situation as well, i would recommend a panasonic gs-70 or sony's pc-105, both miniDV camcorders. otherwise, if you want a finalized DVD straight out of your camcorder, consider the DCR-DVD300.
a final note. if you have decided you want to record directly to a DVD, which camcorder should you buy? DCR-DVD300 or DCR-DVD200 or DCR-DVD100? only one hundred bucks separate these three camcorders (street price). for me, a hundred bucks is worth it to get the 1MP CCD and the big 3.5" LCD.
i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.
All 3 makers have a lot in common; but I chose the Sony over the Hitachi and Panasonic for a few reasons. The Sony had better resolution available for both movie and still mode vs the Panasonic. (I doubt I'll use the still much since it is only 1 megapixel). Sony, has infrared and can do night imaging. The others don't. Panasonic and Hitachi use DVD-Ram instead of DVD-RW. My Denon DVD player will play back DVD-RW and not DVD-RAM. Check your player for compatibility. This is a big deal!! I can pop a DVD-RW directly out of my camcorder and play it in my DVD player. With DVD Ram you have to download it to your computer and then burn a copy onto DVD-R before you could play it. Finally, the Sony had a 3" display, is designed to be compatible with its other cameras in its ability to use accessories universally, felt more solid, and in my opinion has a better reputation.
The layout is similar to their digital cameras and only takes minutes to learn how to use. It has 3 recording modes DVD-R and on DVD-RW (Video and VR) mode. VR mode allows you to do basic in camera editing: (saving the still images as a movie file, erasing, rearranging,dividing) Otherwise, you edit on your computer. You can use the player to burn edited copies & dub old video cassettes. You can fade, overlap, and wipe when doing your intro and exits; quickly review images and delete the last one recorded. It has a plethora of digital effects: sepia, B&W, pastel, mosaic, luminace and old movie effects. It has auto and manual set white balance,auto and manual exposure and focus controls. The dial is a little awkward.
It has 10X optical and 120 digital zoom. Digital zoom is usually poor quality, so the fact that Hitachi and panasonic were 240x digital zoom made no difference to me.
Weak Points: Buy a larger battery. The one included doesn't have enough juice. No case included.
I paid $830 at digitalmegastore.com vs $1099 retail
Buy Sony DCRDVD300 MiniDVD Handycam Camcorder with 3.5" LCD and Digital Still Capability Now
Most (if not all) the other reviews discuss the pros and cons of the camera. I'll quckly agree with them, and get it over: Great camera, excellent quality movies, needs a bigger battery (but then, doesn't EVERYTHING?). Love the camera's features.I use a Gateway laptop, with Winders XP Pro (SP2). I had a problem when following the instructions in the manual: everytime I loaded the drivers, ALL (and I *DO* mean *ALL*!!!) of my drivers for EVERY device (including video card, hard drive, audio card, etc) DISAPPEARED! Gone. Nadda. Zip. History!
If I tried to install the software that came with the camera, it wouldn't recognize that the camera was hooked-up. Bummer!
I called Sony's Lack-of-Techincal Support. I went through all three levels of support, ending-up with an "engineer." The second level said "Yeah, the camera won't work over USB 1.1" He then sent me to the third level (the "engineer") who told me that the second level was in error: the problem is that the camera won't work with USB 2.0 on Winders XP! Guess Sony doesn't really know which one it does or does not work with.
Said engineer had me do several more advanced things with my operating system (by the way, I teach computer programming, and been a-workin' with 'em since 1973). Among other things, he asked me to "delete everything in your startup folder." To which I replied, "Uh, how about I move 'em to another folder. I'll need 'em back." To which he says, "Nah! Don't worry about 'em... you don't need 'em anyway!" When I pointed-out he had NO idea what was in my startup folder, he insisted I "don't need whatever is there." Of course, the software I teach for a living DOES need what it installs there, but Mr. Expert didn't know that, and didn't WANT to know!
After an hour of talking with people at Sony, the "engineer" decides it's not Sony's problem: the problem must be with Gateway. Call Gateway!
My Solution:
After the "engineer" hung-up on me, he WOULD have left a normal household user in such a state that no drivers would have been loaded on every system start or reboot. So, after I returned my operating system to normal, I started looking for another solution: I didn't want to return the camera.
Winders XP recognizes the camera in either USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 as an external hard drive device... but Sony's software still won't talk to it. Even the third-level support guy told me NOT to install the drivers that come with the camera if using Winders XP... and I agree (at least, on my machine)!
I can use InterVideo's DVD Copy to convert the MPEG 4 videos to MPEG 2. Then, I can use SonicFoundry Vegas Video (oddly, now owned by Sony!) to edit my videos. I'm certain *you* could use any video editor of your choice (e.g. Ulead or InterVideo or whoever).
Side note: for those of you using DVD XCopy to, uh, "back-up" your commerically-made, non-rented, non-borrowed, copyrighted DVD's: installing ANYTHING from InterVideo will probably break your DVD XCopy! (InterVideo is supported my the Movie Industry people, so I'm told). You have been warned. But since "backing-up" copyrighted video isn't something I do... it doesn't matter to me.
The camera is a darn nice camera. The video's are great. It beats converting VHS (or other format) conventional video to digital (you lose a lot in the process).
Buy it. Love it. Forget their technical support: you're probably "on your own."Loved the convenience of Direct DVD-R/RW conversion. It stores 60 minutes of great video quality even in LP Format. Also, It gives very good night shots as well. It can store thousands of 1MP stills right on DVD. It came with ImageMixer Software. Just Install the Drivers and software on PC. It detected the Camcorder via USB Port and stored the Videos in MPEG format on computer. Visual Index feature to view stills and videos from camcorder/TV works great.
Cons: It comes with just 1 hr battery. And the 3 inch DVD-R/RW are still costly.
Want Sony DCRDVD300 MiniDVD Handycam Camcorder with 3.5" LCD and Digital Still Capability Discount?
This is the camera of my dreams, since I have lost a lot of time administering the data captured from camcorders and cameras. Now, this camera offered to me a way to record directly into an unviversally accepted media! I loved it! Secondly, the image quality is indeed very good.The things I don't like are the media price. DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs are still quite expensive and not easy to be obtained. Sony should provide more media for free considering the price of this camera, not to talk about some other accesories such as filtering lenses, etc...
No comments:
Post a Comment