Sony DCR-DVD405 3MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
by Sony
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyRelease Date: 2006-02-20
Model: DCR-DVD405
Product features:
- 1/3-inch CCD imager with 3-megapixel resolution
- Compatible with DVD-R/-RW/+RW formats
- 10x optical zoom with digital image stabilization
- 2.7-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD
- Dolby digital 5.1ch audio recording
- Pinnacle Studio HD V14 [OLD VERSION]
- Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro Pack [OLD VERSION]
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to A-Female Extension Cable (3.3 Feet/1.0 Meter)
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to B-Male Cable (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)
- AmazonBasics 3RCA Component Video Cable (6 Feet)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DCR-DVD405 3MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: Good camcorder if you are not serious about editing your footage
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Description of Sony DCR-DVD405 3MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Box Contents: DCR-DVD405, ACL25 Power Adapter/In-Camera Charger, NP-FP60 InfoLithium(R) Rechargeable Battery, Stereo A/V Cable, USB Cable, Lens Cap, Picture Package 1.8 and Nero Express 6 software, Cleaning ClothThe Sony DCR-DVD405 Handycam(R) Camcorder lets you bring home movie and video productions to life, while making it simple to share images and video. Enjoy sharper, crisper images through the Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* lens, while capturing every detail through the 10x optical and 120x digital zoom. You can also capture great-looking stills directly onto a Sony Memory Stick(R) PRO memory card, for easier transfer and sharing with other cameras and PCs. The camcorder will also burn your movies and stills directly to an 8cm blank DVD, for the easiest possible sharing of your new masterpieces. Super NightShot(R) Plus Infrared System SteadyShot Picture Stabilization Professional Quality Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* Lens Aperture - f1.8 - f2.9 Touch Panel Full Range Auto & Manual Exposure Focal Distance - 5.1 - 51mm Shutter Speeds - Auto, 1/4-1/4000 sec. (AE Mode) Progressive Shutter System Program AE (Auto Exposure) Modes - Beach and Ski, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Sports Lesson, and Sunset and Moon Compatible with DVD-R, -RW and +RW White Balance Modes - Auto, Indoor, One-push, Outdoor Picture Effects - Monotone, Mosaic, Pastel, and Sepia Fader Effects - Black, Overlap, White and Wipe Onboard battery information (displayed on LCD) Easy Handycam(R) Button Active Interface Shoe USB 2.0 Port Optional S-Video out Dolby Digital 5.1 Channel Recording InfoLithium Battery with AccuPower(TM) Meter System Operating Systems - Windows 2000 Professional, XP Home, XP Pro Battery Life - Continuous recording for up to 8 hours on a single full charge Dimensions - 2-5/8 x 3-5/8 x 5-3/4 (66 x 90 x 143 mm) Weight - 1 lb. 5 oz. (590g) with disc and b
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