Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
by Sony
Our Price: $150.00
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyRelease Date: 2006-05-08
Model: K08134
Product features:
- 30-gigabyte hard drive stores over 20 hours of long-play video or over 7 hours of high-quality video
- Built-in microphone for Dolby Digital 5.1channel surround sound recording
- Features 3.3-megapixel 1/3-inch advanced HAD CCD and Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lenses with advanced optical multi-layer coating
- Several automatic exposure modes, including NightShot for video capture in total darkness
- Measures 3.16 x 2.87 x 5.86 inches (H x W x L) and weighs 22 ounces with battery
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: Good camcorder if you are not serious about editing your footage
Summary: 4 Stars
This camcorder does capture good video. But the main drawback is that it records in MPEG2 format (DVD quality). Initially its nice and easy to capture video and watch it on your computer by downloading the files using the USB 2.0 connection. 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 MPEG2 quality video is not good for editing. The video quality is so compressed that you won't have sufficient bandwidth to edit the video.
MPEG2 is a LOSSY compression technique used to compress large video files into smaller files that can be fit into a 4 GB or 8 GB DVD. Since the camcorder compresses the video and then writes to the hard disk, the source file that you download to your computer is already compressed and has lost much of its data during the compression. If you edit this already compressed file, you lose more data during the process thus resulting in poorer video quality.
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 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 subject 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 almost 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: . Its a 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. Megapixels alone are not enough to shoot good pictures. This camera has 3 MP CCD. But the photos come out only as good as an old 1 MP digital camera.
4. 10x optical/120x digital zoom: Optical zoom is very good. You can handle upto 10X optical zoom without a tripod. Any more zoom requires the use of a tripod. 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. Professional-quality Carl Zeiss lens: Yes its good. The image quality is truly great. No doubt about it.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. USB 2.0 interface: Good interface. Fast enough to download 30 GB in 1.5 hours. Firewire interface would have been great. But USB 2.0 is also good enough
9. Image Mixer 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.
10. 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.
11. DVDDirect compatibility: This feature allows you to directly burn your video and photos to DVD. I don't think this is a very useful feature. Its always better to download to computer, and burn only the good files and photos to DVD instead of burning all of them.
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 pleasure only. In my opinion, a mini-DV camcorder (DCRHC42 for example) is still a better bet than a DVD or hard drive based model. The only inconvenience in a mini-DV model is that you have to be a bit techy to download video to computer. If you are ok with that, the mini-DV still provides good value for money as its far cheaper than DVD or hard-drive models.
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Description of Sony DCR-SR100 3MP 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Why place a limit on the number of memories you can record? Instead, try the DCR-SR100 Handycam camcorder, which offers up enough storage space for nearly 10,000 still pictures on its 30GB Hard Drive and a longer battery life with up to 21 hours of recording time. Add to that the ultra high quality recording capability youâve come to expect, with a 3.0 Megapixel Imager and Dolby Digital 5.1ch surround sound recording, and your home videos and digital stills are both magnificent and many. 30GB of storage space on hard disk drive 3MP Imager w/ Primary Color Filter for superb detail Professional 30mm Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* Lens 2.7" wide SwivelScreen& 120x Digital Zoom 3MP still image capture w/ PictBridge® Infrared System for low-light DVD Burning / Backup Software protects your memories 1/3" Advanced HAD® Vario-Sonnar® T* Lens: An advanced optical multi-layer coating that offers less glare and flare with increased Contrast, resulting in vivid image brilliance. The additional T* coating on the lens further reduces unwanted glare andThe compact Sony DCR-SR100 30 GB Handycam Camcorder represents a breakthrough in digital home recording. With a 30 gigabyte hard disk drive that stores hours of video and hundreds of high-quality stills, a 10x optical/120x digital zoom, a built-in microphone that allows you to record in Dolby Digital 5.1ch surround sound, and many other features you'd only expect to find in the hands of professionals, Sony's DCR-SR100 will turn your home videos into instant classics ready for the big screen.
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With the Sony DCR-SR100, your worries about storage capacity are over. Featuring an unbelievable 30 gigabyte hard disk drive, this camcorder can store up to 440 minutes of high quality video, and an amazing 1250 minutes (that's over 20 hours) of video in long play mode. That's practically your whole vacation! If you want to take digital stills, you can capture images up to 2016 x 1512 resolution directly onto your hard drive for easy transfer to your PC. Simply connect you camcorder to a PictBridge-enabled printer and print your 3.0-megapixel stills instantly. A USB 2.0 interface provides an easy way to connect your camcorder to your computer for fast transfer of video and still images to your computer for editing. You can also use the camcorder as an external storage device, for convenient archiving, storing, and transporting of your videos and still images.
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At the heart to the DCR-SR100 is a 3.0-megapixel, 1/3-inch advanced Hole Accumulation Diode (HAD) CCD with a total of 2048 megapixels. Add to this the camcorder's professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lenses with advanced optical multi-layer coating, and the result will be some of the finest video performance you'll find in any camcorder device. The multi-coated lenses mean that your videos won't suffer from unwanted glare and flare that lesser quality optics give you. Sony has also added an advanced version of its SteadyShot system that controls an even higher range of shake and vibration frequencies, so that you can achieve increased smoothness in your shots without unwanted video degradation. The overall results of these features are vivid and brilliant images and video with true-to-life color saturation and tones.
All these professional-level features, however, don't mean that you need to have an advanced degree to operate the DCR-SR100. Not by a long shot. The camcorder features zoom and record buttons directly on the frame of the LCD screen. The locations of the buttons gives you more flexibility and a higher level of convenience when you're holding the camcorder, especially during overhead or low-angle shots. The 1200x total zoom means that you can keep your distance as you archive up-close and personal shots. One-touch wide-angle shooting gives you single-button convenience when you want to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for shooting. The camcorder's manual focus allows you to adjust the focus via the touchpanel, giving you greater control over situations where either the environment or the subject does not allow the camcorder's autofocus to perform optimally, such as when shooting through a window or in a crowded environment.
With Sony's NightShot infrared system, you also have the ability to capture video in total darkness (0 Lux) up to 10 feet away. Super NightShot recording mode automatically adjusts the shutter speed to increase picture brightness and clarity. The camcorder's Color Slow Shutter mode allows you to record in low light situations with full-color detail by slowing down the shutter speed. And, of course, for the easiest and most convenient recording, the DCR-SR100 also features several auto-exposure modes, such as beach and ski, landscape portrait, sunset and moon, sports, and much more. Just choose a mode and begin shooting. It couldn't be any easier.
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With Dolby Digital 5.1-channel recording, the DCR-SR100 will record in surround sound via its built-in microphone. By recording in 5.1-channel surround sound, you can experience your home movies with active sounds coming from all directions, just as if you were at the movies.
The camcorder's 2.7-inch LCD display screen provides excellent viewing clarity for when its time to review your video. The high-resolution 123 kilobyte pixel LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles and provides sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. The display's widescreen format makes shooting in 16:9 mode and composing shots even easier. And at a mere 22 ounces with the battery, and measuring 3.16 by 2.87 by 5.86 inches (H x W x L), the DCR-SR100 is ready to go wherever your filming takes you.
What's in the Box
DCR-SR100 camcorder, power adapter/in-camera charger (ACL200), InfoLithium rechargeable battery (NPFP60), remote commander remote control (RMT-835), AV cable (stereo), software, USB cable, and ImageMixer software.
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