Digital Cameras Ratings: Sony DCR-SR82 1MP 60GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (Handycam Station Included) Review

Average Reviews:
4.0 out of 5 stars

(More customer reviews)UPDATE: My camera just broke after 18 months! The video screen shows rolling video like the old TV sets that needed the vertical hold adjusted. There is a sensor in the screen that detects when it has been rotated 180 degrees for filming yourself (which I've never done). Evidently this sensor is "stuck" and is causing the video to flip between right side up and upside down which results in a rolling video that is completely unusable.

--------- Original Review -------------
I picked up this camera from Amazon for a great price and I have to say that it is everything I expected and more. We just got back from a 10 day vacation in California (Disneyland, Legoland, Zoo, etc.) and all of the videos that we took came out fantastic. I searched for about 6 months before deciding on this specific brand and model and I'm more than happy with it. Here is a quick rundown on the camera.

1) Hard disk cameras are just wonderful. I can record 14 hours of video without ever worrying about the thing getting full. That's more video than I took over an 8 year period with my my VHS-C camera.

2) The camera looks just like an external USB hard disk to my computer so I can just drag and drop the files that I record. I didn't even bother installing the software that came with the camera because I really didn't need it.

3) The resolution and color are much better than I expected from a low-end sensor. In good light the colors look great. They aren't oversaturated like some of the other cameras I looked at. In low light the colors are a little off but that is true of all cameras. Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the video for the price I paid.

4) My biggest beef is with the manual focus controls. You have to use the touch screen to adjust it and you really can't get a fine level of focus because it seems to jump in odd increments and isn't consistent. The auto focus does a pretty good job at lower magnification levels and with enough light. But when you get in REALLY low light situations or at really high magnification levels (25X) it can have a hard time locking in.

5) The night vision capability is really cool. I didn't think that I would actually ever use it but I used it quite a bit on vacation. When we went through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland I used it to film the whole thing. Being dark I wouldn't have gotten hardly any good video without it. But with it I was able to get really good detail on what we were seeing. Using the night vision feature causes the video to be greenish/grayish but it is acceptable in many situations.

6) I was skeptical when I heard that you had to use a docking station to transfer the video to a computer but it turns out not to be bad at all. The docking station is really tiny and you actually don't need it to charge the unit or play back video on your TV. We left the docking station at home on vacation because we wouldn't be taking our computer anyway.

7) This thing is actually really tiny. I was able to carry it in one of those small fanny packs while going through Disneyland. It's very comfortable to hold for long periods of time.

8) I love the advanced battery capabilities. It tells you down to the minute how much time you have left. I actually ran it all the way down and was amazed that it gave me that kind of feedback. The battery can last from 60 to 120 minutes depending on what you are doing with it. That's actually pretty good. I only bought the one battery and really don't think you need a second one unless you intend to film a long-running show or something. The only time it ran out was when I forgot to charge it after the previous day of shooting.

Overall I am very pleased with this purchase. I got a great price and the quality and usability of this camera is way better than I expected. Having searched the hard disk camera offerings for over 6 months I finally settled on this one. And I'm glad I did.

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Product Description:
CL) V3)SONY DCR-SR82 HARD DR CAMCORD