Rating: 
Summary: Love it!
Review: I bought this in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during a camera fair. I guess the most important thing to me was size, as I wanted to make sure the camera was with me as often as possible. Having a small camcorder REALLY increases its utilisation, as it's not much of a bother to bring it with you to most places. I felt it would have been a pity to spend all that cash on something and yet not fully utilise it. I have had it for 2 months and have since used up 6 miniDV tapes. It helps also that it is simple to use. Good for the point-and-shoot users as well as the slightly more technically inclined.I've only really used the video function as I have a Canon Ixus400 which takes care of my still-shot needs. But the still pictures taken with the PC109 are not bad for those rushed moments. You can even snap a still pic while recording video, but only to 640x480. Outside and in bright conditions, the picture quality is excellent. In dark situations, of course the image quality suffers. This is the case with any camcorder, and I feel the PC109 does better than other compact camcorders. I have purchased a light (HVL S3D) which helps a little. Also has some features like "twilight mode" and "backlight" for subjects lit from behind which also help. The mic is placed on top of the camera. Not the ideal place, as it picks up noise not from the front of the camera. It sounds okay when played back on TV, but could be better. I will probably purchase a mic for the hotshoe. The LCD Screen is ok for a camera this size. Very clear in most situations. Direct sunlight makes it a little harder to see, though. This camera handles Analog input AND output as well as Digital Input AND Output. I have hooked it up to an older camcorder to convert to miniDV. I have hooked it up to TVs (A/V) and computers(iLink and USB). I've made VCDs with the supplied cables and software. I've recorded video from computer to tape. No problems. Extra:
1) Touch Screen - Very stylish. Also lessens the clutter of buttons found on most cammcorders. You can also customise the menu with features you use most often. Some labels on the menu are not self evident though. 2) Hot-shoe - definitely welcome. For using a light, mic etc. Canon Elura models are otherwise comparable but lack a hot-shoe. This is why i bought the PC109. 3) No discernable motor noise. 4) Placement of buttons is quite logical. I have had no trouble pushing the wrong buttons. After some practice, very easy to operate. 5) Cradle - quite useful as you dont have to keep plugging cables into the camcorder itself. Just drop it into the cradle. 6) Battery life of included battery is okay. enough for a 60 minute tape and a bit more. 7) Super Steady Shot seems to do the job. Could improve:
1) Doesnt have a focus ring. You have to use the touch Screen. 2) No built in light. The PC105 at least had a built in flash for still shots. 3) Mic Placement on top. Not the ideal location but practically all the vertical cameras do this. Most of my shooting is done at close quarters so not a big deal. I will eventually get a zoom mic though. 4) Tape door is on the bottom. A minor issue for me as i rarely have time to set it up on a tripod. 5) The Software provided is quite basic. And its weird that when i convert to VCD, it handles the data in 10 minute pieces.
Rating:
Summary: Very Happy 1st Time buyer
Review: I have been researching camcorders for the past six weeks since my son was born. I wanted something that was small, took high quality video, was "connectable" to my PC and would not be outdated 20 minutes after I bought it. While I have only had it for about a week now, I am very pleased. I'll try to convey a few of my thoughts: Firstly, I am not affiliated with Sony in any way. After looking across the spectrum of cameras, I ultimately narrowed my search to a comparison of a number of canon and sony models -my digital camera (elph 400) is Canon so I had thought to keep everything in the same family. That said, I scoured the web for reviews, spoke to friends and ultimately went into my local store for the touch test. I searched CNET and Amazon (as well as about another half dozen other core sites) for updated reviews every day or so, however, there don't appear to be many. Ultimately, I just went for the PC109. It was one of the the smallest devices I found that use MiniDV tapes. While it did take a little bit of time to adjust to the vertical orientation of the camcorder, it very quickly became quite natural to hold. I have used the "easy" setting quite a bit, which is akin to opening up the box and recording without diving into the manual first. The quality of the pictures have been everything that I was looking for - I have watched them on the device/TV, downloaded them to my computer with the provided software and even burned them (alas only to vcd as I am in prcoess of buying a DVD burner). The transfers have been easy and the resulting product has been great. I am just beginning to play around with the manual settings as well, but so far so good. The camera also has a duo memory stick slot to take stills as well. They are fine - not great, but fine. If you are looking for a dual device, then this is perhaps not the right one. If you are looking for video with the possibility to snap 1 megapixel e-mailable photos as well, then this is your device. So, the bottom line is that I recommend the camera to anyone who is on the fence. Don't know if the above is helpful, but hopefully it gives one more validation point to anyone looking for a good device.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony quality, but still room for improvement.
Review: I just got this camcorder, and played with it about an hour, so it might be a bit premature for a detailed review. Yet, my first impression was "wow". It is slick, compact and good-looking. That was until I inserted the tape. Someone said there is no motor noise. Not ture. This is really major drawback especially for me since one of the major reason I bought this was to replace my aged Samsung SD60, which had an excessive background noise. I compared these two side-by-side, and noise level is about the same to my surprise. I recorded video, and yes, there is white noise (from the motor) in the background when played back on my TV. This explains why the built-in microphone on Sony is located on top of the camcorder. Still, this is an awesome camcorder. I do like the touch screen LCD, which will be taking some time to get used to, and mostly the compactness and slickness of it. Things can add up to put this camcorder in good use. I already spent more than a few hundred bucks on accessaries; Polarized filter lense, portible tripod, extra battery (NP-FF71), matching carrying bag. And considering to buy the microphone to reduce the amount of the noise from the motor being recorded. Lastly, the battery (NP-FF51) seems to drain quite fast. I would not last an hour in typical use. An extra battery seems to be a must.
Rating:
Summary: Sony quality, but still room for improvement.
Review: I just got this camcorder, and played with it about an hour, so it might be a bit premature for a detailed review. Yet, my first impression was "wow". It is slick, compact and good-looking. That was until I inserted the tape. Someone said there is no motor noise. Not ture. This is really major drawback especially for me since one of the major reason I bought this was to replace my aged Samsung SD60, which had an excessive background noise. I compared these two side-by-side, and noise level is about the same to my surprise. I recorded video, and yes, there is white noise (from the motor) in the background when played back on my TV. This explains why the built-in microphone on Sony is located on top of the camcorder. Still, this is an awesome camcorder. I do like the touch screen LCD, which will be taking some time to get used to, and mostly the compactness and slickness of it. Things can add up to put this camcorder in good use. I already spent more than a few hundred bucks on accessaries; Polarized filter lense, portible tripod, extra battery (NP-FF71), matching carrying bag. And considering to buy the microphone to reduce the amount of the noise from the motor being recorded. Lastly, the battery (NP-FF51) seems to drain quite fast. I would not last an hour in typical use. An extra battery seems to be a must.
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder,
Review: I ordered this camcorder and have it for a week now. Basicly,it is a good camcorder. It is very small, but give a good quarlity. The movie recorded by the memory stick is bad. In the manual it is said to be able to record from tv or vcr, I followed the instruction, but failed to do that. Still cofusing.
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder,
Review: I pre-ordered the PC109 and received it a week ago, so this review is not able to be extensive through all usage scenarios. It is a very small camcorder. To relate just how small, if you hold a metal tin of Altoids over it, you only see about 1/2" of the camcorder sticking out. Of course, this means the buttons and controls are commensurately small as well. Finding a good position to hold it and control the zoom will take some trial and error since the zoom button is located near the lens, on the opposite side of where your index finger will be in the most natural holding position. It's right next to the still photo button, which kind of slides down, too, so you may find yourself snapping photos when you really want to zoom. The color display is nice, and shows up well enough that you can use it to get an idea of what you're shooting outdoors. The actual video is a little larger than what is displayed during capture. The lens has a little switch to open and close it, and it is something you will have to remember to do when you're done filming. I have forgotten a couple of times. There is a little press switch/slider thing that lets you choose the three modes: regular camcorder mode, memory stick mode, or playback mode. The playback mode gives little VCR controls on-screen that you touch to FF, REW, Pause, etc. I have not used memory stick mode as I do not intend on using my camcorder as a digital camera. The DC-IN plug right on the camcorder is somewhat difficult to access right below a tiny plastic door. The door doesn't stay out of the way of the plug too well when open. There is another DC-IN plug on the docking station (discussed below), so fortunately you won't have to access this door very often. The recorded picture quality is quite good and very sharp. It is quite impressive given the size of this camcorder. Please refer to other reviews for objective discussions of the picture quality. I think it looks great, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Now to the Handycam Station. The unit ships with a mini docking station which contains the USB/Firewire/S-Video/DC/etc. ports on it. It is topped with this thin white plastic that at first I thought was packing material and almost tried to pull off. The feet on the docking station, at least on my unit, are sticky so they are hard to dislodge if you are moving the station around a lot. Which brings me to the biggest reason why this camcorder is not right for me. I have a little Sony Vaio TR laptop which I want to hook the camcorder into via iLink/Firewire so I can show my kids the videos right after I shoot them even if we're on the road somewhere. The problem is that in order to hook up the camcorder to anything else (TV, laptop, etc), you need the docking base, meaning that if you plan on using the camcorder in a mobile environment like me, you have to carry around the docking station, which is a pain. I would rather have the camcorder be a little bigger and have the plugs right on it. That being said, if you intend on having the base permanently next to your TV or desktop computer and just bringing home the camcorder and plugging it in, then this may be the camcorder for you because of the ultra-portability of the camcorder itself and the nice picture quality. I personally do not need an ultra small camcorder so I will be sending mine back and paying the extra money for a DCR-HC85, which has better video resolution and the ports right on the unit.
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder for certain needs
Review: I pre-ordered the PC109 and received it a week ago, so this review is not able to be extensive through all usage scenarios. It is a very small camcorder. To relate just how small, if you hold a metal tin of Altoids over it, you only see about 1/2" of the camcorder sticking out. Of course, this means the buttons and controls are commensurately small as well. Finding a good position to hold it and control the zoom will take some trial and error since the zoom button is located near the lens, on the opposite side of where your index finger will be in the most natural holding position. It's right next to the still photo button, which kind of slides down, too, so you may find yourself snapping photos when you really want to zoom. The color display is nice, and shows up well enough that you can use it to get an idea of what you're shooting outdoors. The actual video is a little larger than what is displayed during capture. The lens has a little switch to open and close it, and it is something you will have to remember to do when you're done filming. I have forgotten a couple of times. There is a little press switch/slider thing that lets you choose the three modes: regular camcorder mode, memory stick mode, or playback mode. The playback mode gives little VCR controls on-screen that you touch to FF, REW, Pause, etc. I have not used memory stick mode as I do not intend on using my camcorder as a digital camera. The DC-IN plug right on the camcorder is somewhat difficult to access right below a tiny plastic door. The door doesn't stay out of the way of the plug too well when open. There is another DC-IN plug on the docking station (discussed below), so fortunately you won't have to access this door very often. The recorded picture quality is quite good and very sharp. It is quite impressive given the size of this camcorder. Please refer to other reviews for objective discussions of the picture quality. I think it looks great, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Now to the Handycam Station. The unit ships with a mini docking station which contains the USB/Firewire/S-Video/DC/etc. ports on it. It is topped with this thin white plastic that at first I thought was packing material and almost tried to pull off. The feet on the docking station, at least on my unit, are sticky so they are hard to dislodge if you are moving the station around a lot. Which brings me to the biggest reason why this camcorder is not right for me. I have a little Sony Vaio TR laptop which I want to hook the camcorder into via iLink/Firewire so I can show my kids the videos right after I shoot them even if we're on the road somewhere. The problem is that in order to hook up the camcorder to anything else (TV, laptop, etc), you need the docking base, meaning that if you plan on using the camcorder in a mobile environment like me, you have to carry around the docking station, which is a pain. I would rather have the camcorder be a little bigger and have the plugs right on it. That being said, if you intend on having the base permanently next to your TV or desktop computer and just bringing home the camcorder and plugging it in, then this may be the camcorder for you because of the ultra-portability of the camcorder itself and the nice picture quality. I personally do not need an ultra small camcorder so I will be sending mine back and paying the extra money for a DCR-HC85, which has better video resolution and the ports right on the unit.
Rating:
Summary: Great Little Camera
Review: I replaced a 7 year old Canon HI8 camcorder with this one. I've had the 109 for a couple of months now and here are my comments. GOOD:
Size: It is really small and compact. Well built and solid.
Motor noise: My camera has no motor noise. Absolutely none. I have seen some reviews that say their camera has motor noise. My suggestion is, if you get one that does, replace it. Perhaps you got an early one or a gray market?
Battery life: I get about 2 hours with the standard, tiny battery. Interestingly, the same reviewer that said he had motor noise claimed to get less than an hour with his battery. There must be something wrong with his camera.
Low light: Seems to be pretty good and better than competition.
Simplicity: It is very easy to use as a point and shoot. There are only a few buttons. The LCD screen doubles as a touch screen for the menu.
Docking station: Makes it convenient to plug-in to the computer because the docking station is always connected to the computer, and to a wall outlet for charging. BAD:
Small LCD screen: I guess this is a tradeoff with the small camera size (but if you have seen Sony's new T1 still camera, they know how to put a large LCD on a small camera). Also, the LCD can wash-out in sunlight, like most other cameras.
Docking station: Although convenient, the only way to recharge the battery is to plug the camera into the docking station. This means, for trips, you have to take the camera, the cord, and the docking station with you. This is inconvenient and bulky. Sony could have easily made the cord plug into both the camera and the docking station for recharge, but Sony instead has elected to release an optional "compact" battery charger for around $70. Typical Sony. Similarly, the camera itself has analog video outputs. To get digital outputs, you have to go through the docking station.
Microphone: It is placed on top of the camera, so it does pick up some non-directional noise (from places other than directly in front of the camera). It seems to be somewhat directional though because it doesn't really pick up noise from the shooter.
Rating:
Summary: Very Happy 1st Time buyer
Review: I've had this camera for a several weeks so far, and so far, so good. The good:
It seems to do everything well, including low light video. Moreover, if it is so dark that Night Shot is required, Sony seems to have improved it -- colors are pretty realistic (no longer overly green). The camera is very small and compact. Sony's marketing pictures don't do it justice -- it is smaller than it looks. I have found this to be the best feature of the camera because we never hesitate to take the camera along, which has resulted in many more shots. The camera body itself is very clean and uncluttered. It contains only a few buttons -- on/off, zoom, snap-shot picture, lens cover, and special effects. Everything else is accessed through an intuitive menu system displayed on the touch-screen LCD panel. Also, even though the zoom and snap-shot buttons are in close proximity on the camera, I have never confused them (due partially to the fact that the zoom is a lever switch and the snap-shot is a button.) No motor noise. The LCD screen is bright and can be back-lit. I have no problem seeing the screen in sunlight. The camera offers true widescreen mode (16x9). The docking station is nice, conventient and easy to use -- dock the camera and it charges and is connected to the computer at the same time. The standard battery is good for about two hours of shooting and the battery retains its charge in the camera (you never have to take the battery out of the camera). Turning to the bad:
The LCD screen is on the small size. This is made worse in 16x9 mode because the display is letterboxed. Although the camera itself can be charged without the docking station, and the camera itself has analog video outputs (it lacks a digital output). The docking station is required for a digital output. So, if you are travelling and want a digital output, you'll have to lug the docking station around (this isn't so bad because the docking station is pretty compact). The lens cap is not electric or automatic. We occasionally forget to shut it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice little camera
Review: I've had this camera for a several weeks so far, and so far, so good. The good:
It seems to do everything well, including low light video. Moreover, if it is so dark that Night Shot is required, Sony seems to have improved it -- colors are pretty realistic (no longer overly green). The camera is very small and compact. Sony's marketing pictures don't do it justice -- it is smaller than it looks. I have found this to be the best feature of the camera because we never hesitate to take the camera along, which has resulted in many more shots. The camera body itself is very clean and uncluttered. It contains only a few buttons -- on/off, zoom, snap-shot picture, lens cover, and special effects. Everything else is accessed through an intuitive menu system displayed on the touch-screen LCD panel. Also, even though the zoom and snap-shot buttons are in close proximity on the camera, I have never confused them (due partially to the fact that the zoom is a lever switch and the snap-shot is a button.) No motor noise. The LCD screen is bright and can be back-lit. I have no problem seeing the screen in sunlight. The camera offers true widescreen mode (16x9). The docking station is nice, conventient and easy to use -- dock the camera and it charges and is connected to the computer at the same time. The standard battery is good for about two hours of shooting and the battery retains its charge in the camera (you never have to take the battery out of the camera). Turning to the bad:
The LCD screen is on the small size. This is made worse in 16x9 mode because the display is letterboxed. Although the camera itself can be charged without the docking station, and the camera itself has analog video outputs (it lacks a digital output). The docking station is required for a digital output. So, if you are travelling and want a digital output, you'll have to lug the docking station around (this isn't so bad because the docking station is pretty compact). The lens cap is not electric or automatic. We occasionally forget to shut it.
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