Rating: 
Summary: Best Camera for size, quality and price
Review: In my pursuit of the perfect camera, at the right price, I spent way too long pouring over online reviews, Consumer Reports articles and digital camera magazines. After a couple of weeks of labor (which included actually going out to the local stores and getting a "feel" for each camera -- a practice I highly recommend before purchase) the Sony DCR-HC20 came out on top of the rest by a full head.
Forget any of the complaints you might have read about the 7 sec delay on still shots: camcorders shouldn't be used for real photos anyway and any half-decent editing software comes with the ability to save still images straight from your footage. Also forget any complaints you might have heard about the bundled editing software: yes, it's nearly useless but again the basic software your home computer likely shipped with is all you will need to start putting together beautiful home-movies yourself (just don't forget you'll need to buy a fire-wire seperately).
The bottom line is this camera is about as light, sleek and easy to use as they come and the manufacturer was able to pack a heck of a camera into the small unit because they didn't waste time on unecessary extras like high resolution still photo shooting and the like. If you're looking for the highest quality and most user friendly camera you can find under $500, then this is the camera for you. Period. I know this sounds like a sales pitch but the truth is I'd just like to save any of you like-minded consumers out there a little bit of time and let you know the camera that perfectly fit my bill: home-movies, amateur film shorts and family documents all on an extremely doable budget.
Enjoy!
(p.s. -- in case you don't want to take my word for it: the HC20 is, by far and away, the highest rated camcorder under $500 and the ONLY recommended buy of the current Mini-DV line...)
Rating:
Summary: Great Camcorder
Review: Originally i purchased the canon zr65 and found that outside on a sunny day the picture was great, but indoor in normal lighting conditions the quality was poor. I then purchased this camera and was extremely happy with the picture quality of the camera in any lighting condition (500 lines of resolution).
Also - the camera is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand - so it is extremely easy to carry around.
Rating:
Summary: Small,stunning video, lightweight, great battery
Review: The DCRHC20 was not one of the camcorders on my shopping list, but that changed the minute I picked it up. It is small and lightweight(about 1lb), and by that I mean I can hold this thing all day without getting a cramp in my arm. Compared to the Sony 8mm I used in the past, the video quality on this blows it away in every way. The night shot is beautiful, outside shots are crisp and vibrant, and the indoor video is easily adjusted to compensate for lack of light. I have only played the video back on the TV so far, and it looks and sounds amazing! A hot shoe is on this thing to accept a video light, microphone etc. Sony thought of everything. All of the hookups are there for the VCR, computer, or whatever you want to hook thing in to. I have not tried the included software so I cannot comment on it at this time.It is a wonderful camcorder if you want it small, easy to use, and packed with many other features that I don't have time to list. You can't go wrong with this one, see for yourself, and have fun with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Received this camcorder yesterday.
Review: This camcorder is very small, light and cute. I tested it in my apartment in regular light. The picture was a little bit grainy, but not too much. Would llke to read comments of other people that have used this camcorder about low-light performance. The other issue I see is that you can make still pictures on the Mini-DV tape. However, the camera then records a 7-second sound byte, and there's no way to turn off that 7-second delay. That does not make any sense. Also, the balck-and-white viewfinder is not very good. If you want to be really happy, pay $100 extra and buy DCR-HC30. However, in terms of battery life and weight, this one comes out on top and is probably sufficient for most users. I assume that most people want to have more control over still images anyway and would buy a digital camera in order to make good digital photos. Overall, this is a very nice product, as you'd expect from Sony.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Ultra-Portable Camcorder
Review: This is a great little camcorder. It feels sturdy, is lightweight, and I can hold it in one hand securely. The video is also quite excellent. I was debating whether to buy this or one of the Canon ZRs. Even though I was not sure if I would be shooting a lot indoors or not, I like knowing that I can, especially with the Sony's infrared light. The reduced zoom compared to the Canons was a minor issue for me, but I thought that the improved low-light quality of the Sony compensated for it. The touch screen only functionality of this cam took some getting used to, but as this was my first camcorder, I was not used to any other system. It does not appear that LCD-only buttons is a major drawback, and in fact, I got used to it quite quickly. Also, I can appreciate that there are fewer buttons on the body itself to add to a cluttered appearance. The built-in lens cover is quite nice as there is no losing it, and also, I think, could be useful for quick manual transitions when shooting. The camera itself is very compact, and slim. About 2" thick, I can slip this baby into my pocket and go, albiet, large pocket, but it's still amazingly small. The zoom is very rapid, and the rocker allows variable-speed zooms. The photo function is nice to have, but I wish that the 7-second audio with each picture was variable, or could be turned off altogether, but as with all camcorders, the photo function is just a nicety, and serious photos should be taken with a real camera, not a video camcorder. All in all, this is a great miniDV camcorder. I have no basis for reference as this is my first, but I love it, and have no regrets in spending $460 of my limited college-student budget =) on this. I recall three years ago my friend and I were making a film for science class with his hi-8 camcorder, especially the pain of having to manually control a VCR to tranfer the film onto a regular VHS tape. But no more, with miniDV, I can edit and output a film in just a few minutes. WIth the help of a firewire cord (sold separately), on the first day I was able to import the film onto my computer and make a short film clip using Windows Movie Maker. It worked beautifully, so I didn't bother installing the software that came with the cam, since I've heard that it is useless. PROS:
Lightweight and compact
Excellent film quality
Infrared Lamp
Bright, functional LCD MINOR CONS:
Constrained still-photo function
Relatively short zoom
Rating:
Summary: Great camera, abominable software
Review: This is a wonderful camera for amateurs like me -- I won't speak for people who really demand the finest image quality, but the pictures look great to me. It's incredibly small and packed with features for such a low price. I got used to the touch-screen immediately and it's well-designed. I would give it a solid 5 stars if it were not for the bundled Pixela Picture Package software. Any people involved with the existence of this product in any manner should be placed in solitary confinement for life, far away from computers so they can inflict no more damage upon the world. This product can play a videotape (with audio) on a PC, and it can copy the video to a PC (without audio -- it puts music there instead), but it can't copy video and audio to a PC! I was sure that feature must be there somewhere -- isn't that the most obvious reason to connect a camcorder to a PC -- but other postings confirmed that this feature is indeed missing. And another feature I wanted -- burning a VCD -- doesn't seem to work. Online help and web help are useless. Buy the camera, but save yourself the agony: ditch the software.
Rating:
Summary: Sony HandyCam DCR-HC20
Review: This is great MiniDV camera for under $495. It has great features, like touch screen rotating LCD screen, a boot for optional light or microphone. Good picture quality and built in microphone records clear crisp sound. The size is amazingly compact, fits in a palm and can probably put in a coat pocket. I have not connected it to my computer yet to record VCD or DVD. It has good video editing features such as black/white fade. If you play your recorded video to watch it on your camcorder and want to begin recording, you can do it by the push of a button, and the camera forwards to the empty recording point on the tape so that you dont record over any scenes. With a memory DV casette you can add titles and text to your recording and scenes, it comes with a remote control allows you to skip to different scenes on the tape.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING about software and picture function
Review: Warning! The software that comes with this product is worthless! This model does not have a memory stick and that's what the software is based around. I found this out after hours spent trying to view pictures on my computer. I verified this with the company that wrote the program, Pixela. Sony pleads ignorance. You may be able to view images on a television or do some editing with Windows Movie Maker, but god help you if you're not running Windows XP. I couldn't get it to do anything on a computer running Windows ME. What an annoying way to spend a Saturday.
Rating: 
Summary: Is there something wrong with mine?
Review: Well the camcorder is aesthetically pleasing, but the software is just plain horrible. My boyfried is a computer wiz and couldn't figure it out. We had to install it three times before it even loaded all the components. Now my computer runs really slow and it takes about 10 minutes for 2 minutes of tape to transfer. As for the still photo, you can shoot it without the 7 seconds of sound. It's in the manual. You tap the button lightyly for just the image, and hold it down longer for the audio recording. I read the software manual and still wasn't able to view the still pictures in the Picture Package. The indoor lighting was bad, but I guess i'll just have to adjust it manually. Overall the picture is good but the software is horrible.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars despite some observed quirks
Review: When I first saw this on sonystyle.com, I immediately fell in love with it and really wanted to get one. Moreso since I was about to go on a vacation with my family and I wanted to capture precious moments of my son with it. I was finally able to get one and I am absolutely happy with it. I love it's compact size in its very affordable package. The features are just right for me. I agree with one of the reviews, though, that the software sucks. It doesn't read the hardware connected via USB (maybe it will work better with an i.Link cable). The pictures and video on the camera did not appear in a new folder. The only thing that works is when you go to the video package option which automatically creates an MTV of what's in the tape. Although I found out that it's better to use a separate video editing package which can also recognize the device and capture images and video from it. I'm currently using Roxio's Video Impression. Another quirk that I noticed was hours after taking a scene, I noticed that the "camera" light was blinking although the unit was off. I then tried to record but when I pressed the "rec" button it would switch unexplicably to playback. However, when I press the "rec" button on the LCD screen it temporarily fixed my dilemma. I tried removing the tape and the battery momentarily and it still manifested the same problem. My last recourse was to disconnect the battery overnight. Fortunately, it worked and nearly gave me the scare of my life. Anyway, I think the change in temperatures (I was in the beach you see and the hotel rooom was airconditioned) plus the length of time the battery was connected to the camera influenced the performance of the unit. Despite this experience, I still rate the camera 5 stars because of its overall package. I would still recommend it to those who are looking for a basic-featured, compact, yet affordable digital video imaging device.
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