Sony DCRPC350 3MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder

Rating:
Summary: No HEADPHONE JACK/ Manual Audio Level Control
Review: Aside from the hoopla over its dock, 16 x 9 "WS" mode and so-called "24p" scan effect, Sony made the biggest blunder imaginable -- it eliminated the headphone jack with this camcorder and with it, a huge chunk of the prosumer/high end consumer camcorder user audience.

Basically, there's no way to gage even basic audio levels with this camera. if you're recording an interview, how do you know the audio isn't peaking? If you want to test playback audio, how can you without hooking this thing up to a TV?

Sony's R&D were flat out stoned the day they overlooked this feature; either that, or completely and utterly naive. They should look at the closest matchbox competitor -- the Canon Optura's -- and learn a thing or two about headphone jacks and audio levels....

Rating:
Summary: Great camcorder albeit mediocre stills
Review: I bought this item a couple of days ago in Hongkong (its already released here) and have had the chance to play around with it. I got this in HK for around US 1190 together with a tripod, 5 DV cassettes and a camcorder bag (promotion going on). The video quality is outstanding. The base is a boon as u can attach the S video, firewire or USB cables to it and then simply place the camcorder into the base to charge or transfer the files to the PC. I would like to say that be careful regarding the LCD. In brightly lit rooms (like showrooms where I bought mine), if the LCD has any dead pixels (whichs shows up as a bright dot)you will not be able to see them. So do cover the LCD with your hands, cover the lens with the shutter cap and then carefully check the LCD for dead pixels. (You should carry out this check after the Camcorder has been on for a minute or so to allow the dead pixels to show up). The lens is perfect and you have the option of buying attachments for more creativity. All in all its an outstanding product with great features (love the night shot mode). Highly recommended if you are willing to spend this kind of money on a camcorder.

Rating:
Summary: A bit pricey, but a great camera overall.
Review: The main reasons I purchased this camera were its size and its resolution. The camera is small enough to fit in my coat pocket, which means that I have it with me when I need it, and its 3MP resolution means that I can leave my digital camera at home. In fact, this camera has an F1.8 lens, which is as fast as you'll find on most full-size cameras, so it takes decent pictures indoors even without using the flash.

While I've been delighted with the size and still camera capabilities, there are a few other features that I think are great as well. The first is the option to use 16:9 video format if you want. I have a HDTV, and video shot in normal 4:3 format doesn't fill the screen unless it's stretched sideways, making everyone look fat. The 16:9 option of the DCR-PC350 allows you to shoot video that fills the screen like a real movie. You'll probably appreciate this even more in a few years when most TVs are widescreen.

A second useful, though not well documented, feature is the "seek to end" feature. If you've been reviewing what you've recorded and want to start recording again without overwriting something, you can use the "seek to end" to move quickly to the end of the recorded section.

Another reviewer complained about the inability to monitor sound levels during recording. This hasn't been a problem for me as I found I could just plug a set of headphones into the AV jack and hear what was being recorded. In fact, both the AV port and the s-video port are active when the camera's on, so you can watch and hear what you're recording using an external monitor and headphones (or speaker) if you want.

The camera has tons of other fancy features, all of which are accessible through the handy touch-screen display, but those above are my favorites.

The main complaints I have about this camera are:

1) The memory stick. The camera ships with a memory stick that's got a measly 16MB capacity, so plan on replacing it with a 256MB or 512MB stick straight away. In addition, the memory stick is this odd "memory stick duo" format that you have to insert into a larger adapter (supplied) to make it readable by a computer. Using a standard SD card, which is the same size as the duo anyway, would have been a better idea.

2) The software. The bundled video editing software is terrible. Plan on buying Adobe Premiere, or using Windows Movie Maker.

3) The cabling. You definitely want to use firewire rather than USB 2.0 for doing your video transfers if for no other reason than it provides almost 2x the transfer speed. In addition, some video editing software looks for cameras only on a firewire port. So plan on buying a firewire cable as well.

The need to immediately drop another hundred or two on accessories is the main reason I gave this camera 4 stars instead of 5.

Lastly, I'd also recommend getting the "BCTRF Compact Battery Charger for F Series Batteries" and the "Sony HVLS3D 3 Watt Video Light" The charger is only slightly bigger than the battery and saves you lugging the AC adapter around on vacation. The light is tiny and despite being only 3 watts can make a significant difference indoors if you're close to your subject.