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5stars
75ratings4stars
17ratings3stars
3ratings2stars
0rating1star
2ratings
Easy to use95% agree
Good image quality95% agree
Lightweight97% agree
83 Reviews
Can't go wrong with this!
Due to my line of work, I've been buying a lot of cameras, and for the most part this camera is the best of the bunch, due in no small part to the Sony branded "nightshot". The camera is simple to use, and as an added benefit, gives you warning or dummy messages on screen should something be wrong ("lens cover is closed"). But, before I go into all the pros of this device, let me start by listing the cons (and what I did to "fix" them)
CONS
1. Video storage is on a mini DVD. You will not be able to record lengthy video without having to change the disc every 30 minutes, followed by a minute or two of disc recognition and formatting. Your best option is to buy a three pack of rewrite-able discs.
2. Photographs are not stored on the disc used for movies but rather on a Memory Stick Pro Duo, NOT a standard SD card. Being a Sony product, Sony likes to, well, keep things Sony. There is a work-around for this, and it's great: buy a memory stick adapter, costs about $2; this adapter can hold two mini SD cards, giving you a lot more storage space for your pictures than what a memory stick would, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
3. Battery life is weak. Depending on what you're doing, you can extend the life, but for my the battery lasts 1 1/2 hours while filming in nightshot mode. Buying an extended life battery will double or triple the use time of the camera.
4. The night vision is an outstanding feature, but I was not impressed with its range (10 / 15 feet indoors for good quality). With the inclusion of an IR illuminator, the range is greatly increased (50+ of excellent quality, indoor).
PROS
This is a Sony camera, and if it's one thing I've learned, sometimes buying a product based on name is worth it. Excellent picture and video quality. Night vision is outstanding. Sound quality is perfect (at least to my untrained ears). The camera records movies in a standard format, which can be played straight from disc on your PC either by inserting the disc or connecting the USB cable. The controls are easy to learn and are all logically arranged. The screen is also a touch screen, which is a wonderful feature, allowing you to adjust things in the dark.
Would I buy this camera again? If I can't find a night vision camcorder that doesn't take discs as a storage device, yes, yes I would. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone.Read full review...
Home Movies
The Sony Handycam DCR-DVD108 is a DVD+ R DL (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD+ RW (8cm), and DVD-R (8cm)-based, home-movie camcorder.Compared to other home-movie camcorders on the market, it is relatively inexpensive at around $600.It includes Sony picture motion browser software.
Pros: Has a 40x optical zoom, which is considerably more powerful than some similarly priced camcorders.Offers manual focus control, whereas many camcorders have only auto-focus.This product weighs just 15.5 ounces without battery and media, which is very light.
Cons: Has only a 2.5-inch viewscreen, which is smaller than some similarly priced camcorders.
Suitability: A home-movie camcorder, suited for family use.
Value: In general, this camcorder's features are as expected for this priceRead full review...
Sony Handycam DCR DVD108
The Sony DCR DVD108 is easy to use. Quality of video FOR ME is very much satisfactory, the recorded sound I recorded from a strings concert of my son is very good. Of course there are other camcorders out there that are much better with extra high cost to go with it. But for my purpose of having special moments on video with acceptable above average quality, this camcorder works for me. Still photography is not that good at all, I knew that even before I bought this item since I'm basically looking for a video recorder not a photo camera. I would still give this camcorder high marks for its ease of use and video and sound quality. I suggest that you read reviews about this model and compare it to other camcorders out there, and choose what will serve your purpose. Or better yet, check similar models in your local electronic stores.Read full review...
Good camcorder
I bought this camcorder as a good and not very expensive specially for my travel to Israel. It has several issues, but works well.
+ Convenient record directly to DVD.
+ Fantastic 40x optical zoom which allows to shoot objects very far away, which even difficult to see with eyes.
+ Small size, light weight.
+ User friendly.
- Not HD video quality, low still picture resolution.
- Resets date and time immediately after putting off a battery.
- Takes long time to switch on.
- My one has small issues.Read full review...
Raven's Review of Sony Handycam DCR-DVD108!!!
I bought this Sony Handycam for my mother because the one she bought last year just stopped taking video ~ we already had all the cables and memory cards and hook-ups and just needed the machine to work! The Handycam works wonderfully!!! We are very pleased.
I also was hoping to download the images from the camcorder to iMovie to make a movie from all the video we have taken this past year; but much to my disappointment, Sony is not compatable with Macintosh, and I only just found this out!!! So I have to either download additional software to convert the movies from Sony's version to something compatable to MAC; or upgrade my MAC to a different OS and newer version of iMovie.... Its been a lot of trouble, and on all the help sites different customers are upset that the DVD camcorders which were supposed to be superior to tape are actually inferior in video quality and compatability.
Wish me luck!Read full review...
Sony Handycam DR DVD108
I would like to start out that this camcorder is absolutely awesome! It is very light and compacted and the quality of video is excellent. Easy to use is another plus. The only thing that I came across is that the cameras battery life doesn't last all that long and when recording in light restricted areas the quality wasn't all that well, but as long as you don't plan on recording in the dark it works greatly. I would recommend this camera to anyone who is looking for a camera that is low in price and makes great quality videos.Read full review...
Item was great coz 8s new but have dent :-(
I like item and i try it i love it it has so many features, touch screen and the prize is affrdable. its new in box and it shows all i need is there, but whe it arrive has an abvious dent on the microphone, no manual also. but anyway other than that i like it and im happy for it. But still hoping it was really new without any problem. Thank you and hope to get more good stuff.Read full review...
Love the camera
I love this camera very much, it is easy to learn to use, I bought this one after reading several reviews about a lot of other cameras and this one seemed to have the best reviews. We are going on vacation this month and I wanted a small video camera for easy handleing so it will fit in my purse or pocket. My hands are small and this camera fits in them nicely. after seeing mine my dad had me to order him one too (replacing the big shoulder type) haha but he likes the camera too.
I got a bigger extra battery and mempory card on e-bay and that will help out so I don't have to worry about running out of battery while site seeing, or my sons ballgames.
The camera also takes pretty good pictures, and it is easy to switch from video to camera and back to video.Read full review...
great picture, cam, quality, easy to use and great price.
very good price for the quality of everything in a little camera. I mean small cam with all the features. I love and I recommend it.
awesome product,highly recommended,great value for the money
I have had quite a few camcorders over the years (none of them Sony), and when I was looking for a new one, I did my usual 3-4 weeks of researching, etc. I chose the Sony DVD handycam because it was easy to use, the menu was pretty straightfoward, it had a 40x optical zoom (compared to 32x) and it was DVD. I was skeptical about the dvd part because I had heard about the minimal recording time, etc but I didn't understand the different disk formats I guess. Anyway, I am very pleased with this camcorder, and being able to shoot in a 16:9 format is also a nice feature I didn't even think about at first. So, although I am new to Sony camcorders, I am really enjoying this one.Read full review...