Sony Open Box DCR-SR200 40GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder
Sony
- DCR-SR200
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Reviews
(22)
1
I have been involved with MPEG2 encoding since 1999. I know what are the qualities of a good MPEG2 encoder. I can point very minute artifacts that results from MPEG2 encoder. Being said that, here is my verdict on video quality.
* No visible quantization artifacts (Blocky video)
* No visible edge blurring or edge artifacts
* Very little video noise in low light situation (If you are picky like me!!)
* Little visible interlacing (Window blind effect) for fast moving scenes.
Overall, this MPEG2 beats all the software encoders I have tried in past: TMPEGEnc, Cinemacraft, etc.
This video is as close as you can get with commercial DVD movie for very reasonable price.
I am not going to comment on other aspects of the camcorder. You will find them in other reviews.
* No visible quantization artifacts (Blocky video)
* No visible edge blurring or edge artifacts
* Very little video noise in low light situation (If you are picky like me!!)
* Little visible interlacing (Window blind effect) for fast moving scenes.
Overall, this MPEG2 beats all the software encoders I have tried in past: TMPEGEnc, Cinemacraft, etc.
This video is as close as you can get with commercial DVD movie for very reasonable price.
I am not going to comment on other aspects of the camcorder. You will find them in other reviews.
4 price(s)
1
The Sony DCR-SR200 is an excellent camcorder. It is very convenient to use. The video quality is excellent. The hard drive storage is much better than DV tape.
I wish the included software, Picture Motion Browser had the ability to add titles, simple transitions etc.
I am very happy with this purchase.
I wish the included software, Picture Motion Browser had the ability to add titles, simple transitions etc.
I am very happy with this purchase.
1
Everybody else has said all the good things about this camera, I need to document what I found to be negative issues (for me anyway). My first outing with this cam was at an air show. There was 20 MPH winds and bright sunshine. I need to stress that the microphones for the 5.1 surround are very sensitive to wind noise. I have 1.5 hours of really cool video, but when I play it back through my home theater, the sub woofer rumbles from the constant wind noise, making the playback annoying to listen to . Web research has told me to use a Band aid over the holes on windy days.
Now on to the touchscreen viewfinder. Being a little OCD, I have an issue with touching the screen and wiping off the fingerprints, but that's my problem, not Sony's. In the bright sun, it was nearly impossible to see what was on the viewfinder, so trying to follow a moving target like a jet or airplane, was a real challenge. I'm also chronologically vision impaired, and must use my reading glasses to see the
Now on to the touchscreen viewfinder. Being a little OCD, I have an issue with touching the screen and wiping off the fingerprints, but that's my problem, not Sony's. In the bright sun, it was nearly impossible to see what was on the viewfinder, so trying to follow a moving target like a jet or airplane, was a real challenge. I'm also chronologically vision impaired, and must use my reading glasses to see the
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0
This is identical to Sony DCR-SR200 2.1MP 40GB, ASIN B000M3GJKU.
The true effective still resolution is 2.1 megapixels for this camcorder. The INTERPOLATED still resolution is 4 megapixels for this item and for ASIN B000M3GJKU. THEY ARE THE SAME ITEM. INTERPOLATED calculates values for inbetween pixels based on the values of the measured pixels.
The one star is for misrepresenting this item as a 4MP image and for providing too little technical information.
See ASIN B000M3GJKU for the reviews on this item.
The true effective still resolution is 2.1 megapixels for this camcorder. The INTERPOLATED still resolution is 4 megapixels for this item and for ASIN B000M3GJKU. THEY ARE THE SAME ITEM. INTERPOLATED calculates values for inbetween pixels based on the values of the measured pixels.
The one star is for misrepresenting this item as a 4MP image and for providing too little technical information.
See ASIN B000M3GJKU for the reviews on this item.
0
First of all, this is a 4.0MP not the 2.1MP as described for still pictures.
40GB Hard drive which you can record video as follows:
For High Quality(HQ),you can take up to 7 hours of video.
For Standard Play(SP), you can take up to 14 hours of video.
For Long Play(LP), you can take up to 28 hours of video.
Your only limit is the battery that comes with the camcorder which is only about 1 1/2 hour of video so its a good idea to buy an extra battery.
The battery that comes with the camcorder says you can record up to 115 mins. on fully charged but that is for continuous recording.
What I like:
The 40GB capacity hard drive is more than enough for me.
It has extra slot for memory stick duo or memory stick pro. SD card does not fit.
Recording outside on sunny day. The video quality is clear and sharp.
I recorded video at night in my family room which is well lit and the video quality is very good. (See my dislike on low light).
One touch video to DVD. That means you hook it up your
40GB Hard drive which you can record video as follows:
For High Quality(HQ),you can take up to 7 hours of video.
For Standard Play(SP), you can take up to 14 hours of video.
For Long Play(LP), you can take up to 28 hours of video.
Your only limit is the battery that comes with the camcorder which is only about 1 1/2 hour of video so its a good idea to buy an extra battery.
The battery that comes with the camcorder says you can record up to 115 mins. on fully charged but that is for continuous recording.
What I like:
The 40GB capacity hard drive is more than enough for me.
It has extra slot for memory stick duo or memory stick pro. SD card does not fit.
Recording outside on sunny day. The video quality is clear and sharp.
I recorded video at night in my family room which is well lit and the video quality is very good. (See my dislike on low light).
One touch video to DVD. That means you hook it up your
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0
Camera was expensive, but I bought it because I trusted thebrand. When the camera is working it is very cool but 6months into ownership and the display light shorts out. Ispent 850 and have not even had it for a year.
0
I have had this video camera for a about a year now and its the best camera i have owned so far. The video is very nice quality inside and outside. I have had dvd video and 8mm and this is by far the most convenient and best recording. it takes ok stills but my digital camera takes awesome pictures so keep your digital handy. I am giving this a 5 because of video quality and ease of use. If i included the quality of digital stills i would give this a 4 star. But then again your buying a video camera the stills in my opinion are just bonus. Enjoy.
0
Just so you know where I'm coming from, this DCR SR200 replaces a 9 year old Sony Hi-8 camcorder. Of course this one is super light, getting video from the camcorder to the computer is effortless, the quality is light-years better, and the camera feature is handy to have. I shoot mostly fast action (hunting), and the slightly quicker autofocus is a big help. I've looked at a lot of camcorders and Sony as a brand has the fastest autofocus around.
I was surprised that startup time was not that much faster (about 5 seconds). And when the SR200 goes into idle mode you must turn the top switch off and back on. On the old camcorder, pressing the record button woke it up. That feature would be nice to have back.
It doesn't perform nearly as well in low light as the old one, and a lot of hunting happens at dawn and dusk. (Night shot is useless since all the color is lost.) The old one compensated and still kept pretty good color, but the SR200 starts washing out when the sun sets.
I
I was surprised that startup time was not that much faster (about 5 seconds). And when the SR200 goes into idle mode you must turn the top switch off and back on. On the old camcorder, pressing the record button woke it up. That feature would be nice to have back.
It doesn't perform nearly as well in low light as the old one, and a lot of hunting happens at dawn and dusk. (Night shot is useless since all the color is lost.) The old one compensated and still kept pretty good color, but the SR200 starts washing out when the sun sets.
I
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0
The sirens song of a HD based Camcorder was too much to resist. Based upon hours of research I too finally settled on the DCR-SR200. Not quite as high resolution photos as the SR300 but sported longer battery life and CLEARLY a step above the previous models and other vendors. How could I go wrong - look at all these 4 and 5 star reviews. I can't speak for their experiences but I'm going to tell you mine. So pull up a chair and get comfortable b/c the ride is going to get bumpy...
I've spent the last 6 months using this device and feel compelled to return to where I purchased it and share the good the bad and the ugly news.
The Good News: I'm not going to drill on the obvious benefits of HD based camcorder. If you like not having to replace tapes/DVD in your Walkman; you are surely going to enjoy not having to do this with a camcorder - FINALLY.
Videos: The video it takes is good in full daylight. (Warning see below!)
Photos: Takes nice 2 or 3 MP plain photos in full daylight.
I've spent the last 6 months using this device and feel compelled to return to where I purchased it and share the good the bad and the ugly news.
The Good News: I'm not going to drill on the obvious benefits of HD based camcorder. If you like not having to replace tapes/DVD in your Walkman; you are surely going to enjoy not having to do this with a camcorder - FINALLY.
Videos: The video it takes is good in full daylight. (Warning see below!)
Photos: Takes nice 2 or 3 MP plain photos in full daylight.
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One of the main reasons I chose this camcorder was the hard drive. This was a replacement for a 10 year old VHS-C camcorder. The thing I liked least about the old camcorder was having to find a tape when you need it. With young kids you never know when a video moment is going to pop up. Trying to find a tape and make sure it was queued to a spot so that you didn't record over previous footage made spontaneous recording almost impossible. The HDD on this camcorder eliminated all of those troubles, just turn on the camcorder and hit record. It also is great for quickly and painlessly deleting shots such as when the little one just won't do that cute thing again after you start video taping or the ever popular 10 minutes of the inside of the camera bag because you forgot to turn it off and bumped the record button while packing it away. The ability to randomly access the clip you are looking for is also a huge plus. No more time spent fast forwarding or rewinding looking for the clip
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STAY AWAY from the other websites posting prices several hundred dollars cheaper than Amazon.
They are selling just the camera, no manuals, disks, batteries, etc. It's kind of ridiculous when actually get someone to answer the phone. They say the published price is for people who are replacing their camera and already have all the accessories? Yeah right. They give you the price with everything included it $100-200 more than Amazon. Stick with a name you can trust and you will have a better chance of a good transaction.
Went to all the websites and looked at features and costs. I use the camera for stills, family video, and training video. It works great for all three without complicated buttons and menu items to confuse your easy point and shoot action shots.
I did have to invest in the Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum to have advance editing capability. This is one of few editing programs that recognizes the Dolby 5.1 track files. My old editing software including Vegas
They are selling just the camera, no manuals, disks, batteries, etc. It's kind of ridiculous when actually get someone to answer the phone. They say the published price is for people who are replacing their camera and already have all the accessories? Yeah right. They give you the price with everything included it $100-200 more than Amazon. Stick with a name you can trust and you will have a better chance of a good transaction.
Went to all the websites and looked at features and costs. I use the camera for stills, family video, and training video. It works great for all three without complicated buttons and menu items to confuse your easy point and shoot action shots.
I did have to invest in the Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum to have advance editing capability. This is one of few editing programs that recognizes the Dolby 5.1 track files. My old editing software including Vegas
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0
The Sony DCR-SR line now works very well on the Mac with the newest version of iMovie. This camera worked well before, although it did require the open source MPEG Streamclip app to import the videos, which then work great in iMovie as well. Excellent Sound. Great Battery Life. Touch screen and menus are very easy to use. Very simple to use for anyone with a Mac and iMovie '08. Very quick import as well.
0
Good features and easy to use when it was working. Videos transferred from the camera to a DVD did not have good resolution when played back on TV or computer (they were recorded in high-resolution). Nice touch screen interface. Good low light performance.
0
I've been a Videographer for about 10 Years, Doing Weddings and special events. I purchased this camera to support my professional cameras, to get those quick shots that you might miss otherwise. It seems to match up to the professional ones pretty good as far as picture quality. And of course it's very handy.
0
I recently purchased the Sony DCR-SR200 from B&H Camera.First let me report that the camcorder fully meets my expectations. Small, easy to operate. Still learning some of the capabilities, but no difficulties encountered. Only slight issue at this time is the operation of the zoom. It must be operated slowly or a slight clicking noise is picked up on the microphone. Now, regarding B&H Camera, I was somewhat hesitant to purchase from a website, but the savings were $100 over the sale price of the major chains. I'm pleased to report that my experience with B&H was excellent. Shipping was tracked, no delays, packing was perfect and all manufacturer packing, software and instructions included.Happy to report that I was Fully Satisfied. Just ordered a carrying case and filter lens.
0
I upgraded from a Canon MiniDV camera to this Sony Hard drive and will never again look anywhere but to Sony for all of my electronic needs. This camera is easy to use. My one concern was fat fingers on the touch screen but the menus have the buttons spaced enough that it has not been an issue. The video quality is fantastic except a little grainy in very low light situations. But in contrast with the Canon's low light capabilities, there IS no comparison. The video blows it out of the water. The 4 mega pixel digital stills are significantly better quality than my 8 year old 3.3 mega pixel Sony cyber-shot which still works like a gem. The ability to jump to any scene without rewinding a tape, to not worry about taping over something important, and the downloading time being a fraction of capturing a tape is all priceless. I highly recommend this camera and can only imagine what more the Higher-End cameras can offer. If you are looking to invest in a good camera, this is the one
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Before purchasing Sony DCR-SR200 I have looked at other hard drive cameras - few JVC ones, cheaper Sony and latest Canon. Sony and JVC are very ergonomic, they fit more or less perfectly in your palm, whereas Canon was awkward and controls were inconvenient to use. From all those cameras only DCR-SR200 (and higher model DCR-SR300) has very stable zoom. For the rest of the group zoom was sluggish and shaky when you zoom at max. Camera has 4 MP resolution for still images but pictures taken with DCR-SR200, as probably any other camera from the group above excluding Canon, are okay. Comparing pictures taken with 3.2 MP Canon PowerShot S1 with pictures taken with DCR-SR200 latter have too much color artefacts which are very noticable when zoom in. But this will be most likely acceptable for making 4x6 and even 5x7 prints.
0
Solid construction, good optics, nice sound. As mentioned by others, the output for the USB transfer is found in the handycam console and not the camera itself...a minor annoyance. All in all, this is a good camera that is touch pricy but you do get what you pay for...
0
I've only had it for a week, but I'm already up to speed on most of the features. LUV the touch screen navigation and intuitive menus. Online manual is better than print version.
Now I'm a movie director in one easy lesson and do my own editing on the PC.
Take three still photos while recording video!
By an extra battery.
Now I'm a movie director in one easy lesson and do my own editing on the PC.
Take three still photos while recording video!
By an extra battery.
0
Strengths: Excellent Video & Audio Quality. Great Still Pictures. Cool Touchscreen LCD. Night shot video is amazing. In Built Flash is very powerful.
Weaknesses: Battery protruded outside kinda gives a odd look. User Manual supplied is not very informative... u got to explore all the menus urself. u need docking stn to connect to PC.
Summary: Hey , no more additional softwares to convert all other video formats, Directly recorded as Mpeg format, connect to PC and rip your DVD.. its that easy.
Picture Motion Browser supplied with Handycam is cool and very handy, you can trim out unwanted portion of your videos.
I have been waiting for this since long. I purchased this just bcos its predecessor SR-100 was a big hit, and this one has all the features of SR-100 and some extra features.
Weaknesses: Battery protruded outside kinda gives a odd look. User Manual supplied is not very informative... u got to explore all the menus urself. u need docking stn to connect to PC.
Summary: Hey , no more additional softwares to convert all other video formats, Directly recorded as Mpeg format, connect to PC and rip your DVD.. its that easy.
Picture Motion Browser supplied with Handycam is cool and very handy, you can trim out unwanted portion of your videos.
I have been waiting for this since long. I purchased this just bcos its predecessor SR-100 was a big hit, and this one has all the features of SR-100 and some extra features.
0
This is my first HDD camcorder. I owned several MiniDV camcorders in the past. I have owned the camera for 2 weeks, so this review should be considered as initial impression.
PROS:
- Picture quality is very good in good daylight. I had some shots at night in well lit family room, and the video is not as sharp as day time shots, but still very good.
- The Super Nightshot feature is fun to have to take kids video while they are sleeping. As expected, the video is very grainy.
- The quality of still pictures is acceptable.
- Zoom is very smooth
- The touch screen is awsome. Hope the screen won't get scratched in the long run
- Camera is easy to use without having to read too much into the manual
- The menu is sort confusing in some areas, but not too bad
- Lightweight
CONS:
- Pricy, compared to MiniDV models of similar quality
- Battery sticks out too much off the back of the camera making it look sort of ugly
- Allows only 3 still shots during video. I wish I can snapshot still photos from
PROS:
- Picture quality is very good in good daylight. I had some shots at night in well lit family room, and the video is not as sharp as day time shots, but still very good.
- The Super Nightshot feature is fun to have to take kids video while they are sleeping. As expected, the video is very grainy.
- The quality of still pictures is acceptable.
- Zoom is very smooth
- The touch screen is awsome. Hope the screen won't get scratched in the long run
- Camera is easy to use without having to read too much into the manual
- The menu is sort confusing in some areas, but not too bad
- Lightweight
CONS:
- Pricy, compared to MiniDV models of similar quality
- Battery sticks out too much off the back of the camera making it look sort of ugly
- Allows only 3 still shots during video. I wish I can snapshot still photos from
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This is my first HDD camcorder. I owned several MiniDV camcorders in the past. I have owned the camera for 2 weeks, so this review should be considered as initial impression.
PROS:
- Picture quality is very good in good daylight. I had some shots at night in well lit family room, and the video is not as sharp as day time shots, but still very good.
- The Super Nightshot feature is fun to have to take kids video while they are sleeping. As expected, the video is very grainy.
- The quality of still pictures is acceptable.
- Zoom is very smooth
- The touch screen is awsome. Hope the screen won't get scratched in the long run
- Camera is easy to use without having to read too much into the manual
- The menu is sort confusing in some areas, but not too bad
- Lightweight
CONS:
- Pricy, compared to MiniDV models of similar quality
- Battery sticks out too much off the back of the camera making it look sort of ugly
- Allows only 3 still shots during video. I wish I can snapshot still photos from
PROS:
- Picture quality is very good in good daylight. I had some shots at night in well lit family room, and the video is not as sharp as day time shots, but still very good.
- The Super Nightshot feature is fun to have to take kids video while they are sleeping. As expected, the video is very grainy.
- The quality of still pictures is acceptable.
- Zoom is very smooth
- The touch screen is awsome. Hope the screen won't get scratched in the long run
- Camera is easy to use without having to read too much into the manual
- The menu is sort confusing in some areas, but not too bad
- Lightweight
CONS:
- Pricy, compared to MiniDV models of similar quality
- Battery sticks out too much off the back of the camera making it look sort of ugly
- Allows only 3 still shots during video. I wish I can snapshot still photos from
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