Sony DCR DVD810 1MP DVD Hybrid Plus Handycam Camcorder with 8GB Memory and 25x Optical Zoom
RE)SONY DCR-DVD810 DVD CAMCORDER
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Little Camera
Great size — fits in palm of hand — very light and easy to use. Only used twice with basics like zoom, etc. With three ways to shoot and store video (hard drive, memory stick, DVDs), this is really great. Suggest you buy the extended life battery….gives HOURS of use. Battery that comes with camera only lasts for about 1/2 hour. Haven’t had the chance to try downloading video yet.
2 Stars warnings about hidden costs and poor picture quality
I was immediately surprised how poor and grainy the picture quality was, especially when shooting indoors. I have previously owned a sony MiniDV recorder, which I thought did a better job recording onto digital tape. I am surprised other people are saying the picture quality is good.
Be warned, there are hidden costs with owning this camcorder, such as:
1. need to buy sony pro duo memory stick (plus adapter in my case)
2. need to buy extra battery (unless you record for less than 50 min)
3. cost of mini-DVD’s (sony + brand = not cheap)
4. need to buy a camera case.
Pros:
-multiple recording methods
-compact size
-sony quality
-easy of use
-remote control
Cons:
-poor picture quality, especially indoors
-hidden costs of extra battery, discs and memory stick.
-memory stick difficult to take out of camera
-no camera case
-manual switch for lens cover, instead of fully automatic
-poor image stabilization
I realize this is Sony’s budget camcorder, and that I probably should be buying a high definition recorder. However, for the amount of money I spent, I was expecting something a lot better. I would not recommend this product.
5 Stars SONY is best
you can record direct to the cd or just buy a 8gb or 16gb memorycard and even if you run out you can still record into the internal memory (8gb) you will have camcorder for about 24 hours so just make sure you add a battery 70 should do it and its the perfect company for your best moments.
5 Stars Nice for the price
We purchased this as an Christmas gift for a relative, so we don’t use the product ourselves. However we are happy to report that the end user says the unit thus far is defect free, easy to use and has been reliable with good battery life. This (CDR) type of video camera is on the way out so we hear, but it is what was asked for by the recipient. The recordable discs are expensive unless bought in bulk. The upside to this type of camera though is that it makes sharing relatively easy and you don’t have to use a computer to download, edit, etc. The ability to record onto a memory stick and the internal memory for still shots is a plus. It appears to be a solid unit.
5 Stars Great Camcorder at a good price
I bought this camera a few months back for some night shooting and to take on vacation, as well as to do some ethnographic field work. I am in no way a professional when in comes to cameras and this is my first real camcorder. I have to say that I love this machine. It is easy to use, has a great amount of memory which is doubled with the memory options. It is also really light weight, but sturdy.
I just took this on a 10 day vacation to Disney – I used to memory cards (a 4 and an 
plus the internal memory. I shot almost all video and didn’t run out of space, though if we had stayed one more day I would have had to move to DVD. Transferring files over from Memory to DVD is a breeze if you follow the instructions. I did lose some pics from my first day when moving from internal memory to memory stick, but after reading the instructions again I realized why and how to avoid that in the future.
The night shot feature works OK, certainly better then the ones I have seen on still cameras. It can be a but jerky on the screen but the picture is really clear. I have shot video in total darkness, moonlight, and outdoor low lighting from lamps. They all turned out OK, good enough for my needs at least. The fireworks mode is amazing, I have great video of the fireworks from various parks and they look stunning. The other modes really allow to capture video in any lighting and it is extremely easy to switch from one to the other while recording if you find you need a different setting. Also, the stabilization feature is terrific! I went on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom and was afraid that the video I shot would make people car sick it was so bumpy. Looking at it now you can tell I was in a moving vehicle, but the image is almost completely steady. I also really love the capture photo option which allows you to go through your videos and take still photos out of them.
Transferring files over to a computer is extremely easy to do. All in all this is a perfect camera for the non-pro who wants really good video.
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