This is a great video camera, it feels light, compact, neatly put together, and there should be no doubt about it, its a Sony product they are all like this! However, I couldn't tell why this camera was better than DCR-SR40, or DCR-SR42 which are at most $200 cheaper. So I had to call Sony Sales to have them explain to me that this camera DCR-SR62 has a VIDEO resolution which is 3 times better than DCR-SR42. If you go to the Sony website you find that DCR-SR62 offers 670K Pixels, while DCR-SR42 offers only 260K Pixels. This pixel increase made the decision clear for me since I didnt care about the decreased Zoom for DCR-SR62 (25X and not 40X as DCR-SR42).A few other things to consider:
This camera is so easy to use it doesnt need the EASY Button feature that it offers (except for the fact that the Easy Button is the only way that I was able to get the Image Stabilization Feature).
The camera doesn't bring its own case, or light you would need to buy those, and cost around $40 for each.
Finally, there probably is another camera (JVC, Panasonic)out there that offers the same basic features as this camera, 30gb, stabilization, battery time etc. Since you are buying the camera on Amazon and don't get to try the camera features, you should make your decision upon the video resolution they offer. Look for Actual Video resolution information in the company's websites or call the company's sales department. The range of resolution for this price should be somewhere between 300-700K, 700 being the best resolution.
First, Macintosh users CAN download and manipulate clips from this camera, despite what others have said. Get MPEG Streamclip, a free download from the Apple website, and QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback ($20 from the Apple Store online). When you attach the camera to your Mac, the camera appears as a hard drive. Click and drag the clips from the camera to your computer. Open Streamclip and convert the clips to DV (under the File menu). You can then use iMovie to put the clips together with typical Mac ease-of-use and a few special effects, transition effects and even import music from iTunes. If you want to get a little more advanced, buy Quicktime Pro ($40 from the Apple store).
Second, the Sony SR-62 is point-and-shoot. My wife has a high-end Canon 35mm digital SLR and is spending money, hand over fist, for accessories. I have a Kodak Easy Share I picked up at a big box retailer. I want to record what is happening to me right now. Last year on a road trip to Alaska, a grizzly bear ran across the road ahead of our vehicle. I was the only one to get a picture of it. So when I was looking for a camcorder, I wanted a model that would catch the action. Maybe someday, down the line, I'll turn into a video geek and need a better camera. But this summer I'm riding my Goldwing through the Rockies to Canada and back. I want to capture the depleted glaciers at Glacier National Park, the wildlife in the Colorado mountains, and the interesting people I always meet on my motorcycle tours.
Third, the camcorder will record 30GB on the harddrive. You can drag along your laptop (ugh) to download the clips. OR, I found this handy little device called the Hitch. It's a USB transfer device that acts like a little computer and will transfer files from one USB device to another. I plug the camcorder into the left (input) side, and a DOS formated harddrive into the output (right) side. It only works with DOS (FAT-32) formated memory. I have a Maxtor 60GB One-Touch. Despite that fact it is formated for a Wintel machine, Macintosh computers can read and write to that format. (It isn't that Mac's aren't compatible with Wintel, it's just the oppposite.) So now I have 21 hours of high quality digital video (according to Sony) that I can record while on vacation. If that doesn't prove to be adequate, I can stop by a Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, etc., and pick up another Maxtor One-Touch.
Fourth, it is a Sony, and that goes back to my childhood memories of a product that was reliable until it was lost in a house fire. You can't take this part of the review any more seriously than the rivalry between Ford and Chevy types. But I like it. It feels good in my hand. The screen has many of the controls for the camera on it, so I can make adjustments while still keeping my eye on the scene. Some people have criticized this feature because you get finger smudges on the screen. But I've found that using the tip of my fingernail is more accurate and doesn't leave a smudge.
So, is this the perfect camcorder. No, it doesn't exist. But it works well for me. I'm having fun making videos of my wife, my students, my life.First of all I really need to say that this is a really nice camcorder depending on what you like.
Pros: This is highly portable. You cannot beat the size, it is like carrying a picture camera. If you buy one of the larger batteries you can record non stop for about 12hrs in low def. mode. You can actually store about 20hrs of video. The larger battery charges in about 1hr and it is ready to go again. The video quality is not the best, but it is not bad either. Once you have the software set up in your computer, the upload to the computer takes about a couple of minutes depending on how much video you have. It is a lot faster than the capturing of Hi-8 and DVD camcorders. The software is really easy to use and to the point. The nightshot plus function is awesome in low light situations. This little camera is one of the best in low light settings for a hardrive camera. The only way that you can get a better video quality in low light setups in a harddrive camcorder is to buy the high definition camcorder that cost over a thousand dollars. For the price it is really nice. Also, you will never need to buy extra media for your camcorder, you don't have to worry if you are going to be able to find the media on vacation.Even when other media will go out of stile, such as HI-8 and eventually DVD, your memories are in digital format. In the future you will have no trouble tranferring all of your videos from digital format in your computer to blu-ray or HP's high definition disks. If you plan to be gone on vacation for a several weeks you could easily fit 20 hrs of video into your camcorder, forget about taking 5-10 extra accessories. Did I mention that it is next to weightless?
Cons: The video quality is lower than even Hi-8 digital camcorders. The cheapest, best picture comes from camcorder that record to DVD. I will use this camcorder for small outings, camping and where I'm not too interested in incredibly sharp images. Like I mentioned above, the video quality is good, just not as good as other currently available camcorders. I plan to keep using my Hi-8 camcorder every time I'm interested in higher video quality. Another bad thing is that the battery included with the camcorder only gives you about 1 hr. 40 min. of recording time and then you have to recharge it. (I highly recomend the purchase of the bigger battery). Here is another thing that is a little bit annoying: every time that you pause recording, the camcorder "chops" the video. Let me explain what I mean, when using a HI-8 or a DVD camcorder and you pause, then the media pauses and it does not "chop" the image. Those will only "chop" the image when you shut down the camcorder (instead of pausing) and then begin recording again later. This will be significant when you tranfer your video to DVD from your computer. When you transfer all you capture videos to DVD, every time you paused recording you will have a pause in the DVD. This is not so on HI-8 or DVD, where the video usually flows flawlessly unless you have shut down recording and started new. Here is another thing that I believe Sony could have done better, the video quality is not as good as others, but certain video editing software can increment the video quality, at least as the DVD burning goes (such as NERO 2007), sadly the Sony software does not. In other words the Sony software will give you a nice video burning, but NERO 2007 will give you a better one. (Here I again bring back the comment that the video quality is not as good as HI-8 and DVD camcorders).
I give the camcorder a 3 stars out of 5 because I really like it, but it was well below my expectations. I decided to keep it since I don't have to buy any more media for it. The video quality is good enough for my every day use, special occassions I will use my HI-8. If you don't mind having a little bit lower video quality, this is the one for you.I am disappointed. And I thought that I read all the reviews here and made an intelligent choice. Hah! Shame on me. First off, the video quality rates a B-minus; I have 2 other Sony camcorders, a Digital-8 (bought late '99 or early 2000, can't remember exactly) and an even older mini DVD. However, both have video quality far superior to this one.
I am about to leave for Europe and don't have time left to return this and buy/try) another one. Also, it was a chore to get this unit to sit snugly on the supplied power station.
Granted, I just began working with it this morning, and I am rather insecure when it comes to electronics.
One good point: the DCR-SR62 is charmingly light!
However, I am sorry I did not pay attention to what another reviewer here pointed out: the LCD screen is almost useless in bright daylight, and of course there is no viewfinder to overcome the glare. I bought it knowing there is no viewfinder, and had to actually shoot with it to realize how necessary it is.
I've tried its Super NightShot feature, and it's nothing to write home about. By the way, it does take photos on the hard drive, so you don't really need to buy the MemoryStick Pro right away, just switch the capture mode from video to photo; but bear in mind that the resolution is low. I had hoped that with this one camcorder I'd have a video and photo combo, therefore less gadgets to schlepp around. Especially air travel being as cumbersome as it is these days. Well, yes, you have a movie camera and a photo camera all in one, just not very good quality. If good digital photos is what you want, you will need a good digital camera.
If high quality DVD movies is what you want to record, prepare to spend a few hundred dollars more and get something worthwhile. I am sorry I did not.
Follow up on September 15: Returned it to amazon yesterday. Don't know how long it will take for the refund to be processed, so am left without a camera for now. But it just didn't cut it for me. I dusted off my old cameras, checked again the video quality, and could not justify the cost of keeping this one. Mind you, if you're in the market for your first camera, you might want to buy it anyway, for I see amazon com has just lowered the price from what I had paid. Video quality is poor only because I am comparing it to a Digital-8, and a very old (DCRPC1)mini-DVD camcorder. So, perhaps I am spoiled. At this point I want to save up and up the ante, so to speak.I spent several weeks reviewing camcorders and trying to decide which brand/model as well as which format. For ease of use (no media to carry/swap out), speed of start-up and capacity I decided on a HDD model (and now, after having taken quite a few videos, some of which didn't come out that great as I was playing around and experimenting, I'm even happier I chose this format). I've been happy with many other Sony products I've owned, and at the lower price range of HDD cameras the features/abilities/drawbacks are about the same accross brands so I went with Sony again.
My budget was limited considering I was shopping for HDD camcorders, but the DCR-SR62 is a step up from the base model and provides better resolution. Ultimately, the biggest drawback is still the video quality (hence 4 stars; even though this is at the lower end of HDD cameras it isn't cheap and could have a bigger sensor)...but I knew going in this wasn't a three sensor or HD model; I wanted a memory maker with small size, ease of use (my wife and I both find it a snap to use) and decent picture quality, and this camcorder delivers on these points. The picture quality on a computer screen is good...playing back on a normal size TV is where I can tell it's a smallish sensor, but even then it's acceptable. Plus, I haven't tried burning to a DVD or playing too much with manual settings, so there may be ways to improve the picture even more.
The rest of the camera is great; I like the design, for it's size it feels solid, the optical zoom is plenty for me (I don't bother with digital zoom), the screen is a nice size and the menu's are easy to use and well laid out. The image stabilization seems to work, but so far I've found I don't need it so I keep it off (I read it has an affect on image quality when turned on, but I don't know for sure that's true). I've also tried the nightshot feature, but haven't recorded with it yet...it seems to do okay in low light on it's own, plus low light ability wasn't a big concern for me; with the active shoe I can add a video light if I decide I need one.
So overall, I'm satisfied, my wife is satisfied, I didn't break the bank to get it, and we can carry it anywhere (I have a very small bag that holds the DCR-SR62, it's cords and accessories as well as a compact digital camera) and capture memories of our newborn daughter, which is all I was looking for out of a camcorder in this class. So if your needs are the same as mine, I think you'll be very pleased with the DCR-SR62; if you absolutely need top-end video quality look elsewhere and be prepared to pay top-end prices...but for the price this model is great.
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