Tag : optical zoom, sony dcr, sr40 30gb, hard disk, with 20x, drive handycam

Company : Sony List Price : $699.99 Amazon Price : $409.99 Used Price : $299.99 Average customer review :

Features

• Built-in 30 GB hard disk drive for easy file storage and one-touch DVD burning
• 1/6-inch, 680,000-pixel CCD for crisp images
• 20x optical zoom; 800x digital zoom
• 2.5-inch LCD monitor for easy viewing
• Handycam station included

Product Description

This camcorder shoots videos and stills without tapes or discs! Sony DCR-SR40 contains a 30GB Hard Disk Drive to store all of your high-quality stills and videos. With 20x Optical/800x Digital Zoom and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens, everything will be as clear as you remember it. With DVDirect recorder compatibility and pre-packaged software, you can easily transfer, edit, burn and share everything you’ve captured with your family and friends. Just connect the Handycam(R) station to your PC to store and share your precious moments forever - Special one-touch DVD burn function to your PC’s DVD recorder! Compact, lightweight, easy-to-travel with. This Handycam(R) is a pleasure to use and own. Super SteadyShot(R) Picture Stabilization System On (LCD) Screen Zoom and Record Buttons Auto and Manual Focus Auto and Manual Exposure Easy PC Backup - Easily back up your footage to your PC using the supplied software. The footage will be stored on your PC’s hard drive for archiving purposes and viewing at a later time; the footage is stored by date allowing for quick access. In addition, only new footage is transferred to your PC each time you backup your footage One Touch DVDBurn - Easily burn a DVD copy of your footage using the supplied software. Simply connect your DCR-SR40 to your PC via the Handycam(R) Station and supplied USB cable and press the One Touch DVD Burn button Super NightShot(R) mode Unit Measurements - 2 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 4 5/8 / Weighs 14 ounce with battery Includes - Power Adapter/In Camera Charger (AC-L15); Rechargeable InfoLithium(R) Battery (NPFP50); Handycam(R) Station; A/V Cable; Lens Cap; Application Software, Drivers and Handbook; USB Cable

Customer reviews

Don’t waste your $$$
This was a gift from my husband to record and photograph our trip to Disney. I am horrified at the video and especially the picture quality. I cannot believe this thing is on the market. Shame on Sony.

Fun, lighweight and reliable.
I bought this product shortly after my daughter’s birth to capture her precious moments. It is lightweight, and easy to use. The handycam has some cool features and the online user guide is certainly user-friendly. I was able to easily burn a dvd and even create a dvd menu.

The camera feature is useless. The photos come out terrible, and also very blurry, especially if the object is moving.

The quality of the picture is very good during the day, but at night the backlight feature does look a bit artificial.

Overall, a good camera for the price.

I just love it!
We had one of those big bulky ugly Sony camcorders, but for Xmas, I told my husband I wanted a camcorder small enough to fit into my pocket book since I have two kids and I wanted to record all the cutesy things they do and say (one is 3 and the other is 8 months).

I was happy with the size of it, the weight, the quality and the ease of use. I too think that the docking station is a bit of a hassle, but overall, I love the convenience of throwing it into my pocket book without it weighing it down and causing too much strain on my shoulder. It’s easy and handy whenever I need it and I can pretty much leave it anywhere around the house for quick use instead of lugging the other big one around the house or wherever I go.

Excellent video quality with a good price.
I’ve had no problems editing content transferred from the camcorder to my PC. I don’t use the software that comes with the camcorder, I use professional editing software and I have heard it is best to buy seperate editing software when purchasing any hard drive camcorder.

The video image quality is terrific. I’ve edited my scenes and put together splendid DVDs, the transitions between scenes were smooth and impressive. MPEG2 isn’t as compressed as MPEG4 (Divx), however it’s still a good standard. Anyone who doesn’t get good results needs to upgrade their PC - there is nothing less than perfect about this camcorder.

The optical zoom is good, although I wish it was 30x or 40x optical zoom. The digital zoom feature is limiting, but that is to be expected and is the case with any camcorder.

The controls are easy to use, you can perform the basic functions, zoom, record start/stop without using the touchscreen. Advanced functions are configuration options are in the touchscreen which is easy to navigate.

The camera is light and petite, and transports nicely. It fits in one hand well - when recording you can use your other hand to stabilize the shot.

Decent camera
As much as intriging a hard disk may be, you should be awre that this are pretty much first generation cameras and thus they do have some problems. Should you overcome these, you should be happy with this camcorder.

More specific:

-if you are an exclusive mac user then you should not buy this as it is not really compatible with apple.

-it is pc compatible but you may need specific software (or settings) in some instances

-if you have a new sony pc life is easier for you

-you do not have to deal with tapes anymore and thus downlowding is much much faster

-easy to use and good lens.

-small and handy

All in all a decent camera but I expected more from Sony as they have proven that they can do better.