Sony DCRSR37ES Handycam Camcorder With Built-In 60GB HDD
Posted by Notcot on Apr 4, 2010 in Photography |
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After a lot of on-line research I settled on this one to take on trekking holidays abroad, and this one came out tops. It’s the first one I’ve ever used and so easy I haven’t needed to read the instructions yet, although I probably ought to to make best use of it. The picture quality is great, even in poor light indoors. The zoom is also good, and the focal range up close is amazing. It’s very neat, compact and lightweight, almost small enough to stuff into your jacket pocket, but still has the benefit of hard drive memory.
Criticisms? Like nearly all digicams, the monitor is poor in bright daylight so framing shots can sometimes be a bit hit and miss. (I mourn the loss of viewfinders for the sake of weight reduction.) The case is far too big for stuffing in backpacks, but after much searching I still haven’t found a smaller one that fits.
The battery is recharged by plugging the whole camcorder into the mains, which will be a problem in remote areas when giving the lodge owner the batteries to recharge behind the counter (I’d trust them with a charger, but not the whole camera!) I’m looking into a stand alone charger, but this will be another additional cost. I will also be looking into a bigger battery, but these add to the bulk and weight.
Finally, DO NOT BUY THE MEMORY CARD RECOMMENDED ON THIS SITE in the “people who bought this also bought….” to go with this camera. IT DOESN’T FIT, which we only found out after unwrapping it and trying to put it in. It is therefore a complete waste of £10.99! The correct memory card (a pro duo memory stick I think) is about £45.00, but if you’re on a long trip, worth the extra peace of mind.
Rating: 4 / 5
With two toddlers I just wanted a compact camcorder that is easy to use, well made with a quality picture. This is my first camcorder and I am delighted with it. I have used it on a number of day trips now and have found it to be ideal for quickly capturing those amusing incidents. As a real bonus, when in fully automatic “easy” mode to get filming you simply have to open up the viewing screen, open the lens (it will remind you) and press record – no longer than about 5 seconds. Excellent! It also has a powerful 60 X Zoom which is easily controlled with your forefinger and the 60 GB Hard Drive means you do not have to worry about memory cards.
The only reason that I have not given it 5 stars is that SONY only provide it with a 90 min battery which could be limiting if you are away from a power source. I bought in addition the SONY NP-FH50 battery (145 min) (from Amazon NOT SONY!!) and carry both in the Lowepro Clips 100 Camcorder Case which I also bought online for less than £10 inc P&P. The Camcorder Case can easily fit all leads for downloading and TV viewing as well as the adaptor for recharging and enables the camcorder to fit snugly at the top.
In summary – I am delighted with this lightweight quality piece of kit which is easy to use. Recommended!!
Rating: 4 / 5
I cant add much regarding the quality of the camcorder. Its good value for money, easy to use and does what it says on the packet. However, I have a good bit to say about Sony. They appear to have designed the product to strongly encorage users to use the sony software to manage video and burn CD or DVD vesions of it. I assume this works but its very limiting and limited. If you want to edit the video even in a rudamentary way you will need to convert it to another format which is inconvienient and should not be necessary. The same is true if you want to post on youtube or facebook. If you want to get help to do this the Sony ‘self service’ site is very, very, poor. Great electronics, good price, terrible attitude to software and product support and attitude.
Rating: 3 / 5
Bought this to replace a stolen camera for our clubs’ swimming analysis after a fair bit of research. Great little unit, much smaller than I expedcted, with a good spec. Only down side is battery life so it’s worth investing in a longer life battery if you need longer use. Bought this with the bundled camcorder bag but this was too big for the unit – was okay for us as we can keep all the cables in it but if I was buying it for personal use I’d get something smaller. Best recommendation I can give is that I loaned this to a friend and he immediately ordered the same camcorder!
Rating: 5 / 5
This camera is everything I hoped it to be, small enough to carry around anywhere you go and absolutely idiot proof! Take it from me, as someone who finds it hard to work the DVD player, and absolutely cannot work the sky box! I took it out without even looking at the instructions and it was extremely simple, very obvious, touch screen with pics on it for you to touch and away you go. Highly recommend, in fact already have and a friend saw it who had been worried about being able to work such a tiny thing but she too decided it was totally fab!, Only shame is the battery doesn’t last too long so do purchase a backup one to keep in your bag so you can do plently of recording.
Rating: 5 / 5