Sony DCR-DVD308 1MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-DVD308 works beautifully & seems well put together. It's light, compact, convenient & generally well designed. Operation is very easy, though it is so light it is very difficult 2 keep steady on a long zoom, & the zoom is extremely rapid & difficult 2 make unobtrusive - both probably what you get in this kind of camera. It may be a wonderful camera if you just want 2 watch what you shot, conveniently immediately, on your living room DVD player. Not so much if you want 2 edit it 4 anything other than YouTube. The problem seems 2 be the specific MPEG-2 compression 4 mini-dvd storage (which is not limited 2 Sony). I shot one dvd & then tried 2 edit it, which was a bit of a nightmare. I did manage 2 find a converter so I could edit in Adobe Premier Elements but the result was jumpy movement & otherwise pretty inelegant. I had much happier results from my old analog 8mm tape camera & a capture card. I have seen some references 2 simple editing software supplied, but couldn't find it on either of the cds that came with the camera. Sony's highly rated Vegas suites were not developed by Sony & reviewers say they don't provide any proprietary advantages 4 editing these miniDVDs. I eventually found an obscure software that will edit in the camera's native format without conversion, & that might work better - 4 another $100. These are just moving snapshots 4 me, but if I put a lot of work into editing (and I do want 2 edit), I want decent results that I won't be embarrassed 2 share or hate 2 watch myself. Reviewers (I later read) say the quality of miniDV format is better though tape is less convenient. So I've stepped back a technology, ordered a refurbed Sony DCR-HC62 miniDV, & if it proves better, this one goes on Craig's list.

Very nice camera/camcorder & the price was an excellent deal. The camera arrived quicker than I had expected. I used it this weekend at my brothers wedding & the video & pictures turned out great.
Thanks so much, I am very pleased!!!!!!!!!!!

I am completely satisfied with the picture quality & zoom of this handy cam. I would completely recommend this handy cam.

Before I bought this camera, I read the reviews of this one & others 2 compare & I even compared Mini-DV & Digital & thanks 2 the positive reviews on this camera (and it was in my price range) I bought it. I was not disappointed. I have only had it a month & I have used it many times. The mic pics up well, & the zoom works great (which I use 4 my kids sports). I have downloaded video 2 my laptop, & burned DVD's. I took the advice of other customers & bought the longer life battery. The only difficulty I had was in not understanding that formatting meant deleting what you had already recorded on the disc, so I now know. My laptop did not have DVD burning capabilities so I did purchase an external burner & everything works great. I would recommend this camera 2 anyone who has a budget but wants a quality camcorder.

The picture is clear & recording is easy, the only bad thing is that the discs are so expensive. Deleting is simple & makes recording even easier, because if you don't like it you can delete it.

Instantly capture & share all your moments with the DCR-DVD308 Handycam camcorder. Record directly 2 DVD-R/-RW/+RW/+R Dual Layer discs while you're shooting. The Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens with 1 megapixel CCD masterfully captures every image, while the built-in microphone records audio in 5.1 channel surround sound. Screen your masterpiece on the generous 2.7"2 wide touch panel hybrid LCD monitor. And once you've finished shooting, share it easily on DVD or transfer 2 your computer with the USB 2.0 connection1. Fast & easy, the DCR-DVD308 shoots & shares video in a class all of its own.