Digital Trends

Sony DCR-DVD203 October 3rd, 2005 | by David J Elrich

Conclusion

Convenience with a touch of 21^st Century home entertainment technology is the message here. The DCR-DVD203 is a very good, easy-to-use camcorder that lets you record in a variety of DVD formats so you can easily playback videos and stills on your TV or computer. It has very good battery life, is very compact and easy to tote around. And I will say this again—videos shot on DVD are not as good as those shot with a high-quality MiniDV camcorder. Still the convenience of taking out the disc and popping it into your DVD player is terrific and the reason close to 20 percent of all camcorders bought in 2005 will be DVD-based. Having those thumbnails and easily jumping to your favorite scene is great and something no tape-based camcorder can do. And I'd highly recommend the optional mic for the more adventurous. Saying that, if surround sound really is appealing you should really consider Sony's DCR-DVD403 with a built-in Dolby Digital surround mic. It costs $999 compared to $948 for the tricked out DVD203. It also has a much better CCD for improved stills, a built-in flash and higher quality optics. However, for those looking for ease of use and DVD convenience, the DCR-DVD203 will fill the bill.

Pros:

• Very compact, excellent ergonomics
• Records in —RW/+RW/-R formats
• Dolby Digital Creator ready
• Decent 2.7-inch widescreen touch LCD screen

Cons:

• Pricey compared to the competition
• LCD screen could be better
• Weak supplied software
• Poor 1MP stills
• No enhancement light or flash