Digital Trends

 

It’s pretty simple—if you want to take the HDD camcorder plunge this is the one to buy—even though were problems with color accuracy. Sony is the dominant player in the camcorder world for a reason—it knows how to build high-quality, easy-to-use home video makers. And this is all the vast majority of buyers want. There’s no question dealing with all the material on a hard drive is a challenge but Sony makes it simple to handle with the one-touch DVD Burn. If you want tons of storage for your next vacation and don’t want to deal with tapes or discs, give this HDD camcorder a test drive. If surround sound isn’t important and if you’re feeling old fashioned, the Sony DCR-HC96 MiniDV model for $799 or less, is a very good alternative.

 

Note: Sony realizes not everyone wants to spend close to a grand for a camcorder—even with mega storage. In mid September it will introduce three new HDD models starting at $599 for the DCR-SR40 with a 30GB HDD, a 680K pixel CCD, 20x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD. Another $100 gets you an improved 1MP CCD, a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD and a 12x optical zoom with the DCR-SR60. For $799, the DCR-SR80 adds another 30GB capacity (60GB total) to the DCR-SR60 package. And a further note for high-def aficionados: in mid October the company will introduce the first AVC HD HDD camcorder. The $1,499 HDR-SR1 records true high definition video (1080I) onto a 30GB HDD using a new codec created by Panasonic and Sony. It has the potential to be a blockbuster but we’ll reserve judgment until we get one in our sweaty hands.