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- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 16 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Very happy with this purchase"
Pros: Easy to use, shoots very clean video, modes for novice or advanced user
Cons: Night mode not that great but for the price, not that bad. Battery meter is scale, not timer like Sony
Summary: As the first camcorder I've bought in 10 years I was hoping for big improvements in the overall product but was disappointed. I started with the Hitachi DVR camcorder but as many of the reviews have said, "it's a great concept but just not ready for prime time....yet" I would recommend not getting a DVR camcorder unless you don't want to do anything fancy but shoot. You are stuck with everything you shoot once you hit the record button and their idea of editing is simply moving ?scenes? around. So if you record 5 minutes of your kid and get 15 seconds of great video you want to keep, you?re going to have to spend another $100 at least to get a video editor. I would also recommend not getting something you may take back from Circuit City.
If you want to shoot video and digital pictures this is a pretty good camera. I did weeks of research and am very happy with this purchase. The controls are fairly clean and easy to use. Some of the features (functions) are hard to access on the fly. The camera spins up pretty quickly but has to be ready to shoot (green indictor displayed) before pressing record or the camera won?t start recording. I?ve had several power up misses but this is just learning to give the camera some time before rolling.
The night video is as would be expected in a consumer end camera, low quality. But that?s okay, I?m not shooting documentaries in the rain forests at night, I?m taping my baby sleeping. As for the other features, they seem pretty good. I like the smooth zoom. The camera works well too though the picture quality is about as expected with 2 meg.
If you want to make cool home movies then this is the camera for you, with something like Pinnacle 9 to edit, you?re in business.
