Sony Handycam DCR-SR220 (60GB)

Pros: Above average video quality and really good photo quality. Very easy to use.

Cons: Not the camcorder with the biggest optical zoom, but the smart digital zoom makes up for that.

Summary: When my miniDV tape camcorder finally died, I knew that I would be getting a hard drive based camcorder, but I didn't know it would be so hard to pick the right one out, so I did a lot of research and finally chose the Sony Handycam DCR SR220. My biggest concern with this model was that I didn't think the 15x optical zoom would be enough. The real selling points were the good sized hard drive, the better than average lens, the excellent video quality and really good still picture quality (4 mega pixels, which is a lot better than most camcorders). This camera turns on quickly and is very easy to use. The software that comes with it isn't terrible, but if you use Adobe Premiere and Photoshop you will probably stick with that. Getting the videos and photos to the PC is very easy and quick, especially compared to DV tape. This camcorder has some very cool features too, like night vision (video in total darkness). "Drop protection" which I thought might include a parachute but it doesn't. It just moves the sensor away from the hard drive and locks in place as well as shutting off the camera. The manual does say that this can be turned off if you need too, in case you are taking video while you are sky diving. It also doesn't work well in non-gravity environments such as outer space. Overall I am very pleased with the quality, ease of use, and mainly the speed of using this camcorder as well as transferring video and photos to a PC. As far as the 15x zoom goes, I did try out the smart digital zoom up to 30x and it was actually better than the optical zoom on my old Panasonic camcorder, so I am satisfied with that. My only recommendation would to be purchase a spare battery and travel battery charger. The reason for this is that the battery can only be charged while in the camera and in the docking station, plus you always have a spare. I think anyone looking for a hard drive based camcorder that doesn't require super zoom features would be very pleased with this camcorder.