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- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 22 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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8 out of 9 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Not if you have a Macintosh"
Pros: Ease of use, quality video
Cons: Very difficult to import into a Macintosh
Summary: Camera is great, no problems there. No firewire port. To import to a mac you will need to spend an additional $45-100 for programs to convert video to work with imovie. Sony never mentions this until after you have opened the box. If you have a mac avoid the Sony hard drive camcorders.Updated
OK, so I'm not AS upset as I was. MPEG Streamclip is a FREE program that will allow you to play your Sony Hard Drive movies AND convert them to Quicktime to use in imovie. It works well and is fairly quick. NOTE TO SONY, Maybe you could mention this instead of making your customers find the solution themselves OR pay $70-100 to the software company YOU recommend.
The camera takes excellent quality video. You will need to clean fingerprints off the screen but it is a well designed camcorder. NEW rating for the camcorder-8. NEW rating for SONY-2.
- 3 replies to this review
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thanx for this review. Compatibility with my Mac is major issue in choosing my 1st ever camcorder & this answered imp. question for me!
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Why did you buy one of these camcorders if you wanted to use it on a MAC? Sony products are known for having non-mac software.
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Hey Scott,
Have you figured out a quicker way to use the SONY DCR-SR80 with iMovie (Apple/Mac) since you posted your original comment?
Thanks again for the 'MPEG Streamclip' advice. Worked like a charm.
see my comment for this camcorder below:
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This camcorder is NOT Apple-Mac Friendly.
I only found this out after opening the box.
List of issues/problems:
- USB connection, instead of Firewire.
- iMovie does not recogize camcorders that are NOT Firewire
- Had to download 'MPEG Streamclip' to output DV files. (thanks Scott Simons!) http://www.squared5.com/
- Had to purchase Quicktime 'Mpeg2' codec for $23.00, but still do not hear sound when previewing in Quicktime. Any suggestions? I am using Quicktime 7+. I hear sound when using 'MPEG Streamclip', but no sound when playing in Quicktime 7+pro.
- Low still picture quality.
- There may be more issues with this camera. These comments are after only owning the cam for under 2 hours
The upside is:
- 60 gb harddrive. QUIET & easy to organize in playback menu. (I wish there was a way to re-name movie files within the menu)
- Very light and comfortable.
- Expandable, can add a Flash, Microphone, etc...
- Very simple and great for novice users.
This is my first Camcorder. I am a record & commercial audio producer/composer/engineer and wanted to document some of my sessions. I feel that I spent too much more for a camcorder that should have 'Firewire' and should be mac friendly. I also assumed that for the price there would be more options/effects, but that is oK considering what I will be using the product for.
I just read some of the JVC Everio reviews (the other 'Hard-drive' choice in this price range) and it seems like their users are encountering similar problems I am having with the SONY. Although, they seem not as happy with their video quality. I think I made the right choice over the JVC. It will be intersting to see how quickly this 'hard-drive' camera will outdated, considering it is a first-year for consumer 'hard-drive' cameras.
Hope this helps,
Jon 'Flow'
www.produktsound.com
