Sony Handycam HDR-HC9

Summary: I'm an average consumer who likes to shoot video of the kids and family events, and edit on the PC to make short videos. I wanted top quality video images so chose a miniDV HD video camera. I plan to keep this for years, so opted for HD so that it'll remain fairly current as I slowly upgrade my tv etc.

I picked up this camera today, second hand, and I love it so far! There's an Easy Button to get started right away. It feels solid when holding it. The zoom is 10x optical and I'm quite satisfied with that. The digital zoom 20x is optional and can be disabled. With some practice I'm sure I can zoom smoothly.

The camera has a Night Shot mode which uses an IR sensor. Subjects appear slightly green, just like you see on television when the characters use night vision goggles. An optional IR spotlight brightens the scene immensely. This feature will be handy in any low light situation.

There are many many menu options. I refer to the manual to see the lists of options available. I've caught on to the basics in just a day, so it's not that bad. Again with some use it won't seem so complicated.

You can switch between HD and SD recording on the same tape. I'm not sure why one would want to do SD, but there is that option.

I've been using the camera all day and the battery is out of juice. That's disappointing. Do any of you recall the Sony CCD-TRV41 with the Sony Lithium batteries? I have one of these (14 years old) and the batteries are as good as new (despite lots of use). How could battery technology not improve over this time?

After I've done lots more with this camera I'll post another more comprehensive review.