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Sony DCRPC109 Compact MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w 10x Optical Zoom
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Sony DCRPC109 Compact MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w 10x Optical Zoom
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by Sony
Sales Rank: 3946
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Click 'BUY IT NOW'
to get price.
At Amazon
on 12-28-2008.
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Camera & Photo
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Camera & Photo
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I pre-ordered the PC109 and received it a week ago, so this review is not able to be extensive through all usage scenarios. It is a very small camcorder. To relate just how small, if you hold a metal tin of Altoids over it, you only see about 1/2" of the camcorder sticking out. Of course, this means the buttons and controls are commensurately small as well. Finding a good position to hold it and control the zoom will take some trial and error since the zoom button is located near the lens, on the opposite side of where your index finger will be in the most natural holding position. It's right next to the still photo button, which kind of slides down, too, so you may find yourself snapping photos when you really want to zoom. The color display is nice, and shows up well enough that you can use it to get an idea of what you're shooting outdoors. The actual video is a little larger than what is displayed during capture. The lens has a little switch to open and close it, and it is something you will have to remember to do when you're done filming. I have forgotten a couple of times. There is a little press switch/slider thing that lets you choose the three modes: regular camcorder mode, memory stick mode, or playback mode. The playback mode gives little VCR controls on-screen that you touch to FF, REW, Pause, etc. I have not used memory stick mode as I do not intend on using my camcorder as a digital camera. The DC-IN plug right on the camcorder is somewhat difficult to access right below a tiny plastic door. The door doesn't stay out of the way of the plug too well when open. There is another DC-IN plug on the docking station (discussed below), so fortunately you won't have to access this door very often. The recorded picture quality is quite good and very sharp. It is quite impressive given the size of this camcorder. Please refer to other reviews for objective discussions of the picture quality. I think it looks great, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Now to the Handycam Station. The unit ships with a mini docking station which contains the USB/Firewire/S-Video/DC/etc. ports on it. It is topped with this thin white plastic that at first I thought was packing material and almost tried to pull off. The feet on the docking station, at least on my unit, are sticky so they are hard to dislodge if you are moving the station around a lot. Which brings me to the biggest reason why this camcorder is not right for me. I have a little Sony Vaio TR laptop which I want to hook the camcorder into via iLink/Firewire so I can show my kids the videos right after I shoot them even if we're on the road somewhere. The problem is that in order to hook up the camcorder to anything else (TV, laptop, etc), you need the docking base, meaning that if you plan on using the camcorder in a mobile environment like me, you have to carry around the docking station, which is a pain. I would rather have the camcorder be a little bigger and have the plugs right on it. That being said, if you intend on having the base permanently next to your TV or desktop computer and just bringing home the camcorder and plugging it in, then this may be the camcorder for you because of the ultra-portability of the camcorder itself and the nice picture quality. I personally do not need an ultra small camcorder so I will be sending mine back and paying the extra money for a DCR-HC85, which has better video resolution and the ports right on the unit.
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Sony DCRPC109 Compact MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w 10x Optical Zoom
Available from Amazon
Price: Click 'BUY IT NOW'
to get price.
Updated on 12-28-2008.
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