Sony Handycam DCR-SR42 Digital Camcorder - 2.5" LCD - CCD

Great little camera

Strengths: Quick start-up, great for everyone, nice feature set.

Weakness: 0.68MP lens, small starter battery

I went with the DCR-SR42 over the JVC MG-130. Both were very similar, but the Sony saves movies as standard MPG files vs. JVC's .MOD files... whatever those are. I also suggest that you buy a bigger battery. The stock battery will give you a solid 60-70 minutes of recording, but considering you have a 30 GB HDD, you quickly put aside recording times and lengths. I added a NP-FH100 and am thrilled.

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Great Camcorder

Strengths: -Very easy to use -Good quality filming

Weakness: -Does not come with many accessories, need to buy case separately and does not have a remote control -Battery life isn't the greatest at about 90 minutes; I suggest purchasing a backup battery

Sony makes a great product and this hard drive camera is great. It is compact and lightweight, and there is also no hassle with tapes or DVDs. I really appreciate all the film it holds and the 40x optical zoom is amazing. I went to film at a football practice and I was pretty high up in the stands and could easy see players on the opposite sideline with the zoom. Hard drive cameras are the future...

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Awesome Little Camcorder!!!

Strengths: EASY, EASY, EASY TO USE, great video quality, software easy to install and use.

Weakness: Battery a bit hard to put on, my camcorder doesn't sit flush against the docking station (I have to hold it down to get the videos to download), battery life is short (90 mins).

This camcorder is INCREDIBLY easy to use. I had it out of the box and after the battery charged (120 mins later), I was testing the camcorder out. All I did was set the "Easy" function (explained in the manual) and I was using the camcorder in a matter of minutes. The Touchpad viewfinder/monitor is awesome, and makes the camcorder extremely user-friendly. This really is a "Point & Shoot"...

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Small, Light, Cute,,, Just great!

Strengths: Long recording hrs if we have enough battery

Weakness: No USB connection in camcorder body. We should use the camcorder station to connect to download.

I love it. Can't find anything bad yet. My parents are going to buy the same one! This is really tiny and light since it doesn't have DVD or tape in it. You can recharge battery by connecting to camcorder itself or camcorder station, but no USB connection on camcorder body. It's very easy to use. Simple but works great! I used different camcorders before, but so far I think SONY is the best for...

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OK Camcorder...Not the best

Strengths: Compact, Lots of storage, easy to use

Weakness: No light, The UV Protector (detachable) made my films look dirty, Resolution not up to my standards.

I brought this camcorder on my trip to Europe and It handled well. However, there were times at night when a light would have come in handy for this camera. Also, the UV protection lens that came with my camera easily left fingerprint marks and dust on my films. I suggest not using one unless you can keep it absolutely clean. The zoom on this thing is amazing. As far as storage, 30gb was plenty...

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worth buying . 30 GB memory and 40X optical zoom

Strengths: 40X Zoom, Picture quality

Weakness: no usb port. always carry handycam station

worth buying . 30 GB memory and 40X optical zoom..Look wise its gud. Got best deal @ $466.00 from electronics express. This is my first camcoder and i found everything in it i was looking for..

Very nice camcoder

Strengths: Easy to use and create a DVD! Good picture even has no enough light. Handy size and weight.

Weakness: Don't try to use the still camera. Poor quality picture. Battery is so so. Extra one is necessary for traveling. Software and user manuel are not friendly. Doesn't have an USB port on this camcorder.

This is a nice camcoder for me and almost meets all my requirements. Since it has no USB port, you have to carry the cradle when you are traveling if you want to transfer your video to the laptop.

I Returned It

Strengths: Easy to use, compact.

Weakness: MGEG2 files, poor Image Quality, no viewfinder.

I returned this item after one weeks' use. First: I discovered that it records MPEG2 video files to its drive, which cannot be imported into Windows Movie Maker. I had to download a file converting utility program from the web, and the encoded files lose quality. Even before any encoding or editing, the quality of the video is shockingly POOR, even when viewed on my 19" monitor. A pretty...

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SONY Digital Camcorder DCR-SR42 30GB Hard Drive

Strengths: I had never used a camcorder before and had one week from time of purchase to learn the basics. I was able to do basic recording and the result was pretty good.

Weakness: Instructions on transferring the data to a DVD via a DVD burner on a DVD player were not available. I didn't like having to go to the computer to look at the PDF file for instructions.

I was able to call SONY tech support and they were wonderful in walking me through creating a DVD. The camera is small, light and is easy to use, but there are so many things I know it is capable of doing and I need to take the time to figure them out. It would be nice if there were a few pages at the beginning of the instructions that gave basic lessons- e.g. connecting the camcorder to the PC;...

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Perfect for my expectations!

Strengths: Quality of the video, ease of use and downloading process of video to DVD burner.

Weakness: None!

It definitely meets all my needs. I was looking for something reasonably priced, but yet high in quality. I researched camcorders for over 6 weeks to be sure I would be satisfied with what ever choice I made. This Sony product is not your top of the line model, but when I compared the LUX ratings on several other products, this one had the lowest (LUX 3) of all at this price range. The functions...

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