Product Description

The DCR-DVD100 is Sony's DVD Handycam camcorder, which records up to 60 minutes of MPEG2 video, and 640x480-sized still images directly to an 8cm DVD-R/-RW disk and then play it back on a DVD Player or PC with DVD-R/-RW drive. The DCR-DVD100 is equipped with a USB 2.0/1.1 interface for direct recording and copying of material to a PC, a 2.5" hybrid LCD screen, InfoLITHIUM battery and a high quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 10x Optical/ 120x Digital zoom lens, with Super SteadyShot and Super NightShot.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8569 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DCR-DVD100
• Dimensions: 3.75" h x 2.60" w x 5.60" l, 1.40 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• DVD digital camcorder with 640 x 480 pixel imaging
• 10x optical, 120x digital zoom with Super SteadyShot image stabilization
• 2.5-inch touch-panel color swivelscreen LCD display
• High speed USB 2.0 interface for computer connection
• NightShot 0 Lux infrared system with color mode for recording in total darkness

From the Manufacturer
Produce DVD recordings that play back in most current home and PC DVD players with Sony’s new DCR-DVD100 DVD Handycam Camcorder. Features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens, still image capture (640 x 480) and a SwivelScreen LCD screen. Additionally, the DVD100 includes Sony’s Super SteadyShot Picture Stabilization, which uses motion sensors to compensate for camera shake. Also, for users without a DVD drive in their PC, the camcorder has a USB 2.0 interface for uncomplicated video and still data transfer to a compatible PC with the supplied USB cable and CD-ROM driver. And as USB 2.0 on the camcorder is backward compatible, it will work seamlessly with the popular USB 1.1 interface as well. Finally, Sony’s Super NightShot Lux/Color Slow Shutter Recording System helps you record true-to-life color video of sleeping babies, birthday candles and early evening events by capturing video in total darkness up to 10 feet away by using an advanced infrared system.

	Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar Lens: Famous for its superior sharpness and color accuracy, the Vario-Sonnar lens is the most advanced multi-layer optical coating system.		Digital Still Memory Mode: Capture digital still images directly onto Memory Stick media for easy transfer to e-mail, printing, or sharing with compatible Memory Stick devices.
	Super NightShot Plus Infrared System: An advanced version of Sony's NightShot Infrared system that allows users to record natural color images in low-light conditions, but without the blurring common with other lowlight recording systems.		Battery information is momentarily displayed without having to power on the camcorder. Quickly access the battery's status by pressing the Battery Info button. The Recording Time Available is displayed in minutes on either the LCD screen or in the viewfinder.

And more:

• 1/4" Advanced HAD CCD Imager, 680K Pixels Gross
  1/4" Advanced HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD with 340K (effective) video pixels provides excellent detail and clarity, with beautiful digital video (up to 500 lines of resolution) and still image performance. Realize great looking digital still images utilizing 340K (effective) pixels.

• DVD Format Video Recording
  The DVD recording format delivers digital video and sound quality comparable to that of MiniDV. Playback of the DVD media is simple and convenient. After finalizing the disc in the camcorder, the DVD disc will playback in most compatible DVD Players, computers and even PlayStation 2 video game consoles.

• 10X Optical/120X Digital Zoom
  The optical zoom helps to bring the action up close from far away. In addition, the digital zoom interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms.

• 2.5" SwivelScreen LCD Display (123K Pixels)
  Provides excellent viewing clarity with improved resolution. The 123K pixels LCD rotates up to 270-degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp detailed images for monitoring or playback.

• Color Viewfinder
  Provides a clear, color view of subjects and makes spotting and/ or following subjects easier.

• Digital Still Memory Mode
  Digital Still Memory Mode captures high quality still images at 640 x 480 resolution directly to DVD-R or DVD-RW media. Images are stored in the JPEG format providing easy transfer to PCs for emailing, printing, or sharing with family and friends.

• USB 2.0 Interface
  USB 2.0 interface provides an easy way to connect your DVD Handycam Camcorder to computers for fast transfer of video and still images for editing. The camcorder can also be used as an external DVD burner, convenient for making copies of your DVDs or burning edited movies.

• Super SteadyShot Picture Stabilization System
  An advanced version of Sony’s SteadyShot system that controls an even higher range of shake and vibration frequencies, to achieve an even higher level of smoothness without degradation of video like some other image stabilization systems.

• Progressive Shutter System
  A mechanical shutter system that provides progressive scan performance, while utilizing an interlaced scanning system. Digital still images will be sharp and clear with excellent definition.

• Analog Inputs
  Record any analog NTSC source to digital video via the analog inputs. Perfect for archiving analog tape recordings. This recorded video can then be edited on your computer.

• Intelligent Accessory Shoe
  Conveniently gives you the option of adding accessories such as lights, flashes and microphones to the camera, which can communicate with the camera and also draw power from the camera

• Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 Channel) Stereo Audio Recording
  An advanced form of Digital Audio recording, with sophisticated noise reduction technology, that provides outstanding, lifelike sound quality in almost any situation

What's in the box:
DVD100 DVD Handycam, AC-L15A Power Adaptor/In Camera Charger, NP-FM50 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery, RMT-820 Wireless Remote Commander Remote Control, 2 AA Batteries, Stereo A/V Cable, Lens Cap, Cleaning Cloth, Blank DVD-R Media, USB Cable, CD-ROM with USB Driver SPVD-0011 (Pixela ImageMixer Software Ver. 1.5 for Sony).

Customer Reviews

entry level DVD camcorder from Sony
the DCR-DVD100 is the "value" entry of the recently released line of miniDVD camcorders from sony. other models in this line are the DCR-DVD300 and DCR-DVD200. the main difference the three camcorders in this line are LCD size and CCD resolution:
- DCR-DVD300: 3.5" LCD, 1MP CCD
- DCR-DVD200: 2.5" LCD, 1MP CCD
- DCR-DVD100: 2.5" LCD, 640K CCD

pros:
- records dolby digital stereo.
- carl zeiss lens.
- 10x optical zoom.
- video quality almost at par with miniDV camcorders (at slower recording modes).
- Super SteadyShot image stabilization system - and sony's system really helps.
- three low light shooting modes: Nightshot, Super Nightshot, and Color Slow Shutter.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB 2.0, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- USB 2.0 support for fast downloads.
- the convenience of DVD navigation - simply select the scene and you're there!
- supports analog-to-digital conversion.
- hot accessory shoe with lots of optional accessories.

cons:
- inferior CCD resolution vs the DVD200 and DVD300.
- expensive - as with most sony products, you pay a premium, plus you pay for DVD convergence.
- average low light performance.
- no memory stick support; if you want to take a still picture, it is saved on the DVD.
- mic picks up DVD spinning noise in quiet environments.
- finalizing a DVD takes upwards of 10 minutes, and it can be a confusing process.
- don't expect much from the still images recorded.
- no pop-up flash for taking stills and no built in video light but you can get a flash/video combo light for less than a hundred bucks.
- smaller LCD (2.5") vs the DVD300 (3.5").
- no manual focus ring.
- getting video into editing software (e.g. Final Cut Pro) is harder than it should be.
- not Mac friendly.
- poor battery life with included battery so add $$ to your budget to buy a higher capacity spare.
- compared to current release camcorders, this is a pretty big one at 3.1 x 3.8 x 5.6" weighing 1 lb 6 oz.

this is a nice, solid effort by sony and i give them points for dvd convergence. however, in my opinion, the DCR-DVD100 is too big, not easy to use, and does not use the 1MP CCD that the DVD200 and DVD300 have. it's expensive for the feature set but the alternative to this dvd camcorder (a miniDV tape camcorder and DVD recorder combo) is even more expensive. i already have a dvd recorder so for me, a smaller and easier to use miniDV camcorder makes more sense. if this is your situation as well, i would recommend a panasonic gs-70 or sony's pc-105, both miniDV camcorders. otherwise, if you want a finalized DVD straight out of your camcorder, consider the DCR-DVD100.

a final note. if you have decided you want to record directly to a DVD, which camcorder should you buy? DCR-DVD100 or DCR-DVD200 or DCR-DVD300? i highly recommend spending the extra ... bucks (street price) to get the higher resolution CCD of the DVD200/DVD300. if you want a bigger 3.5" LCD, it'll cost you an extra ... bucks to go to the DVD300. i think this is a fair price for the upgrade too.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

Very good - Rebuttal to some negative comments
I recently purchased this camcorder, and am very happy with it--happy enough that I wanted to address some of the perceived negatives in other reviews.

From jemaer_rf's helpful review:

cons:
- average low light performance

I disagree - I find the low light performance to be excellent. This is also borne out by comparative tests published in _Consumer Reports_' camcorder evaluation issue.

- no memory stick support; if you want to take a still picture, it is saved on the DVD.

This is true--but hardly a disadvantage: surely more people have DVD-ROM drives than memory stick readers.

- mic picks up DVD spinning noise in quiet environments.

This is true: you will have to live with this or choose another camcorder. I'd be curious to know if this is the case with other DVD camcorders.

- finalizing a DVD takes upwards of 10 minutes, and it can be a confusing process.

It takes about 3 minutes, assuming the disc is full. The less full a disc is, the longer finalizing takes. Since this process is only necessary for playing the disc on other DVD players, I fail to see how it's a disadvantage when compared to, say, a tape-based camcorder (where you can't play the tape in anything but the camcorder).

It isn't confusing either. I'd like to just digress here and say that the product manual is very good--certainly the best manual for a piece of consumer electronics I've ever used--and describes very clearly how to exercise every feature and function.

- don't expect much from the still images recorded.

No- they are 640x480 images: okay for the web and email but not much else. I wouldn't even bother, really--just take a short video shot instead.

- getting video into editing software (e.g. Final Cut Pro) is harder than it should be.

I don't know about the specific software mentioned here, but since the video is recorded in a standard format on a standard DVD-R (assuming you use a DVD-R) it's very universal. As I use Linux and Macintosh systems exclusively (Linux rarely supporting a particular camcorder) this universality was a big selling point of a DVD camcorder for me--and thus getting the video into any particular piece of software has been very easy so far.

- not Mac friendly.

In the sense that the bundled software doesn't come for Macintosh. But you don't want that anyway--you want to use iMovie, right? I hear (have not done this myself) that this is easily done by using Quicktime Pro to convert the .vob files from the DVD into .dv files, which can then be used in iMovie. Secondly, I will bet iMovie will soon support these camcorders.

From an anonymous review:

- There is a significant delay between when you push the record button and when recording actually starts, in the neighborhood of a few seconds.

This is true. I have gotten in the habit of recording extra footage before and after what I want to capture, and editing it later on the computer, so this doesn't bother me.

- Also, there is no editing as-you-go with DVD. If you are used being able review the last part of what you taped and record over it if you don't like what you see, you will be frustrated with DVD recording. There is no editing unless you transfer it to your computer and then of course you need to record it again on a DVD burner or video CD.

This is only true if you are recording to a DVD-R (write-once media). You are free to record to a DVD-RW and erase/edit as you like.

These reviews do not mention two other potential drawbacks: namely (and this applies to any DVD camcorder) the media is low-capacity and somewhat costlier (I found DVD-Rs for $3 ea; they record 30 min in standard quality and 60 min is extended play mode) so you may be paying more per minute, and changing media more frequently, than with a tape camcorder.

The second is that the camcorder doesn't support Firewire, only USB 2.0, which you may not have if you don't have a fairly new computer. Again, this wasn't much of a disadvantage for me since I always planned on reading the DVDs directly rather than transferring the video using the camcorder (popping the disc into the DVD-ROM drive *has* to be faster than transferring the files by wire.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. I decided not to spend an extra, about, three hundred bucks, for the DVD300; and I'm so happy with the image quality: excellent low-light, image stabilization, nightshot (and aren't these what you're buying a camcorder for?); that I'm convinced it was the right call.

Works as Advertised- Very nice camcorder
My wife wanted the convenience to record video and immediately play it on the DVD player (much like the old days of VHS), but I wanted the ability to edit and make copies on the computer. This camcorder serves both purposes well. Build quality seems good, and more importantly it works as advertised- great picture quality, excellent sound recording, and our first DVD-R played fine in our 2 yr old DVD player. The unit is easy to use- much like any other camcorder other than loading the DVD discs instead of tapes. IMO all camcorders don't produce very good stills so I don't expect much in that area which is also the reason I didn't spend the extra $ on the DVD200 model (put the savings toward a digital camera instead).

Our first recording event was a Christmas program in dim lit auditorium several rows away shooting many zoom shots on a lit stage. To my surprise, the white balance was good (not yellow), exellent sound of chorus, and very little camera shake considering it was hand held during the program, and pleasing picture quality on the DVD player. It only took about 3 minutes to finalize the DVD in the camcorder once we got home, but this can vary depending on how may scenes you have on the disk.

Bottom line- we are happy so far with this camcorder. We also opted to get the Handycam DVD starter kit which includes a nice carrying case, which is just the right size for the camera, spare battery, and a few disks. The kit also includes a DVD-RW disk and an extra battery. In addition, I have ordered a 30mm UV protective filter for the lens.