| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Sony DCR-DVD201 DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom |  | |
Sony DCR-DVD201 DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
Experience the ultimate in videotaping convenience with the DCR-DVD201 DVD Handycam Camcorder from Sony. Now you can record directly onto 3-inch DVD-R and DVD-RW at resolutions comparable to MiniDV. Best of all, the DVD media can easily be viewed on most current DVD players and PCs, making playback a snap. You can even capture still JPEG images up to a maximum resolution of 1152 x 864 thanks to its 1-megapixel CCD imager. It's like having both a camcorder and digital camera in one.The DCR-DVD201 also includes all of the options you'd want from a Sony camcorder, such as a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, 10X optical zoom, Super NightShot Plus night recording system and Super SteadyShot picture stabilization. Best of all, everything comes in a package that is 29% smaller and 23% lighter than the DCR-DVD200, making it easy to carry wherever you go.
Manufacturer: Sony
Price Range: $446.99 - $749.99
 Sony DCR-DVD201 DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
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| User Reviews |  | Great camera ... BUT
rating: 1
I bought this camera back in December 2004 just before going on a trip to Europe, at the time it was the "bee's knees" in camcorders. It was the most amazing little gadget I had owned at the time, and I was thrilled with the results. I'm still very happy with the results, but there are quite a few issues with it.
Firstly, you can't do anything with the video you've shot - even getting clips onto your PC is a chore. Sometimes the computer finds the camera, more often it doesn't. I've now given up getting anything onto the PC, and I just watch the video on the TV unedited. The software that comes with it is completely useless. All you can do is stitch together different clips in their entirety. I managed to do this ONCE in 2 years, but never got the software to burn a DVD of what I had stitched together - the software crashed the computer every time I tried to do it, so I gave up trying.
Secondly, like so many other people, disc errors pop up every once in a while. I admit I have been lucky with it, and have only had a couple, but then again, I haven't used this camera much in all that time, and you just don't know when its going to happen. (I had a disc error when I put a new SONY DVD into the camera in St Petersburg, Russia. I didn't have another DVD with me, so I have no video of St Petersburg at all.)
Lastly, finalising a disc is a nightmare. You spend 10 or 15 mins chewing your nails to the quick waiting for the camera to start beeping and flashing 'DISC ERROR' at you, thus loosing everything you've shot. Again, this has only happened to me a handful of times, but it happens right at the moment when you don't want it to happen. I lost the whole of the west of Ireland because of a disc error during finalising - once again, a SONY disc. Its not as if you can just put another disc in and go back to Ireland to reshoot it all. The 3 or 4 other times its happened was close to home, when I just did go back and reshoot it another day. But what if it had been something important, like the birth of a child or a wedding, like other reviewers have had?
After reading so many horror stories about this camera, I can say I'm one of the lucky few. My camera has only done the dirty on me a couple of times, but then again, every time I use it, I think to myself, 'Is this the time its gonna stuff up???' Which is a real pity, because on the whole its been a nice little camera, and has traveled with me to a lot of places, and has generally been great. But ... you just never know when the moment will come.
Using Sony discs wont solve the disc error problem. I've only ever used Sony brand discs, and they also give errors when the camera feels like it. And the camera hates DVD+R discs - I wasted money on a whole packet of these, only to have every one of them get a DISC ERROR from the camera when I first put them in. Obviously it only likes DVD-R discs.
I would say, save your nerves and don't buy any DVD camcorder, no matter what the brand. They're far too temperamental and the technology too dodgy.
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PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT BUY A SONY BRAND CAMCORDER
rating: 1
JUST LIKE SEVERAL OTHERS I BOUGHT THIS CAMCORDER WHEN IT FIRST CAME ON THE MARKET. MINE WAS PURCHASED IN DEC. 2004. IT WORKED FINE UNTIL JUNE OF THIS YEAR. AFTER SPENDING CLOSE TO AN HOUR ON THE PHONE WITH SONY'S REPAIR DEPT. I FOUND OUT IT WILL COST $211 TO REPAIR, AND I ONLY GET A 90 DAY GUARANTEE ON THAT. MY CAMCORDER JUST STOPPED WORKING, PERIOD! FOR NO REASON AT ALL, THE LCD SCREEN WAS THE FIRST THING THAT WENT, THEN IT WOULD NOT CHARGE, THEN IT WOULD NOT EVEN POWER ON!! THIS CAMERA HAS NEVER BEEN DROPPED, HIT, NEVER WET, NEVER USED OUTSIDE IN RAIN OR SNOW ETC; THIS IS THE BIGGEST WASTE OF $800 I HAVE EVER SEEN, AND IT'S OBVIOUS FROM THE OTHER OPINIONS I HAVE READ, I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON TO HAVE GOTTEN THE ROYAL SHAFT FROM SONY. MY NEXT LETTER WILL BE TO SONY. SO ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING MADE BY SONY!!!!
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Will ERASE your memories! DON'T BUY!!
rating: 1
I've had this camera for over a year. It's a gamble to use however. You'll either be able to finalize your discs with no problems and have a great little DVD of your favorite moments, or it will have an error and erase everything! It's really up to how it feels at the moment, too. You have to record without moving as well, remember, there's a tiny laser etching data inside there and any sudden turns will erase the disk.
If you can get it to work, the picture will look FANTASTIC! But it's really too much a gamble to take. Don't buy.
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Sony DCR-DVD201 loses your memories and data
rating: 1
While I purchased my DVD201 almost 2 1/2 years ago, I have yet to put over 30 hours of recording on it. The problem is that the camera has a horrible time with disc access errors. I have used brand new SONY DVD-R discs (both the 1.4GB single sided and the 2.8 GB double sided), and every time it is a crap shoot as to whether it will work or not.
About 1/3 of the disks never get recognized by the camera at all - and basically have to be returned as bad, even though they seem to work ok in my personal computer. Of the ones that originally work, almost HALF of them end up with disc access errors at some point - many when I am finalizing the disc! That means I lose the entire contants of the recording! I've lost recordings of family vacations, holidays and birthdays, and finally (the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back) I LOST THE VIDEO OF MY ONLY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING! UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
I went to SONY's online "help", and found it was a joke! Not only were they incredibly slow, they asked me the same questions over and over again. DId you format the diswc? (no - the DVD-R's do not require formatting). Have you finalized the disc? (no - the camera does not even recognize it has a disc in it - I can't even record, let alone finalize anything) Have you tried a new disc? (yes, about 6 of them, right out of the package)
If the discs would fail initially, then I could at least get new ones - BUT TO HAVE IT FAIL AFTER THE PICTURES ARE RECORDED does not leave me ANY options. SONY recommended going to a data recovery house to recover the data, but they want $400 bucks to get whatever you get - I am not even sure the data is recoverable!
I've been on several boards and have seen the same problem reported over and over (unfortunately, not before I had purchased the camera). Has ANYONE had ANY luck getting this camera to work reliably? SONY wants $211 (flat rate) for me to send the camera to them for repair, and a couple of other places have quoted about $140-$160. Before I throw any more money down the drain with this camera - I'd like some assurance that it will actually work. ANY suggestions greatly appreciated!
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Great Product
rating: 4
Works wonderfully except the scrolling button is rather small and hard to use with larger hands. Recording on the DVD is great. Seeing the DVD almost instantaneously is great. Light weight enough to carry everywhere.
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Sony DCR-DVD201 DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
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