| Brand: | Sony | ||
| Average Rating |
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Stop stopping. None of us likes to switch tapes in the middle of a shoot, or waste time rewinding and capturing. That’s why the DCR-SR42 Handycam camcorder contains a 30GB built-in hard disk drive (HDD) storage and allows you to capture up to 20 hours of recording time (LP) so you don’t need to mess around with tapes. A brilliant 2.5 Touch Panel LCD display keeps the controls at your fingertips while a 40x optical/2000x digital zoom makes sure you catch all the detail. And when it comes time to share your memories, it couldn’t be easier with the one touch disc burn capability and the Memory Stick Duo media slot. The DCR-SR42 puts the simplicity back into shooting and sharing your videos. more info
Popularity: 2% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
A waste of money
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I pre-ordered this camera when it first came out and waited anxiously for it to arrive – some 60 days later. I will never, ever buy something that I have not touched and tried myself, ever again.
Before we wasted our money on this camera we used a high end Sony Hi8 camera. Now today, looking at the Hi8 video next to the image quality of this new HD camera is unbelievable. No, the digital is not the winner – the H8 is. The color is better, the lighting is better and the overall quality is superior.
The Sony dcr-sr42 can’t be used in anything but PERFECT lighting, or the image quality disappears into shadows. The SHAKING is unbelievable (I have called SOny and tried to get the ESL operator to help me but after hours and hours on the phone, my images still shake and I need dramamine just to watch the videos). The anti-shake function simply does not work. Without a tripod it’s impossible to view the fotage.
It is a GIGANTIC pain to use the mpeg2 format on Windows Movie Maker. Maybe something has advanced in the last year – I gave up with it that project long ago. WMM did not support mpeg2 last I bothered looking.
It’s a tiny camera and easy (enough) to use, but the quality is simply horrible. I would highly discourage anyone from buying this camera unless they plan on having ideal lighting conditions at all times, and a tripod.
Don’t Trust Amazon third party sales….
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Hi All,
I bought this product from Amazon thirdparty by trusting Amazon.com…
They have delivered the old and used Camcorder without any accessories and even they didn’t send any Sale receipt to return the product….
Even Amazon.com didn’t gave me chance to review the product details as they added my credit card details…
I communicated Amazon customer care & third party on phone and mails…but no response till now…
I request you be careful while you do purchase….
Thanks.
Kishore
Making your own DVD
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had my camera for 18 months and I must be bored because I know most people will be moving on the latest and greatest and not bother reading this review. However!!! I have to mention something that I don’t see mentioned in any other reviews. When you make your DVD to keep you memories for a lifetime, do you know they won’t last?!?!?! Read this article before reading any further … http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=107607
So now my goal is to copy my DVD’s every year and keep the new copy and send the previous copy to a relative (off site storage in case of earthquake or fire).
It has been 18 months and I am considering another camera because we got a 42″ HD TV and it was difficult to determine if I was looking at my son on the basketball court or another kid. I am not sure if I want to drop $1500 during this economy.
Anyway, let me tell you how I use my dcr-sr42. I am not as worried as I was when I had a tape camcorder regarding scene lengths. Many times a clip is over a minute or more knowing I can just edit out the excess later. In fact I just made a 56 minute DVD from 12 hours of recording. That is the part I love the most about having a 30g hard drive. That last DVD took over 20 hours to edit but it is way better than the tape clips I used to do a few years ago. I can do nice scene transitions and add things to the sound if I want.
So I copied the 12 hours of recording to my computer and used Nero 8 to edit and burn my home movie DVD. I made two copies and sent one to my dad for backup. When he said they arrived safe, I deleted the clips from the camcorder as well as the computer to make room for my next project.
Be careful
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
It was not as new condition as I expected….since it was told that the item was in the shop for display only…..Since no accessories is provided so please add the price and then think whether it is economical or not?????
It’s what I was looking for!!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
If you are looking for a camcorder easy to use and easy to share video with, the Sony DCR-SR 42 is the camcorder for you!!! Compact with a very nice designe!
Very Low Quality and Blurry
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Very Low Quality and Blurry. I would compare the quality of this video camera to the standard video camera you get from a cell phone. I am going to try to return this camera.
Very poor video quality
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have to say, first of all, it hurts me to write this review. I wanted to like this camera. I really, really did. I loved the size, the shape, the ease of use. I even ordered an extra battery on how much I was going to use it. But I just didn’t like the video quality. It is plain bad. I even thought I was going to be able to live with it, but I watched a few videos last night and made some side by side comparisons, and it was just too much for me to bear. I am taking it back to the store tonight to get my money back.
The interlacing was AWFUL. If the camera moves slightly, the lines dominate the screen. Even in bright sunlight, it looked like a youtube video. A few months ago, my wife won a “FlipVideo” hard drive recorder that takes very simple video with no zoom, etc. Seriously, these videos were better than this Sony’s. This was the deciding factor in me taking this camera back. I am going to try another camera to see if it is just this one or all Hard Drive based recorders.
Where’s the super night plus?
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just recieved the Sony DCR-SR42 I recently purchased. When it arrived I noticed it had NIGHTSHOT PLUS. It had a product description that stated the camcorder was equipped with SUPER NIGHTSHOT PLUS. This was one of the main reasons I purchased the video camera. The camcorder was basically perfect in every other way, although I have not had time to use it yet, but it charged quickly and looks as though it is new. I think it would be a good idea for someone to look at this add and maybe edit it. Here is the link to the product I purchasedSony DCR-SR42 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom
Better than anticipated
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Sony DCR-SR42 w/30GB Hard Drive is better than I expected when I placed my order. It is so easy to use. The digital camcorder playback is so crisp and clear. And the colors are reproduced so faithfully. I am also impressed that the camera can easily be used at night and otherwise under poor lighting conditions. I am very pleased.
The software that comes with the camera is easy to use and probably satisfactory for most users. But I use other software programs for both camcorder and still photos because they have more features.
It is true that the still photographs are only of snapshot quality. But they are much better than the photos taken with my Palm Zire (a PDA with a 1MB built in camera). Of course my PDA is sneakier – has a crude camcorder function – and is always with me.
Of course, for personal or family use, I would confidently recommend the Sony DCR-SR42. More good news: this is not the latest model and should be available at a bargain price.
Good Handycam
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Merits:
1. It’s a Sony! (Brand value).
2. Compact and light-weight.
3. Carl Zeiss lens.
4. hard disk memory, easy to transfer to computer.
5. I got the refurbished one from sonystyle.com for 300 bucks. Thats pretty cheap for a 40x zoom HDD camcorder from sony.
6. Motion picture quality is good.
Demerits:
1. Does not have a view finder.
2. The Still picture quality is not that great (As indicated by others too).
3. Does not have a neck strap (Or any provision for that).
4. You need the camcorder dock to charge as well as transfer movies into Computer.
5. The bundled video editor doe not have much functionality. Only you can cut a video, i could not find any option to merge several videos into one.
Overall i like this camcorder, i will buy some video editing software to work on the videos a bit.
Make sure you can edit MPEG-2
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This review has been updated, but the rating remains the same:
This camera uses MPEG-2 format that Windows Movie Maker on my new Vista computer can’t read; I bought Sony Vegas Movie Studio thinking that would work but it won’t load on my computer.
Sony says it’s not their fault, it’s Microsoft’s fault if Visual C++ won’t load. Microsoft is no help.
Sony said they would help if I’d bought from directly from them, but because I bought from Amazon, I was on my own.
UPDATE: Found out from an online forum that the problem arose from Updates to Windows not being permitted by Windows Vista. Was told to alter msconfig file, allowing updates, enabling Visual C++ installation and Vegas installation.
Still not pleased with performance of Sony and Microsoft. Millions of their customers use their products to record and edit videos; how many of them are getting annoyed because these two companies don’t communicate?
Rather than wander around online forums looking for customer support, I’ll look for their more responsive competitors.
Apple Camcorders, anyone? It’s time for an iCam!
SONY DCR-SR42 30GB HDD Handycam Camcorder with 40X Optical Zoom
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this unit relying on the reputation of SONY and never thought SONY could offer such a bad quality video on his handycams. It is awful. It is a real lemon ! I won’t recommend to anyone to buy this model. Sorry SONY but you just deceived me !
Not Worth It
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I regret buying this camcorder. Video only looks okay when shot outside in the sun. If you shoot video inside, it looks very grainy. Forget about taking pictures with this camcorder since the resolution is so low. The pictures look awful! I’m buying a different one. Don’t waste your money!
Fantastic Camera!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a very slick little piece of electronics! It has got its own internal hard drive so there are no CD’s to pop in and out. Fits to contour of your hand for better grip. Flip screen is sturdy and useful.
The only thing I would list as cons would be the fact that its a tad bit pricey (but you do get what you pay for). And the camera itself takes a bit of time to get familiar with.
But other than that, if you are looking for a high quality camera that has everything you could need, look no further!
Great camera, great value!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera is a great value! It was cheaper than any of my local electronics stores. Very user friendly! Extremely happy with this camcorder. Just now working on making DVDs of the videos I have taken and its has an easy burn which I have not used yet. I am using Windows Movie Maker because I wanted to edit and create and the format the videos download onto computer works great with WMM. No complaints on this camcorder! I know there is an updated version of this but I’m not sure I would even bother spending the extra $$ to get it. This camcorder is great! It also switches between video and photos effortlessly! Great Buy!