Sony DCR-SX30

Author's product rating:   

Ease of use	Excellent
Recording quality	Excellent
Picture quality	Good
Sound quality	Excellent
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Lightweight, Small, easy to use
Disadvantages:	Picture Quality not bril, Scratches

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Sony DCR-SX30 Camcorder

This is a versatile memory stick camcorder with extra 4 GB of internal memory. The DCR-SX30 can record just under 3 hours of film on its internal memory alone.

The DCR-SX30 is a very good ‘cheapish’ cam recorder with lots of decent features (see bellow). That is one of the best in the category of decent non HD camcorders. It is very light, fun to use and a very powerful zoom.

Features

• 60x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens with option of up to 2000x digital zoom
• 800,000 pixel CCD sensor
• ‘SteadyShot’® image stabilisation to avoid shaky movies
• 2.7 inch Wide touch screen LCD display for ease of use
• ‘Face Index’ and ‘Film Roll Index’ features that make searching for footage easy.
• Ultra-low power consumption in Sleep Mode
• Optional Stamina battery allows up to 13 hours' continuous shooting time
• Quick start-up.
• Stereo sound recording that has a zoom microphone that synchronises with lens zooming to help picking out distant sounds.
• ‘One Touch Disc Burn’ using USB and easy PC backup
• ‘DVDirect Express’ compatible -- >allows high-speed burning to disc with DVD writer
• Easy to use Picture Motion Browser PC software for managing and uploading video and photos in calendar view.

Specifications

(complete list can be found at http://www.sony.co.uk/product/sdh-standard-definition-on-memory-stick/dcr-sx30e#pageType=TechnicalSpecs)

*Weight = 250 grams (lightweight)

*Photo Mode Resolution =640 x 480 pixels

*Pixels = 0.8 Megapixels

*High Definition Recording = No

*Image stabilizer = Yes

*LCD screen = Yes

*Zoom = Yes

*Built in flash = No

*MPEG movie mode = No

*Built in Editor = Yes

Price

If you look hard, you can find it on some sites such as
www.globalelectricals.co.uk for £199 with no shipping.
This may not be such a reputable dealer so remember
use a credit card with security. Beware prices vary lots,
e.g. Marks and Sparks sell this for £289, with £3.50
shipping.

This is a very good price for a camera of this quality; back
in 2007 something with this specification would sell for
£200 more than now. Even competitors of this camera
are a lot more expensive, usually above the £350 mark,
they do however offer lots of features, but so does this.
Then again …… when was the last time you bought a
gadget and used all the features???

Style

The Sony DCR-SX30 comes in three fantastic colours,
Red, Silver and Blue, all of which in my opinion are
very stylish. The camera fits perfectly into the palm of
your hand and has a nice feel to it. The surface is very
shinny and aluminum and the nice compact size will
allow you to place this camcorder in your pocket of your
jeans or in a bag.

You certainly won’t look like your carrying an old Kodak
around.

Durability

For what is a relatively cheap, tiny piece of equipment,
it has suffered the bumps and falls of my ownership
rather well. The camcorder like most of Sony’s
equipment is prone to scratches, and with a camcorder
like this in the size and weight you will be tempted to put
it in your pocket, beware keys and coins will scratch. And
if you are anything like me, you should buy a bag (see
cons).

Ease of use

This camera is really easy to use. With no previous
#knowledge of cameras, my 5 year old cousin preceded to
record a 2 minute video of me eating an ice cream at
Kynance Cove. That said, there are far too many functions
for its own good, this camcorder is as complicated as you
want it to be.

Once you put the camcorder into the Computer the Sony
software does all the rest for you chopping and changing
what you don’t want into nice beautiful semi professional
looking clips, with a little human guidance.

My experience

I have had this camcorder for a few months now, having
paid rather too much on it in the 1st place. However it
has served me well and been very useful at times, many
others and myself applaud its ease of use, and most
notably the zooming functions are better than most
camcorders double in price. I was attracted towards this
product because of its great looks, size and speed of
use. However in my own hindsight I would have bought
something cheaper with a better pixel count so I could
use it as a very good camera as well. No-one will make
the most out of the zoom on this, with the quality of video.

Pros

*The first thing you notice about this camera is how
light it is (or perhaps that’s because I’ve spend the
majority of the last 9 months in a gym, SEE REVIEW
ON CREAPURE). Secondly it looks great as you can
see in the pictures I have provided, far more stylish
than many of the competitors. Its compact size with
very lightweight, and quick start up make it a perfect
camera for on the go fun on the beach with family
or looking around a tourist site or even to make a fun
video with friends in the garden.

*This camcorder does have a great zooming ability,
(60 x optical zoom and 2000 x digital zoom), better
than all similar competitors and camcorders of similar
prices. It also has a fantastic audio ability capable of
zooming into sound and removing unwanted rustling
and chatter. Also on a different level would be very
good for all the snoopers out there who wish to listen
in on other people, but pointing the camera towards
them may not be the most subtle of manoeuvres.

*This camera is also incredibly easy to use, Sony
treat their customers well, and give them a 10 year
guarantee and some great really easy to use software
that will put your lovely home videos on the computer
in no time at all, as well as burning them, emailing
them or putting them on social networking sites.

*Sony also provide lots of extra packs that you can
purchase along with your camcorder, such as;
Accessory Kits, Batteries & Chargers, Cables &
Connectors, Cases, DVDirec, Docking Stations & Cables,
Flashes & Lights, GPS, Other Accessories, Sports
Packs & Tripods. These are for all camcorders, not
just the DCR-SX30.

Cons

*My concern is that nowadays people demand a lot
more from every than before and a digital camcorder
is also expected to be a very good camera, and in
this case I am afraid this is not the case. It only
has a 0.8 Megapixel camera and if you look at many
digital cameras of today you will see figure like 8 to
12 megapixels being bounded around as standard
digital cameras. Whilst I feel that there is no need for
such a high pixel count for most people’s general
usage, there is, as I am sure you will agree a large
disparity between 0.8 and 8 megapixels.

*The battery life is not brilliant of a camera of this ilk,
2 hours to be precise, so you may wish to purchase
a new longer lasting one; at considerable expense
it must be said. Upwards of £100.

*This camera does not come with a carry case, you
need to buy one specially, however if you buy one
with the camera from the company you bought it
from, you should get a good deal. The camcorder
like most of Sony’s equipment is prone to scratches,
and with a camcorder like this in the size and
weight you will be tempted to put it in your pocket,
beware keys and coins will scratch.

Conclusion

If you are looking to produce a Hollywood blockbuster,
this would not be my camera of choice, but the price
reflects that. Its compact size with very lightweight and
quick start up and ease of use make it a perfect
camera for on the go fun on the beach with
family or looking around a tourist site or even to
make a fun video with friends in the garden.

Like most modern cameras, or even gadgets come
to that, there are too many unnecessary features that
have no place on the item.

However my only slight hesitations are the pixel count
(0.8Mp) and the battery life but apart from that it is
very good, so 4.25/5 from me.