Sony Handycam DCR DVD406E

Sony are a well known brand that I have always associated with quality and this is why when asked to part with £529 for a new digital camcorder I didn't even break into a cold sweat as my bank balance was drained.

I bought the camera from the Sony Centre in Manchester and have since buying it seen it advertised online for considerably cheaper.

Opening the box my heart skipped a beat. An instruction booklet similar ...
...realised that maybe as an amatuer film buff I had gone a little too far buying this model. These fears were unfounded, the booklet is printed in every language known to mortal man, and the English section is 8 pages, yes 8 pages long and doesn't really give any advanced tips. These are better picked up searching online forums.

The camcorder records directly onto DVD, a nice feature that allows playback either via a USB cable or by ... more

Sony are a well known brand that I have always associated with quality and this is why when asked to part with £529 for a new digital camcorder I didn't even break into a cold sweat as my bank balance was drained.

I bought the camera from the Sony Centre in Manchester and have since buying it seen it advertised online for considerably cheaper.

Opening the box my heart skipped a beat. An instruction booklet similar in size to War & Peace dropped out, and I realised that maybe as an amatuer film buff I had gone a little too far buying this model. These fears were unfounded, the booklet is printed in every language known to mortal man, and the English section is 8 pages, yes 8 pages long and doesn't really give any advanced tips. These are better picked up searching online forums.

The camcorder records directly onto DVD, a nice feature that allows playback either via a USB cable or by inserting the disk into a DVD player. The USB cable playback is only really used when editing, something which is so easy using the DCR-DVD406E.

Getting started is easy. The lithium battery once charged for 12 hours is easy to slide into place, a quick flick of the power button and you are ready. To start recording a disk is inserted and all you have to do is press record. The inscreen menu looks very complicated and I had a minor panic when I first confronted it (it isn't mentioned in the instruction booklet). This menu allows the user to alter brightness, volume, colour contrast amnd switch on/off the shot stabiliser, which is a godsend. Nothing is guaranteed to make a picture jerky than a user trying to stay absolutely still! The stabiliser is fantastic and the images picked up on the 2.7" viewfinder give only an indication of what will be on the final film as it picks up images in widescreen. It's not adviseable to stand what you believe to be just out of shot, as you will probably be in it on playback.

The zoom is good and works well in both camcorder and digital camera mode. The only flaw is the sound quality picked up by the built in microphone. It is fuzzy and can be at times crackly as though it has dust in it. I have taken it back to the shop and they shook their head and said it was a common problem with this model. Not good, not good at all.

Would I buy this model again? No, I wouldn't. It has some useful features and basically is just a point and record kind of machine, but if you want home movies that have sound you can probably do better with a different brand for a lot less cash. Good, but not the best and for £500+ I wanted the best.

Specification:

Connectivity: AV out, DV in, DV out, Firewire, USB, USB 2
Lens Brand: Carl Zeiss lens
Memory Card Slot: Memory stick pro duo

Product Depth: 5.45 cm
Product Height: 8.9 cm
Product Weight :480g
Product Width: 13 cm
Recording Format: 16:9
Screen Size in Inches: 2.7
Special Effects: Black & white, Low sharpening, Neutral, Sepia, Vivid
 

...less