Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD 2.1 MP 30GB High-Definition Hard Disk Drive Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I bought this HDR-SR1 the same month it first came out in October of 2006. Our old one is a Hi8 Sony HandyCam and my wife and I decided to invest on another videocam that can captures in digital our son's first moments, our first vacation in Hawaii, etc. I was so impressed with the functionality and the quality of this camera. As an avid audiophile, I cannot settle for anything less than an HD quality video. The quality of the video and 5.1 Dolby digital surround it captures is breathtaking. Not only we save money on buying tapes, you can burn it to DVD with an ease. You can now save your videos and archive them for as long as you want them. Since I also have a PS3 and it supports AVCHD playback, I am able to enjoy full 1080i resolution and watch it like a professional video capture. It's a definite must for me, especially capturing those special moments with my son (and another one on the way). The built-in hard drive and the capability that you can switch to digital photo is excellent. Now I don't have to carry two equipment. This unit is bundled as an HD video and a digital photo unit as one. Last but not the least, it is made by Sony. I have owned many Sony products in the past and none of them has dissapointed me. Just like any investments, there is no guarantee that it will not break or last forever so I recommend on getting warranty extension. It's worth the piece of mind.

Why not I gave it a full five star? I was expecting more of a 2.1 MP resolution photo during video recording.

I truly recommend this item.

My husband and I purchased this to record the momentous occasions in life. It's worked really well. I like the ability to switch between camera and video. The camera doesn't take the best pictures of my "always on the move" 17 month old son. They tend to be blurry. The interface was easy to use and learn and the software that comes with it is great! I would absolutly recommend this camera!

I chose the SONY over the JVC and PANASONIC models because of its features. I like the manual adjustment rings ability to control any one of four pre selected features, such as focus or exposure. It has image stabilization that actually works. I really like the AVCHD mpeg 4 video compression giving me at least 4 hours of best quality recording on a 30GB hard drive. Many newer model cameras do not have a viewfinder and I need a good color viewfinder which this one is more than adequate. No one had anything really bad to say about it, so I bought it. I received this great camera from Amazon for a great price and in less than 3 days. I have been enjoying shooting clear, bright; rich color videos for several weeks without any problems and I have actually been using the 4 mega pixel still image capture feature, saving jpeg photos onto a Sony memory stick duo memory card. I am very happy about this purchase. Now if some one would just invent a good quality, fast, inexpensive Blue- ray burner that uses a SATA interface I would buy it.

Ive owned this camera for about six months and havent used it as muchas I would like to! This is an pricy piece of equipment with no software editing programs availabile. Bought vegas 7 and doesnt recognize the camera, so cant edit the movies? I havent tried to many of the features on it but deceided to experiment only to find out there is a problem with the"Firmware" and its going to cost me to find out whats wrong with it! There is only a 90 day warranty so you better try all features and functions before 90 days. Sony seems not very helpful on software issues or their customers. You get sorry!! THIS UNIT SHOULD BE FULLY TESTED AND FUNCTIONAL BEFORE RELEASED FOR SALE. I think that the lack of good software hurts my not using this lemon as much as I would like to. Ill give it a plus by saying the video taken is GREAT! HOPE A SOLUTION COMES ALONG SOON AND ITS PROVEN FOR USE WITH THIS CAMERA.

After spending plenty of time researching which high definition camera to buy I went with this one. This is the best camera I have ever had. The picture clarity is AMAZING!!! on my plasma. The videos look like those awesome demos they put in the store so you are pushed to buying the tv.

Compare to the other models this one is great because it has a USB port right on the camera itself so you don't need any adapters. I choose this one over the HDR-SR7 because of the USB on board the SR7 does not have it. The only real difference is that this one has a 30 gig drive the other has 60 and this one has 4 megapixel camera and the other has 6 megapixel. Trust me this one is the best you won't be dissapointed.

One last thing, everyone complains about the software, I think it works great for what I need. I did buy Pinacle Studio 11 which does support the new AVCHD format so you can edit your movies and do all kinds of cool stuff to them.