Friends do that. They ask you for an advice on which camcorder to buy and then
buy something you told them not to get. Based on my recent experience with
Sony DCR-DVD101 mini-DVD camcorder, I recommended my friend to stay
away from DVD-based camcorders. She still bought one - a
Sony DCR-DVD201.
The DVD201 is pretty similar to DVD101 but has CCD sensor with higher
resolution and silver finish. Just like DVD101, the DVD201 records to min-DVD
discs (write-once DVD-R or rewriteable DVD-RW) instead of the more conventional
MiniDV or Digital8 tapes. This approach is quite different (for better and
worse) for several reasons.
Pictures
Click here to see more pictures of the Sony DVD201
Mini-DVD vs. MiniDV or Digital8
One Mini-DVD disc can store 1.4Gb of information, which lets you record 20
minutes in HQ (best quality) mode, 30 minutes in SP (standard quality) or 60
minutes in LP mode. The video is recorded in the same format as
commercially-produced DVDs - using MPEG-2 encoding with sound being 2-channel
Dolby Digital.
MiniDV or Digital8 tapes can fit 60-80 minutes of video in SP mode or 50% more
in LP mode (with virtually no loss of quality). Video is recorded using DV
encoding (significantly less compression and thus better quality than MPEG-2).
Both formats have pros and cons. The tapes fit more and at better recording
quality, they cost less. Mini-DVD can be played back on a regular DVD player,
needs no rewinding and lets you jump to the segment you want without waiting.
Just as DVD101, the DVD201 comes with one write-once Mini-DVD-R and no
rewriteable DVD-RW discs. I have seen a pack of 12 Mini-DVD-R at my local Sam's
Club selling for $24 (about $2 a piece). I used a mini-DVD-RW disc that I got
previously (Sony Mini-DVD-RW (1x-2x speed) disc for $8).
Overall
The DVD201 features advanced multi-coated Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar optics with
10x optical zoom, a 1-Megapixel 1/5-inch CCD (with 690,000 active pixels), a
2.5-inch color LCD screen and a color viewfinder, stereo microphone, digital
photo mode with 1152x864 or 640x480 resolution, Super SteadyShot picture
stabilization.
The camcorder features auto white balance or lets you perform manual white
balance adjustment. Also, you can turn off the auto focus and adjust the focus
manually, using the joystick on the side of the camcorder, above the LCD.
You can even make copies of your discs using a computer. You first use your
computer to read the source disc, then you insert the blank disk in the
camcorder and let your computer write to it. In essence, you can use your
camcorder as a DVD writer. The camcorder has a fast USB 2.0 interface for
computer connectivity.
There is no FireWire (i.Link) interface, just high-speed USB 2.0. You can use
USB to transfer stills and video or you can finalize the DVD and put it in your
computer. DVD camcorders use MPEG-2 compression as opposed to DV compression
used by MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders. MPEG-2 compressed video requires less
bandwidth and thus can be transferred over USB 2.0 in real time.
The camcorder is compact and nice-looking. As was the case with DVD101, I am
not at all impressed with the craftsmanship. Both the LCD and the disc
compartment lid do not close tightly, leaving some space. It is not too big of
a deal, but I would expect better in a camcorder that sells for more than $500.
The controls have good tactile feel and are sturdy. The ergonomics are good,
aside from the fact that it is awkward to feel the disc compartment with your
palm as you hold the camcorder.
Comparison with Sony MiniDV Camcorders
Unlike its MiniDV cousins from the Sony lineup (e.g.
HC40), the DVD201 has buttons underneath the LCD screen, although they
are of the cheap kind. Unlike Sony's MiniDV camcorders, the viewfinder tilts
(in HC camcorders the viewfinder only telescopes, which is not good) in
addition to telescoping.
Similar to Sony MiniDV camcorders, the DVD201's LCD has an additional Record
Start/Stop button next to it as well as an LCD backlight button to turn the
screen backlight on and off.
The zoom rocker feels more sturdy than that on the HC30 and lets you control
the zoom speed with more precision (the one in the HC30 is flimsy and requires
too little effort).
The DVD201 has conventional menu system, controlled by the buttons and the
small shiny joystick on the side of the camcorder (unlike the HC20 and HC30,
which use touch-screen control). The menus are very easy to navigate and the
camcorder overall is very easy to use. I was able to use it after reading only
several pages of the manual for DVD101 (the similar camcorder I had
previously).
The camcorder comes with a remote (and battery for it), carry strap, lens cap
with a string, one mini DVD-R disc, a USB cable, an A/V cable, disc with
software, power adaptor and power cord, manuals.
The lens cap is pretty small and I wonder why there is no integrated lens lid
instead.
I will talk more about the camcorder's performance, but will make more
comparisons with Sony MiniDV camcorders as well as with the cheaper DVD101.
Performance
The camcorder comes with one mini DVD-R (write-once) disc. I have also used a,
purchased separately, mini DVD-RW (rewriteable) disc. The DVD-R and DVD-RW
discs can be used in the Video mode. In this mode, after the disc is finalized,
you can play it on a standalone DVD player or in a DVD-ROM drive.
The DVD-RW disc can also be used in VR mode. In this mode, you can edit your
movie, create playlists, etc. VR mode is not as compatible with DVD players as
Video mode.
The camcorder comes with a Li-Ion battery that charges pretty quickly. The
battery definitely lasts enough to record at least one DVD (in my case, battery
lasted almost an hour). The battery is being charged by the camera - the
battery is always attached to the camera and the power adaptor plugs into the
camera. You can see the battery remaining power in minutes at any time.
The fresh disc you insert has to be formatted by the camcorder first. This is
annoying to someone who have used camcorders before (tapes require no
formatting). The formatting is relatively quick, at least comparing to
finalizing a disc though. I will get to that later.
The disc insertion and removal is a bit slow and cumbersome. You have to move
the hand strap away from the disc lid, open the lid and put the disc on the
spindle and push it down pretty forcefully. After the lid is closed, the disc
spins up and the camcorder offers you to format it (if new) or the camcorder
reads it (a pretty slow process, I estimate about 10 seconds). During this
time, you cannot shoot. This is unlike tape-based camcorders, where after a
couple of seconds you are ready to shoot.
The disc mechanism and operation seems pretty similar to DVD101.
After you are done with the disc and want to finalize it to be viewable on a
DVD player, you have to wait for the finalization process to finish. After I
recorded a couple of minutes of video and a handful of still pictures, I had to
wait whole 10 minutes for my DVD-RW to finalize!
To record on the finalized disc (DVD-RW only), you can unfinalize it
(took 2 minutes in my case). Or, if you don't care for the contents already
recorded, you can format it anew.
While the camcorder formats or finalizes the disc, you see a warning that you
should avoid camcorder vibrations. This is pretty annoying.
I have to mention that if you just want to remove the disc and replace, you can
do it without finalizing, but it takes several seconds for the disc to stop
spinning and for the lid to open. The disc is also not very easy to remove -
you lift the edge of it with your finger and have to apply as much force to it
to make it snap out of the spindle that it makes the disc bend slightly.
You can select between three speeds/quality modes: HQ, SP and LP. They fit
approximately 20, 30 and 60 minutes on one disc respectively. I say
approximately, because it depends on the material you shoot. Static images
conserve space whereas scenes with fast motion require more space and reduce
the recording time.
I was unable to see much difference between HQ and SP modes. The LP mode was
noticeably worse.
The video quality of the recording was decent in good light, but got a bit
noisy indoors and in darker scenes. Not only did this camcorder overcompensate
for the darkness by increasing the exposure, the colors seemed to be less vivid
in the darker scenes as well and the noise was visible. The camcorder's noise
was of a smaller, less noticeable quality, comparing to DVD101 and the
resolution seemed higher.
The noise was present despite the best Sony's marketing efforts (boasting about
Advanced HAD CCD and such). The camcorder is rated at 7Lux at F1.8, which is
much worse than my old
Digital8 Sony DCR-TRV120 (1Lux at F1.6). For the record, the old Sony
DCR-TRV120 had an 1/4-inch CCD with 460,000 pixels (290,000 of which were
active) and produced better picture quality in dim light and, seems like,
overall. I bought it more than 4 years ago for less than $600.
But back to the DVD201.
Pushing the Exposure button and moving the joystick to adjust the
exposure down helps with noise and makes the image more realistic in the
darkness.
The same was the case with digital still pictures. The camcorder can take them
at 1152x864 or 640x480 (VGA) resolution and store them on the DVD (no memory
card slot is provided). The picture storage takes a couple seconds and the
pictures can be included in your movie. But the picture quality far from "photo
quality". There is visible overly-aggressive edge sharpening. Don't count on
printing them, but for emailing they are OK.
The camcorder's optical zoom is equivalent to 46-460mm (in 35-mm equivalent)
for video and 38-380mm for digital stills. This means, in video mode it does
not have enough wide angle coverage, especially indoors or on narrow European
streets.
The auto focus worked well and the "Focus" button let me switch to manual
focus. The manual focus is not via a ring, but rather by sing the joystick. The
manual focusing was fast and easy, but it was a bit too fast as it is easy to
focus on infinity, but also easy to overshoot your focusing point
otherwise.
I am seeing a general negative trend in camcorders recently. In this case, you
have a famed name in optics (Carl Zeiss) and impressive numbers and technology,
which do not provide good image quality.
As for sound, the built-in stereo microphone picks up the slight whirring sound
of the disc spinning (proud Dolby Digital inscription notwithstanding).
The LCD is great - fluid and is highly visible as is the color viewfinder. The
Viewfinder has diopter adjustment. The camcorder has a tripod mount and
features highly effective image stabilization.
The mode selector switch has good feel to it and requires just enough effort.
The A/V/S-Video outs as well as the external microphone input are located under
a lid in front of the camcorder, just above the microphone (but the lid is a
little difficult to open). The high-speed USB 2.0 port is in the back. There is
no FireWire (i.Link) connectivity. The thinking probably was that there is no
need for it as far as the USB 2.0 is present and you can use the DVD to
transfer data to your computer.
Speaking of computers, the USB driver is supplied and you will have it, at
least if you have Windows 2000 as I do. My computer recognized the camcorder as
a removable DVD drive, but was unable to read from it until the software was
installed.
Bottom Line
Although my friend told me that she wanted to be able to record on DVD so that
she could just play it in her home DVD player and store it for future, I still
don’t quite understand why somebody would pick the DVD-based camcorder over
the tape one. Yes, the discs look shiny and more high-tech than tape. Yes, you
don’t have to rewind them and look for the segment you want. And yes, you
can play them in your DVD player or DVD-ROM drive.
But the mini-DVD holds only 20-30 minutes in good quality setting, the discs
require formatting and finalizing and spin-up and slow-down periods are slowing
you down. And mini-DVD camcorders cost more than tape-based ones with same
features and same, if not better, performance.
On the flipside, this camcorder is easy to use, compact, has good ergonomics
and lets you produce discs immediately playable in virtually any DVD player. If
you still want a DVD camcorder, mostly plan to shoot in bright light and don't
plan to print your digital stills, the
Sony DCR-DVD201 camcorder may be a good choice. Especially now when you
can buy it for much less than just a couple months ago.
Product Rating
(average)
This review is also available at Epinions.com: Sony DCR-DVD201 DVD Camcorder Review on Epinions.com