Sony DCR-SR47 Review

The Sony DCR-SR47 Hard Disk Drive HandyCam Camcorder title doesn't even tell you what the device is... it's a Video Camera, for those not used to the term 'HandyCam'. Sony is my favorite manufacturer; no matter what I've bought from Sony over the years, it was always well-made and strong.

The hard-drive that it comes with lets you store tons of videos and photographs, and it doesn't even increase the camera's size very much. It can fit, easily, into a pocket.

Here are some of the advantages of the Sony DCR-SR47 camcorder:

1. Each of these cameras seem to be offering ever-increasing levels of zoom, and this one doesn't disappoint. With a 60X zoom, you can't possibly need that most of the time. If you want to shoot photos of some that's standing across the street, this is the video camera for you.

2. Also, the quality of the image when your zooming is excellent, which isn't always the case with video cameras. The ability for the camera to focus on objects that move is excellent, as well.

3. The first thing people do after they buy a digital video camera is they see how it looks on their big LCD screen and an HD image holds up well even when displayed on a large HDTV. The thing to do is look at it very closely, and even when you're close it seems to be finely focused and of good quality.

4. There's no way you should ever purchase a video camera without it having a rechargeable feature, which this one has. That means you won't be throwing batteries away every second, and will be able to charge more than one set if you're going somewhere that you need hours worth of shots. Since video eats up the power, as well as drive space, you'll need that ability.

5. The software which is bundled with the camera is easy to use, allowing you to copy what you've shot over to the computer with ease. However, you'll have to use third-party software if you wish to edit videos together into finished pieces with credits and title pages. I was impressed by how good the sound quality was, coming from such a small microphone.

In all fairness, the Sony DCR-SR47 HandyCam isn't perfect:

1. You might not wish to zoom to its fullest extent, because you'll notice some larger squares become visible, but if you keep the level down to reasonable levels, it works well. The quality of the lens is quite remarkable, and the image is very stable and doesn't shake when you're zooming, as is often the case with other video cameras.

2. As sometimes happens with these small units, the microphone can pick up the sound of the camera as it zooms when it's recording, although it's a directional mike.

When you've considered all the things this Sony DCR-SR47 Hard Disk Drive HandyCam Camcorder can do, at its price it's a good video camera that doesn't cost much. That it has a harddisk, for lots of storage is good and it's small, as well.

That it has a 60X zoom is incredible; oftentimes these cameras will have no better than a 30X zoom, and even then there are little boxes that you can see when you blow up the picture.