Sony DCR-SR45 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom
Details
- Availability:
- Usually ships in 1-2 business days
- Our Price:
- Too low to display
- Average Customer Rating:
- 3.5 out of 5
- Manufacturer:
- Sony
- Release Date:
- 2008-01-31
Ready to Buy?
- Our Price:
- Too low to display
Features
- Capture video to hard disk drive; 30 GB storage
- 40x optical zoom, 2000x digital zoom; Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
- 2.7-inch widescreen touch-panel Clear Photo LCD
- Built-in zoom microphone with 5.1-channel recording
- Memory Stick Pro Duo media slot
Description
The DCR-SR45 Handycam(R) camcorder is ready when you are, with a built-in 30GB Hard Disk Drive for storage and up to 20 hours of recording time (LP). A 2.7" Touch Panel LCD Monitor keeps all the controls at your fingertips, while a 40x Optical, 2000x Digital Zoom keeps all the action up close and personal. The DCR-SR45 brings simplicity back to video sharing. 1/8" Advanced HAD(TM) (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD with 680K effective pixels provides stunning detail and clarity with exceptional video, up to 500 lines of horizontal resolution and still image performance. The optical zoom helps to bring the action close up from far away. In addition the Digital Zoom Interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms. The 2.7" LCD display rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles, as well as provides sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lenses are designed specifically for compact camcorders, and utilize precision ground optics to maintain the sharpness and contrast found with larger lenses. Aperture - F1.8 - 4.1 Filter Diameter - 30mm Focal Distance - 1.9 - 76mm Shutter Speed - Auto, 1/30 - 1/250 (Scene Selection Mode) Minimum Illumination - 6 lux (Auto Slow Shutter ON, 1/30 Shutter Speed) Video Signal System - NTSC color, EIA standards Format Supported - SD (MPEG2) White Balance - Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One-push (touch panel) Scene Modes - Auto, Twilight, Candle (movie only), Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks (movie only), Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Sports (movie only), Beach, and Snow Recording Media - 30GB Non-Removable Hard Disk Drive, Memory Stick(R) Duo Media, and Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo Media Dimensions - 3 x 3 1/8 x 4 1/2 (76.3x76.6x112.8mm) Weight - 14 ounces (400 gram) with Battery
Spotlight customer reviews
Good camcorder but a couple of points to note
[ Posted: 2008-08-26 ]
Overall good camera but couple of flaws:
1. Picture quality is nice for digital but don't expect miracles - if you want crisp quality go for HD
2. Goes out of focus when moving the camera around while recording.
Will probably get HD once prices are more reasonable.
NICE CAMERA, EASY TO USE
[ Posted: 2008-08-06 ]
Bought this camcorder to take on cruise. Realy liked the compact size and ease of use. When I got it home it was a breeze to down load and burn a DVD but that is all the softwear allows you to do, no special effects.The screen in sunlight is useless and with no view finder sometimes you are just guessing what you are getting.Qualitity of video is good and with the 30GB hard drive video time is no worry.The zoom was not bad either and the built in stabalizer really helps when you zoom out.I dinged it one star because of the screen and softwear. Sony can do better.
Excellent Product
[ Posted: 2008-08-06 ]
My main motivation for buying this product had been the brand name and also since I didn't want to spend on recurring costs like tape/DVDs.
After many trips shooting with this handycam, the video quality has been consistently amazing.
Coupled with an additional battery, it can last hours of shooting.
I wouldn't recommend anyone to take pictures with this since it's clearly not meant for it. The photo quality is abysmal at best and is no substitute for a regular camera.
Happy shooting if you buy one :)
Great family-use camera
[ Posted: 2008-08-04 ]
This is a great camera. It is much smaller than I had realized, but very lightweight, and fits perfectly into the palm of the hand. Very comfortable. Takes great quality video, and we're really impressed with it overall. Comes on quickly for those candid moments, and the microphone is surprisingly strong for a video camera. The only downside is that the videos are very large size files when uploaded to a computer, but I'm working on figuring that part out still, as I'm sure there's some way to compress them or something similar. Overall, we are very pleased with this camera, and are glad we chose it!
Hard Drive Failure
[ Posted: 2008-07-30 ]
I really wanted to like this camcorder. I've had Sony products in the past and the quality has always impressed me ever since I got my first Sony Walkman. Once I received this camcorder, I was able to get going without even reading the manual - so intuitive! Just the quickstart guide sufficed and I was on my merry way recording the burps and stares of my newborn daughter.
Then I got an HDD Format Error. I've treated this camera as carefully as possible, setting it down gently every single time I've used it.
But this error basically means I've lost all the video I have not downloaded, something like an hour's worth chronicling the first two weeks of my daughter's life.
I'm not new to technology (I'm an software engineer by trade) and I've used other camcorders/cameras/computer notebooks. I know the inherent danger of recording on HD but I've encountered very few HD crashes in products I've used (iPod, the 5 notebooks I've had in the past, desktop computer, etc).
Either this camcorder is a dud or the quality/design of this product is one of the worst I've ever encountered.
Now I've lost moments that cannot be replaced - a cost far more than just the camera.
HD products have been fairly reliable for me in the past so I'm not swearing off HD equipped camcorders.
However, I'm swearing off HD equipped camcorders by Sony for the immediate future.
========================
Updated:
I raised my review of this product because Sony Customer Service is exceptional. They spent almost 2 hours trying to help me diagnose this problem but to no available. They then created an immediate work order for repair if I choose that route. This might be a one time dud.