Sony DCR-SR45 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

I've been using this camera for about 5 months now and found some little flaws in it.
1. The lens cover its manual...i always forget to close it.
2. the battery that comes in the box only lasts 45 min.
3. No viewfinder.
4. Video is good quality in sunny locations, but for example in a wedding or a night event(low light), it sucks.... i could never focus and the image became blury so i had to zoom in and out for it to stabilize.
5. It has a built in zoom mic that its a joke.
6. The video compression its a joke(mpeg2). a 30 sec video its a 12mb in your pc.Even in LQ quality.
7. Dont plug it to a lcd screen...it will look UGLY!!! even in HQ quality.

I think for vacation fun, disney trips, pool, beach and anything that involves great sunny days its a perfect machine since its a small, weightless, no tape.
I will sugest buying an extra battery and the Sony camera case.

The day after I bought this camera (open box for $329.99) I shot some footage of my friend's wedding. Whenever I or anyone around me would cheer loud, the audio would cut down really low for about 30 seconds, then slowly fade back up. I sent it to sony repair instead of returning it, and they didn't do anything. After a 2nd time looking at it with "all their best technicians" they figured out that it was a "feature" that is consistent with all the sr45s. I recorded the same thing as a test at an electronics store and sure enough it did the same t hing. Just a terrible audio design. That all being said, the video quality and audio are good, as long as there are now loud sounds being recorded.

This is a very average HDD Based Camcorder. If you are looking for a decent Camcorder, avoid this. This is very basic. The LCD screen is small. The Touch screen controls are not good. The Quality of the picture is below acceptable. The Zoom is Good. I would suggest spend few extra dollars and get a better one. I am personally not happy with this Camcorder.

We have an aging Sony Hi 8mm and tired of buying tapes. Two friends have the Sony DCR SR42 that this model replaces. Sony improved on a great product!

It is easy to operate, has great sound and quality video recording, light weight, and priced right. Not great for taking still photos, but then it is sold as a camcorder not a still picture camera.

If you are looking for a good camera for vacations and catching family moments then this is a perfect camera. If you are looking for a professional quality camera, then drop $2000 and buy one.

bought this cam for the arrival of our little boy. everything seems pretty good, the still camera is not very good - quality wise, but it's not a still cam, it's a video cam. we've had it just over a month and all seems well so far.