HDR-PJ710V
4.1
5
7
7
Not worth the price.
I purchased both the PJ580v and the PJ710v as a present to my wife and parents. The Weiss lense is very impressive in taking videos for the 710 model compared to the stock lense for the 580 model. The quality of the video does not even compare. The Weiss lense is clear and vivid whereas the 580 has fuzz on it. The 710 is more substantial in quality and weight whereas the 580 feels light and vulnerable to breakage.
The camera features on these camcorders are completely useless. They are worse than your mobile phone cameras. The shutter does not execute until a few seconds after taking the photo which means that by the time you click to take the photo, 2 seconds have passed before the camera takes the portrait. The subjects have to stay still to get the right photo. This means you will not get that instant photo of the smile of your child because in 2 seconds the child will do something else when the shutter executes. 24.1 megapixel? I don't think so. The grain is so poor on the photos even though it states that the photos are more than 5000 kbs, it almost seems like that it has less than 1 megapixel. I own a professional Cannon 50d camera and it's only 15 megapixel and it takes much better photos than the Sony Camcorders. Don't buy these camcorder for the camera feature because you will be very disappointed. If I didn't have a nice Cannon, I would have returned the 710 camcorder. It's just too bad, I didn't find out until after I took some family Christmas photos. Even with the flash, the photos did not look bright.
My last issue with this camera is the filing of the photos and videos within the camcorder itself. Once I transfer the photos and videos to my computer, I delete them from the camcorder. But there are these stupid relics of the photos and videos that I deleted that's still in the memory of the camcorder that you don't know if it's still there for viewing or empty. Very annoying. Very bad design.
Anyway, because of the nice videos and the impressive projector, I decided not to return the 710 for a refund and gave it to my wife for Christmas. As for the 580, I returned it for a full refund. I almost returned the 710 model but my wife had this old Sony camcorder and we cannot get tapes for them anymore. Besides, she needed it badly to take Christmas videos. If it weren't for Christmas, I would have returned this instantly.
Again, don't buy these camcorders for the camera feature, buy it for the video. Sony has a long way to go in making nice cameras.
January 2, 2013
Best Camcorder I have owned
I have owned about 4 Camcorders over the years, 3 of them Sony. I use my camcorder every week filming family activities and our stock car races. This is far the best model I have ever owned. I was looking for a model that films well in low light conditions and so far I have been very pleased with this one. Being able to view my video instantly while away from home by projecting the image on the wall is one of the best features I have seen on a camcorder. It is very easy to connect to my Samsung HD TV and the image looks as good as any Blu-Ray DVD we own. Operating the zoom feature is very smooth and easy to control how slow or fast I want to zoom. I have only had the camcorder about 3 weeks and have a lot to learn yet, but over all I am very happy with my choice. It is a little on the expensive side, but then you get what you pay for and it has all the features I need except for one. It has no view finder. I do not like cameras or camcorders without viewfinders. I can control and film better when looking through a viewfinder than trying to follow action looking at the fold out screen. Plus using the screen to film will drain the battery much faster.
October 19, 2012
A Home Run of a Camera
Decided on this one over the top of the line Panasonic. It was close, but the steady shot and the projector won me over. The projector......It is almost as good as my much more expensive projector in my media room. Once you get the hang of focusing it, it works amazingly well. Great for instant playback. The image stab is second to none. Sony knocked this way out of the park. Storage wise I chose this over the more expensive 760 model. 32 gigs plus another sd card of your choice and you can shoot your hearts content. No electronic viewfinder, but do you really use that? I don't. All in all the best camera on the market for the price. If you upgrade from here,have a hefty checking account. Great camera. Love it!
October 19, 2012
Excellent Camcorder!
I bought this camcorder\camera about 2 weeks ago and love it! I haven't bought a camcorder in 13 years, so I was past due and I did my homework. This camera ranked 2nd on www.consumerreports.org and the ONLY thing I don't like about this camera is that it's not the lightest handheld camcorder. The HD picture quality is excellent, but make sure to change it from the default setting "Standard" to either "High Quality = 17mb/1080p" or the "Highest Quality = 24mb, 1080P, FX", but photos can't be taken while recording IF the recording quality is set to the highest level. However, all other recording levels below the highest will allow you to snap photos during a recording session. The projector quality is excellent from any distance, but you have to manually adjust the focus on the LCD, not a big deal. I love the touch screen LCD and the zoom feature is excellent. The image stabilization is amazing! The lens auto focuses, so if your hand gets a bit jumpy, it won't show up on the recording itself. The picture quality is excellent as well #24mb# and can be modified. I connected it to my Samsung Plasma TV using the included HD cable and was amazed at the picture and sound quality. I highly recommend this camcorder. Well worth the $$$.
October 16, 2012
