Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony HVLIRM Battery IR Light for DCR-DVD101, 201, 301, 105, 205, 305, 405, 505, DCR-HC21, 32 42, 26, 36, 46 & 96 Camcorders

Ordered this light for myself for Christmas. I have a Sony DCR-HC30 camcorder, and the built-in IR light source (one LED) is woefully inadequate for anything that's more than about 3 feet away.

The HVL-IRM light mounts on the (non-hot) shoe on top of my camcorder just fine, and the screw-clamp on the light locks it in place. It also comes with a black aluminium mounting bracket to allow the light to be attached to a camera that has no accessory shoe.

I tried the light with both NiMH and Alkaline batteries (I don't have the Sony battery pack) and it appears to work equally well with either type. The unit appears to have a step-up converter inside, to run the 8 LEDs from such a low voltage. There is a rotary brightness control on the front, which is quite effective. The locking on/off switch is also cool. Build quality is nice, like you'd expect from Sony. The light is quite small and lightweight.

The claim is that it works up to 100 feet. I found that the light has quite a narrow beam pattern, which is about the same width as having the zoom on my camcorder at 50%. Shooting at less than this focal length and you see a distinct, lighted square in the centre of the picture. The 100' maximum is wishful thinking, unless you're happy with a faintly lighted, grainy picture. I could barely make out the features on the house behind mine, ~60' away.

I haven't tested the light extensively yet, but initial tests in the back yard indicate that it would be best for shooting specific objects or subjects about 10-30 feet away, rather than a wide-angle scene that's happening directly in front of the camera; which is what I was hoping for. (I almost always use my camera with a x0.6 wide angle adapter fitted.)

I will try to update this review when I've used the light some more...

I purchased this light to use with my Sony DCR-HC28 MiniDV camcorder. It is attached using the provided accessory shoe bar. It can also be attached to an accessory shoe on any camera because it's universal and not the Sony proprietary hot shoe design. It's mounted or un-mounted quickly.

The light will run on either a Sony Li-Ion battery or AA batteries making this truly versatile. A Li-Ion battery is not included but can be purchased separately at Amazon.com or eBay. What's great about this is you can load 2 AA batteries and the Li-Ion batteries at the same time. Then, when either dies you just flip a switch and begin using the other power source. This is important when your in a place with allot of activity and don't want to loose a minute of usable video.

The illumination is fine for indoor use. It can be adjusted from low to high depending on how reflective the surfaces are at the place being investigated. The light is projected in more of a flashlight style beam. This is different from the SIMA light which projects in a floodlight style.

Overall, this is a great IR light and a critical addition to my equipment lineup.

I purchased this IR light to use my camcorder in darkness. It works pretty well. It emits a "spot" type light - similar to a flashlight - and will illuminate objects 20 - 25 feet away using my JVC GZ-MS100 in night mode or with the shutter set to 1/15 sec or slower. Much farther than 25 feet and the illumination falls off sharply. I like the two battery system of the Sony - it uses 2 AA batteries which install internally, and uses an optional external Sony battery pack that clips to ther rear of the unit. I filmed using the Sony IR light for 8 hours continuously and used only 20% of the optional external Sony battery power.

In comparrison, I also purchased a SIMA SL 20IR, and an SL 10IR. The 10IR was useless - it had 9 LEDs arranged in a 3X3 matrix, but only the center LED illuminated. Maybe the unit was deffective; I returned it. In contrast, the 20IR worked well. It has 12 LEDs in a 6X6 matrix, and they all illuminated. It produces a "flood" type pattern of light that also illuminates out to about 20 - 25 feet. In one case, I used both the Sony (as an IR spotlight) and the SIMA (as an IR floodlight) simultaneously and got great results - sort of like having your car's high and low beams on at the same time.

The Sony HVLIRM IR light is a good external light source that gives you a spotlight type IR light source. It is well built and has two battery power options - both of which can be used using the switch on the unit - slide to the "A" position to use the AA batteries, and slide to the "B" position to use the optional external Sony battery pack (that you can purchase separately). The external battery and its optional charger are not cheap, but the battery pack fits other Sony camcorders, and it provides many hours hours of run time (estimated 36+ hours) for the IR unit before it needs a charge.

The Sony HVLIRM Battery IR is superior to The Sima SL-20 & 10IR mostly because of the battery life/recharge time. The Sima (both 10&20) have a constant usage time of 40-45 min.each, and that's pushing it. They also require over 2 hours to recharge!!! The Sony has the GREAT advantage of having a unique power set-up. You can use any of the long-life Sony InfoLithium M series recharable batteries (the NP-FM50 delivers over FIVE HOURS, the NP-QM71 cranks out over 10 hours of uninterupted IR Light). Plus, you can use 2AA alkaline as backup, facilitated by switch on the side. When the pack dies, you simply flip the switch to engage the Alkaline (which last up to an hour). Or you can use just Alkaline if you don't want to buy the pack.
Althouhg the Sony light sheds more of a "flashlight"-type dispersal, as compared to the Sima which acts more like a floodlight, the dimmer wheel on the lower left side can be used for a more "flood-type" type affect. The only disqppointment was that there is no way to recharge the Battery Pack on the IR Light itself. You have to buy a (fairly inexpensive) charger.
Overall, In my line of work as a full-time Paranormal Investigator, I am definately going for this IR Light with Battery Pack, etc . . . . I do own two Sima IRs, two 10s & two 20s. These I will retain for emergency backup!!!!!

I bought this item for night parades of a group of kids that my granddaughter is in. I got it and decided to put it to the test. I took it to my basement where there is no light at all once the lights are turned off. Well, I was surprised when I looked through my view finder and it looked likeI had a flashlight on. It sure made 100% difference. It turned night into day. That was with 2 "AA" batteries and it stayed on 60 minutes with no change. I ordered the regular battery for this as I know it will be even better. if anyone says this does not work, they got a bad unit or did not use it as it is suppose to be. Also the manual is in many languages which helps. I sure would reccomend this.