Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DCR-DVD610 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

I love the camera. I've had it almost a year and enjoy the ease of use it provides. However, Sony isn't completely truthful when advertising the camcorder as Mac compatible. The CD is only for Windows--no Mac software is provided. While the enclosed USB cable does work to transfer .jpg files from the memory stick, it does nothing for transferring the movie files.
After almost a year of using a DVD player hooked to my Miglia TV Max+ to feed the video into Quick Time and re-record my movies, I found a program named Handbrake that will export the movies directly from the camcorder to my Mac.

In general, this is a nice Handycam. However, be careful! No where does it state that this model DOES NOT have an external microphone jack. You must purchase the model 710 or 810 for this feature. I discovered after opening the box [20% + shipping loss to return even though it was never used]. For my purpose this was a serious problem. I will probably have to sell on EBAY so I can upgrade.

When you're going to buy a new camera there are a few questions you have to answer yourself in order to get the right one:
1. Why should I buy something with specific features if I don't have the appropiate devices?
2. What will I record? family videos? pro material?
3. Which transfer method do I prefer? Memory stick? DVD? traditional tape?
4. How long do you think you'll be recording by day? 1hr? 4hrs - are you sure?
5. Do you prefer to record outside - inside? Daylight - at night?
When you have the answers you can start to look for the new toy :)
My answers and decision:
- I don't have a high resolution tv and I guess I won't buy one of this at this moment, so, a very high resolution camera for me it's not useful.
- I want my camera for my "family life", I won't be recording the last madonna's music video. I don't need special lenses to expand the record - video quality.
- I like to capture at day and night. The night mode is very important for me.
- I don't like to have hundreds of disks around my room, you have to handle it with careful and it can be easily damaged. I prefer to keep all my stuff in my hard disk to play it every time I want without handling cases, cleaning a fingerprint, etc, then, the memory stick option is indispensable for my needs.
- Most of my shots will be walking, running, etc, so a image stabilization system is required.
- I don't think I will record a 6hrs long video. I'm making my digital album not a movie! So, a 2hrs life battery is enough for me, then it comes the memory stick, I got a 4GB - Sony.
In the last years technology is raising very fast with more expensive devices, people is buying without taking in mind the final use for things like this one. I know a couple of friends that recently bought a blu ray player and they connect it to a traditional tv!! Really stoopid, don't you think?
Well, let's see some nice features this camera owns:
1. Touchpanel - LCD. It lets you to handle all the functions easily - quickly. However you have to notice it'll consume more battery charge.
2. Steady Shot works well when there is enough light, of course, if you are jumping while recording is running a clear picture cannot be expected.
3. Microphone capacity is enough to record all sounds around. there is no interference when zoom in/out feature is used.
4. Video quality is very good but picture mode is really bad (my webcam works better than this), however I wanted it for video not for pictures. So, it's ok for me.
5. Battery included charges quickly.
6. Nightshot - infrared sys is good just keep in mind you have to be really close to the target.
7. When you're recording directly in the mini-dvd you have to hold it tight, otherwise you'll find picture noise in the final video.
As you can see this camera was my best option taking note of:
1. the price
2. features
3. Brand (it's not a secret you'll find better quality in sony devices).
I hope all this info can help you to decide the best device for you at this moment.

I have used the Sony DVD610 for several weeks. The hybrid feature is nice and I tend to store directly to memory stick and keep a few disks with me for over flow. The 4 gig pro-duo memory stick holds about an hours worth of video. The 40x zoom is nice but is difficult to hold steady shots when fully zoomed. The picture could be better. I film my sons hockey games from the stands, when zoomed out you cant read the players names on the jerseys. I probably should have gone with the DVD710 model to get the more clear picture. Over all I am satisfied with the camera. It functions well with no odd problems.

Great camcorder. Easy to use, small enough to carry in coat pocket vs bag, very light. No cons yet. I used reviews on Amazon to decide my purchase. Also Sony products are dependable.