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

This camcorder is a very good value. I have used it for a variety of tasks, such as recording family events. It does a great job for that. I have also used it for recording my band's rehearsal sessions. Obviously, you are not going to get studio quality sound with a camcorder's microphone. That said, this one did a reasonably good job of capturing even the low end.

I haven't used the record to disk feature, so I cannot comment on that. I'd recommend getting a large (8GB or more) pro-duo memory stick, which is what I did. Why waste disks? All you have to do is plug the camera into your PC and transfer the files. Lather, rinse, repeat. And if you want to burn disks, why, that's what the computer's for!

The user interface for this camcorder is very intuitive. That's probably one of the highest compliments I can pay. Good video and sound quality are essential, but if you can't use the stinking thing, then what's the point? I really didn't even use the manual and was able to figure out mostly everything just by using it.

Two small gripes: even zoomed all the way out, the shots are a bit tight. Being able to zoom out a little further would be nice so if you cannot physically move back from the subject you can still capture a reasonably wide shot. Also, it has a camera feature (as in for still photos) which isn't very good; the pictures are on par with a basic cameraphone. That's a secondary feature and not one I planned to use anyhow, so I don't really care about that. I don't think either of these gripes diminish the camcorder's quality or ease of use.

You could certainly buy a better camcorder, but for the money this is a winner. No buyer's remorse on this one.

I will skip most of the technical aspects of this camcorder, as you can read them in the description and because i am least qualified person I know to explain them. What I CAN add is that it takes great movies. It is small and easy to hold, and it starts up very fast, a plus for my hobby, paranormal investigations. The screen is easy to read. The best feature for me is the super infrared night shot, which I need to use most of all, since I record mostly in dark (scary!) places. Also, the microphone picks up sounds clearly, another plus that is often overlooked in reviews. It also has other neat features, I especially like the play back color effects, monotone, sepia and pastel. Finally, this is a really nice looking camcorder, I get compliments on that, so I thought I'd pass it on!

I'm proud of my purchase. Great camcorder for the price. It's easy to learn and use. I used it during my vacation and am so happy with the video quality. The only thing it doesn't have is the remote control; They said it's included but it's not. I would definitely recommend it to family and friends.

I just have it for a month. So far it does what supposes to do. The resolution is a bit low but I didn't expect much for this price. I still have a problem with memorystick. It didn't work properly. I returned and got a replacement and still didn't solve. So be careful if you think you would rely on the Hybrid function on this camera,you may be disappointed. I also found out that it's not compatible with the high speed memory stick.

With the price of Hard Drive camcorders continuing to plummet, I would highly recommend purchasing a 30 or 40GB Hard Drive camcorder instead of a DVD camcorder and the expensive and finicky MiniDVDs.

JVC (GZ-MG330) and Panasonic both make HardDrive camcorders that are just above the price of this unit. The number one thing that sends a camcorder to service is being dropped and having a full DVD burner built in a asking for mis-alignment of the heads with any such drop or strong jolt. The JVC is only $40 more on Amazon (That's the price of just 20 one time MiniDVD's.)