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Reviewed by UK Guest, 14th Nov 2006. |
| Review Summary: Great camera |
Overall Score: 4/5
 
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Review: Wow, this Sony HDR-SR1 camera is fantastic. This is one of the gadgets I consider as a must have (along with the Philips digital photo frame).
This camera has a great feel to it and the build quality seems fine.
The quality of the HD video is what really makes this camera stand out, the images are clear, sharp and vibrant, and when displayed on an HD ready TV it's as though you're looking out of a window. The 5.1 surround sound is also very impressive.
The software included with the camera is very easy to use and allows you to convert HD to SD which can then be viewed on a standard DVD player. HD recordings can also be created on DVDs which should be compatible with blu-ray devices.
Unfortunately there are a few negative points which I have listed below.
1) The menu structure is poor and rather unintuitive.
2) 90% of the functions are only available via the touch screen. This means that whether you like it or not you're going to end up with finger prints all over the lcd.
3) When using the 'smooth slow motion' feature the picture quality drops dramatically. Its also a bit frustrating that this feature is not available while recording, so you end up with a discreet 12sec video clip. As there is currently no AVCHD editing software available you can't even splice this video clip into existing footage.
4) The HD play back on my computer is very jumpy. There is a note that comes with the camera that warns you about this however I didn't expect to have this problem with a 3.5GHz CPU. That said if the video is written back to the camera or to a DVD the play back will be fine.
Overall I think this Sony HDR-SR1 camera is a great piece of equipment and worth every penny.
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Ratings
| Value For Money: |
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4 |
| Review Score: |
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4 |
| Recommended? | |
Yes |
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Digital Cameras