records in high-quality DVD-Video and DVD-VR formats (DVD-Video is MPEG-2; DVD-VR is a modification that works only with DVD-RWs and permits functions like playlists and editing) * records to mini DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs * recording capacity of one disc: 20 minutes at HQ setting; 30 minutes at SP setting; 60 minutes at LP setting * 1-megapixel CCD * digital photo mode * auto exposure bracketing * photo resolution options: 1152 x 864, 640 x 480 * 2-1/2" color LCD viewscreen * color viewfinder * stereo Dolby¨ Digital audio * variable-speed 10X Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 120X) * Super SteadyShot * Super NightShot Plus * auto and manual focus * shutter speed: 1/4 - 1/4000 * Auto Exposure settings * white balance control * manual exposure control * digital picture effects * A/V input/output, including S-video * USB 2.0 interface (backwards compatible with USB 1.1) * Intelligent Accessory Shoe * microphone input * 2-9/16"W x 3-1/2"H x 5-3/8"D * weight: 0.94 lbs. with battery * warranty: 1 year parts, 90 days labor
1 good buy
i think it is a good buy, because I bought it ;-:
i read a lot of reviews before i bought. some were accurate, some were not, at least in my experience. for example, i was not able to edit the movies using MS movie maker, as 'gadgester' suggests below. after a careful read, i realized he never tried it, why mention it then? i think that may be misleading.
the camera is very small, but very user friendly. I used dvd-rw from office depot, they worked well so far. No problems finalizing, unfinalizing or playing. Does not take much time to do any of those operations.
i noticed that i was able to backup existing movies by recording on regular cd-r media, which is very very cheap these days. Of course you need to use a computer to do this.
i am not giving it 5 stars because i haven't been able (and i expected it) to edit movies yet. may be someone has suggestions as to how to do it.
2 Don't buy it!
Sony is currently the only manufacturer making DVD-RW camcorders and apparently they haven't perfected it. I bought mine for almost $1,000 and have had to send it to repair twice, sending it AGAIN as the finalized DVD's all SKIP!!! The DVD's are also very expensive, only hold 25 minutes of video and although RW's allow you to re-record you cannot edit out certain clips and record over those. I am truly disappointed to have bought such an expensive defective camera, and what's worse is the terrible service I have received from Sony. They will not return my money, and will not give me a new camera. Recently I learned from an employee at another store that MANY customers return this model for the same skipping problem. Sony must be aware of this yet continues to con people out of their money. The most they can do for me is issue an "exchange" someone else's defective camera...and that's not guaranteed...so here we are 4 months later...with a defective camera having missed out on precious family memories...going through hassle, time & expense of continuing to have to contact Sony, ship back, test, retest etc. Save yourself the aggravation...do NOT buy this product.
3 A First-time Camcorder Owner is DELIGHTED!
Even though I craved the convenience of a camcorder that could record directly onto a DVD disk, I almost didn't buy the Sony DCR-DVD201 Handycam Camcorder because of the many, well-written reviews on this website that faulted the color quality of the recorded footage.
I went ahead and bought the unit despite expecting to be displeased with the video quality. However, after shooting my first DVD and playing it back in our average-quality DVD player, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the picture quality was excellent. On this disk I had shot in daylight, and incandescant light, some outdoor scenes as well, both wide angle and close-up, and the image crispness and color quality was outstanding at all times.
I never owned any camcorder before (either digital or VCR/VHS), and I'm not really a technical/computer person. Yet I found the camcorder easy to learn and use. In fact, I'm teaching my 5 year old daughter how to use it and she's almost competent with it after just a couple of sessions.
Basically, all you do is charge the battery, insert a DVD, record your footage, 'finalize' the DVD, and pop it out of the camcorder into your DVD player or computer to play it back. I would say it's almost idiot-proof, but I still tried to record while the lens cap was on, and my 5-year old had to tell me to take the lens cap off!
I don't know if the other reviews mention it, but there's also a remote control. I already bought a tripod for the camcorder (with a 20% discount on accessories that you get as soon as you register the camcorder at the Sony website), and I plan to work the camcorder with the remote control from a tripod so I can get into the picture with the rest of the family.
The unit fits into your hand really well. And, the sound quality was excellent too - I didn't hear any of the DVD spinning noise that the other reviewers unfortunately experienced.
I am using the unit for family footage at present and don't have any immediate plans to do any editing of my recordings. That would be beyond my time and abilities, so I can't comment on the editing software that comes with the unit. I do some teaching might record some lectures on it but I can do so without need of the editing function.
Before I saw this 'all-in-one' unit, I almost bought a camcorder plus a separate device for the sole purpose of burning DVD's of your recordings ($300 at best buy); I am delighted with the convenience of having it all in one unit, without experiencing any of the quality problems mentioned in the other reviews.
4 Camcorder is OK, but Pixela is terrible
The camcorder is fairly easy to operate and the picture quality is OK. The small size is great and the ease of popping the DVD out of the camcorder and into a DVD player is the best feature of all.
The biggest problem is the Pixela software. It is probably the worst video editor I've tried to use and I've tried a lot. Most of the video editors are set up to work with a mini-DV format camera. Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, Premiere elements, Ulead, Avid all have trouble with this camera. I have to capture the video using Pixela, then import the mpeg's into another program to edit and the sound doesn't work. Does anyone know of a video editor that works with a Sony DVD camcorder???
Its great if you never want to edit a video, but after you get bored watching the same raw footage and want to experiment with some movie making, you're out of luck with a Sony DVD.
5 High hopes, but I am returning my new 201...
I purchased a new DVD201 with high hopes on how it would work. I already own a Sony DVD recorder for my home ent. center and a Sony Mavica CD camera, which I love (and uses the same batteries as this camcorder), so I thought this camera would be ideal for us, as I would have no problems using Sony products with Sony products.
But even at the highest quality setting (HQ setting) the picture quality is lousy - the colors are all faded and washed out. I thought at first this might be because I was using SP mode and VR recording setting, so I switched to HQ and Video mode. Very little difference. I filmed well-lit indoor scenes of items with bright colors and went outside and filmed flowers in bloom and other items with vivid color. Only the outside shots came even close to being acceptable - the inside shots were not good, and for $900 with all the accessories, this is too much to pay for a poor quality picture. I am very disappointed. I would have kept this camera if it were not for this problem. Also, it is just as someone else posted here, this is not a bug in the camera I bought - this is how it works. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE IMAGE IN THE VIEWFINDER when you try this camera in the store. Burn a DVD-R disc, then play it back on a DVD player on any TV - you will see the problem.
Also, the shots taken outside are noisy, with little wind today, the shots sound like I am in a wind tunnel. The mike picked up lots of wind noise. This is not acceptable either.
Finally, the sound on the inside shots have a high amount of background noise (whirring sound) due to the DVD motor. This is also unacceptable.
SONY ENGINEERS: YOU NEED TO REWORK THIS DESIGN!
6 Outstanding Camcorder....BUT
As Pee Wee Herman once said " Everybody's got a big BUT". This is truly an outstanding camcorder. The convenience of recording directly onto a DVD is great. Sound quality, picture quality and ease of use are all five stars. BUT, the software SONY provides is absolutely, positively the WORST piece of garbage ever invented for video editing. If you are looking for a camcorder now, and can afford a few hundred extra bucks, SONY DVD is the way to go.
7 sony DCR-DVD201 Handycam
It does an excellant job shooting movies, but still camera has a lot to be desired. I bought the video flash light, it helps some, but I was expecting more for the still pictures
8 Frail, Fragile and Unreliable
We've lost so many moments that we wanted to video - kid's first day in the snow, baby's steps, and more. We record video and at some point into the dvd the camera says "Access Error" and you've lost all the stuff on that DVD, never to be seen again!
To pay so much money for a camera that has never seen a hard day nor been bumped or dropped, yet repeatedly loses video footage is rediculous - if I could somehow return it, I would in a second - this camera is a total rip-off!!
9 Very pleased
I read many reviews of this product before my purchase. I am very happy with my Sony DCR-DVD 201. It was very easy to use. I did not find the user manual overwhelming as some people noted. I am not very "techy," yet I found this product to be a great investment and easy to use. I recommend it for parents who wish to record their children's activities.
10 Sony DCR DVD 201 as good as it gets.
I have had many camcorders in the past 20 or so years. From the first huge on the shoulder model to the large screen rotatable Hi 8. I film 18-u girls fastpitch softball as a side gig. After using all the others I decided to go to the DVD type for ease of use in transferring to my computer for editing and the capability to view as soon as I was finished filming for the day using only a DVD player in my truck. The still picture quality is as good as my 5mp Dimage and can be stored on the same DVD disk as the filming. The film picture quality is dumbfounding and is extremly easy to use. The menus are easily accessible and workable with one hand. The huge battery life can go almost the entire day, 8 hours of use. Yes I bought the high $ camera and i'm glad I did it's the best thing to happen to my business and enjoyment of filming ever. Did I mention the nightshot mode? I bought an extender so this thing reaches out 100' in total darkness. I'm a hunter, but now I find myself shooting DVDs of my friends hunting more than my weapon. Spend the money this is the best.
11 Camera has problems with blank DVD-R discs
The camera won't work with CompUSA DVD-R's (I tried a bunch of them). I don't know if it is the camera's fault or CompUSA's, but I recommend trying out the blank DVD-R's in the store before taking them home.
12 No need for a computer!
This is our first camcorder. Admittedly we were intimidated by all of the choices and formats on the market. This DVD camcorder is a wonderful option because you do not need to use a computer or any additional equipment to watch your movies. If you do desire to do editing with your PC, you can do it with a usb port and unlike many other camcorder formats you do not need a firewire. We have a DVD player (not even a new or fancy one) and we are able to pop the DVD right from the camcorder into the DVD player and watch it right away - no extra steps. There is no need to plug the camcorder into a vcr or tv to play it if you have a dvd player. To us that made it worth the extra cost beyond that of a minidv camcorder. In addition, the DVD media is a lot more permanent than most tape formats as a DVD will last a much longer time - no need to transfer it into another form for archiving. The DVDs can even be played on the sony playstation game players.
If you don't want to buy a lot of extra equipment for a computer and you want instant gratification where you can view your movies quickly and archive them without hassle, this is the camcorder for you!
13 WARNING...DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA
TO START OFF, SONY LIED IN THE PROMOTION OF THIS CAMERA...IT HAS NO COMPATIBLE MICROPHONES TO MOUNT ON THE INTELLISHUE...IT HAS NO SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH THE FORMAT OF THIS CAMERA...THE PICTURE QUALITY IS NOT AS GOOD AS MINI DV..I THINK MY 8MM MIGHT HAVE BETTER QUALITY...SONY MAKES ALL THESE CLAIMS AND THEY ARE NOT TRUE...THE SONY TECH TEAM THAT I HAVE TALKED TO FOR DAYS NOW DOES NOT HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THIS CAMERA..THEY ARE UNEDUCATED AND COULD NOT HELP ME IN THE LEAST WAY WHEN I CALLED TO GET HELP SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS ..NOW THAT I BROUGHT ALL THESE PROBLEMS TO THEIR ATTENTION..THEY SAY "TOUGH LUCK-THANKS FOR BUYING THIS CAMERA"...THIS IS FRAUD AND NOT TO MENTION THE HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT I GOT WHEN I TRIED TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS...I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT THIS CAMERA IF I WAS NOT TRICKED INTO BUYING IT FROM SONY...THE SOFTWARE SONY PROVIDES CRASHES CONSTANTLY AND IS LIMITED AND UNPREDICTIBLE WITH FLAWS IN YOUR FINAL PRODUCT...IF YOU PLAN TO DO EDITING OR WANT ACCESSORIES TO GO WITH YOUR CAMERA...THIS IS NOT THE CAMERA TO BUY...I AM VERY DISAPOINTED IN SONY WITH THIS PRODUCT...I LIKE DVD FORMAT...BUT SONY HAS NOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO IT RIGHT AND I AM STUCK WITH A VERY EXPENSIVE EXPERIMENTAL CAMERA THAT DOES NOT DO THE JOB THAT SONY CLAIMS IT WOULD..SAVE HALF YOUR MONEY AND GET A MINI DV CAMERA...SONY GOT ME ON THIS ONE...I WILL NOT BUY SONY ANYMORE DUE TO THE LYING AND UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE GOOD ON THIS PIECE OF JUNK THEY SOLD ME...I SAY BOYCOTT SONY UNTIL THEY WAKE UP AND REALIZE THE CUSTOMERS ARE NOT GOING TO KEEP PAYING HIGH PRICES FOR POOR PRODUCTS...
14 Good but not great camcorder-
The DCRDVD201 camcorder is a pleasure to use because it is not difficult to operate, has many great features, and probably its best feature- it is very small and lightweight.
It does not take hours of user manual reading and fidgeting around with the camera to begin using it, and ocassionally referring to the manual to use its more complicated features is all you need to do.
The steady shot is always on and makes recording and viewing easy. The super night shot works well also, but unless your nocturnal, it doesn't get used too much.
The image mixer software that comes with the camera is not as self explanatory as the camera is, but with a little extra effort and time, the program is versatile and capable of handling all your editing needs.
The hype over the DVD camcorders is over done. Unless you buy and use the expensive little DVD-+R's to record onto, and have nothing to edit, there is little benefit to recording directly to a DVD. But if you use the DVD-RW's so you can edit, erase, and re-record, you are going through the motions of putting the video on your computer anyway; which you can do with miniDV or another recording format. In short, the DVD's that you record to is just temporary storage, if you, like most people will edit your recording before putting the video on a final DVD-+R.
I say all that to say- suprisingly, the picture quality is argueably not as good as miniDV and if you are going to have to transfer your recorded material to a computer to edit and finalize anyway- you may want to save yourself the extra $500 and buy a camcorder that doesn't record onto DVD-+R's.
15 i am still learning
i bought the dvd201 i am learning the feature. its looks ok but it absorbs more yellow in the picture. and i am really anxious to know how can i use it as webcam?
the main drawback of this camcorder is lack of memory slot.
16 I would give it 5 Stars but...
Unfortunatly only getting 1 Megapixel with still photography just doesn't cut it. Since I also own a Sony Digital Still Camera (MVC-CD300), which is a 3.3 Megapixel camera, I guess I was expecting better from this camera for still photography. After all, this one uses a DVD whereas the other uses a CD.
Over all, though I agree that moving the videos and pictures you take onto your computer is a breeze. The video is easily edited and making a home movie for DVD is a breeze. The quality of watching the video played either from the camera itself or a DVD player on TV is great.
Again, it's a GREAT video camera and if you don't own a digital still camera, you get both options from this device (just don't expect to get postcard-quality pictures out of it). This is the best personal DVD recorder that I have seen on the market to date.
17 Once you are converted you won't go back
It's just incredible convenience to be able to record directly onto a (mini) DVD, then pop the DVD into your home DVD player, and then play your video and also store it on a permanent (100+ years?) medium. No more fumbling with IEEE 1394 cables, transfering video over to VCR or (ugh!) PC, only to face a demagnetized VHS tape or crashed computer hard drive.
The convenience of using DVD-R/RW is the #1 reason why you'd buy this camcorder. It's also stylish and easy to operate, with a great shape for the (right-hande) palm. But Sony should have included a larger zoom than the 10x optical included. Considering Canon's miniDV can do 20+x zoom, Sony should improve this.
The review by Pat from Colorado is helpful but I disagree with his/her assessment of the video quality. I think the DVD201's video quality is pretty good. It's not pro-quality like the 3-CCD camcorders from Canon, but it's pretty good compared to other consumer-class miniDV camcorders. Initially I was afraid of digital artifacts on the video, but have seen none so far.
With DVD-R (much cheaper than the 3" DVD-RW, which is also hard to find) you can record only once, but you can always just copy the files to your PC and use Windows Movie Maker or Adobe Premiere or any video-editing package. I haven't tried it, though. It's just fabulous to just pop out the DVD from the camcorder, pop it into the DVD player and not worry about anything else.
Is this worth $900 while you can get a great miniDV camcorder from Canon, JVC or Panasonic for one-third of that? I can't answer this question for you. For me, the convenience alone is worth a heft premium, since I no longer pull my hair out over frustrated video-transfer attempts. I can now actually enjoy shooting AND playing back my home videos. I can now live a few years longer, I think.
NOTE: When buying blank media, be sure to buy the right format!
18 No Yellow Dots on My DVD 201, Great so Far!
I find it easy to use,nice and compact, fun and very nice camcorder with a lot of extras. I've just got my about a week ago, still learning how to use it, but I'm having fun doing it.
Sony: They sure make nice electronics,expensive but nice.
19 Disappointed User
I waited for this 2nd generation model to hit the market but I was nothing but disappointed. I purchased the DVD 201 through a retail chain 2 week ago and I see many yellow dots on the screen and it actually records to the DVD. The coloring looks distorted. It does not seem to happen outside and at first I thought it was low lighting so I bought a light which does not seem to help with the spots. With the shades open (in the house)the dots disappear, but once the shades are closed you see tons of dots again. I have a realitively well lite house in addition to using the 3 watt light on the hotshoe. I exchanged once already ( 2 weeks prior) because I thought it was a mfg defect but I am still having the same problem with the replacement. I have a work order number for repair from Sony that is the best they can do to resolve the issue. What a shame a brand new camcorder has to be serviced 2 weeks old and on top of it I have to pay shipping expenses. I returned it to the store again and am going to read reviews to find a better quality camera. I previously had a JVC which was great and currently they seem to have the better reviews than Sony and Canon. I don't think the DVD world is up to speed yet. Save your money until it is perfected.
20 Great Compact Recorder Awesome Picture
Being a electronics layman I had spent some time reading the reviews on this DVD 201. I originally purchased the DVD 101 but didn't realize until after I had ordered it that the 201 has a much better CCD (provides for a clearer picture). I returned the 101 and purchased the 201. If you're thinking about purchasing the 201 vs the 101 for only $100 more the 201 makes a better buy just for the optical clarity. The 201 has a 1/5th CCD vs the 101's 1/6th CCD. (Bigger does mean better here.) Other than that they seem to be identical cameras. I have had no problems taking pictures or recording video to the camera. It is almost as easy as my old Hi-8 camcorder. The only difference in recording between the Hi-8 and the DVD is that you have to finalize the disk when you are done. The DVD-R's/RW's are also a bit more expensive but make for much better storage (size wise) and they won't ever demagnitize on you over time.
21 Great deal thru Amazon
If you compare the prices between buying directly thru Circuit City or on their website and Amazon (Circuit City), Amazon offers a better deal for your money. If you choose to go thru Amazon to pickup the product at Circuit City you can expect to be notified when to pick it up in 24hrs. If you track your order it will say that you'll get confirmation in 1 hour so that you can go down to Circuit City and pick it up - not correct. I got worried when the day passed and still no notice, but the next morning I got the email to pickup the product. It was worth waiting 24hrs because of the money I saved. The camcorder fits in the palm of your hand and I'm impressed with it.
22 Convenience of DVD worth the degraded video quality?
I am a point and shoot type: Kids/parties/family stuff. No pro training or desire. I just wanted a new camcorder to video the little ones as they grew up.
I haven't bought a camcorder in 10+ years and I did a lot of research. I was ready to buy a Sony DCR TRV38, but the new DVD recorders had just come out. These are 2 different categories of camcorders, but each has its appeal. I decided to give the DVD201 a try for the convenience of direct DVD recording. I have compared the two (borrowed my parents' TRV38 for comparison) side by side. Here are my impressions:
1. Size: the DVD201 is smaller and felt good in hand. Very easy controls.
2. The DVD201 didn't have a touch screen LED. That's good for me!! Its LED screen is 2.5" versus 3.5" on the TRV38. Sony has incorporated a new technology for the LED that lets you see it in bright sunlight. This feature was EXCELLENT!! It actually worked. I never had to use the viewfinder because of screen "washout." It easily beat the TRV38 in that department. The TRV38's LED was unusable in bright sunlight.
3. Image quality: Hands-down, the TRV38 wins here. I was a bit disappointed with the DVD201. Why? Read the review of the Sony DCR-HC40 at camcorderinfo.com and you'll see that they weren't impressed with the CCD (sensor) of that camcorder (it got unsatisfactory marks for low-light quality / and video quality in general). Unfortunately, that CCD is the SAME ONE USED IN THE DVD201. In order to make the camcorder smaller, Sony had to reduce the size of the CCD to 1/5". They claim that "new technology" compensates for the smaller sensor......NOT REALLY!! The larger 1/4.7" CCD of the TRV38 shows in the quality of the video. Both have the same 690K effective pixel resolution, so what gives? Does it matter? Not really!! The bottom line is that the TRV38 provides richer, fuller, and brighter video quality than the DVD201 (for $200 less). The DVD201 video looked gray and washed-out compared to the TRV38. Maybe it's the media itself; mini-DV versus mini-DVD. Maybe it's the sensor. Maybe it's the recording format. It doesn't matter why......the video quality doesn't compare to cheaper units. [side note: the TRV38 has consistently earned very high marks for video quality and low-light ability]
4. As far as low-light ability, the TRV38 "wins" here too, but not by that much. I thought the DVD201 was comparable here with the TRV38. In low light, both videos were a bit grainy. The "Super nightshot plus" gimmicks were just that; gimmicks. The DVD201 does look better due to color being incorporated into the nightshot IR scene. Not a big deal, however.
5. Here's where the new Sony shines: The convenience of the DVD201 is unmatched. Simply pop in a mini-DVD (expensive media, however) and record away. Unfortunately, you have to "finalize" the disc before playing it in a DVD player. The manual warns that this process could take 1 minute to 2 hours?!? HUH? I have burned several so far and it never took more than 3 minutes. Here's the real kicker: Pop the finalized disc into your DVD player and watch it right now!! It's that simple. You will be enjoying your videos while everyone else with a mini-dv camcorder is still trying to hook up the darn camera to the TV with cables. THIS IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST REASON TO BUY THIS CAMCORDER..........Convenience. You don't have to download anything to your computer, compile it, burn a DVD (on the computer), and then pop it into the DVD player.
6. My kids love to watch their home videos...right now!! This camera eliminates the need to hook up anything to your TV with cables (where little hands can break an expensive camera). If you loathe the thought of taking video on a mini-DV, downloading it to the computer via hotwire, compiling/editing your obviously amateur video, re-writing it to a DVD with a DVD burner, and ONLY then get to enjoy it "effortlessly" on your TV, then the DVD201 is for you.
7. Here's the downfall, however; Not much editing ability with the DVD201. Using a DVD-R disc, you burn the DVD as you are taking the video. If you use a DVD-RW, you can download the video to the computer, erase, edit, and rewrite with it. (Apparently, the supplied editing software sucks, but I can't comment because I haven't used it). I will probably never edit much, so I don't mind. If you love to edit, think twice about this camera.
PROs: Small size, good feel, excellent LED screen, ultra convenient DVD media (can eliminate computer interface if desired), perfect if you don't care about doing much editing, excellent image stabilization, "finished product" for kids' review very quick (shoot the video, finalize disk, ready for DVD player, DONE!!), good sound quality
CONs: Video quality not as good as cheaper units (looks gray/washed-out), expensive media, sound of DVD spinning captured on tape (low "whir" audible), a bit grainy low-light performance, no wind filter, not much editing ability
HERE'S THE QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF: Is the convenience of the DVD media worth an extra 200 bucks at the expense of video quality? I'm still debating. Don't get me wrong. The video quality is good, but not great. The DVD201 is a good point and shoot camcorder, but isn't video quality what it's all about? Maybe. Maybe not. Convenience is a huge factor for some of us. One thing is for sure; the DVD201 beats the heck out of the JVC VHS-C I'm replacing. Of course that camcorder is 10+ years old.
BOTTOM LINE: Who will buy this camcorder? People who place convenience at the top of their list of features and are willing to sacrifice some video quality to get it!!!
Hope this helps. By the way, I'm debating whether to return my DVD201 or not.
23 Nice camera with lots of features.
Have had this camera for a few weeks now, and I must say the image quality is impressive. We originally had a DCR-DVD200 on backorder since Christmas time, and recently found out that it was discontinued by Sony (as well as the DVD100 & 300), making way for the new DVD101 & 201. Glad I waited, for these new models are over 25% smaller than their predecessors, and hopefully Sony has addressed some of the earlier complaints customers had about the previous models, improving on the features/qualities.
Besides the sharp image quality, the stereo sound is superb (in my opinion), however the spinning noise of the disc in quiet environments can be noticable in your recordings. The "Pixela" software that comes included seems to be a little too basic, and found using the free Windows Movie Maker is much better, however you can only make VCDs with WMM. I have tried some trial versions of DVD editing software (Ulead's Videostudio and Movie Factory), but so far they don't seem to support this camera, or at least the 'Dolby Digital' audio, rendering the captured videos silent. Anyone recommend a certain program to use that works with this? Those seem to be my only complaints.
All in all, I'm quite happy with this camera, and recommend it for the ease of use and image quality.
