Super Sony Handycam for less than £100 (Sony Handycam DCR-HC53E)

Member Name: gaz856

Product:	Sony Handycam DCR-HC53E
Date:	18/05/09 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, great picture and a brand name

Disadvantages: No carry case, no tapes and no firewire cable

I bought one of these for my wife at Xmas. I got it from Asda for £99. It's a great bargain. It didnt come with a bag or any DV tapes but you do get all the relevant cables for uploading the content on to a PC.

Its basically a point and shoot camcorder. Myself and the wife are not film directors but found the handycam very easy to use. It has a big red button for record and the few other buttons it does have is to navigate through the masterpiece you've just recorded.

The lcd viewer is very clear and a nice size to view your footage. The best feature on the handycam is the zoom. Its 40x which means you dont have to do all the walking and get close up to what you want to film, I've filmed birds in trees etc.

The battery life is ok, just over an hour and it will need to be recharged. You can get better batteries but they do carry a premium.

The only disadvantage with this camcorder is that you dont get a firewire lead with this camcorder. You do get a usb cable but I found the video quality to be not as good. Its far better with a firewire cable.

Summary: Quality Camcorder for the novice

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