Sony SR10E review from a novice (Sony Handycam HDR-SR10E)

Member Name: bjarvis2785

Product:	Sony Handycam HDR-SR10E
Date:	06/01/09 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High def, good value, easy to use, Sony brand

Disadvantages: no viewfinder, no HDMI cable, lack of carry strap, battery life

In typical Sony style, as soon as you open up the box, this camcorder looks great!
Small, sleek and stylish you instantly know that you won't be looking out of place with this beauty.

It's small size does take a little getting used to, and finding the best grip is very important so that you can reach the necessary buttons with your thumb and fore-finger.
Once the grip is sorted, everything you need is in easy reach - the on/off (and quick-on - kind of like a sleep mode) and the all important record button is at the tip of where your thumb rests.
The zoom is on top of the unit and is very easily accessed with the fore-finger, and so also is the button for taking photo's.
There aren't really many other important buttons, but they are mainly located on the side of the camera and are accessed by your left hand when the screen is flipped open (these buttons include night mode, burn to disc, as well as others).

On a side note, all the ports on the camera are well hidden behind nice little flaps and sliding covers - it's quite a nice little bonus every now and then when you discover another little hidden gem :)

Now then, onto the features.
The filming quality (as you would expect from a HD cam) is great, although admittedly it does suffer slightly in dim light. Outside in natural light is very good though!
It does also have a normal digital camera mode, with the ability to capture a photo whilst filming. This is a nice little feature, but you're best of sticking with a dedicated digital camera for still images.
As you would expect, there are a few different filming modes, but to be honest, the 'easy mode' is probably the best for the average user like me.
Recording footage is easy, hand-shake is eliminated well, and face recognition is a nice bonus - although i have found that it can't always recognise the same person with different facial expressions. For example, it recognised my wife and grouped the video clips with her in, but then a little later, it must have thought she was somebody else because it didn't put that particular clip in the group with the others - not a major flaw but something to improve on for next time.

Once you've filmed, you can browse.
This is done very easily via the touch-screen viewfinder. I was a little dubious of this at the start, but it works better that expected, menu's are easy to navigate, but more importantly it's easy to playback your recordings.
Speaking of playing back your recordings, hook this baby up to your tv and by heck it impresses.
The on-screen camera display appears on your TV screen and can be controlled via the normal touchscreen or alternatively with the included remote control.
Obviously the experience is better if you film in HD (you have the choice of SD or HD) and play back on a HD TV.
I was a little disappointed that you do not get a HDMI cable with the camera, but instead a component HD cable - this is fine until you realise that it's not a normal HDMI cable that you need, it's a mini HDMI connector on the camera, so that increases costs :(

Overall, i would recommend this camera, but it is worth shopping around - i got mine for ~£430 inc VAT, but just yesterday saw one for upwards of £550 inc. VAT - if you can get one for the lower end of that price range i would say it's a definite purchase!

Summary: A great little camera that packs big bang for buck value

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