1. I appreciate this review - very timely. I held out and purchased a Canon HV10 today, instead of the Soney SR-1 or UX-1.

The HV-10 has some flaws, but it won't break my arm after holding it for long periods. I've tried these cameras side by side, and both the Sony models are bricks - sorry. I'm not a small guy (or weak), but this flaw really lowers their usability more than your review indicates.

lance
http://www.camcorder-battery-shop.com

Posted at 10:19PM on Oct 26th 2006 by lance

2. I have had this camera for a week, and here are my comments: Excellent HD+SD video quality in good light, a bit grainy in low light (still beats everything else in this category though). Hard disk is implemented very well...extrememly convenient and simple interface to navigate. USB 2.0 is FAST on this camera as well. Lets also not forget that the camera can record in 5.1 audio, and has connections for lights/mics and a customizable control ring. What's not to like? At least three things:

1. Editing and playback on PC requires third party software. You won't get 30fps HD playback without hardware acceleration (like a $200+ video card) even on a p4 3.4 GHz + 1gig ram. There are no playback devices for home theater systems yet for the HD....and likely none to come at a reasonable price for a while.
2. Autoexposure is a bit off...I find the camera underexposes in low light and overexposes in good light...fortunately you can adjust this. And while the camera records in 5.1 audio, it has no 5.1 audio out for playback to HT system (a big omission in my opinion since the camera itself is the only capable playback device).
3. Price.

If anyone made HDV with a hard disk at a lower price it would be a great deal...all the benefits of HD+hard disk and none of the disadvantages of h.264 early adoption.

Posted at 11:28AM on Nov 4th 2006 by Mike

3. To the second comment - there are many home theater players that will play full 1080i HD in DivX or Mpeg native formats. In addition, many home theater PC software tools playback HD with 5.1 audio, including tools from Nvidia (PureVideo), the free VLC player, and many HDTV players (like www.DVico.com etc). Also, there are many complete packages like MythTV or KnoppMyth that are more or less plug and play - google those for more. For HD ready home theater hardware, check out things like Hannibal ( http://tvease.net/product_info.php?products_id=46 ) or the XBOX 360, with it's latest upgrade.

Posted at 9:16PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Dan Lundmark

4. I ordered the camera from sonystyle.com before the official release date and had it about a week prior. I was happy to receive it and couldn't wait start using it. My first impression was positive. In my mind, sony has always scored high with me when it comes to styling.

My positivity quickly fained after reading in the manual that maximum operational altitude was less than 11000ft. I'm planning on hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in the next two months and will be at 19000ft. I continued to explore the camera and turned it on to do some shooting in my apartment. "What's that jump in the image. There it is again. That's definitely not my arm moving." I couldn't believe it. I put the camera down on the table and started shooting without even touching it. On playback, I could see it again. The image had frequent disruptions in the flow. At this point I just want to get my money back. I don't care what others are saying about this camera. I don't even care if my unit is flawed. I'm not getting another one of these things. I'm returning it.

Got the money credited to my account not long ago. I'm glad to rid of it. Still looking for a good camera to take to Kili. It doesn't have to be HDV.

Posted at 8:52AM on Nov 11th 2006 by Morty Bee