The Sony DCR-DVD108 replaces last year's DCR-DVD105 as the new entry-level model in Sony's range of DVD camcorders. As such, it offers little in the way of high-end features, but will appeal to novice users and point-and-shooters looking for a simple and inexpensive way to record usable video footage.

The DCR-DVD108 offers a choice of DVD recording formats. The unit records to 8cm mini discs in either write-once DVD-R format or rewriteable DVD-RW and DVD+RW. It is also compatible with Dual Layer DVD+R discs. If you use DVD+RW discs, you won't even need to finalize the disc before playing it in a compatible home DVD player, recorder, PC or video game console. In fact, simplicity is a byword of the DCR-DVD108. The AccuPower meter clearly displays the battery time remaining on the LCD screen or in the viewfinder, so you'll always know exactly how much power you have left. The visual index screen creates thumbnail images of video and stills for easy navigation, whether you're playing your footage back via the LCD monitor or on a home DVD player.

The excellent automatic controls on the DCR-DVD108 make this camcorder easy enough for even the most technologically inept person to master. The unit offers a selection of easy to use Program AE modes, including Sports, Landscape, Portrait, Beach, Snow and Twilight. The unit does offer some manual controls, including a manual focus control, although these are accessed via the camcorder's 2-1/2-inch touch panel LCD. This is fine for the occasional tweak but if you're looking to take creative control over your video recordings, the DCR-DVD108 is not the camcorder for you.

The optical set up compares to that of the DCR-DVD105. The 1/6-inch CCD imager with 340K effective pixels is the same as last year's model. Image quality in good lighting is solid for an entry level DV camcorder--adequate for capturing junior's first steps but not for serious home movie making. Low-light performance is disappointing, with washed-out colors and increased levels of video noise.

Sony has improved the zoom lens, however. The DCR-DVD108's Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens boasts a meaty 40x optical zoom function, along with a boggling 2000x digital zoom function; at that magnification, images are unusable. The digital image stabilization system does a passable job at removing camera shakes from handheld shots with image degradation, although it is no match for the optical image stabilization found on some other entry level units. If you frequently use the zoom while shooting, you'll still need to invest in a tripod.

The Sony DCR-DVD108 includes a MemoryStick slot for recording and storing digital stills. The unit can only capture stills at 640x480 resolution, though, and lacks a built-in flash, so don't expect the quality of the snaps to be anything but basic. The Sony DCR-DVD108 is a simple to use DVD camcorder, ideal for point and shoot enthusiasts on a budget.

Pros: Budget price, point and shoot simplicity
Cons: Limited manual controls, poor stills performance

Warranty
90 days, labor; 1 year, parts