The DCR-DVD301 is among the top dogs of Sony's digital camcorders. This compact model records digital video and stills directly onto 3-inch discs of either permanent DVD-R or rewritable DVD-RW format. The DVD format offers several advantages over MiniDV cameras. There is no need to fast forward or rewind to access material; instead, users can simply select a convenient thumbnail image. Discs also play back directly in most home DVD players, computers, and even some video game consoles. Alternately, the unit offers a USB 2.0 interface to directly transfer video and stills to a home computer for editing. This process is faster than downloading content from a MiniDV cassette and also allows the DVD301 to double as an external DVD burner, so users can make copies of favorite home DVD recordings. In addition, there is no need to purchase different media to store stills, as the DVD301 records both video and stills to disc.

The DVD301 offers an optical suite that includes a 1-1/2-inch CCD and a famous Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens with 10X optical/120X digital zoom capability. The resulting video images are impressive. Colors appear bright and saturated, with excellent contrast and shadow highlights. Stills can be recorded at either resolutions of 1,152X864 or 640X480, and a single disc can hold as many as 6,000 stills. Sony has also included the very useful Burst Mode, which shoots up to 12 consecutive stills with one touch of a button to make sure an image is caught at just the right moment. Framing shots is made particularly easy by the huge 3-1/2-inch Hybrid LCD screen that rotates up to 270 degrees, so there's no straining the neck to frame shots at awkward angles.

For recording in low-light situations, the DVD301 offers Super NightShot that can record in virtual darkness. Of course image quality suffers, but the inclusion of an accessory shoe on the unit means a video light can be added. Overall, this is an excellent, well-appointed camcorder that will appeal to fans of the DVD format.

Warranty
90 days labor, 1 year parts