Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

I bought this camcorder about 1 year back and it was working fine for first 5-6 months and then suddenly during our trip to Seattle I started having problems. Camcorder records for a while then gives message saying "Disk cover open accidentally. Turn on power again" and when I do that then all the recording is erased and it starts all over again. I have lost two dvd recordings due to this problem.

I contacted Sony support and they just keep on telling me to make sure battery is charged and try using different discs. I tried using different discs (different formats as well...) but to no avail. I don't know what to do.

I urge all you prospective buyers to stay away from this product.

This is an easy to use little camera with a great zoom. The color and definition is far better than I thought, in well lit areas. In lower lighting the color is flat, the picture is darker than the surroundings and not real clear. For outside, daytime, or well lit rooms, it is perfect.

Ok I bought this item in 2007. I love the camcorder it works great. But now I own a new computer with wondows vista and guess what? Its not compatable. SO now what? I have a camcorder and can't get any videos on my computer. This really sucks. Sony should have some kind of software or something to make this compatable with windows vista. I've only owned this camcorder for a year and now I'm afraid I will have to buy to buy a new one.

This is my first camcorder and I love it. It is easy to use and creates wonderful scenes full of color and detail. I have had this camcorder about a year or so now and am still very happy with it. Of course, when I bought the camcorder it was much cheaper and offered by Amazon (free shipping). All I can say is it is a wonderful product for those starting out. The 40X zoom is the best part of the camcorder. The zoom is so powerful I was able to film a family of foxes from far away. The footage looked as if they were right there. Wonderful cam!!! I am one happy handcam mom!

This camcorder may have good features, but it fails its primary function. It turns out that if you have a full DVD and try to finalize it, it can corrupt the DVD and lose all your data. I had to spend $351 on a data recovery service to recover footage of my newborn daughter. You'd think they would mention something like this in the instruction manual!

I have had it for over a year now and love the quality and ease of use. It produces great family videos!

My only complaint is that it's hard to find compatible video editing/burning software. I finally found Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 with Dvd Architect 4.5 This software is necessary to make great family dvds with this camera. Try the free download at sony before you buy.

Would definately recommend!

Initially, I loved this camera.

Pros:
EXCELLENT video quality. Absolutely stunning imagery.
Great zoom-in for extreme close-ups.
Long-lasting battery that charges quickly.
LCD screen is good quality.

BUT it died within a year of purchase, inconveniently AFTER the manufacturer's warranty expired. After the first ninety days, the camera stopped recording on DVD-RW (even the more expensive ones made specifically by Sony), bringing up an error message that said the disc was dirty or corrupted, even if the disc was brand-new out of package. A few months after that, it would not record on ANY type of disc and refused to even play back the ones that had already been recorded.

Worst of all, because I did not purchase any extended warranty, Sony has a flat-rate repair policy that would be 211.00 specifically for this model, REGARDLESS OF WHATEVER NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. It doesn't matter if they just had to blow air in around the lens, I would still have to pay nearly two-thirds of the purchase price to fix it.

My advice:
If you're adamant about buying a camcorder that records onto DVDs, regardless of which brand you decide on, purchase an extended warranty plan.
If you don't really care what your camcorder stores your memories on, go for something that doesn't rely on laser capability which is more pricey to repair (or they'll pretend it is and jag up prices for it).

This was a gift for my boyfriend and he loves it. Its easy to use, the quality of the picture is great for the price, and its small enough to bring anywhere. FYI it does not come with any of the discs.

The unit workered fine until the LCD screen failed. The camcorder was still under warranty for parts and labor. (90 days) I only got the run-around from Sony. They had me send it to the repair center at my cost to reair it. After numerous phone calls, they refused to fix it under warranty. They thought it was damaged by being dropped. All I did was turn it on and it failed without physical damage. That was their out and wanted to charge me $211 for labor. I will never buy from Sony again because of their lack of service and warranty.

This video camera is light-weight and small enought to tote around. It's easy to use and takes great video!

ok camcorder for the price but quality is not overwelming. I would have expected something better from Sony.

This is a nice little camera. All that I can say negative about it is that putting in and taking out DVD blanks is slightly tedious. Not a big deal though. I have been using this device fairly regularly for about a year without any malfunctions whatsoever.

We bought the Sony DCR-DVD108 last year before our cruise through Europe. We have always just used our cell phones or digital cameras to snap pictures, and being a middle-aged guy not too familiar with many entertainment electronics, I was somewhat intimidated by a Camcorder. My partner and I had a lot of fun with this device. We just used it again last month in the Caribbean, and will be taking it to Europe again this September!

I would have given this a 5-star rating but cannot because of one little issue (and of course I didn't notice this until after our trip last year and we were editing 9 DVD's)...but that is when I pushed the zoom button, I would let go of the button too quickly and you can hear a "click". It's OK at first, but after a a few DVD's, it was irritating. Luckily we are having these (finally) edited and most of it will be put to music. When we were on our last trip to the Caribbean last month, I was cognizent of this and was careful not to quickly release the zoom button; however, when you're in the moment of taping, it's sometimes hard to remember you can't quickly zoom and release the button without that annoying sound.

If you have never owned one of these, you really don't realize how often you will zoom, but you will. The zoom function is really incredible. Just be careful not to let go of the zoom button too quickly. From what our DVD editor tells us, this is a common issue with most Camcorders...the only other option is to turn the sound off...but that wouldn't be fun!

The camera takes great movies AND great pictures. The night vision was great too. We took some vids of some of the evening performances on the last Caribbean cruise, and they turned out pretty cool. We did purchase a wide angle lens recently, as well as a polarizer.

I love this little guy and when we're ready to upgrade will get another Sony.

Camera fits the bill. It replaced a Sony high 8 from 1999. The wife really likes the camera.

I love this mini dvd camcorder. I really didnt want to purchase a Sony, since they seem over priced for quality sometimes but after buying & returning 2 other dvd camcorders I gave this one a shot. I have had it almost a year, and have enjoyed the ease of use. I use it for family functions & recording our toddler twins. I save & edit the video with the included software on the PC. It is pretty simple for computer literate people.

Love the camera. Easy to use. Picture quality is good. Love the touch screen! My only quirk.......I'm not tech savvy be all means. But I wanted to transfer video from the camcorder to my computer via USB. On my computer, it recognized the video and uploaded fine except for some reason the first 'thumbnail' of clips had an error. I tried playing it without the software and it was the same thing (by going through my computer and it played with WMP and WinDVD) Wasn't sure why, so we tried uploading to my husbands computer, and all the clips uploaded fine. Only catch was that the clips would only play alright if you used Sony's Picture Motion Browser. If you tried to go through My Computer, it would open the files in WMP and play the video but there was no sound. Also, all the clips had a green line through them! After a day of digging, I realized that my computer had the WinDVD software that read IFO files (which is part of the video file) and my husband's computer did not. So I downloaded some freeware that plays IFO files and opened up the clips by going through My Computer, and boom.....everything worked perfectly.

Technically, I didn't need to worry about this since on both computers the clips played fine using Sony's software, but I didn't like that when using my own programs it didn't work right. I think the only reason the first 'thumbnail' clip didn't play on my computer was because the DVD did get a little scratched and my husbands DVD drive was just better at reading it than mine.

After figuring out this little quirk (quite proud that I did figure it out too!!), everything seems to work well!! I look forward to making home movies to share with friends and family!

Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

I have a sony 408 DVD model already and i bought this model 108 again for my friend. I should mention first amazon delivered in just 3 days and product is best for the cost that i paid. Zooming is the best in this category and touch screen operations are simple and easy for any novice user to start with. I am happy with this product as it satisfy my need.

It does everything it promises but it has a major (in my opinion) problem. It records on the mini DVDs and they only come in 30 min or 60 min recording time.
The problem is you have to stop every 30 minutes to change or flip the disc. In my experience this is damn inconvenient. I never realized how short 30 minutes can be. And all those discs! I have only had the camera since just before Christmas and have already amassed 7 discs. That's just three and a half hours.
Otherwise it is a good video camera.
Jewel
Houston

This is a great camcorder but Sony has ruined it by having a warning pop-up every time you turn the camera on saying that "Sony discs are recommended". I dont want to pay premium prices for Sony discs, and I want to be able to turn the camera on and begin filming right away. Unfortunately, I can't do this because of the warning and there is no way to disable it.

This was not as easy to operate as I had hoped. Finalization was sometimes difficult to manoeuver. Some good features, but on the whole, I would rate it just average.

Takes nice pictures but it is a pain to get from the camera into a computer where you can actually edit the footage. I have had nothing but trouble when it comes to this step, usually because the computer will not recognize the disc, and will not pull up the file when it is connected to the camera direcly. Overall I like Sony equipment but I don't think this is a great product, and I would not recommend it.
Why would you sell a camera that won't load it's information into a computer ? I am running Vista on my newest computer (like we have a choice?)and still have an XP computer so I am going to try that to see if it works any better.

We bought the Sony DVD108 just before the birth of our 2nd child. Since we didn't have a lot of time to get familiar with it, we were looking for something that was easy to use right out of the box. I also have relatively high expectations for quality and performance and so far, this camcorder has exceeded on all accounts.

We charged the battery, popped in a DVD+RW and started recording after the camera recognized & formatted the media. You can pick either 3:4 (old TV's) or 16:9 (Widescreen TV's) aspect ratios. The touch screen/menu operation of the camera is very intuitive and I've yet to find a real need to reference the instruction manual. Honestly, this camera is VERY easy to use and even has an "easy" button that you can press to put it in "idiot proof" mode that does all the thinking for you.

The 40x optical zoom is more than adequate for just about every situation ... any closer and you can't hold the image steady enough to get good footage. We've only used the highest quality record setting and have been very impressed with the clarity of the video. I would liken them to DVD quality and far better than an ordinary TV broadcast.

The mini DVD format is very convenient, although it should be said that each DVD only holds about 24 min of footage at the highest quality setting. This is really not a problem because the disks are inexpensive and the RW format allows you to reuse them over and over again. You have the option to pop them right into your DVD player where all your individual clips are organized in a menu for easy viewing. To edit your files, you'll want to use your computer. The software provided with the camera is actually very good for basic editing and archiving video files so that you can reuse the DVD, if they are RW format.

So far, this has proven to be a good buy. The image stabilization worked even better than I expected and I have not had any issues in low light conditions despite there being no built-in light. If you want to record long sessions, you may want to pre-format your mini-DVDs or spring for a media card because it takes several minutes to swap out unformatted media. My only serious complaint is inconvenient battery charging. The only way to charge the battery without buying an overpriced charger is to plug the included charger directly into the camcorder. The location of the plug is very bad. I'll probably break either the plug or the socket if I don't spring for the external charger.

I am very satify with the performance of this camcoder...it has a really good picture quality... and very easy to use.

This camera has nice features and a cool touchscreen but the video quality is not great. When your watching the movie back it looks a little shaky even if the camera is held still. The video quality outdoors is better but it does not have a wind cut setting so it sounds like you are in a hurricane. I do like the fact that I don't have to re-record from a tape to dvd with the chance of accidently erasing something important.

I really adore this camcorder! Very easy to use! I haven't tried to edit yet, but other features are wonderful!

The product functions as described on the Amazon web site. No complaints.
Overlall I am satisfied for ease of use, etc.

If one is a casual video camcorder user, if one is going to simply view the video captured directly from the Mini-CD to a TV (via a DVD player), then, the camcorder is ideal for those purposes.

If one is going to record video with the intention of creating a travel/family movie; if one plans on uploading it to a computer, editing it, and burning it to a DVD, then, I would strongly recommend buying a camcorder that records to a mini-tapes.

As others have stated, the quality of video recorded to Mini-CD is inferior to the quality of camcoder-to-mini-tape recordings. I was aware of that but expected --hoping for the impossible-- almost tape-like video quality. It does not produce tape-like quality. Whenever I view one of our newly created videos on a TV, I regret not having bought a mini-tape camcorder. My wife, kids, family, etc., on the other hand, think that the video is fine... but they think unedited video is just fine.

To conclude, IMHO, the only reason to buy a Mini-CD camcorder is to be able to quickly create and view/share unedited mini-CD videos. It's ideal for taking family videos and mailing the mini-CD to family, friends, etc.

I would have returned the product if not for the high Amazon restocking fee (20%).

I gave it four stars since it performs as described.

This camera uses a mini DVD disc that is not compatible with most DVD players and computers.
So, if you want to be able to shoot something and then with-in a few minute be able to view the images via a DVD player do not pick this unit.
My solution was to sent it back for a refund, a very quick and easy solution.

I like the camera and it is easy to use once you have the required recording devices. I received the camera at my vacation destination (poor prior planning on my part). Other such equipment always arrives with all the necessary equipment to begin use immediately. This camera did not. I had to find a store with compatible recording disks, which was not all that easy. I could only find a disk for the movie application but not the still/digital camera. Also the formatting for the downloading is quite involved and not really intuitive. Downloading the applet also called for me to remove my CD burner applet - not a happy camper on that since I have not found a way to burn CD's again without reloading my burner applet, which may impact the movie capability.

Good camera - poor planning!

I realy like this camcorder, it is fun, and very easy to use. My family and I went to a indoor water park for christmas break and I had fun with it. I realy like the touch screen. I also have a relative that has an older one but realy likes mine and is looking to buy. Its great for the price and a beginner.

This is a good camcorder for its price. The still camera is a bit grainy. I'll rate this as average.

I bought this camera last fall, I have been without a video camera for a few years and was missing out on a lot of our kids' lives. I used this to tape my kids' christmas concerts and was sitting on the other side of a dark gym and was able to zero in on my childs face and get a great shot.
The battery holds a decent size charge.
I found the camera super easy to figure out and the discs go right into my computer CD drive and I was easily able to download and edit them in my computer. I am not super computer knowledgable either.
My one complaint is that I can't find DVD's large enough to record more than 30 minutes at a time, usually 30 minutes would be plenty but for my daughters gymnastics recital it wasn't enough time and we are going on vacation and I would rather not have to take a bunch of discs with me.

Extremely easy to use with excellant results. My 8 yr old uses it with great ease. Recommend it to anyone.

Simply im happy with my Sony DVD108,all it characteristics not only the met what i expected from the begining but it really suprised me ,video quality is great,sound is really good and its extemely user friendly

I purchase a Sony Handycam Camcorder as a christmas gift. It arrived minus the small DVD disc totally spoiling the gift for my friend who wanted to take movies of the family. Shame on you!

Purchased the camera as a gift for our daughter and family. Very well satisfied with our purchases from Amazon.
As for the camera, we will find out after our daughter uses it for awhile.

I have had this camera for a month. So far it has done everything I need it to do. I am just learning how to use it but I am pretty satisfied overall.

It's so easy that even a caveman can use it. Really, it's so simple. You can pretty much take it out of the box, charge the battery for two hours, load a mini-dvd in, then start recording. If you use a dvd-rw you can take the mini-dvd out anytime you like and insert it into a dvd player then put back into your camcorder and start recording again. I really recommend using the dvd-rw's because there is no finalizing involved and you can use the dvd's over and over again.
The zoom is more then you will ever need. The night vision is really cool, but a little creepy.
I haven't used the film editing yet but would like too soon.
Overall, a really nice and easy to use device. Highly recommended.

I am extremely satisfied with this camcorder. It does everything I expect it too and for a lot less than several others I checked out. It has its disadvantages as noted above, but for family shots and the occasional wildlife moment, it is perfect. Setup was a breeze. Disk (CD-RW) goes right from the recorder to my DVD player and back again. Simply awesome.....

Small enough to fit in my coat pocket, instead of carrying a bag.

This is a great camera, esp. if you are like me and just need family video in an easy format. I love that it records straight to dvd and that I can finalize the disc right in the camera. Everything is very easy to do too, it is all touch screen and so simple. Quality is decent, just don't move around too much while recording. Definitely a great product and Amazon has the best price!

I picked up this model understanding the price trade-offs. I wanted it for convenient, good-enough videos of family events and kid's performances. It's fine for that. (I've got a real camera for stills).

I usually run it in its best mode - 4x3, HI quality - which yields 20 mins of crisp video per Mini DVD. I generally use a tripod or mono-pod to allow me to take videos with gentle/subdued motion. I like the touch-screen controls on this camera and the gentle zoom in/out offered by the W | T buttons on the edge of the viewfinder.

No matter what camera you have, lighting/color needs some intelligent help - learn about white balance settings, and use back-lit and manual exposure settings in high light-level contrast situations. (Just as in normal photography, you sometimes need to decide what parts of an image are correctly exposed and which get washed out).

In practice, I find I generally capture video "clips" of very specific subjets that are typically 30-40 seconds, and seldom more that 3 mins. So, the record time on a single Mini DVD is not an issue for me (a few of them easily fit into my shirt pocket, and can be changed easily when pre-formatted).

I use my computer software to do video editing - when needed - and it allows me to combine video clips from the mini DVDs into larger presentations. Video editing of course takes time, so I don't do much of this, except on special occasions. Mostly, I do a straight copy of MiniDVDs to DVDs, or I capture clips by playing chosen segments of the MiniDVDs, recording them into .mpeg or .avi files using video capture software.

To step up from this camera to the next level of quality and features, I would need to spend north of $1000. The points in between don't seem worth the differences.

For my general usage, this DCR-DVD108 does what I expect, and I am happy with what I am getting for the price.

First of all, I must say that the one and two-star ratings for this product are rather amusing.

-- This is incompatible with Mac? Gee, people choose to buy a product line that is incompatible -- no, that PRIDES ITSELF on being incompatible -- with every other computer made, and then it's the other guy's fault when their device doesn't talk to yours. Tell you what, why don't you petition Apple to build a camcorder for you. They can call it the I-Cam (of course), Steve Jobs can evangelize about it at MacWorld and you can wait in line for three days outside the Apple Store on Stockton street to get the first buggy, overpriced models.

-- This takes lousy still pictures? Of course it does. It costs less than my still camera. In fact, it costs less than any of my lenses. I would have preferred it if Sony didn't include the still photograph option at all on this camcorder, but it's a shame that people expected Ansel Adams quality images out of it. Hey, it's better than nothing in a pinch.

-- Only a half hour recording time? Yeah, well, it's a DVD camcorder. Didn't you do your research?

So, for what it is, what it's supposed to do and what it costs, this camcorder competes very well in its market sector. Lens quality is good, zoom is impressive but could use a little more sensitivity, image stabilization is fair, DVD and cable uploads to computer (PC) are easy and uneventful, effects are decent, touch screen interface is intuitive, battery life is good. Backlight settings and infrared aren't very helpful. The software worked fine once I downloaded the upgrades. Sony has done an impressive job of making this camcorder and software easy to use, but you still have to read the instructions or you'll end up griping about how something doesn't work. Unit is a bit small for my hand. Sound quality is very good but I would have preferred a jack for external microphone. Unit also has no hot-shoe or other interface for aftermarket onboard light, so if you're the type that likes to use such peripherals, look elsewhere (sufficient ambient light or floods work much better anyway, IMO). I agree that the "reminder" message about using Sony DVDs instead of off-brands is cheesy, but it's harmless. For what I spent here I got my money's worth and have no complaints.

The camcorder works just fine and I am relieved that it does because it arrived in a large shipping box with no packing material inside. The box that the camcorder comes in (the Sony box) was bounced around in the shipping box during transport. I am surprised that there is no apparent damage. (so far)

I bought the Sony 108 thinking it's a Sony should be good. We are coming from an aging HI8 and thought it was time to replace. I did not like going from 2 hours recording to 30 minutes but with a 1 hour option that would be ok.

Well we used it and my wife said the colors were muted. Normal indoor light light conditions cause the colors to be muted. Also the picture quality is awful compared to my Hi8. When there is motion there are line and the images are grainy.

The camera images are a joke at 680 Pixels. Most Cameras are 2 Mega Pixels now.

Also researched that the DVD recordings only last about 5 Years and you need to back those up to another media.

I guess I will be going to MiniDV since I cant get a HI8 anymore.

I will be returning this and paying a 15% restocking fee.

We purchased 3 of these camcorders for our adult children for Christmas. This is a great little camcorder but the package is stripped down. I expected to purchase an extra battery, but the batteries have to charge on the camera while TURNED OFF AND PLUGGED IN. Therefore an "optional" battery charger has to be purchased which is really pricey ($40. for the Sony charger which only worked in the house, not the car) I finally found a charger that works in the house and in the car for $18. By the time I purchased extra battery, charger, pkg of DVDs, and the Sony Duo Stick for the camera memory, I just about doubled the price of this camera. So be sure to count the cost of ALL the needful "options".

I check on Amazon what was the better camera, both price and quality, and this looks like a simple, yet reliable camera, and to be honest, it is. I'm not a pro, I will not claim to be one, but it is very simple to use and even more to "finish" the DVD once is full.

But it has some details:
a) the still camera (picture) is very very poor, and of course, if you want nice quality pictures, you should get a real camera (my old olympus D540 of 3.2 is by far better).
b) the microphone of the camera is on top of the lens, so this fades the voices of the target, which happen to be in front of the camera.

But... overall is good.

Good luck...

I purchased a Panasonic about 3 years ago. It only uses DVD-RAM and is pretty much useless unless you want to use it through a computer, which we did not. If you want a camera to point and shoot and then just pop the DVD into the DVD player....THIS is the camera for you. It shoots on to all of the Mini DVD's that are actually able to be used in normal everyday DVD players.

Neither this product nor the Panasonic that I had did very well in low light, so that may be an option you would want to buy if you have the cash.

Save your money, save your time and effort and BUY this camera if you are looking for something easy and high tech all at the same time. Just an AWESOME camera. Thanks Sony...you made my Holiday!

With a battery ordered from Amazon.com with 6.5 hours of power, the Sony camcorder is absolutely worth the price, Especially since the camcorder has a touch screen display that is very responsive and great video quality. It takes great photos too! In general, a great product to buy that's worth the money.

I got the camcorder, charged it up and went home and shot some video of the dog. Very easy point and shoot use! The fact the menue is touch screen adds alittle to the coolness factor too! But as a new parent I didn't want ot break the bank, and am not that into editing my movies...i just wanted a camcorder I could capture moments of my little girl! Sony is as good as always!! I highly recomend!!

Oh and if you are going to add a bag purchase...i picked one that is too big..no need to super size there..this thing is small enuff to fit in any of them!

Also i know some people have said it doesn't use certain disks..but I have used the SONY and JVC brands...JVC wasn't a problem!

This black friday, I get excited to purchase a new camcorder. My gf and I were looking for decent entry level camcorder. With all the new media format available now, we were confused. But, we knew Sony with its name and quality ... we should stick with another Sony. The new camcorder is to replace an aging Hi8 Sony Camcorder..due to its size and weight.

Upon brief research and reading reviews such as these, we decided to purchase the Sony DVR-108. Great looking camcorder with DVD capability. I'm pretty savvy with technology, but was hesitant about the storage capability of the mini DVD. As my fear became reality, with limited storage space ( 30min recording time in SP mode), I started to have buyer's remorse. I paid only $300 for the camcorder...so don't get me wrong, it was a great price. But after playing with camcorder...recording indoor and outdoor... the buyer's remorse kicked into high gear. The color is horrible, it does not maintain the hues correctly. With limited color adjustment function, I was stuck with the horrible color rendering. To make the product worse, its non-film format makes the quality of the video horrible ( pixelated). We have HDTV 42" Plasma..and the camcorder playback looks horrible on the screen. I've tried it on standard TUBE tv..it was less pixelated but still worse than our old Hi8 Sony. After much consdieration, I returned the camcorder for a refund.

To my understanding now, current Hard Drive, Flash Drive, and DVD recording camcorders are still behind the MiniDV resolution capability. Until technology catches up with old school quality, I will stick with MiniDV.