Buy Sony DCRPC110 Digital HandyCam Camcorder with Builtin Digital Still ModeSony DCRPC110 Digital HandyCam Camcorder with Builtin Digital Still Mode Product Description:
- DV camcorder, uses MiniDV tapes
- 10x optical (120x digital) zoom with optical image stabilization
- 2.5-inch color LCD monitor and color EVF
- Records 1152 x 864 stills onto included 4 MB Memory Stick
- Uses Sony NP-FM50 InfoLithium battery; includes MGI PhotoSuite and VideoWave
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
115 of 120 people found the following review helpful.
By Mary Jo Sminkey
I recently decided to get this camera and sell off my TRV900 because I really found I needed something smaller to carry around. It was a tough choice, as the image quality and stills from the TRV900 were decidedly better. But I just couldn't pass up the size. This one is so small for the features you get. It has many, many well thought out features. For instance, it has a little swing-down handle to make filming easier (always an issue with these little digicams). You can hook the camera directly to your computer through USB, no need to get a card reader. Pop-up flash is nice for doing indoor shots. Easy to use menus. Fairly high resolution stills for a digital camcorder. I love the Sony batteries that tell you how much time you have left...same for the tapes and memory cards. Plenty of features that a camera at this level should have.
Now, for the negatives. No progressive scan. Let me say that again. NO PROGRESSIVE SCAN!! Heaven knows why Sony continues to leave this feature off. It was so noticeable between this camera and the TRV900 which does have progressive scan, when you capture stills off of video. The ones from this camera are nowhere near as good. Not even close. If the subject is moving at all (which is usually the whole point of trying to capture a still from video), without progressive scan it is just not as clear, sharp, colorful, etc. Why Sony does not put progressive scan on their cameras is beyond me. Most of the other gripes I have with this camera are fairly minimal. Some of the buttons are fairly hard to locate, the zoom is hard to use and rather touchy, the photo button is right next to it so I often hit the wrong one, etc. Fairly typical problems for a camera of this size. Were it not for progressive scan being missing though, this would definitely be a 5-star camcorder. Without it, sorry Sony. You blew it again.
70 of 71 people found the following review helpful.
By A Customer
If you are considering buying the Sony DC-PC110 Camcorder, you should ask yourself, "What am I looking for in a camcorder?". I spent a long time debating between buying this camera, the Sony PC9, and the Canon Elura 2 (all great camcorders). My final conclusion is that the PC110 is the best all around... but if you don't need to extras, you needn't spend all the extra money. The PC110 functions perfectly as a camcorder for movies AND as a quality digital camera, something that other camcorders can't boast. It also includes in-camera editing and special effects controls, image-stabilization (hands naturally shake, and this makes movies more smooth), night-shot (for recording in total darkness), and intuitive ergonomics (contrary to what other reviewers have said, the pinky doesn't belong on the controls, the index finger does...), and the camera is very easy to operate (once you get the hang of it). The 120X Zoom is very good (even at extreme closeness, the quality of the image does not suffer). Hooking it up to your computer for editing is easy (cables & free software are included).
As a digital camera, it's perfect. You can take pictures ("stills") while recording by pressing the "photo" button while in recording ("camera") mode, or you can take a series of pictures & delete the ones you don't want in digital memory ("memory") mode. You can play back your movies on your camorder (or hooked up to your TV) while in "VCR" mode. The camera charges quickly while off & plugged into an AC adapter, but the battery that it comes with only lasts around an hour, so you'd probably want to buy a bigger one for vacations.
The bottom line is, if you don't want to use your camera as an all-purpose two-in-one, you needn't spend the extra money (if you buy the camera as-is, you will need to buy an extra battery, a filter, a bag, digital tapes to record movies, and a 64MB memory stick for digital photos, which adds up to quite a lot of money). However, I recommend this camera as a long-term investment for all your camera needs... it is sturdy, takes quality movies, is easy to use, easily hooks up to PCs & Macs to edit (or to TVs to view), and doubles as a great digital camera. It also helps that it's very small and light (and looks very sleek...) If you don't want to use it as a digital camera, I'd recommend the Sony PC9 instead, which is basically the same as the PC110, but a bit smaller & takes lower quality digital pictures. Overall, I highly recommend the PC-110 -- it's the best personal camcorder on the market.
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
By William W. Smith
The PC110 appears to be a slight re-working of the PC100 with the aim of making it a better still camera and integrating it more closely with Sony's other video imaging products. It takes true megapixel stills, and also will store very short MPEG videos on its memory stick card. Viewing these requires a PC.
Unfortunately, the way this is implemented makes this device more like two cameras than one. You are either in "Memory" mode or "Camera" mode when recording, "Memory" mode or "VCR" mode when playing back. Stills and MPEG are transferred through the USB port, DV video through the FireWire. It all makes sense, when you realize that this camera does not consider MPEG to be a tape format. But it does take some time to get used to. And after you get used to it, you can move on to tricky little things like transferring small portions of your DV video onto the memory stick as MPEG etc. I think you can even transfer stills from memory stick to tape if you'd ever want to do that.
The message here is: this is the camera for people who want to do something with their images other than just watch them as is. It has a lot of features for in-camera editing and effects, though as has been pointed out in the editorial review, you can do this more easily on a PC than in the camera.
Finally, ignore the comments about the ergonomics. The author was holding the camera the wrong way. Your pinky should be nowhere near the focus or still photo controls. A closer reading of the manual and some experimentation would have put him straight.
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