Product Reviews

DV Camcorders ARE cheap and the video quality is great, but for the ultimate in point-shoot-watch convenience, how about a camcorder that records directly onto mini 8cm DVDs?

The Sony DCR-DVD404 is compatible with a variety of DVD formats, though DVD-RW is the most useful. You can only record 30 minutes of good- quality footage on each disc, so DVD isn't well-suited for recording long events. Battery life, however, is a respectable 93 minutes. After finalising the disc, it played in our standard DVD player, with a basic system automatically provided. Still pictures can be saved to a Memory

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Stick Duo card or to the DVD.

One-touch control

The body of the camcorder is very sturdy and the layout of the main controls is good. Other controls are kept to a minimum as the menu options are all accessed through the LCD touchscreen. Sony also provides an easy mode, which simplifies the menu system and even increases the size of the various indicators on the display.

The Sony has a large 1/3in CCD - twice the size of the Panasonic's sensor - which gives it better overall image quality and it can even shoot in pitch black using the Infrared NightShot feature. Colours are bright, but still realistic and detail is excellent.

The Sony has Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator for surround sound recording. The audio quality is fine, but the camcorder's ability to generate surround sound is limited and we couldn't detect any positional audio on a 5.1 home cinema setup.

Using the Sony is a real pleasure, it shoots great video with little fuss in a wide range of conditions. The high quality stills make it even more convenient, as you can leave your digital stills camera at home. It easily justifies its higher asking price and we prefer it to the cheaper Panasonic.