Sony DCR-DVD910

Sony DCR-DVD910 is a standard definition DVD camcorder priced at $649 which considering its performance is just the right price.

Intro:
Sony DCR-DVD910 features 2.7-inch touch screen, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T 15x optical Zoom lens and Memory Stick Pro and Duo support. The camcorder has a built-in Dolby Digital 5.1 Channel Surround microphone, Sony’s hot shoe called Active Interface Shoe and Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) which works surprisingly well. Moreover, Sony DCR-DVD910 has just extraordinary battery life which can hold for more than two hours.


The Design:
Sony DCR-DVD910 measures 58 x 93 x 134mm and weights 550g so it probably won’t fit into your pocket, but that’s the case with almost all DVD camcorders. The front of the camera is dominated by the Carl Zeiss lens. Underneath the lens is infrared light and remote sensor panel and slightly to the left of he lens is the built-in flash. As it is placed on the side of the camcorder it might give uneven lighting. Looking from the front, the right side of the Sony DCR-DVD910 camcorder is where the DVD hatch can be hound. On the left side you will find the 2.7 inch LCD screen with a 211,200 pixel display which flips out 90 degrees from the camcorder’s body and rotates up to 270 degrees. The LCD anel is also home to buttons in charge of Record Start/Stop, Zoom In and Out, and Home. Also on the left side is the USB port, MemoryStick slot and NightShot switch. At the top of Sony DCR-DVD910 is the built-in Dolby Digital 5.1 Channel Surround microphone and the Active InterfaceShoe (AIS). At the back you will find the battery, AV jack and the DC terminal. At the back top is also a round Mode dial and excellent viewfinder.

Performance:
Sony DCR-DVD910 record only in standard definition resolution - 720 x 480, but as it has equally large sensor ( 1/5-inch with gross pixel count 2,360,000) as Sony HDR-UX20 the picture quality is truly amazing. The colors are retained well and not oversaturated. The only exception is low light where the Sony DCR-DVD910 disappoints. Yet the camcorder should satisfy the needs of most users. For sure the Sony DCR-DVD910 is good for shooting outdoor and well-lit indoor parties. Moreover, the wide angle works just fine in most situations.


Sony DCR-DVD910 as most Sony’s is equipped with outstanding Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S) which assures steady shots. Additionally the camcorder has better than the competition Face Detection system which recognizes up to eight faces both in video and in still mode, even if the faces are at 90 degree angle. With DCR-DVD910 Sony introduced a funny new feature called Face Index sorting tool thanks to which when you are browsing your films you can search by faces that appear in them.
Sony DCR-DVD910 works also surprisingly well in the still mode and even better that the recently reviewed Canon HF10. Sony DCR-DVD910 can capture 4 megapixel photos (2304 x 1728 resolution) when in still mode, or 3 megapixel photos when in Dual Record Mode.
Sony DCR-DVD910 has three quality settings, but as even the best quality records only 720 x 480 at 9 Mbps I recommend using this one. On a single DVD you can record up to 19 minutes in the best quality so I also recommend using a Memory Stick Pro memory card. On a 8GB card you will be able to record up to 115 minutes of video in the best quality.
The battery in Sony DCR-DVD910 works for almost two and a half hour.

Menus / ease of use:
Sony DCR-DVD910 has plenty of configuration options including white balance, exposure and aperture. On the top of that Sony DCR-DVD910 has a few white balance White Balance presets and several Scene Mode presets. As always in Sony this camcorder has the Easy Mode which when enabled limits the user-configurable options and adjusts everything automatically. It is simply the best solution for the filming newbies who might be overwhelmed with the number of settings they can tamper with.
To sum up, the biggest Sony DCR-DVD910 disadvantage is the low resolution, but for family shooting it should be just fine. So for the price of $649 along with the camcorder you get:
-AC Adapter
-Power Cord
-A/V Connecting Cable
-USB Cable
-Wireless Remote Commander
-NP-FH60 Rechargeable Battery Pack
The selected Sony DCR-DVD910 specs are as follows:
Width
2.2 in
Depth
5.1 in
Height
3.5 in
Weight
15.9 oz

Main Features

Camcorder Sensor Resolution
2.3 megapixels
Camcorder Effective Video Resolution
1.49 megapixels
Camcorder Effective Still Resolution
1.99
Camcorder Interpolated Still Resolution
4 megapixels
Widescreen Video Capture
Yes
Media Type
DVD-R (8cm), DVD+R (8 cm), DVD+RW (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD+R DL (8cm)
Color Support
Color
Optical Sensor Type
ClearVid CMOS
Optical Sensor Size
1/5 in
Min Illumination
0 lux
Analog Video Format
NTSC
Digital Zoom
180 x
Recording Speed
HQ, LP, SP
Shooting Modes
Digital photo mode
Shooting Programs
Snow, Beach, Candle, Sunrise, Fireworks, Landscape, Spotlight, Portrait mode, Twilight mode, Twilight portrait
Special Effects
Sepia, Pastel, Monotone, Old Movie
Digital Scene Transition
Black fader, White fader
Image Stabilizer
Optical (Super Steady Shot)
Exposure Modes
Manual, Automatic
Face Detection
Yes
White Balance
Custom, Presets, Automatic
White Balance Presets
Indoor, Outdoor
Digital Video Format
MPEG-2
Still Image Format
JPEG
Remote Control
Camcorder remote control - Infrared

Source: Sony.