Sony DCR-DVD103 First Impressions Review

by Jeannine Schecter
Published on Mar 1, 2005 12:00 PM



The DCR-DVD103 houses the same imager as last year’s DCR-DVD101 and this year's DCR-DVD92, namely a 680K CCD, leading us to speculate, as we only can do at this point, that video performance will be as middling as last year's. While similar video and low light performance to last year's DVD camcorders may mar the DCR-DVD103's image (no pun intended), it does include double the optical zoom of both the DCR-DVD101 and DCR-DVD201 and have the option of recording Dobly Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.

The Front
The front of the DCR-DVD103 consists of the culmination of the lens barrel, the camcorder's built-in stereo microphone (unable to record Dolby Digital 5.1), and a port cover revealing the camcorder's A/V output. Standard, yet innovative, you gotta love the new design of these camcorders.

The Right
The right side of the DCR-DVD103 houses the camcorder's DVD mechanism which is covered with user's hand during recording, similar to last year's DVD camcorders. The camcorder's LANC jack is located under a small rubber port cover to the bottom left of the right side. This is good placement for the LANC jack, as it is unlikely to be used during handheld recording.

The Back
The DCR-DVD103's battery port, record button, black and white electronic viewfinder, mode switch, and mode-indicating LEDs are located on the back of the camcorder.

The Left Side
The left side of the camcorder has what seems like a widescreen LCD screen, but when lifted the LCD panel, reveals a superimposed 4:3 LCD screen. The cluster of buttons located beneath the LCD screen on last year’s Sony DVD camcorders has been removed with the addition of the touch screen menu on all of the DVD camcorders. The dislay/battery info button remains underneath the LCD screen along with the camcorder's USB port. The easy camcorder and back light buttons are located externally above the LCD screen. On the left margin of the LCD screen are secondary zooming and recording controls.

The Top
On top of the DCR-DVD103 are the camcorder's slimmer accessory shoe, primary zoom toggle, photo buttons, SuperNigfht Shot Plus switch, and DVD mechanism opener slider.

Picture and Manual Control
Automatic Control
The DCR-DVD103 should probably be used in automatic modes, not because its automatic functions are stellar (they are pretty good though) but more so because the camcorder lacks many manual controls, such as shutter speed, independent iris control, and manual gain, and because the touch screen menu can make it hard to get to and use manual controls in general. Nevertheless, automatic adjustments to focus, exposure, white balance, and shutter speed are available. Auto Exposure presets include: Auto, Sports (only in Movie mode), Portrait, Beach and Ski, Sunset/Moon, and Landscape. There is also a auto shutter feature and easy camcorder mode making convenience, auto-shooters happy.

Overall Manual Control
Like last year, Sony's new DVD camcorders don't offer much in the areas of manual control, and the DCR-DVD103 is no exception. Overall, manual control has been helped by the departure from the joystick navigator of last year to the touch screen menu of this year. While a tad inconvenient, the new touch screen offers numerical values during focal adjustments which is nice for a change.

Zoom
The DCR-DVD103 offers a 20x optical zoom with an 860x digital zoom, just like its sister model the DCR-DVD92. Digital zoom can be turned on and off using the touch screen menu system. This amount of optical is pretty cool, and may be a selling point, as the DCR-DVD103 is the most advanced of any DVD camcorder made by Sony offers such a high zoom. That may be too many qualifiers to convert a user, but we'll see.

Focus
Manual focus is available using the camcorder’s touch screen menu. Sony has provided numerical values for its focal lengths as the user moves through the spectrum. Now all we need are independent iris and shutter speed with numerical value indicators.

Exposure (Aperture)
Available using the touch screen menu system, exposure as a composite of both iris and shutter speed adjustments can be adjusted along a +/- meter; as the 'exposure' value is a product of a combination of two variables, numerical F stop values and shutter speed ratios aren't included, unfortunately.

Shutter Speed
There are no manual shutter speed options on the DCR-DVD103. Bummer.

White Balance
Standard white balance options include indoor, outdoor, one push, and auto. They are available in the camcorder’s touch screen menu system. These options are consistent with last year's models.

Gain
There are no manual gain controls on the DCR-DVD103.

Still Performance
Like all DVD camcorders, the DCR-DVD103 can store an incredible amount of still photos can be captured at a resolution of 640 x 480. Stills unfortunately cannot be captured to memory stick as none of this year's DVD camcorders accomodate such devices. Stills are captured using the photo button behind the camcorder's zoom toggle, and at qualities of Fine and Standard. With no card media or photo formats big enough to print, the DCR-DVD103 suffers in this department.

VCR Mode
All three formats to which this year’s Sony DVD camcorders record can be viewed directly, after on-camcorder finalization, on conventional DVD players. While the advantages to the DVD+RW format, added to last year’s DVD-R/RW format, are subtle, the main advantage, and the advantage that Sony loves to flaunt, is the seemingly universal compatibility of the recording format with any conventional DVD player. Panasonic and Hitachi DVD camcorders record to DVD-R/RAM discs. DVD-RAM discs do not offer such compatibility. The added compatibility with DVD+RW discs in just another way Sony is working towards making their DVD camcorders the most consumer friendly camcorders possible.

As far as on-camcorder playback is concerned, the user can use the camcorder's touch screen menu peruse his or her footage. Playback buttons appear along the bottom of the LCD screen. Here, the touch screen can be very annoying as it obstructs the footage with greasy little fingertips.

Low Light Performance
The DCR-DVD103’s imager is the same as that of the DCR-DVD92 and that of last year’s DCR-DVD101 leading us to speculate that low light quality might not be the greatest to say the least, but until we get this baby into our testing tent, it is just that: speculation. Stay tuned for the full review.

LCD/Viewfinder
While the DCR-DVD103 includes the step-up from the DCR-DVD92 of a color viewfinder, the camcorder still has a regular 4:3 LCD screen, as opposed to some of the upper level DVD camcorders this year. Both viewfinder and LCD have a 123K pixel count.

Audio
Audio can be recorded by the camcorder’s built-in stereo microphone at 12 and 16 bits. This can be switched using the touch screen menu system. Also, the DCR-DVD103 is Sony’s cheapest DVD camcorder to allow for Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound to be recorded onto tape. The user must buy the optional ECM-HQP1 to enjoy such a feature, however.

Handling
The move to touch screen on these new DVD camcorders is actually an upgrade. Usually we hate Sony’s touch screen menu system as it making manual control cumbersome; but, here that doesn’t really factor in, as there isn’t much manual control anyway. The new design gets rid of the ugly button cluster underneath the LCD screen on last year’s DVD camcorders (and the DCR-DVD301) and it feels great in the hand (and looks great). The chunkiness of last year’s camcorders is gone, leaving a streamlined, beautiful model.

The Ports
The Sony DCR-DVD103’s A/V output port is located under a port cover on the camcorder’s front. Additionally, the DC input port is located directly above the camcorder’s mode dial and the LANC jack is located in the lower left-hand corner of the DVD mechanism. There is a USB port underneath the LCD screen; this is a step-up from the DCR-DVD92.

Other Features
Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization This trademark offers good electronic image stabilization.

Super NightShot Plus Sony’s infrared night mode is included.

Additional LCD controls Secondary recording and zoom functions are located on the LCD margin.

Touch Screen Menu System Sony’s own touch screen system allows for nice features like Spot Metering and Spot Focus. It also requires users to make manual adjustments within a time-consuming menu system.

Surround Sound Recording Capability Only with the optional ECM-HQP1 surround sound microphone.

Widescreen Mode There is a wide-screen mode on the DCR-DVD103 even though the LCD screen is still 4:3. Unfortunately, this mode only letterboxes the image.

Analog to Digital Pass-Through The DCR-DVD92 does not support analog to digital pass-through, as it does not feature an analog input port.

Conclusion
For US$100 more than the US$600 it costs to purchase a DCR-DVD92, the DCR-DVD103 is available and doesn’t offer that much more. The main steps up from the DCR-DVD92 on the DCR-DVD103 are the Color viewfinder, a USB 2.0 port, and the ability to record surround sound (using an optional microphone). While the surround sound features sounds tempting it does require extra spending, and so it may be worth user’s while to pump in another hundred for the DCR-DVD203 which offers a better imager and 16:9 LCD screen. Hey, while you’re at it might as well buy the DCR-DVD403 for a grand, that way you can record surround sound without an external microphone, get a 16:9 LCD screen, and capture video with an over 3MP CCD.