Sony DCR-DVD205 Camcorder Review

When not in Easy mode, it’s a hassle to shuffle through the touch screen menu system every couple of minutes. On the bright side, it is nice to have everything in one place for you.

DVD camcorders like this one are made to be easy: the DVD format, at this point, is one of convenience, a fact which its popularity and price can attest to. As convenience camcorders, the DCR-DVD205 (Review, Specs, $384.99) and others make it really easy for the user to pop in a DVD disc, record it, finalize it on the camcorder, pop it out, and plop it right into a computer or conventional DVD player. And now, with Sony’s included Nero software, it’s pretty easy to convert those three-inch discs to regular sized DVDs if your home player isn’t compatible.

Handling (7.0)
This Sony handles well. Maybe it’s because I don’t really mind the touch screen menu system as much as some people do, or maybe it’s because the camera’s always in automatic mode. But, for simple shooting, this thing works wonderfully. It is comfortable in the hand, due partially to its large cushiony strap, an amenity that is rare on Panasonic camcorders. As long as the camcorder is in automatic mode, I don’t have to worry about fiddling with the manual controls and getting lost in the touch screen.

The zoom toggle on this camcorder adds a lot. Sony has been putting better and better toggles on their camcorders, and it pays off in handling. The ability to achieve really good zooms makes the overall handheld recording experience a more confident one and lets me concentrate on more important things, like little Timmy’s first completed lay-up or sweet Jenny’s prom pictures. What makes the zoom function a little iffy is the fact that the index finger has to move slightly to the right in order to directly sit on the zoom toggle.

If the touch screen menu is really a handling issue for you--and for those of us with manual control lust, it very well could be--look at Panasonic’s new (as of last year) joystick navigational system. It seems to work pretty well, and allows for easy single-handed use.

Portability (6.25)
DVD camcorders were never terribly portable, though compact ones have hit the market in the past. Just look at last year’s Sony DCR-DVD7 (Review, Specs, $445) for an example of Sony’s new design overhaul and simultaneous effort to make the DVD camcorder as small as possible. Lucky for us, they never decided to reissue it. Instead, Sony has made some design improvements on most of their low-end DVD camcorders this year, including the DCR-DVD205. Basically, the body design has gotten slightly more compact, making the DVD mechanism less noticeable and less prominent. Still, the DCR-DVD205 is not a terribly portable camcorder; MiniDV camcorders, especially the low-end Sonys, are much smaller.

LCD/Viewfinder (9.3)
One of the major upgrades from the DCR-DVD105 (Review, Specs, $399.95) to the DCR-DVD205 is the DCR-DVD205’s widescreen LCD screen. The camcorder is the cheapest DVD model from Sony this year to offer widescreen LCD. Bigger LCD screens are certainly popular after the outset of the widescreen television. The DCR-DVD205 ships with a 2.7 inch LCD screen with 123K pixels: oddly, this is the same resolution that the DVD105’s 4:3 LCD screen offers. Either way, Panasonic doesn’t offer these. Users can switch between widescreen and 4:3 using the wide select button underneath the LCD screen.

Battery Life (8.8)
The DVD205 ships with the NP-FP50 battery, which the manual indicates should last for 75 minutes of continuous recording. We put this claim to the test by shooting video with the LCD open, the backlight on, and the image stabilization on. In total, the battery lasted 88 minutes and 40 seconds (1 hour, 28 minutes, 40 seconds).