Sony DCR-DVD405 Camcorder Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Mar 30, 2006 11:00 AM
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The Front (8.0)
The Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 10x optical zoom lens is by far the most prominent feature on the sloping front face of the Sony DCR-DVD405 (Review, Specs, $649). The lens has a 30mm filter diameter and a focal length of 5.1 mm to 51 mm. The in-camera flash is a horizontal sliver centered above the lens. The remote sensor and recording lamp are located beneath the zoom lens on a downward incline, away from fingers or other obstructions. In the lower left corner of the front face is a swiveling right hand strap eyelet that allows the strap to pivot out of the way when the DVD compartment is opened.
The Right Side (7.25)
The right side of the Sony DCR-DVD405 is dominated by a DVD compartment that has a hinge located near the back edge. The compartment can be opened by sliding the access switch located on the sloping plane between the top and front of the camcorder. Spanning the body of the camcorder horizontally at a slight downward angle from back to front is a right hand strap that is padded and comfortable. The strap is adjustable and is connected to the camcorder on the front and back sides, and has a swiveling and pivoting front eyelet so that users can reposition it when opening and closing the DVD compartment. While it is helpful to have this pivoting eyelet, the bottom-loading DVD compartment was still hard to access when the camcorder was resting on a desk or other flat surface. This is definitely not a problem with top-loading DVD camcorders. The hinge is sturdy and looks like it can stand some abuse without the problems that often occur with MiniDV tape mechanisms, which tend to jam or stall due to their fragile construction.
The Back (6.5)
The electronic color viewfinder is positioned in the upper left corner on the back face of the camcorder and can be pivoted upwards by forty-five degrees. The viewfinder eyepiece is made of an unforgiving light gray plastic. On the underside of the viewfinder is a dioptric adjustment slider that was sizable enough for even large fingers to access and make alterations. When the viewfinder is lifted, the user can also access a port cover that can be flipped open to reveal the MemoryStick Duo Pro slot beneath. The rechargeable InfoLithium battery is positioned beneath both the MemoryStick slot and the viewfinder. Because the viewfinder can pivot upwards, the battery pack will not be uncomfortably in the way; don’t get too excited-- you still can’t access menu structures or make alterations to minimal manual controls without engaging the LCD. The battery can be released via a switch located on the bottom of the camcorder, along the edge where the camcorder and battery meet.
To the right of the battery’s top edge is the start/stop record button, comfortably reached with the thumb of the right hand when shooting. Above this button is a flash charge LED which alerts the user as to the power state of the flash unit. Slightly above and to the left of the flash charge indicator is a flash button. To the right of the flash button are two more LEDs that are used to indicate whether the camcorder is in DVD or MemoryStick modes. In the upper right corner of the back face is a polished silver mode switch with a green tab on the top edge which must be pressed to alter mode settings. When the tab is moved to the right, the camcorder switches between MemoryStick and DVD modes; when the tab is moved to the left it switches the camcorder to off/charge. All of the controls and LEDs are well labeled with white text that stands out from the dark gray camcorder body. The only concern with these labels is that they are merely printed on the surface of the camcorder and could possibly be rubbed off with heavy use.
The Left Side (8.25)
The left side of the DCR-DVD405 features a 2.7-inch, 123,200 pixel LCD screen that flips open by either the back or bottom edge. This LCD does not have the clasp-mechanism of the DVD505 (Review, Specs, $664) which acted as a safety device during portage and hasty handling. Without this mechanism, the 405’s LCD is at risk, although with careful packing and handling this shouldn’t be a huge concern. Three small rubber pads on the body of the camcorder protect the LCD screen from being damaged by too-close buttons or the camcorder body when the LCD is closed.
In the center of the LCD cavity, starting at the top, is the Easy mode button. It is visually distinguished from the other controls in the cavity thanks to a blue dot placed on the button. The wide select button is located beneath the easy button, with the display/battery info button positioned under both. On the frame of the LCD on the outermost edge are secondary controls for zoom and rec. start/stop. While this zoom control is not nearly as subtle or variable as the zoom lever found on the top of the camcorder, these controls can suffice when shooting from awkward positions that restrict access to the primary controls.
Beneath the closed LCD on the body of the camcorder are two other controls, centered in the middle of the camcorder body. The play/edit control permits entrance into the playback mode. The backlight button directly in front of it controls the LCD brightness. Forward of these controls is a port cover, which took a bit of work to open via the tab on its back edge. The port cover is permanently connected along the bottom edge of the camcorder, which is fine if the camcorder is handheld, but when on a tripod head or flat surface accessing these controls is tedious—it is impossible to move the cover fully out of the way. This port cover masks the A/V and DC in ports for the DCR-DVD405.
A second port cover wraps itself around the corner of the bottom front edge of the LCD hinge. It can be opened via tabs on the lower front edge or back edge and reveals a remote/LANC port as well as a Hi-Speed USB port. While this port was easier to open than its neighbor, the large size of the cover and the thin delicate hinges seem to be a perfect equation for deterioration. And with nearly half of the port cover masking nothing but blank camcorder surface, it seems as though there is a port or two missing.
The Top (7.75)
The in-camera 4 channel microphones of the Sony DVD405 are on top of the lens barrel near the front of the camcorder. This microphone set is unfortunately positioned near the fingers of the right hand and often picks up both hand movement and the noise caused by the zoom toggle when released quickly. Behind the in-camcorder microphones is a port cover that can be flipped open via a tab located along the back edge. It masks the Active Interface shoe, which accepts proprietary hot shoe external options for video lights, flash and microphones. This cover is connected via a sturdy hinge on the left edge. Between the back edge of the Active Interface shoe cover and the front edge of the viewfinder barrel is the control for turning the NightShot feature on and off.