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Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
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Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Model number: DCR-SR85 | SKU: 8669103

Whether you're capturing video and storing it on the 60GB hard drive or shooting pictures and transferring them through the Memory Stick PRO Duo slot, this camcorder makes it easy to preserve important events and precious memories.

Average Customer Rating: 4.464 4.5 out of 5 (28 Reviews)
25 of 28 (89%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Very Nice Camcorder   05/03/2009
By Palmer613 from Pickerington, Ohio
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: Hard Drive space, Ease of Use.
What's not so great: Would like a bigger zoom, Battery life.

"I set out to find a good camcorder after our first daughter was born. Our old one was an Hi 8 model and I was not happy with the picture quality on the HD TV we have so I looked around. Even thought the sales person recommended an HD camcorder I ended up buying this one.

I have the picture resolution set to "High Quality" and the picture quality played back on the TV is REALLY NICE. It is very easy to use. The quick play button is an added feature that makes it nice for instantly pulling up the latest videos that you have taken.

I have not had the chance to take the camera outside in a sunny setting to see how visible the screen will be.

One down fall is the battery life. The battery only last a little more than an hour during recording and playback. A spare battery is a must have.

Overall I'm very pleased with the overall picture quality and the 60 G.B. hard drive.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
GREAT CAMERA - BUT NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED FOR ....   02/08/2009
By Anonymous from WILMINGTON, DE
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: NO TAPE NEEDED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's not so great: EDITING IN PROFESSION EDITING SOFTWARE

"i would highly recommend this camera to anyone who like to film for fun ... it takes great video in the day ... and not so good in the dark as many have noted ... but night vision is always there to save the day ... my original 8mm DCR Handycam came with a built in light .. this one doesnt so its an added accessory but getting it will help with your night videos ...

like i said great for someone just having fun and editing using a basic program like windows movie maker ...

but for those who are dealing with more professional editing programs like Adobe Premier pro ... think twice before going with this camera ... right now the only program that supports this Hard Drive Video Camera is Sony Vegas ... and this is hear say i cant confirm myself ... but if you using other editing software you will find your self having to convert your videos before you can import them into Premier Pro ... which will take long for you to get to the editing ... and may result in quality loss when its time to export the final project ...

besides the compatiibility issues with Premier Pro ... this is great camera ... why didnt they create this camera with the ability to film straight to AVI is like WTF ... our digitals cameras have been doing this ... now a Hard Drive video camera comes out and it exports to MPG ... ???????????

check out my vid below i did with the SR85 camera ... i edited this one in movie maker ... you can get an idea on this one what people mean about the quality when filming in low light ...

oh and again the best feature NO TAPE AND TONS OF RECORDING TIME ... Just need a bigger battery to really take advantage of it ... :)
"


Video Review:
Filmed with SR85 CAMERA
Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
great camcorder   01/06/2009
By davison from Tampa,FL
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: easy to use, price
What's not so great: picture not great in low light

"We love this camcorder!! My husband and I bought this a few weeks ago, and so far it's been great. The picture is amazing in daylight, not so great in low light, but for this price, oh well. We are very happy with this camera."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 4 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
You'll love it or hate it   12/25/2008
By cyberrider1 from hesperia, ca
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
3
3.0 5
 
Features
3
3.0 5
 

What's great about it: compact size and hard drive
What's not so great: the miserable dock

"I don't know what the guys at Sony were thinking when they decided on a dock simply to plug in the power and accessory cables. It forced me to buy a tripod from Sony that replaces the dock for $40 (like I needed ANOTHER tripod) that allows me to mount the camera. Otherwise your only other option if you don't want to run down the battery is to duct tape the cam with dock to your tripod. How dumb is that! I bought this cam because the DCR-SR45 didn't have a remote commander. The brochure that comes with the DCR-SR85 doesn't even discuss the commander or its operation. You WILL be spending a lot of time reading the software that came with it on your PC to figure out all of the features. The jury is still out on this one."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 5 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
I LOVE SONY   12/23/2008
By Mike1229 from Bremerton, WA
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING
What's not so great: I HATE SPENDING MONEY

"THE WHOLE THING IS GREAT. I WOULD RECCOMEND THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE USEING THE ZOOM FOR DISTANCE TO GET A TRI POD OR A STAND OF SOME SORT."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 6 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
This camera is the shiznit!!!   11/01/2008
By Ludog from Ramstein, Germany
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: the compact size
What's not so great: short battery life, mediocre microphone

"I bought this camera back in June as the family was on the way to Hawaii for vacation. I have nothing but great things to say about how happy I am with this product. I had a Sony previously that was almost 8 years old (big and bulky). This one is compact ( I can put it in my sweatshirt pocket or in my cargo pants). I have a non HD, non blue ray Sony DVD recorder that I use to transfer to dvd without any problems and still am able to maintain the excellent picture quality. A great buy!!! booyah!!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 7 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
3
3.0 5
 
okay purchase   09/29/2008
By wedding2record from nashua, new hampshire
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Picture Quality
3
3.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: very steady video when shot within a certain distance
What's not so great: battery doesn't last long, shaky video when zoom too far

"I purchased this camcorder to record nice wedding video of my cousin's wedding. The cam is very easy to use and the touch-screen is plus. I love the easy navigating buttons and the price is unbeatable. The problem was the video doesn't come out too clear and was shaky when you tried to zoom too far. The batttery life doesn't last long through out the wedding, probably less than 90 mins. and I recommend you go out and buy a spare (which is another 100 bucks!) Overall, if you want short and easy video, the cam is excellent. It also allow easy editing when you use photo element software!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 8 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Too gud   09/28/2008
By Sandeep121 from Boston, ma
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: Video in HD Quality, gr8 zoom...
What's not so great: Cant be used as a still camera

"Camcorder is too gud, i got one last month and am amazed.... I even shot videos of Cape Cod from above , ie from my Boston-NewYork flight...the clarity of the zoom and the total video clarity is amazing... Even in Pitch dark caves, video quality is gr8..Night shot plus is amazing..."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 9 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
good camcroder   09/24/2008
By Nicki1
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: 25X optical zoom, good picture quality, super steady shot
What's not so great: bad microphone

"This is a really good camcorder for people that want to make a simple videos like family trips or online websites like Youtube. If you really want to go HD, I don't recommend this this is just for simple videos, I had this camcorder for one year and I was really happy with it, and then I decided to sell it and get the HDR-SR12. becuase it was full HD.
the only bad thing for this is that it has a bad microphone and that's not that bad of a deal. Also this camcorder as you might know has 60GBs of hard drive, which means you can record over 20 hours!
I definitely recommend this camcorder. :)
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 10 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
good for price   09/15/2008
By sorluc
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: big HD big plus
What's not so great: extra battery kind of big

"small size, big HD and long battery life makes it best for vacations.
easy to make movies
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 11 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Great Camcorder   09/15/2008
By gramps9 from State College, PA
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Great product for the price.
What's not so great: LCD screen in bright sunlight Washes out.

"I liked everything about this camcorder except the LCD screen tend to unusable in bright sunlight. Since this is a problem with most LCD screens it would be nice if the camcorder had some type of eye piece that allows you to see the subject."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 12 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Easy to Use and very Small   09/15/2008
By musicperson75 from NY, NY
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Easy to use great picture quality
What's not so great: no standard external mic output

"I just bought this camcorder after reading many reviews on several camcorders and for the money it
s hard to do a lot better. I'm a novice and it was very intuitive for me and downloading the video on my computer was easy. The 60 GB HD is more than enough and if you don't have an HDTV there is no point in getting one that works well with one and paying extra for it.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 13 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Would recommend to anybody   09/09/2008
By Styln75 from Helena, MT
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: easy to use, fits comfortable in hand, hard drive
What's not so great: no flash for mid light- but has place to put one

"I bought this camcorder about a month ago. I already love it. I upgraded to the hard drive to avoid the use of the mini dv's that my old one used. When it broke I was unable to view or transfer my pictures to the computer for DVD burning. I have to borrow my sisters old camcorder to transfer them. This camcorder is amazing. It allows me to burn right to the DVD from the camcorder with my laptop. It is really fast and easy. I have used the dark mode. It uses an infrared light to see in the dark and works really well, but when it is kinda dark it doesn't work at all. So I would recommend a light to attach to the camcorder. Also the battery life has worked great for me so far, but I would recommend another battery just in case."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 14 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Excellent camcorder!   09/03/2008
By tchil
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: Compact, user friendly, great video quality, no tapes
What's not so great: Battery life, low megapixels for photo

"After weeks of research, I realized people's biggest complaints were:bad software&poor image quality in low light. I chose Sony b/c they had the least complaints in these areas. WOW!! I didn't even need the manual to figure out how to use it, it's small, but sturdy, & no tapes! I took lots of clips in different situations(indoor, outdoor, beach, beach at night), & they all came out great! The Nightshot helps alot. If you zoom in on someone's face, they do have spooky eyes(like a photo of a cat), but I just won't zoom in that much & it's better than any others! It has 1 step dvd burning-SO easy! The dvd itself was beautiful! Much better than mini dv tapes! It needs a better battery, but don't they all?
I highly recommend it!
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 15 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Best purchase ever   08/30/2008
By markiv from Minneapolis, MN.
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Picture Quality
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Features
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Great camcorder, 16:9 Video Aspect Ratio makes it ideal for today's widescreen monitors / LCD TV's
What's not so great: Comes with NP-FH40 battery which is worthless - need to buy NP-FH100 or NP-FH70 for ideal use.

"Great camcorder for the money. The lack of an eye-piece is not a great problem - this is not a professional camcorder - the touch-screen LCD is just fine. The quality of video on my wide screen HDTV is excellent. The camcorder records 16:9 Wide Screen, NOT HD. But the quality is truly amazing. I was considering HD, but for 600$ less buck, I got great bang. I was reviewing my first videos today shot on a near-perfect sunny day and the quality is OUTSTANDING. I am impressed. This thing will be with me for a while.
I did have to get an extended camcorder battery - the NP-FH40 that it comes with will only last a little over an hour. I am going to take this with me on my asia trip with the NP-FH100 and I dont think I will have to recharge often. GREAT!
Suggestion - Buy the Sunpak platinum U-V Filter for the camera right away. This will protect the shutter assembly and the lens.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 16 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
Good choice   08/03/2008
By JGVA from VA

What's great about it: Small size,light weight large hard drive.
What's not so great: Lack of built in light, and eye piece.

"I bought it just before my daughter's graduation and it did an excellent job .I did not like that it does not have eye piece and as far I know using the lcd consuming more battery so I had to buy an extra battery just in case.I do believe that you will need extra light source in areas with less light,so I'm looking into purchase an extra light source which can be connected to the camera but my main concern will be how much the battery will hold.Other than these two concerns ,it is a good camera to buy and enjoy."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 17 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
2
2.0 5
 
poor product   07/27/2008
By tellmewhy from florida

What's great about it: ok indoors
What's not so great: can't see lcd outdoors

"Steer clear, Don't buy, won't work very well outdoors. Can't see LCD in daylight"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 18 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
Easy to use   07/23/2008
By nathansmom17

What's great about it: Ease of use

"I purchased this product to video my son. It's so easy to use, I have yet to open the instruction booklet. I'm sure there's many more features to the camcorder than I am currently using. I wish I bought it sooner!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 19 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
Very Nice Product   07/20/2008
By SavedSoul from Harrisburg, PA

What's great about it: Small, easy to use, lots of storage, great zoom
What's not so great: no built-in light, no external battery charger (only dock)

"I've been impressed with the camera and how easy it is to use. It is compact and light weight. It has great storage and can store about 14 hours of video at high resolution. I have read other reviews and saw that some complaints have been the sound recording. I have not noticed any worse quality then any other camcorder that i've seen or used. This camera also has a neat feature that allows you to record in total darkeness through infra-red; however, I wish it came with a built in light for those inbetween moments. Overall, this is a great investment and I am pleased."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 20 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Good Purchase   06/30/2008
By DScratch from Houston, TX

What's great about it: No need for tape, Small, lightweight, easy to use
What's not so great: Can get dark without an extra camcorder light

"So i bought this 2 months ago so I can video tape my first baby. I gave myself a month to learn it and when the day came I felt like an expert with the camcorder. The learning curve is fast about 2 days (reading and playing with it for about 2 hrs a day) for me. I had to buy an extra video light b/c the indoor shots were a little dark. The video light helped out pretty well & it only cost me about $50. Other than that, this was a big upgrade from my old Hi-8 Sony HandyCam. I'm looking forward to taping more of my new daughter from her first steps, first word, first time riding a bike, etc...I also use this to put videos of myself skateboarding on youtube & it's perfect for what I need it to do. Works well with i movie on the Mac also. Video quality is good also (assuming you have sufficient lighting)"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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