Customer Reviews for 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: DCR-SR85
SKU: 8669103
UPC: 027242728202
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:
4.5
out of 5
(28 Reviews) 28
Rating Snapshot 28 reviews
5 stars
17
4 stars
8
3 stars
2
2 stars
1
1 star
0
89% of customers would recommend this product to a friend
(
25 out of
28)
Customer Reviews for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Review 1 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Very Nice Camcorder
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Palmer613
from Pickerington, Ohio
on 05/03/2009
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
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.
What's great about it: Hard Drive space, Ease of Use.
What's not so great: Would like a bigger zoom, Battery life.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
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Review 2 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
GREAT CAMERA - BUT NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED FOR ....
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
4.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
Video Review:
(click to see the video)
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 ... :)
What's great about it: NO TAPE NEEDED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's not so great: EDITING IN PROFESSION EDITING SOFTWARE
I would recommend this to a friend!
-2points
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Review 3 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
great camcorder
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: davison
from Tampa,FL
on 01/06/2009
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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.
What's great about it: easy to use, price
What's not so great: picture not great in low light
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 4 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
You'll love it or hate it
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: cyberrider1
from hesperia, ca
on 12/25/2008
Value for Price
4.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
3.0
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.
What's great about it: compact size and hard drive
What's not so great: the miserable dock
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 5 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
I LOVE SONY
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Mike1229
from Bremerton, WA
on 12/23/2008
Value for Price
4.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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.
What's great about it: PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING
What's not so great: I HATE SPENDING MONEY
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 6 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
This camera is the shiznit!!!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Ludog
from Ramstein, Germany
on 11/01/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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!!
What's great about it: the compact size
What's not so great: short battery life, mediocre microphone
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 7 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
okay purchase
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: wedding2record
from nashua, new hampshire
on 09/29/2008
Value for Price
4.0
Picture Quality
3.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
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!
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 would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 8 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Too gud
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Sandeep121
from Boston, ma
on 09/28/2008
Value for Price
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
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...
What's great about it: Video in HD Quality, gr8 zoom...
What's not so great: Cant be used as a still camera
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 9 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
good camcroder
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: Nicki1
on 09/24/2008
Value for Price
4.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
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. :)
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. :)
What's great about it: 25X optical zoom, good picture quality, super steady shot
What's not so great: bad microphone
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 10 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
good for price
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: sorluc
on 09/15/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
small size, big HD and long battery life makes it best for vacations.
easy to make movies
easy to make movies
What's great about it: big HD big plus
What's not so great: extra battery kind of big
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 11 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Great Camcorder
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: gramps9
from State College, PA
on 09/15/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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.
What's great about it: Great product for the price.
What's not so great: LCD screen in bright sunlight Washes out.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 12 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Easy to Use and very Small
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: musicperson75
from NY, NY
on 09/15/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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.
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.
What's great about it: Easy to use great picture quality
What's not so great: no standard external mic output
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 13 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Would recommend to anybody
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Styln75
from Helena, MT
on 09/09/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
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.
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 would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 14 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Excellent camcorder!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: tchil
on 09/03/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
4.0
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!
I highly recommend it!
What's great about it: Compact, user friendly, great video quality, no tapes
What's not so great: Battery life, low megapixels for photo
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 15 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Best purchase ever
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: markiv
from Minneapolis, MN.
on 08/30/2008
Value for Price
5.0
Picture Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
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.
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.
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.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 16 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Good choice
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: JGVA
from VA
on 08/03/2008
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.
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 would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 17 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
poor product
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: tellmewhy
from florida
on 07/27/2008
Steer clear, Don't buy, won't work very well outdoors. Can't see LCD in daylight
What's great about it: ok indoors
What's not so great: can't see lcd outdoors
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Review 18 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Easy to use
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: nathansmom17
on 07/23/2008
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!
What's great about it: Ease of use
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 19 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Very Nice Product
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: SavedSoul
from Harrisburg, PA
on 07/20/2008
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.
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 would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 20 for Sony Handycam Camcorder with 60GB Hard Disk Drive - Black/Silver
Good Purchase
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: DScratch
from Houston, TX
on 06/30/2008
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)
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
I would recommend this to a friend!
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