This is a very nice compact camera and works great. However, in terms of getting the digital files onto a computer, the support for Macintosh users is horrible. There are some very brief instructions and it is very difficult to find troubleshooting advice. The majority of the manual is dedicated to PCs.

My little advice - Beware of Sony. The quality has decreased over past years badly and customer service and technical support is very bad too. Not to mention the warranty plans and costs to fix things. I just owned a nice handycam DCR-TRV19 that died after one year of seldom use. Something that is obvious factory defect (since many people experience exactly the same problem) costs more than half of the camcorders price to fix at sony service. I advise you to have a look at http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6142-0.html?forumID=59&threadID=53316&messageID=1064984 and see for yourself how Sony treats their customers.
Once again, don't be blurred by pretty design. The inside is piece of crap.
Sincerely.

First, I advise potential buyers to keep in mind the category of this device - simple, for quick home videos. And it is just perfect for that.
Tests done
1. Picture is definitely better than the best Hi8 and the sound is very good (use 16 bit option always). Does not work perfectly at low light, but that is not expected.
2. Handling - excellent, touch screen is the real saver, easy to use and handy.
3. Efects - there are too many. Those I tried are perfect.
4. Analog-to-digital pas through - it does not get any better than this! The best way to convert your analogue tapes to DVD. You can also make direct DVD recording from any possible source (TV, Hi8, VCR ...)
Note: I use Intervideo DVD Creator Platinum 2 with XP home. Did not test the Sony software, did not use USB, only fire wire.
5. Images - perfect for e-mails, naturally not good for regular photos.

New model 32 has better optical zoom, but the catch is it is extremely difficult to adjust it using the small lever on the camcorder. Model 30 had optical zoom 10x and that is just perfect.
Highly, highly recommended (if you can still find it somewhere).

I previously had a Sony Hi8 camcorder and had great success using it, so I knew I wanted another Sony for my digital camcorder. I used it right away for some short skit videos, and sure the video quality and sound isn't the greatest, but what do you expect from a $500 camera? This camera was great, it's small & compact (approx 5x7x2), just put it inside your jacket pocket and go.

An extra microphone isn't necessary in my opinion, just make sure you're an adequete distance (3-6 ft) for sound, and that the lighting is somewhat decent for contrast and video quality. I'm quite happy with the outcome of my videos I've made so far.

If you're an Apple user (like I am), using IMovie and the iLink is perfect. Everything downloads quickly, no defects in sound or video. If you're a PC user, I'd suggest getting a Dazzle DVC Digital Video Converter, it's the best one in my opinion. I've tried a few out there that are actual cards you put inside the tower of your PC, and this works just as good if not better for a Plug N Play device.

Also get Adobe Premiere (or something like it) to edit your movies; the software Sony includes is practically useless. Premiere works just like IMovie, just a bit more complicated, and the end result isn't as sharp in terms of transitions, titles, etc.

Keep in mind for the price, you're getting the bare essentials necessary. Be prepared to spend about another $150-200 on accessories, iLink cable (4 to 6 pin), MiniDV tapes, Duo Memory Stick (I suggest getting a 512MB right away), a larger battery, carrying case, etc. I got a majority of the accessories on ebay so I only spent about $90 total for all of them.

What I liked:
-Super compact design
-Decent quality video and sound (equivalent or better to my Hi8 which is twice the size)
-Can connect it to other VCR, camcorders, TVs and record
-Works great with IMovie

What I didn't like:
-Touch screen menu was a little confusing at first
-Record button is TINY and right next to the on/off/modes switch, I sometimes accidently turned the camera off or switched modes when I wanted to hit record (but there is a second button on the LCD screen)
-If you don't have an iLink cable, you can't download video from the tape without a Dazzle converter or something similiar (the USB cable, which is included, only works for transferring files from the Memory Stick). This is applicable for Apple users only, I haven't tried to download video on my PC yet (haven't needed to!)
-Zoom button is a little hard to reach and makes smooth zooming difficult
-Have to use the touch screen to rewind and fast forward thru your tape

If you are aware of what exactly you're buying, you should be happy with this camera.

I have had this camera for about 6 months and it has been great. This camera is so small that I can put it in my cargo shorts pockets. I think that the touch screen is great, and the menu is set up alright I guess if you are a electronic geek like I am.

I also like the ability to take still photos while video taping. All you do is click the button and you get a still image stored in your memory card. The pictures are only .5 mp, but when you are zoomed in 20x opt. you can get things from far away. The 20x opt. that I am able to get is from a after market 2x lens you can buy for about $35-$50. I went up in the mountains and got some pictures of deer and elk from 200 yards away, and you can tell if they have horns or not.

I have hooked this camera up to my laptop which has a dvd burner, and have burned some dvd's with the this camera. It is at the quality of a dvd movie. I was very shocked to see the great quality.

If you are questioning whether or not to get this, get it. Only don't get it if you are worried about losing it because it is so small.

I bought ther camera five days ago and was amazed at how easy it was to use. When I first saw all the options of the menu screen I thought I was in over my head. I just played around with them, and they were very self explanatory. The sound quality is great for an internal mic. The video quality is very good. I am very pleased with how clear the video is when I hook it to my TV and watch what I've shot. The zoom does get a little fuzzy at full throttle, but is very clear up until that point. Overall very good for the money

I was a happy owner of DCRHC30 for first 10 months, and felt that we made a wise purchase.

Until recently, we found out that the REC/STANDBY button sometimes did not respond, and it happened more and more frequently. When it happens, I have difficult time to make it record, or I had to power it off to stop recording. When I contact SONY Customer serivce, I found the warranttee for labor is only 90 days, though part is 1 year (FYI: labor is way more expensive than part!).

CS rep gives me an estimate of flat labor rate $269, PLUS shipping and handling to/from the repair center in CT. That's 60% of the purchase price of the HC30!

We had already spent extra $100+ for SONY accessaries (like batteries, memory cards, etc), which normally are NOT compatible with other brands of Camcorders/cameras by design (a typical SONY strategy following the proven-unsuccessful footsteps of Apple Computers decade ago). I can pretty much say good-bye to these accessaries as well...

When purchasing SONY, be aware of its warranttee policy and think twice. There is a reason that the company has been losing ground to its competitor for years, and not likely can the newly-appointed U.S. CEO overturn the trend!

We will definitely avoid Sony products in the future.

web cam is awful, still pics are very low quality. doesn't have built in flash. only burns to vaio's and awful softward.

We've had this camcorder for about 8 months, and we haven't had any problems with the operation of it yet. It is so compact and easy to use. It is also easy to hook it up to our television to watch the movies, or to just flip the viewfinder around and watch the movies while holding the camcorder in the palm of our hands. We are thrilled with the quality and ease of the movies we've recorded. There are so many functions, but they aren't difficult to figure out. It was a bonus that this camcorder can take still digital photos, since we didn't have a regular digital camara. And though the photos are good enough to keep, they look grainier than I would like. I find the photo quality really improves when there is alot of light, especially outdoors. The memory stick this camcorder comes with can only hold about 12 photos at a time, but because you can delete the not-so-great photos on the spot, limiting it to 12 before uploading to the computer hasn't been a problem for us. On the upside, it is a breeze to upload the photos onto our computer. And I can switch from recording a movie to taking still photos, all just using the hand I'm holding the camcorder in. My other hand is totally free through all operations, and I like that.

Used to be a loyal sony customer as all me previous products were close to invincible. So I went out of my way to purchase a sony for my first camcorder. Took it home and turned it on... then it died on me. Yep right there and then, no abuse nothing, just died on me. The customer service apologized but didn't do much. To me I cannot fathom how sony is staying in business (i wish I read these reviews here first before I made my decision, as obviously they are going on a downhill trend as far as quality is concerned) with kind of quality. I will never buy another sony product again and will make sure no friends of mine make that mistake.
DON'T BUY!!

I used this item only 6 or 7 times and the cassette will not eject. Sony will only fix this poor-quality product if I pay them $211. Awful quality, crappy service.

Bought this camera back in December of 2004, it's got many, many hours on it's clock. Chrismases, birthdays, holidays, camping trips and Disneyland. The Disneyland tapes turned out so good. We use it very often, just to capture the kids growing up.

Recently I took all the tapes and the ones from my old VHS-C camera and with my Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder burned them all to DVD's. Big difference between analog and digital. Using the IEEE (firewire) to copy from my Handycam to the DVD recorder was so simple, using the HQ setting (perfect 60 minute fit) the resolution on a 27" TV was phenonimal. Better that broadcast quality.

I'm so please with the results, now I have memories in the highest quality images I can imagine saved for years and years to come.

If the camera stores for too long the head can oxidize, I have had to use the cleaner tape a few times. Also when storing use a silca pillow (they come in products now and then) thrown in the bottom of the case to absorb moisture.

The battery life could be better, but it's sufficient.

The touch screen is a nice feature.

Nightshot comes in real handy.

No need to upgrade - I recently purchased a quality zoom lens and now with that installed it has a 20x optical zoom instead of 10x.

Sony made this well. I'm still grining after 18 months!

Other than simply recording on this camcorder you have to be a professional videographer to use the other features. Most importantly, unless you have a Sony VAIO computer DO NOT BUY THIS CAMCORDER!!! You cannot transfer video to a DVD unless you have that computer. It's ridiculous! What are you supposed to do transfer to a VHS that's being totally phased out?! Hopefully this review will save someone some money since I wasted mine!!

I've had this camera for 2 or 3 years and it still hasn't let me down. I record concerts with it so it takes its fair share of abuse and its still in perfect working conditions. If you're looking for a good camera and not looking to spend a whole lot of money you should really think about going with this camera.

I was very pleased with the ease of use of this camera. It took great video and picked up sound through the built in microphone very nicely. It fits great in the hand and very lightweight. The only downside is the touch screen menu. At first, I thought it was a nice feature to have but it is very sensitive and doesn't last long. I've had my camcorder for 3 years and it still records (since that button is on the camera itself) but it will not rewind, play or any other function that you want that requires the touch screen menu. Of course, the camera has a limited warrantee and to have it repaired is a minimum of $200. My next choice of camera will be with the traditional controls on the camera itself.

Do not buy this camcorder for the software! The camera works great but buyer beware - the software is useless. Sony could have done a much better job than the Picture Package software that is included. Help from the Picture Package website is virtually non-existant. If you want to edit video you need a firewire (not included) - but DO NOT buy it from sony. They are much cheaper on Amazon or elsewhere. A USB cable is included but is also useles unless you can tolerate the Picture Package software. An extra battery is a nice addition as well. And of course some sort of software to replace the Picture Package junk.

Do not buy this camara.It looks atractive but it has big problems with the LCD becoming blank when you are about to recored.There is a big class action against Sony.A lot of people have these problems with this camara including me.