I bought the PC1E in 2004 so it's not the newest, I have been looking for a camcorder to settle down with for a while now and have used Panasonics, Sharps and JVCs, I was put off Sony by the fact that you usually pay a premium price and I had no evidence that they were definitively better than the other brands. Obviously the size of the PC1 is noticeably small even by modern mini-DV standards it holds up well. It takes a little getting used to but unlike other upright cameras that I've used the natural holding position on the PC1 doesn't interfere with the microphone, a definite plus. Sound quality is good and the unit makes very little mech noise so you don't get that on playback. The Carl Zeiss lens is excellent as you'd expect, I particularly like the light adjustment which is very fast and very good, it means if you swing past a window whilst indoors it doesn't screw up your footage. All in all I'd recommend it as a great camera for the enthusiast, in terms of connectivity it links up to the Mac through iMovie with no trouble at all.

I purchased this camcorder Oct. 1999. The picture quality is crystal clear in good lighting conditions, grainy in low light conditions. I also purchased a ... hardware/software package from Pinnacle Systems ... that allows me to edit video and audio captured on the camcorder on my PC. This is a very innexpensive way to produce high quality home movies. The best feature of the camcorder is its size-you take it everywhere.

An earlier review stated that it was not possible to edit digital video from the DCR-PC1 on a desktop computer. I bought a third party FireWire board and DV editing program bundle for my PC (I paid $80) and had the board installed, the software running, and video downloaded from my camera in under an hour. While cracking open a computer case and installing a new board might not be everyone's idea of fun, it is a simple procedure and greatly enhances the value of the camera. I've been very pleased with the DCR-PC1 and carry it everywhere I go.

I am looking for a digital camera which can record directly on a CD. If there is one then please let know about it. Sony DCR PC1 is an excellent piece of photographic equipment. It is very useful for my profession of Highway Designing/Improvement. For my profession I need something that can be immidiately loaded / displayed on computer.

Size matters. I've noticed in the almost year and a half that I've owned the PC1, I use it more frequently than previously owned camcorders. Because it is pocketable, I take it with me more regularly. I like the ability to hook it to my PC and save still shots. (With 30 frames per second you certainly can find an optimum shot to grab.) I wish it could operate in lower lite. By the way, a new battery has just come out which has greater capacity and is the same size as the older one.

I owned this wonderful piece of optical marvel since 2000. In all these years I traveled from the Sahara to the Mont Blanc, from 120F to minus 40 in Siberia. It never failed! I kept it in my pocket to record my life's events. I imported the videos to my hard drive, edited them and burned them to DVD with amezing ease. It is all metal construction and never suffered from the occasional banging it received. Excellent, but keep spare batteries on hand.