After a long research of compact camcorders, I bought a PC105 last September to replace a bulkier Digital 8, also Sony, that in turn replaced a Sony Hi8, and I am quite happy with it. I got it for about $750 on IBuyDigital. The camera is really compact, though you need to get used to the PC format (vertical), as opposed to the TRV one. The image quality is superb, and with good illumination you get up to 500 lines horizontal resolution (I measured it, the D8 only went up to 380 and the Hi8 to 420). The image quality is much better than my old D8. The 1Mpix still images are reasonable but don't replace a dedicated still digicam, though for special cases when you need the 10x zoom, it is a good thing to have. The MPEG1 video clips that you can store on the Memory Stick look similar to what you get from video clips out of still digicams. I guess those are mostly gadgets, I mainly use it for DV video and I capture it to my PC for later transfer to DVD.

The zoom lever is not particularly easy to use, but once you get used to it is not that bad. The focus ring is easy to use, though the autofocus is so good that I hardly use the manual focus (as compared to my old Hi8). Also, the image stabilization is way superior to the old D8 one, and does not seem to introduce extra noise as was the typical case. This is especially important on a small and light weight camcorder since it is harder to keep it still than with a heavier one.

But, the main advantage of this camera, besides its compact size, is the hybrid LCD touchpanel. Forget about those bright days when you had to stick to the viewfinder because you could hardly see the LCD screen under the sunlight. With this one, you can see it perfectly, whether under the direct sun or on a dark place... You can even save some battery power by switching off the backlight when using it outdoors. The 2.5" is a bit small, but I don't believe you can put a bigger one without making the camcorder bigger too. The LCD is high resolution and looks very sharp. The color viewfinder is not tiltable and resolution is not as good as the LCD, but helps extending battery life, which BTW is accurately measured and displayed.

I would have placed at least a scroll/select wheel for the menu system, though the touch panel is really easy to use. But the scroll wheel is faster to use for selecting things on a typical Sony menu. However, the most used functions have direct access from the LCD touch panel buttons, and the spot focus and spot metering, where you select the area of interest by touching it on the LCD, is a cool addition that you don't have in many cameras.

Overall, I am happy with it, I can put it on the same bag together with my 5Mpix digicam and I just hope it works fine for many, many years.

The camera is not as good as specified. Still image quality is good when taken fron very short distance but not good for the outside natural scenes taken from far away. The video quality is not so good. In low light you can't get the real colour. Specially in night shot. During video recording its pick up nois from the outside, which is very bad when you play the video. I dont think the video image quality is better that the SONY Hi-8 camera (which has much less price and not Carl Zeiss lence.). The PIXELA software frovided with the camera is too bad. If you convert to MPEG-1 using USB cable vedio quality will be useless. I think they should mention in the manual about the quality of the video using USB cable and the provided software. If it is useless I cant understant why it is provided with the camera. The software is not also user friendly. There should be some sample video using that software, so the customers can understant bout the vedio quality before buying the camera. Most of the video options are not available in memorystick if somebody wants to record in memorystick as MPEG-1. Also the video size is very small.

Ignoring the fact that this is overkill, the DCRPC105's Video-in capabilities works very well and allows conversion of analog to digital video. You can connect an analog source via the included RCA connectors, which also support S-Video.

Transferring video to a computer is straightforward, but a FireWire cable is not supplied, only a USB cable for the USB streaming feature.

The camera takes great video quality during day and in low dark situations. Even better when you put the night vision on. Camera is small and has a sturdy feel to it. I was a bit intimidated on learning how to use the camera but the instruction manual is very helpful and explanations are clear. Also once you learn how to use one function with the menus, it becomes intuitive and translates to the process of how you would use other functions. The display screen seems sufficient and the touch screen works pretty good, however if you have really thick fingers it may be a bit awkward to use.

Speaking of awkward, that is where this camera loses some points. Because the camera is meant to be compact, you can expect some buttons to be placed in unfavorable areas but I know they could have set the zoom feature in a better place. The zoom switch is very small and therefore difficult to control the speed at which you zoom in. On top of that, it is place out of reach of where your finger normally rests while you are recording. What ends up happening is while recording, if you need to zoom in, you need to look away from your screen or viewfinder just to zoom and when you do, you end up moving the whole camera while it's recording. A lot of times I just try not to zoom unless it's necessary. That was my biggest gripe about this camera.

I definitely agree, the provided software is not nearly as intuitive or clear as the instructions for camera operations. In a way it is simplistic but yet confusing because there are so few options, you expect more and go searching through the help files only to realize this program doesn't have such options. Definitely consider third party software if you are serious about video editing. The software can take what you recorded on MiniDV and turn it into a VCD but the quality is really poor even on the highest setting that I don't recommend saving your recordings that way, use as a backup only.

The features I did like about this camera (besides those mentioned in the first paragraph) are the ability to not only record on your miniDV cassette but also on a memory stick, although the quality isn't as good, it works out perfectly if you want to record little clips and send to family members via email and best of all you cans use the functions such as zooming in and night vision. Being able to take still pictures is another plus, although don't expect high quality pics, they are nonetheless still decent and there is a flash built in. You can even take pictures in the middle of recording although the resolution isn't as good as when you have it in still camera mode.

The included remote is pretty useful when you're watching your movies and all the connections to plug it up to a TV are provided so that's another plus. The camera has a lot of upgradeability options such as longer lasting batteries or tripod, external light hookup. Camera also has a built in speaker to review your video or you can use the headphone jack. The display shows how much battery life you have left and camera recording time. Another great thing is if you leave your cassette in there and record stop and record, the transition from stopping your previous recording and starting your new is super smooth. The bad thing is that if you take the tape out, you have to do that process manually unless you have the special Sony miniDV's with memory.

Overall though, a good camera, minus those few flaws, it's solid and quiet when recording. I strongly recommend you get some type of lens protector (they are pretty easy to screw on), an extra rechargeable battery (the one provided doesn't last very long), more memory (they give you a useless 8mb memory stick) and a case because the last thing you want to do is drop this camera. As solid as it feels, the camera is also not light so a fall would not be too good.

I didn't touch upon the recording features such as adding text, background music or special effects because I haven't really tried them yet, but know that they are there. The instructions in the manual are clear with walking you through how to do that. When I get more time I will experiment with those.

Although the camera itself met my expectation I am extremely disappointed with the software quality it came with. The software itself is amateur software and not something you expect to get from Sony, especially after spending $1000.00 for it. The help file for the software is limited and short.
Bottom line - buy it only if you have no plans to edit your work on your computer!

Touch screen is unique. First model that I have seen with it. Sort of dummy proof. Good for your average home video shooter. However, if you are planning to shoot professional video, DO NOT use this camera. The 10X optical zoom is a joke. Sure the 120X digital zoom is decent, but unfortunately, you suffer in quality. If you want a combo digatal camera/camcorder, you could do better. But if all you want is a tiny camcorder that can take high quality home video, then this may do it.

The technical reviews here are great, and very helpful. But maybe you're like me -- not a videographer, but just a parent who wants a compact, easy to use, high-quality camera. And this Sony is an excellent choice. Small enough that you don't mind lugging it along to school performances, or tucking it away -- because you never know when a memory will beg for capture. I love the touch screen menus. And it's typical Sony quality.

Our family will record something silly, plug the USB cable right into the TV, and watch our instant movies. Fun times.

Well, I purchased this camera about a year ago for $600 on ebay and it does everything I want it to do. Great resolution, except with digital zoom, and ok stills. I took the pics displayed here with a sony dscw5 but the still quality you'll get with this camera on memory card are also displayed here.. As far as video quality, its still great for a 2-3 yrs old camera. I usually attach this camera via firewire to my pc and edit videos there. When i dont use a digital zoom thing look great! W/digital zoom not so well. I like the form factor and for the next 2-3 years I have no inclination to buy a new camcorder. Enjoy!