My second Cam in 10 years!

THE STORY:
I bought this camera before I moved into my new home so I can tape it before I messed it up. I also got it to tape a friends wedding. I bought it as a package deal on ebay for over 800 back in June. The package included all sorts of cool stuff and the ebay sales person was super cool and sent it right out. But enough about that lets talk about the camera.

THE CAMERA:
I love the feel of it in my hands. It sits quite well and balanced in my palm when recording either if I'm using the viewfinder or the LCD display. I've done several stop motion, interval recordings with it. At first I was scared of it breaking with it coming on and going off so much but after a lot of recording, I got real comfortable with the units quality. It has a "smart" shoe for attaching assessories like a zoom mic that knows how much zoom you are using and records sound at appropiate distances. The lens it uses is a common lens that accepts accessories like 2x lens, filters and tele lenses. hook ups like power and connecting "things" are in logical places with nice removeable covers. The swiveling display is a 2.5 dotmatrix and its awesome. The 840's only difference is a 3.5 screen and the extra couple of hundred doesn't justify it. The remote that comes with the sony is also very handy and nicely laid out with remote zoom available. That is really handy in stop motion because you don't want to shake the camera any by touching it.

GETTING TO KNOW THE CAMERA:
The onscreen menus are a breeze to follow through but the standard setup the camera comes with is good enough. It has a removable media card for taking pics or mpeg videos on the fly but your limited to a megapixel on the camera and 640 X 480 mpegs. connection with the computer is with either with USB or the Sony DV connection which is highly recommended. The USB is not 2.0 and you will see some frame drops. The DV is pure digital but you have to buy the hardware for the pc and this can be an extra 100 to 200 bucks. On the downside some of the buttons can be confusing if you are picking it up after it has sat a couple of months. I forgot that the "VCR" controls are on the top and the memory stick controls are on the side. Imagine my frustration of trying to see my movies without pushing the right buttons. After using it a while its like riding a bike and things come back to you.

HOW SONY SHOWS YOU THE CAMERA:
The instructions like a bible. Its thick and full of info. I had to thumb through the advanced sections a couple of time to pick up some of the more hidden features and I bet there are some more to be found. I also thumbed through the USB hookup CD book that has "Valuable Sony coupons", registation, and the like for the uptenth time and out popped a free sony 8mb memory stick! As many times as I've looked through that stuff and somehow missed it. BONUS!!

DOWNSIDES:
One downside is where the door for the tape is. If you hook up the camera to a camera stand you have to take it all back apart to get to the tape. This can mean precious minutes for a wedding filming. You have to prepare yourself to be ready and think ahead. Okay, I just used a new tape but while I was filming I got this evil spirit floating around me telling me that my tape is going to run out and I'm going to be the laughing stock of the community.
It did really run down to the very last minute of the tape before the ceremony was over. WHEW!
Another downside is the "CONDENSATE" warning thing. It gets humid down here in Tennessee and taking the camera from a cool place to the outside is a no-no. The camera will freaking lockup and will not let you do anything for an hour. I guess this protects the recording drum but its frustrating when you are filming your house being built and looking like a total putz cause the camera quit. I guess you can still do the memory stick scene but I never tried. Now I wish I did.
One last downside is some of the buttons are in some odd places. If you want to get to the menu the LCD has to be open. The recording and zoom are easy to get too but the switching lever for "modes" is a little small and hard to get used to at first. Fortunently sony put a hardlock on the memory stick recording so you don't accidently start using software recording and not realize it. Want to go to night vision you have to fumble for the switch on top. Wanna increase the night visions ability? You have to really fumble around to find the soft flat button near the night vision switch and that is a pain cause its on top and no little bump to help find it and its next to the vcr controls.

ALL IN ALL:
I'd say that this Sony kicks my old VHS Quazar camcorder in the keister. No holds barred. That thing was like lugging a VCR on your shoulder and it looked and sounded like crap when it recorded. Ahh the difference a decade can make.