Sony DCR-HC14E Digital Camcorder

This is my first camcorder, having resisted buying one before due to the high cost to purchase a well built, reliable model. There can be no question of the value of this camcorder - it is well worth the price it is selling for on the high street, and with Amazon giving a good discount on this (at £290) it is frankly superb value. As a novice user, everything is straightforward and logical to use and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture (from both in and outdoors) shown when played back on a TV screen (with the cable provided). The mini DV format seems to be the best available at the moment until memory stick technology improves and allows the removal of a tape altogether. The battery supplied is small (and keeps the whole camera very light), and has given me sufficent charge for a days tourist videoing (about 35 mins of recording, with lots of standby time). I have marked the camera down to four stars for only one reason - as an entry level camera I think it should at least come with a tape, and perhaps a basic case (as nearly all digital cameras do), so that you can start to use it straight away; at most this would have pushed the price up by a few pounds, if at all. As it is you should add tapes, a case and perhaps a battery to your shopping list. Thoroughly recommended.

If this camera displeases anyone, then they have no idea what they are talking about and shouldnt be using a camcorder in the first place. The camera is so compact it makes you wonder how they manage to fit in all the features and maintain the high quality. Easy to use from the box, has USB lead (for webcamming and transferring video data) aswell as a scart convertor for the Phono A/V leads (also supplied). Battery life is superb (around an hour and a half of recording, with days and days of standby time). The only gripe is that there should be a headphone socket for quiet "alone time" playback, however inserting headphones midway into the A/V output achieves stereo headphone sound (strictly not meant to be done, but WORKS!) This unit even plays back NTSC (American) recordings in full colour, even on non NTSC televisions!...a godsend for me as my last camera was from America and I was sure I was going to have to tape over all my old recordings. Buy this camera NOW, your friends and family will love it as a present. This camera is FAR cheaper than I would happily pay. Its up there with the models in the £500+ region.

I bought my HC15E prior to my holidays in August. It has proved, overall, to be an excellent with great picture and sound quality (as you would expect from Sony). The feature list is also far better than you would expect for the money. The only minor let downs were the rather poor manual (which constantly assumes you have a Sony VAIO PC!) and the software (which kept crashing my PC until I discovered in the manual's small print that it is actually incompatible with the HC15E). These irritations aside the hardware is excellent value for money and well recommended.

I bought this product when if first came out and it has in fairness been brilliant to record treasured memories. However, we were informed on purchase that we could download this to our computer and then burn to DVD. We have never managed this yet!! I can get on tv, but I do not have a dvd writer on my video. I can record to video, but want to put it on DVD instead. The camcorder came with only one lead to transfer to computer, but it doesnt work? There are two other exits on the side of the camcorder which one states DV out, but I havent a lead for this. I am a novice at this, but the software doesn't help either. If these things are to be sold to the general public, then this should be better. To the expert out there, I probably sound dim, but computers etc, are not every persons forte, so I am really disappointed in the fact, I have over 20 tapes of kids film, which I dont know how to sort. If anyone could help, please advise, I would be most grateful. XXXX

First of all, I want to say something to the guy from Belfast, who wrote a review on August 29, 2004. He mentioned that he has major problems with the software and that he is not able to capture audio... I think the guy is using the USB cable that came with the camera. With this cable you are not able to capture audio, just video! you need to buy a firewire cable if you want to do any video editing. The camera overall is great, it has all the functions you need and all the necessary sockets. I'm very happy with the mic input (most budget camcorders don't have one), because this way you can get rid of the noise the motor makes while you are recording. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of a remote control (that's why I gave it 4 stars only). The camera has a LANC socket where you can plug in a corded remote control so I suppose it's not that bad! The camera is very well built. I managed to drop it on the floor (concrete!) and I was amazed to see that was still working! Because it's a Sony product, you should be able to find all the necessary accesories everywhere. Overall it's an excellent entry-level camera!

As others have already said, an excellent camera that does everything most people would desire. Easy to pick up and use straight away but with a lot of extra functions that I doubt will get much use. The software however is shocking. It just freezes when trying to use Firewire (Sonys iLink), you can use the USB cable but the quality is less. It's not easy to just burn straight video to DVD and the manual is just as bad. It will then interfere with any other movie software until it's removed. Better still, don't even install it. The camera still deserves 5 stars though, just budget a few more quid for Nero etc.

This is the first camcorder that I have purchased and bought after reading other amazon reviews, I wanted something that would not 'date' too quickly and was quite easy to use, prior to our first baby being born. Well she is now here and the camera has provided an excellent record of her first couple of weeks, my only complaint (and it is something that I am not doing correctly) is that I am unable to show the date on the screen when playing back and transferring onto tape, shame because with the baby that was quite important to us! so if anyone has worked out how to do this please let me know!

I would definitely recommend the DCR-HC14E to anyone looking to buy a Mini DV camcorder. Not only is it easy to use with the touch screen menu, it also fits nicely into the palm of your hand. The sound and quality of the playback on the mini screen and tv are excellent. I was especially surprised how good the nightshot was, as i have seen other camcorders using nightshot that do not even come close to the quality offered by this sony camcorder. Overall, i am extremely pleased with my purchase. The only downside is trying to find a Sony carry case that it will fit into.