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This camera has a boat load of user features . It's very User friendly, from changing settings with an easy Touch Screen,to Everything that I added to this Camera, (Mic, Light, etc..) I was truly blown away that this Camera, plugged into my Max G5, and Macbook Pro , to be able to Capture video, via Fire Wire, and use Final Cut Pro X. I like that the Battery charges on the camera, or Camera can be used, by just plugin into to an outlet. It's awesome using the editing screen, and only uploading what you want. This is truly a professional HD Camera, with Video& Audio Quality. There is truly nothing that I don't like, about this camera. It can even take a little abuse, because it's built so well.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This camera is not really fully digital as I assumed. It does not write the digital video files to solid state memory but instead actually has a tiny video cassette recorder on board. As such, it is really old analog technology but ti will produce a 1440 X 1080 X 30 m2t stream through an IEEE 1394 Firewire interface. The only way to get this into a computer so it can be stored as a digital file is through a 1394 computer interface running Vegas Movie Studio 14. It does not come ready to plug and play like USB or for conventional SD card digital storage. Good Luck
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I bought this camera because I wanted a high quality picture from a camcorder that was small enough to carry around. I was not disappointed. Overall I like the camera. The sound is good, image is sharp with lots of detail when shot under conditions with good light, and the camera is small enough so it wont weigh you down or make your hand tire from carrying it. Now for the bad... Almost all the adjustments are in the touch screen, although there are a lot of options so if you like shooting manual, you can. The steady cam (anti-shake) is just OK. My shoulder mount Sony 2000MC's Steady cam is amazing, and much better than the A1U's. It uses tape and for some reason when importing HD video into my computer, the camera seems to have a mind of its own and imports when it feels like, although it always imports standard video with no problem. But I didn't buy an HD camera to shoot standard. The lens hood will only fit without a filter. The stock battery does not last long. I bought 2 after market batteries from ebay that last for hours. I would recommend the camera if you needed a high quality camera only if you don't mind using mini-tapes, otherwise wait just a short couple of months and you will see the internal hard drive version soon if it is not already here.Read full review
I knew this was a small camera from seeing pictures but, it did look professional. The HVR A1U may have only one chip but it's a great chip. The only set back that I found with this camera, and I didn't realize it because I was so impressed with all the other features before I bought it, was it only goes down to 7 lux. If I remember correctly, at the time I may have even realized it but bought it anyway. From shooting my pets to scenery it's great..."out doors", that is. In house lighting and darker situations it doesn't do that well. I got it "mainly" for ghost hunting since it has the night vision only the I.R. light covers just a small area with light opposed to my older Sony TRV 103 which does great with that stuff. Well the 103 broke down, it skips when play back is initiated. The A1U works beautifully with everything else and if you add a light to it, indoors is fine. It has many features for correctly setting it up per situation and when I did sound for an out door concert, I mixed for the show but cheated a little for the headphones while using the XLR inputs directly into the camera from the mixer and WOW!! I was impressed. If you set the volume input manually to keep it from distorting, the direct in is fantastic. I don't know a heck of a lot about video cameras but I do know sound and this thing is right on the money for that. The included mic is ok for live events but I believe a better quality shotgun mic will be a plus. I used my Rhode NT2 with it in one channel on mono and later two MXL 2000 mics one in each channel and room recorded bands and it sounds great. My next step is a 3 chip camera of some kind so I can get down to 1 lux or so for night time videoing, sunsets, sunrises etc. Hope this helps, for the money, I'd do this again (although I did get mine on ebay with 10 hours on the drums and for 1,200 dollars). One other thing, when you use the camera without the shotgun mic, the stereo mic is really cool. I use headphones when I record and playback and when something passes the camera, left to right, (say your dog walking by on the hard wood floors with his nails clicking) it's "VERY" directional and the imaging is fantastic. Birds in the early morning are crisp as a bell!!Read full review
I've owned this camera for about 14 years now I guess. Wow, getting old! Anyway I was blown away at the image quality I got for this camera and it still holds up well today. I am a professional videographer and own many cameras including a Canon C100 but for outdoor shoots I still use it from time to time. It's not all that good in low light situations but if you have light, wow! I would even go so far as to say, the image I get from this camera will rival or exceed may of the so called "4K" consumer cameras you can get today. I paid around $2500 for it back in the day, if I remember right, and now you can find them for a couple hundred bucks? It was worth it then and well worth it now. I wouldn't part with mine for anything, it's one of my all time favorites.
Verified purchase: No
I bought this camera to be used along with 3 Sony Z1U cameras, appearing in the video as a prop camera with hopes of using the footage in the program. I was in the editing facility and was awestruck by the seamless matching and "cut in" quality of this camera's footage. Set on auto everything, even audio with the shotgun mic on top, the quality was just perfect. Even a beautiful model can make great shots without any prior knowledge or training! It works really well with manual settings, professional lighting and on a tripod. It is also the greatest mini HD camera handheld. Goes neck to neck with the SONY F900 HD as well as the Panasonic Varicam. The footage will intercut! Totally worth the small price to pay when travelng abroad and having a back up camera on a documentary. Thank you SONY! I highly recommend this product for professionals as well as wanna bees.Read full review
The Sony Hi-Def cameras are the industry standards. Built for ease of use and high quality video. You can, literally, start your own video company with one of these. Shoot wedding videos, television commercials, website video content or music videos. The compact size allows you to take it on the go very quickly. AND the biggest difference between commercial quality and consumer HD cameras is the audio quality. XLR inputs mean you can plug into boom mikes, directional mikes, and lavalier (clip) mikes and get professional quality sound that you cannot get with the consumer models. The industry is moving to hi-def and these cameras are the affordable way to join the revolution. I love mine.
I teach high school video production, and have bought every kind of camera imaginable over the years. I have found Sony to be the very best. While everyone else seems to love the Canon GL series, I've sent my Canon into the shop twice in two years because it "crashed." The Sony holds up through being handled by a dozen teenagers five days a week. This is a small camera - not as impressive to the general public, but the quality of the picture, the performance, features and options it offers, and the milage I will surely get out of it can't be beat.
Fantastic small sized high def video recorder. This is the second model I own.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I Love this camera because I bought one just like it 2 and one half years ago and use it every week it has 650hours on it and I got a bad I-link cable and fried the connection. the HD quality is excellent and the stills are Very Good 1920pixels by 1440pixels. The output through the I-link is 1080i and the rgb output is HD quality but sometimes I just record DVD's on S-Video quality. I am very happy with this camera because it is a U.S.A. model my other one is a Japan (HVR-A1J) model but they are identical except for the polarized plug on the charger.