Like most Mini DV models, the PC110 can take still pictures and store them either on tape or on a flash media card--in this case, Sony's proprietary Memory Stick. Unlike most DV camcorders, the PC110 also can record 15- and 60-second MPEGs, saving you the trouble of having to convert your footage to this e-mail-friendly format in your PC. The camcorder comes with a 4 MB Stick, which holds just six high-resolution stills, and is useless unless you have a Memory Stick-equipped Sony VAIO, a Memory Stick accessory drive, or a built-in USB port.

The PC110 also enables you to spice up your recorded video with an array of picture and digital effects, such as negative, sepia tone, or black and white. You also can zoom in during playback of a recorded image. These extra effects are for those folks who do in-camera editing and can be output only through the camcorder's analog outputs, not via i.Link/FireWire. If you've got video-editing software, you can add many of these effects and more on your PC.

The PC110 also includes in-camera digital-editing compiling capabilities--choose in-and-out edit points for particular scenes, set the scene sequence (up to 20 scenes), and the camera automatically goes back and forth to output the image to whatever tape player you've connected the camcorder to. This program editing is a bit convoluted, but it's better than doing it manually.

The biggest problem is the placement of frequently accessed control buttons and jacks. For instance, the zoom and still-photo shutter release buttons are located at the front of the camcorder, vaguely where your pinky is supposed to be. But the pinky isn't the most dexterous digit, and the hand-strap further limits the little finger's angular movement necessary to manipulate either switch.

The PC110's stocky design also necessitates the scattering of the various inputs and outputs. The microphone, headphone, and DC power inputs are located on upper-right side; the i.Link (FireWire), USB, and AC power are on the front below the lens; the S-Video output is on the lower-right side under the hand strap; and the analog A/V minijack is located to the right of the power/standby/record switch.

And being that this is a tiny camcorder, the 2.5-inch LCD viewscreen also makes it difficult to make out the details in a crowded frame. The menu does include two sets of LCD brightness controls to ameliorate the lack of LCD area. --Stewart Wolpin

Pros:

• 1-megapixel still-shot capability
• Fun to use
• Records 15- and 60-second MPEGs onto Memory Stick
• Informative illustrated manual
• Quality Carl Zeiss lens

Cons:

• Bundled Memory Stick is only 4 MB
• Expensive
• Controls can be difficult to use

I'm a journalist. I take a lot of photos for the newspaper I work for and also do a lot of interviews for articles I write. This camera has been a great help to me in getting my job done.

It's true that the resolution of the stills the Sony PC110 captures is not the best quality available, but they are easily good enough for web and email publishing, and, they even look good for newspaper print when shot correctly.

The DV digital video format is fantastic! It's better than any analog video I've ever shot(VHS, BETA, HI8, etc) and believe me I've shot a lot of video! I used to work for a TV news outlet in my previous job. The thing I love about digital is that I can record my interviews and easily download the video to my laptop, cut out what I don't need and then burn it onto a CD in MPEG format or in an AVI file format. THis means all my notes are ready to access whenever I need them, and I can keep tham archived for as long as I need them.

There are dozens of video editing programs that will make the process easy for you. I use Sony's DVgate software and Adobe's Premiere, and both are great. You can even take your digital stills and record them to a videotape som you can send copies to your family and friends that they can watch on their TV.

I highly recommend it even though it is a bit expensive. If I were buying a new camera today I would almost certainly buy a Sony.


A perfect home DV choice and worth the money   February 12, 2002
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I love this camera. The hard-earned cash I bought it with was very well spent.

During a week of painstaking research I happened upon this DV-camera. I had set a budget of $700 and of course the PC110 is quite a bit over this price. I felt I wanted a camera that would last well, and would deliver excellent picture quality so I splurged and hoped for the best.

What I got was better than I expected. The video quality is superb. The LCD is bright and clear. The unit is very compact, and well-designed as I expected with Sony. Using device-control and a firewire card, I can import, edit, preview and save video back to the tape in the camera. Bags o fun, and be warned if you aspire to do it, a major time commitment and steep learning curve.

As a digital still camera, it is not on par with a good prosumer model, but I find it useful to incorporate stills into video where the still is taken at around the same time as the video. The 10x optical zoom and good lens makes this a great still camera for snapshot close-ups. It has a pretty decent flash, and the big rechargeable battery allows for lots and lots of stills. USB performance is rapid.

After a month of using it, I would thoroughly recommend the PC110 to the hobbyist videographer.

PROS: It's best features are its incredibly compact form-factor, fantastic lens, menu jog-dial controller and every control you could possibly want (gadgeteers rejoice). I think you can have up to eight different cables attached to it at once. The battery supplied ("smart Lithium" rechargeable) is acceptable, but an extra would be welcome.

CONS: I received a 4-MB memory stick with the camera. This gives you room for 3 15-second MPEG videos or 6-8 stills. It is a waste of time really -- I've assigned it to my Cli. You need at least a 32-MB memory stick, and preferably a few of them. The camera makes MPEG video clips which are cool, but will only allow 15-seconds worth at the highest quality setting. No case came with the camera either.

Once you see the quality you get with DV, I'll wager you'll never go back to analog.