Sony DCR-VX2100 3CCD MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

did not work properly

I got the camera, no manual and no connecting cord - and I'm upgrading to this so I am a newbie trying to get a professional 3 chip camera...well, found out it prosumer not professional as advertised...then, found the manual for myself on line - and Staples computer expert, and Best Buy's guys...nobody has a cord or knows about the manual info...so I go back to the store and all they do is send me a link to the manual...so I finally figure out - not with any of their help!!! that I have to have a firewire plug on the computer side and a 4 pin on the camera side...but none of this came from the store...so my advice is, if you buy from them YOU ARE TOTALLY ON YOUR OWN.

I use two of these and they are the back bone of what my wife and I do. The images are clean and crisp (for MiniDV that is). The colors are great - we compared our to a CanonXL-1s and ours won hands down. Yes, it has a fixed lens, but the wide/telephone zoom does everything we need (manual focus - zoom in tight, focus, the pan out). Battery life is not bad. Heavier than my DVC-20, but what's not to like. The litte wheel that you make adjustments to when in manual mode has a tendency to get dirty and every so often you have to get it cleaned ($100.00) but a small price to pay, all things considered. And the best thing, no tape transport problems like Canon has....

This camera is easy to use and makes a good quality recording. Since it is an upper end product, it does have a longer learning curve than more simple models but the effort is worth it for the added features. There are, however, a few quirks which could have been fixed to make this a much more usable piece of equipment.The provided microphone jack is an 1/8" stereo. In my camera, at least, it is not mounted very securely. When I have an external mike connected, I had to be very careful to make sure that nothing touched it, otherwise, the sound would drop off. A friend with some tools and expertise fixed this problem but it should never have happened.The master switch moves from off to VCR mode (up one), record to tape mode (down one) or record to stick mode (down two). It is intuitive but very easy to overshoot the mark. This can be frustrating and I cannot help but believe there is a better design that could be used.The "VCR" controls are located on the top surface of the camera. They are intuitive and employ commonly used symbols. They are also backlit and impossible to discern in sunshine. You can see the symbols but there is no way to tell which, if any, of the functions are selected. It is still usable but it is a pain in the backside.There are a multitude of things that could be done to make the interface on this camera easier to use but it is usable as it is now.

I bought this to replace my defunkt Canon GL2 (tape drive mechanism failure - check the web for tons of dissatisfied Canon customers). I still had a bunch of mini-DV tapes to capture into my PC and wasn't ready to step up to an HD camcorder, so this was the nearest I could come to the quality I had grown to expect from my Canon GL2.The quality of the video this camera takes is fabulous and it's very easy to use. If you had a previous edition Sony camcorder, you'd be able to use this without so much as a look at the owner's manual.The only complaint I have with the Sony is that the still pictures it is capable of taking (rapidly too I might add!), are just not in a high enough resolution to make them suitable for much beyond supplementing your video clips. Perhaps there's enough resolution there for a 4x6 print, but not much more. Too bad... It would have been nice to park my Nikon at home and have this be my work horse. Perhaps the HD camcorders improve upon this feature. In a couple of years, I'll check it out.As an aside, the GL2 wasn't the only Canon camcorder I've had that died. Given their miserable track record for longevity, I will NEVER buy another Canon product.And a caveat. Buy a Mini-DV VCR to do the post filming grunt work. The camera manufactures would have you believe that you can do fancy editing work on there units. Once a camera's drive mechanism fails, the repair costs are staggering. So shoot your video with the camera, then rewind, capture and/or edit your film with a Mini-DV deck.

The Sony VX2100 is still a really good camera to use even today. Yes the camera is old and doesn't film in HD, but it is still one of the best cameras out. It has really good low-light quality, a lot better than the VX2000 and even better than most of the newer cameras out today. This camera is perfect for filming skateboarding when you get yourself a really nice fisheye lens. I would recommend this to anybody that wants a really good camera and don't mind not filming in HD. If you are looking for a HD camera, I would suggest the Sony HDR-FX7, keep in mind that the low-light quality on the FX7 is considerably lower than the VX2100.

This camera is excellent! I used something very similar as a Videographer at the local TV station. This camera to me is just as nice as the $40,000 DVC Pro camera!! Great quality picture, excellent for Johnny's Soccer games! Has a built in digital stabilizer for those with shaky hands. Overall the best small camera I have EVER USED!!!