"I saw this camera in an ad a few days before my birthday. I'm partial to Sony cameras and this one was cheaper, and very different, than the one I'd set my eye on. I immediately headed over to Amazon and checked out the reviews. Three and a half stars. Ick. The reviews were so mixed that it seemed like people reviewed two different cameras and I became skeptical.

My family purchased this camera for me. We all love it. Small. The light on the front is a great feature. I wanted it to film my two month old. You need light around to film. The more light, the better. But we've gotten some fantastic videos of this little guy and it's doing everything I wanted and more. Being able to take photos is a neat little plus. Surprisingly great macro.

This camera does really well for a $200 camcorder. Looks great on my 37" hdtv in 1080 resolution. Eventually, I'll "upgrade" to a fancier, more expensive camcorder - but this is perfect for what I wanted - something small that takes good quality videos of the important things in life so I can tuck them away and save forever."

    "This is a MUST BUY if you keep in mind what it's for. This is for the internet, so your most precious memories might be better left to something with higher quality. Although it beats the bajeezus out of the camera we had when I was a kid back in '89. Honestly as far as home movies go, I wouldn't be ashamed to shoot them with this camera...

ON a decent sized tv the camera is a little grainy, but on your computer it's perfect. For the price I am 200% satisfied. "

    "Some people are completely off their rocker. The complaints on a $200 digital camcorder reflects unreal expectations. Sony has not designed this camera to be a replacement to your existing camcorder for things like weddings or school plays. This is designed for great portability and to capture video for your computer and internet sharing. Complaints about the footage looking grainy on a 50' plasma are crazy, this camcorder is designed for smaller screens, DUH THE WEBBIE.
My experience with this product is great. The video looks reasonably good on my 40' Bravia played through my PS3, but since I store and view my video on my computer the video on it is what matters and it is amazing. Low light does cause some grainy video but no more than more expensive camcorders, one would have to pay 3 times the cost of the Webbie to get better low-light video that is worth the cost. I recommend this camcorder, it definitely gives the most bang for the buck. One would have to pay at least $500-$600 to get a better camera, the buttons are somewhat difficult to use but I can put up with that to save some green. Again you are not getting a $700 HD camcorder for $200, but a $400 camcorder for $200, so realize what you are getting before you buy it. The people who wrote the bad reviews seem like the people who go into restaurants and try to get extra food for less money and then don't tip their server."

    "This camera is smaller than it looks, but the image quality for the size is astounding! In particular, making 1080 videos outdoors in the daytime will result in breathtaking footage. The colors are very true to life, like what your naked eye sees. I almost feel like I can make my own nature documentaries with this camera. The built-in light doesn't really help much at all, so like most camcorders, indoors shooting will still require strong alternate lighting unless you don't mind the constant noise in your video. There is also a little bit of artifacting in the outdoor videos, but only during fast motion. This might have been avoided if there was image stabilization, but I haven't been able to figure out how to turn it on if there was. You can almost give up on shooting indoors at night, the video has more grains than breakfast cereal.

The still camera capability is incredible, far better than the still image quality on my HandyCam. I don't expect it to be a replacement for my Canon SD1100IS but if you are shooting a barbeque at a friend's house, you won't be needing to bring multiple cameras with you. The images are crisp and definitely print quality. I can see having this camera with you at an outdoor graduation commencement or a fantastic springtime wedding. However, this camera was definitely made to simplify uploading video to the web and in that respect it is excellent. Don't expect to be getting a full-fledged professional quality HD camera, and you will be pleasantly surprised with some of the results."