Sony Handycam DVD DCR 608E

Review

The Sony Handycam DVD DCR 608 E is a good camcorder for the DVD video junkies. Its ease of use will blow you over, even though the still photos it takes are nothing to write home about.

To begin with, in the DCR 608 E, the recording media is DVD. (Digital Versatile Disc). I am not familiar with the multitude of DVD formats and sizes, being more used to older DV cassette camcorders. My Sony DVD DCR 608E handycam records on to a mini-DVD rewritable disc of 1.4 GB. The shop owner in Vashi, Navi Mumbai where I purchased the handycam gave me a set of three such mini DVDs in a pack which should have five. So, I don't know if the freebies should have been five, or if whatever I got was just the shopowner's grace.

The DVDs which came with my camcorder are in the DVD-RW single-layer format. (Pronounced "minus RW" or "dash RW"). I am using this disc to record videos now, but the Sony DVD DCR 608E is also capable of recording on DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL formats, says the Sony manual (More about the user-hostile manual later). A bit of research on the Net enlightened me to the fact that in all these formats, the DVD can be either single-layer or double-layer. Double-layer DVDs store more information than single layer ones. Don't relate this second layer business to the "B" side of an ordinary cassette - DON'T try turning the disc around to record on the second layer.

The Sony DVD DCR 608E can record only on mini DVDs of 8 cm (3 inches). This is because a large DVD will make the handycam unnecessarily cumbersome, defeating its very USP -- portability. The flip side is that the mini DVD stores less information than a full-size DVD. The mini-DVD that I use can record videos for half an hour in standard quality. In high-quality recording, the duration will be less and in low-quality recording, the duration will be longer. You can select your recording quality as standard, high-quality or long-playing from the touchscreen LCD menu.

The controls are a breeze. When you start up Sony DVD DCR 608E handycam, you will be asked to set the language, time and location. Before starting to record on the DVD, you should know that whatever rewritable DVD you have, the handycam can record in VIDEO format or VR format. The two formats have their own advantage and disadvantages. If you are unsure, go through the DISC SELECT GUIDE option in the touchscreen menu. In VIDEO recording format, you can delete only the last scene, while in VR, you can delete any of the scenes you have recorded. VIDEO-recorded discs can be played in most of the DVD players and TVs and computers, while VR-recorded discs may not be. Also, VR-recorded discs can be played without "FINALIZING" processin some cases, while VIDEO-recorded discs need to be finalized before playing. Finalizing a DVD is a process where the contents, tables and other information are written on to the DVD so that it can be played in other devices.

So, now I have the handycam, I have the rewritable DVDs and I have set the mode of recording to VIDEO. Like all other Sony handycam models, the DVD DCR 608 E is equipped with an LCD screen and a viewfinder. The LCD screen also incorporates the well-laid out touchscreen menu. The viewfinder can be pulled further towards you while shooting. The LCD screen can be turned sideways and can be rotated to face outward.

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