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  • Performance

  • Format

  • Tour

  • Auto / Manual Controls

  • Still Features

  • Handling and Use

  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity

  • Other Features

  • Comparisons / Conclusion

  • Specs/Ratings

  • Performance
  • Format
  • Tour
  • Auto / Manual Controls
  • Still Features
  • Handling and Use
  • Audio / Playback / Connectivity
  • Other Features
  • Comparisons / Conclusion
  • Specs/Ratings

Performance

The DCR-SR300 ships with a 1/2.9' 3200 pixel ClearVID CMOS. The imager has 2280K effective pixels in 16:9 and 1710K effective pixels in 4:3 in video mode.  Although the gross pixel count is nearly identical to last year’s SR100, this is a 16:9 native sensor.  Last year’s CMOS sensors were not 16:9 native, and performance in widescreen mode should benefit from the change.

The DCR-SR300’s video performance will make an interesting comparison with the HDR-HC7, but right now, it’ll be hard to tell exactly how they compare. On the floor of CES, we only had the LCD screens to evaluate image quality which is never as accurate as you'd like it to be. The HDR-SR100, with a smaller 1/3' ClearVID CMOS, had one of the most vivid performances we've seen from a MPEG-2 camcorder, including HDD and DVD camcorders. While we will hold off definitive judgment regarding the DCR-SR300’s video performance, we expect it to be decent.

Unfortunately, even if the DCR-SR300 produces good video, there’s not that much in the realm of manual control to support good quality video. What it does have is a decent zoom toggle and nice handling ability.

Low Light Performance

For those of you who've never been to a show like CES before, let us impart this one image: The big camcorder manufacturers spend a lot of money to make their booths look good. Bright lights and well-lit artificial scenes, for instance Panasonic's makeshift beach this year, are what manufacturers want the press and buyers to point their camcorders at. Therefore, it's very difficult to ascertain low light performance. Instead, we must look to the past and speculate on the future.

The DCR-SR100 of last year produced a great looking image in low light. Part of that was due to the large 1/3' sensor, but because we saw varying degrees of effectiveness in camcorders with the same chip, it was likely its hearty processor as well. This year, the new 1/2.9' CMOS will very likely improve on that performance, but it will depend on the size of the actual pixels on the chip. The pixel count has increased substantially from the 1/3' chip, so there's a chance that low light perfomance could either stay the same or drop off a little. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the former.

Format

Compression

The Sony DCR-SR300 compresses video in the same MPEG-2 format as last year’s DCR-SR100. Three quality settings, each which correspond to bit rate, are available: HQ (9Mbps), SP (6Mbps), and LP (3Mbps). These settings are changed under the tool box icon in the camcorder’s manual control menu, using the touch screen. The resulting MPEG files should be easily transferred to editing software since MPEG-2 is the standard for DVD and HDD camcorders right now and has been for years.

Media

The DCR-SR300 includes a nonremovable hard disk drive (HDD) with 40GB of space. This is the same amount of space available on the DCR-SR200. The DCR-SR82, the next model down, ships with 60GB, but it comes with a less-impressive imaging system. Unfortunately, not only are no updates available, but when this thing breaks down, you can’t replace the drive without sending it in. We have heard rumors of hacks that allow you to replace the HDD with one of your own, but of course, there is no word on this from the manufacturers. Recording times on the DCR-SR300 are: HQ: 9 hours, SP: 14 hours, and LP 28 hours.  For the DCR-SR82, recording times are: HQ: 14 hours, SP: 21 hours, LP 41 hours.

The DCR-SR300 also records to Memory Stick Duo and PRO Duo for still photos.

Editing

The DCR-SR300 exports files in the .MPG file extension that is much easier to work with than the .MOD format found on JVC Everio camcorders. MPEG-2 files have been the compression of choice in standard definition HDD and DVD camcorders for years, so there is no shortage of editing solutions available.  

Tour

 

The Front     

The front of the DCR-SR300 is pretty minimal. It is dominated by the camcorder’s lens barrel. The camcorder ships with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with a filter diameter of 37mm. Attached to the left of the lens barrel is the camcorder’s built-in flash.  

 

**The Right Side **

The right side of the DCR-SR300 is extremely rounded and fits nicely into the palm of my hand. My thumb wraps around the back of the camcorder and lands on the camcorder’s battery pack that juts out of the back the machine, providing a perfect anchor point. This is a camcorder that I wouldn’t mind holding, even though it’s bigger than most HDD camcorders. Often, a heavier body proves easier to keep steady, even though it tires the arm more quickly. Combined with the OIS, it should be very easy to keep a stable picture.

Also, on the right side of the camcorder is an ovoid port cover that contains the on-camcorder A/V-out port and the remote port. Below this is Sony’s standard strap which is relatively cushy and adjustable even for bigger hands.

The Back

The back of the DCR-SR300 is the camcorder's main control center for mode selection. The mode dial is located on the top of the camcorder’s back and includes options for Video and Still modes. A selector button for the flash is located conveniently below the mode dial for easy toggling of flash options during handheld still capture. Near the flash button is the camcorder’s primary record button, in a long slender shape. The feature most jarring to the eye on the back of the camcorder is its H. Stamina battery pack that juts off the back of the camcorder enough to make it aesthetically unappealing. The good news is that the battery forms an excellent thumb rest during handheld use. The trade off, which we think quite favorable, is the estimated 5 hours of operating time.

**The Left Side **

The left side of the DCR-SR300 houses the LCD screen from which the user can operate the touch screen menu system. Within the LCD’s cavity are a number of buttons. Along the top of the cavity are buttons for Backlight, Wide Select, Display/Battery Info, and Easy Mode, most of which apply directly to how the LCD looks. Below this row is the switch for NightShot mode and the camcorder’s Memory Stick Duo / PR Duo slot. The button to enter the camcorder’s playback mode is located on the top right of this cavity. Along the left side of the LCD screen itself, secondary buttons are located for recording, zoom, and entering the "Home" section of Sony’s relatively new menu system.

The Top

The top of the DCR-SR300 features from front to back: The camcorder’s built-in Surround Sound microphone, its hot—yet proprietary—accessory shoe, its primary zoom toggle, and its photo-capture button. The proprietary shoe means that only Sony and Sony-licensed accessories will fit thus severely limiting the number of options, particularly for microphones. Sony is the only camcorder manufacturer to do this, and it drives us crazy.

Auto / Manual Controls

**Picture & Manual Control
***Automatic Control*

The DCR-SR300 offers automatic control option over each of its manual controls. They include: focus, exposure, and white balance. Sony camcorders are well-known for their strong and accurate automatic controls, and the DCR-SR300 is no exception. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fully assess all of the automatic controls as thoroughly as our full review will later this year. However, we can say that focus and exposure adjusted accurately and quickly. Our full review will assess how these features adjust in more extreme lighting and compositional conditions than the convention floor, so stay tuned for a more rigorous approach to their capabilities.The camcorder does include a number of Program AE (auto exposure), here called "Scene Select," modes: Beach, Candle, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Snow, Spotlight, Sunrise & Sunset, Twilight, and Twilight Portrait.

*

Overall Manual Control *

Overall, the manual control on the DCR-SR300 is not up to par with other Sonys that include similar imagers, like the HDR-HC7 and the HDR-UX7. The DCR-SR300 lacks some of the amenities of those other Sonys with the 1/2.9' ClearVID and especially the multifunction dial that controls AE shift, WB Shift, Spot Metering, and Spot Focus. Granted those are HD camcorders, but with the improved video quality of the imager updates on SD camcorders, it's disappointing that the DCR-SR300 doesn't include more control. Sony camcorders are relatively notorious for lacking certain features of the manual control variety, and this camcorder is no exception. There is no aperture control, no shutter speed control,  and no manual gain. Also, the manual focus and manual exposure controls lack fine control, and I wouldn’t use them over their auto options unless the auto controls were really foundering.

The SR300, like all Sonys, requires manual control adjustments through the touch screen menu. We've had mixed experiences with touch screens. While they are undeniably fast, the constant screen touching creates smudges that distort the very image you're trying to correct. This is particularly annoying with focus adjustments. Off-screen controls, such as the multifunction ring found on the HDR-HC7 and HDR-UX7 or the ring control found on the HDR-SR1, are much preferrable.

Zoom

The DCR-SR300 includes 10x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom options. We’re all familiar with the decrease in zoom power as camcorders upgrade lens and imager specs in a product line, and the DCR-SR300 is no exception to this rule. The DCR-SR42, DCR-SR62, and DCR-SR82 all include respective zooms of 40x, 25x, and 25x. The good news is that 10x should be all you need - big zooms are little more than a numbers game after a certain point . Shoddy video work is generally zoom-heavy, and this camcorder will force you to walk for close-ups. More good new is that this camcorder has optical image stabilization that should cut down on shakes at high zoom levels as well.

The camcorder’s zoom toggle feels good on the hand. It is easy to control with enough grip to allow precise variable speed zooms. The only thing I don’t like about the zoom toggle is that its placement requires operation with the middle finger rather than the index.

*Focus *

Manual focus options are available on the DCR-SR300 though only with the camcorder’s touch screen menu system. This means that on-the-fly focal adjustments are made by tapping a cursor along a meter on the camcorder’s LCD screen that is obviously going to make for shaky video. You’ll want to adjust focus before recording. There is also an option for TeleMacro recording that will present a tightly focused foreground and a blurry background for your simulations of the National Geographic bug documentaries. There is no Spot Focusing on the DCR-SR300.

*Exposure & Aperture *

The manual exposure control on the DCR-SR300 is the same as many of Sony’s camcorders of the past, and it works like the focal adjustment. Users can access it via the camcorder’s touch screen menu system and adjust it by tapping either a plus or minus sign to increase and decrease exposure. Exposure is adjusted without reference to F-stop or shutter speeds or any numerical system, though we can tell you that these are EV steps (of an undisclosed increment). It would be really handy for Sony to includetheir AE shift option here to help fill some of the area between these incremental jumps.

Shutter Speed

There are no manual shutter speed options on the DCR-SR300. You’ll have opt for the more expensive HDR-HC7 for this option.

White Balance

Standard Sony white balance options are available on the DCR-SR300. These include: Manual, Auto, Indoor, and Outdoor. Indoor and Outdoor are similar to the Scene Select (Program AE) presets available for custom environments. It would have been good for Sony to include the WB Shift option, available on the company’s HDV and AVCHD camcorders this year.

Gain

There are no manual gain control on the DCR-SR300.

Other Manual Controls

There are no other manual controls on the DCR-SR300.

Still Features

Still Features    

One of the main selling points of the DCR-SR300 is the camcorder’s ability to capture 6.1MP stills (the sensor has 3040K effective pixels (4:3) in still capture mode. This is made possible using the camcorder’s large imager (a 1/2.9' ClearVid CMOS Sensor)—the same as on the HDR-HC7 and the HDR-UX7. You'll notice that the maximum still size is about twice the the pixels of the effective pixel count that means that the chip is effecting some kind of interpolation which artificially increases the number of pixels. This does not mean that the picture is losing resolution; it just means that there is no additional information in those new pixels - the resolution will be identical. Along with 6.1MP stills, the camcorder can capture 3.1MP and 0.3MP stills. Unfortunately, the DCR-SR300 doesn’t offer the widescreen 4.6MP stills like other Sony camcorders with the same CMOS.

Handling and Use

Ease of Use

Sony camcorders are relatively easy to use considering their excellent automatic controls. This is the case with the DCR-SR300, and users can engage the Sony’s Easy mode (via the 'Easy' button in the LCD cavity) to basically lock the camcorder in auto mode. The new menu system, introduced in mid-2006, has made ease of use even easier with a smarter arrangement of buttons that group manual controls by common purpose.  Also, for the touch screen menu system to be truly effective, it would have been nice to have a 3.5" LCD screen rather than 2.7' that is included. There's still a decent chance of reaching for one button and hitting another when the screen is this small.

The Easy button is located here in the LCD cavity.

Handling

The DCR-SR300 weights 560g (1 lb. 3 oz.) with its supplied battery  The DCR-SR200 and DCR-SR300 are substantially bigger than the DCR-SR62, DCR-SR82, and DCR-SR32. When they first hit the market, HDD camcorders were marketed almost exclusively for the enhanced portability that their new media allowed (just look at the first of JVC’s Everios).  Now it seems that marketability has grown to include the video/still hybrid ability and video quality of these camcorders, at least in Sony’s case.

The DCR-SR300 is not all that portable, but this makes its handling better. My big hand fits around it well, and it feels more snug and secure there. While the DCR-SR300 doesn’t necessarily look as pretty as JVC’s first Everio, the jutting battery pack that hangs off the back the DCR-SR300 makes for better stability. This is the new H. Stamina battery included on almost every new Sony camcorder for 2007.  This new battery not only adds more stamina to the camcorder’s recording duration, it also provides a welcomed anchor point for my thumb. 

I like this camcorder’s zoom toggle. It’s an example of a good Sony zoom toggle. It is smooth and easy to grip for variable speed zoom. What I don’t like about it is that it is lined up with my middle finder rather than my index. I can achieve better zoom control with my index finger. 

One of the most important upgrades from the DCR-SR200 to the DCR-SR300 is the inclusion of Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization, as opposed to Super SteadyShot (Electronic) Image Stabilization. This is the same stabilization system found on the HDR-HC7 and the HDR-UX7. This, along with the imager upgrade, are the main reasons for the rise in price between the DCR-SR300 and the DCR-SR200, and these upgrades are well worth the price. Electronic image stabilization comes at the cost of picture quality as the effective pixel count is reduced. The addition of optical image stabilization not only corrects the jitters but does so without compromising image quality through the use of a gyroscope on the lens.

****Menu**

The Sony DCR-SR300 ships with a menu similar to last year's AVCHD camcorders, the HDR-UX1 and the HDR-SR1. It’s still a mixed bag. While we appreciate the new thematic organization of buttons, the space between buttons, the color palette, and the arrangement as a whole, there is a big usability issue that all of these camcorders, including the DCR-SR300, share. When users enter the camcorder’s Camera menu to change a manual control for instance, they immediately exit the menu system once a change has been made. To make additional changes, users must enter the system anew. This negates any time-saving the new menu design would achieve.

That problem aside, the new menu groupings are much smarter than in year's past. Because the menu groupings are not in a long, linear list anymore, you may have to spend a few minutes tackling a learning curve, but it'll payoff in the end.

LCD and Viewfinder

The Sony DCR-SR300 ships with a 2.7' 211K pixel LCD, as does the DCR-SR200. The two models below this, the DCR-SR82 and the DCR-SR62, also feature widescreen LCD screens, but they have a reduced resolution. I don’t think this should be a big selling point for the camcorder, as the increase in pixels doesn’t really make that big of a difference. 211K is still at the short end of the stick and is considered a minimum resolution on digital still cameras.  What I really wish is that this thing had a 3.5" LCD screen like the HDR-SR1. An upgrade like that would help make up for the lack of viewfinder.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

Audio

The DCR-SR300 ships with a built-in mic that can record 5.1 Surround Sound audio. This may certainly prove handy to people that a) own a 5.1 channel surround sound playback system connected to their home entertainment center, and b) can shoot in an area with perfect acoustics where the ambient noise of a 5 channel mic set-up is a blessing rather than a curse (consider the heavy breathing of the camcorder operator). Also, the fact that these mics are all so close to each other inside the tiny body means the psychoacoustic space differential will be very small. The two new AVCHD camcorders from Sony this year also include this function. What continues to be a selling point on camcorders over eight hundred dollars is the inclusion of a microphone port, or at very least, the ability to adjust microphone levels manually. The DCR-SR300 includes neither of these, though it does provide an option for adjustment of the MicRef Level, a simple and subtle, high/low adjustment.

Playback

For convenience-lovers, the DCR-SR300 continues the HDD camcorder tradition of the easiest and most convenient playback available.

Users can access the DCR-SR300’s playback menu via the camcorder’s touch screen menu or a small button under the camcorder’s LCD screen. Like previous HDD camcorders from Sony, the DCR-SR300 displays thumbnails of recorded footage on the camcorder’s LCD screen that are tapped for playback. This is another reason why a larger LCD screen would tremendously help the DCR-SR300. There are some rudimentary options for playlist editing, creating, and rearranging.

Viewing your captured footage on a screen bigger than the camcorder’s 2.7" widescreen LCD screen, such as a television, can be done using the on-camera A/V output port or the identical A/V output port on the camcorder’s docking station. To export footage to a computer, the DCR-SR300’s docking station includes a USB port.

****Connectivity**

On the body of the DCR-SR300, ports include an A/V output, a remote port, and a Memory Stick Duo / PRO Duo card slot. The camcorder’s docking station includes a secondary A/V output and the camcorder's one-way USB 2.0 port for exporting footage to the computer. On the downside, the camcorder lacks microphone and headphone jacks. On such a pricey camcorder this becomes a problem. Also, the camcorder includes no A/V input and no two-way USB. It is compatible with a S-Video Out, but you have to buy an optional accessory.

Other Features

Other Features

The DCR-SR300 includes a few of the other features found on Sony’s top HDV and AVCHD camcorders this year. While this is unfortunate, I guess, other features such as guideframes and the like are kinda gimmicky. Zebra strips would have been a welcome inclusion, but  I really wish it had AE Shift and WB Shift features. These would allow the user to customize and tweak the relatively limited manual controls. Some features included are:

*Smooth Slow Recording  - *This feature has been made available on many of Sony’s recent camcorders and allows slow motion footage to be captured and played back almost immediately after capture. This feature is a gimmick advertised to help you critique each other’s golf swings. The problem is that the capture is limited to 240 frames so you have to time it just right. This is not an on-the-fly feature.

Optical Image Stabilization - The DCR-SR300 joins the ranks of Sony’s high-end consumer HDV and AVCHD camcorders this year in including optical image stabilization as a major upgrade from the camcorders immediately below them in price. This is a welcome feature that should help handheld use significantly by decreasing unwanted "shake."

TeleMacro - This feature makes the foreground focused and the background fuzzy for extreme close-ups.

Comparisons / Conclusion

Conclusion

In the end, the DCR-SR300 takes the top rank of standard definition HDD camcorders for Sony this year. It includes a better imager than any of them whose video performance might be worth the price increase over the DCR-SR200. The only drawback the DCR-SR300 has compared to cheaper HDD Sonys this year is disc space which is substantially lower than that of the DCR-SR82 (60GB capacity with a lower image quality might be a worthy trade-off for a select audience). However, a smaller hard drive won’t be a big problem if you’re close to a computer to dump footage. The main question with the DCR-SR300 camcorder is its value versus the HDR-HC5. If you don’t really care too much about hard disc media convenience over tape, the HDR-HC5 is available for only a hundred dollars more than the DCR-SR300 with the added bonus of high definition video and increased manual controls, though a slightly smaller imager.

Clearly Sony believes that there isn't much cross-over between these markets, or they would't have them at such similar price points. We think they're right. People will shop by the convenience of the format first. While we'll aways argue on the side of more controls and better quality, if the salesperson tells a customer that HDD is easier, they are more likely to buy HDD. We can't argue that - it is simpler. And we're thankful that image quality is finally catching up in the HDD format. But for only $100 more, do yourself a favor and take a hard look at your HDV options.

Specs/Ratings

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Meet the tester

Matt Culler

Matt Culler

Editor

Matt Culler is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.

See all of Matt Culler's reviews

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