Customer Reviews:
 too big of battery May 30, 2007
4 out of 22 found this review helpful
I just got this and returned it the next day. Main reason is that the battery sticks out like soar thumb. The video and still picture quality is great however I could not get over the look and feel of the camcorder .
 Excellent Little Camcorder May 24, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I have been shopping for over a year looking for a nice digital camcorder, and finally had decided to get the SR-100 only to find it was discontinued. Then I found this Sr-300, purchased, and have never been happier. I'll break it down for everybody:
- 40g Hard Drive is a dream come true. Instant orginization, instant viewing, and, if you so choose too, instant deletion. No media = no hassle, the only media you really need is a Computer with a DVD burner in it and a blank DVD and your set - One Touch Burning is very quick and easy.
- Image quaility is excellent, except in low lighting, however this has been a common problem for camcorders since the early days. The picture comes out a bit grainy, but overall does not affect the quality of the video. This problem can also be resolved with a simple video light. (See the pictures that I posted for examples.) I believe sony makes one that will automatically turn on if the lighting level is low. The camcorder also acts like a digital camera, in that you can choose you scene selection, anything from beach to snow to twilight. You can also do black and white as well as other neat settings.
- Still Images are even better, 6.1 megapixels is awsome for a camcorder, and you can set it just like any other digital camera with scene selection, etc. Easily switches between camera mode and recording mode with the flick of a switch. The camcorder can also take 3 stills WHILE recording, without messing up the video. Awesome if ya wanna capture the moment on both film and pictures. This cam in handy for me when I was filming some seals at the Zoo the other day.
- The one thing I have heard complaints about from many sites is the handycam station. This thing is actually a blessing, not a curse. It is very small, lightweight, and it extends the life of your camcorder. it does this by allowing you to plug into the staion itself for charging, transfers, etc, instead of plugging directly into the camcorder, which I think cuts down on wear and tear. The cam does have A/V output and a D/C input on it, so it is still possible to plug in directly.
- Provided software is ok. Not very much editing power to it, would reccomend seperate software if you really want to edit your videos. the main thing is the one touch software, which is very nice if you wanna burn a quick dvd.
- The touch screen is nice. Allows for easy navigation through all the menus, which all give an explanation for what each setting affects/does. Plus using a touch screen is really cool :D
The only other con is that the battery does stick out, however you must remember this is a small camcorder, they did the best they can, and it really does not get in the way at all. Sony does make a smaller battery thought, so there is some hope for that.
All in all, its great and I highly reccomend this to anyone wishing to just film life's funniest and awkward moments. If you are not trying to be a professional cameraperson, and just want something easy to use, the Sr-300 is it for you. If you are trying to be a professional, then they make a $3,000 one which would probably suit your needs.
5 stars for both quaility and price paid.
DCR-SR300 May 14, 2007
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
I have now been the owner of a DCR-SR300 for just over two months, and have no regret in buying this. Though it is my first camcorder, I found it easy to film, take pictures, download and burn my dvds. The immage quality for still and video is amazing, and I have now filmed wild life, family and car/bike races. Everybody who has seen the quality wante dthe details of the camera so they could alos get it. My best buy ever.
Light 'n' easy April 26, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The SR300 is a fantastic camcorder for the price and the still shots are amazing. Definitely worth the buy. I am no professional. All I was looking was for a convenient camcorder that is easy to use. I researched for days and was torn between CCD and CMOS, Brands and all other technical details and features that I probably will never use.
Finally the convenience of not having to use tapes or DVD's and Some of the technical specs lead me to the SR 300. I love the touchscreen operations. The ease to copy files over to storage disks quickly is conevnient (Offcourse, I wish I did not have to use the shoe for that). The video quality was great both indoors and outdoors. However in complete darkness, The camera struggled to focus ...... my eyes did too.
 Ok basic player with lots of ease of use April 11, 2007
39 out of 44 found this review helpful
The DCR-SR300 is a very good BASIC camcorder. It's basic in that it includes very few manual controls. The camera is designed for ease of use. With that said, it takes pretty good videos... not nearly as good as the high end high definition DV models, but still pretty good.
What is nice about the camcorder (and all of Sony's HDD line) is that you can treat the camera as a storage device under USB. Unlike other camcorders, Sony stores its data as mpeg2, so they are likely to be immediately useful (if you can play DVDs on your computer, you can use the files).
Another nice feature is the camera. This is probably the first mid-range camcorder with a decent still image capability, mainly because it boasts of a 6M pixel quality. The camera will allow you to store up to 3 camera stills at 4M pixel while filming (which is also a nice feature).
What's not to like? No microphone input apart from Sony's proprietary boot... so you HAVE to get your add-ons from Sony. Also you have to put the unit into its dock (included) in order to pull files from it.
The build microphone is only so-so.
Image wise, it's not a 3 CCD, it just uses a pretty large CMOS and does support Optical Image Stabilization. My thoughts on those features.. yawn. I'm sure it makes some difference, but it wasn't jaw dropping in my opinion.
The lens is an excellent Zeiss Sonar T* ... one of the best, but the optical zoom is merely 10x... if there is any good news, the camera only goes up to 20x digital zoom, but digital zoom is ALWAYS lousy, so this is actually a good thing (and you can disable the digital zoom of course).
The camera has a night vision mode. This is also a nice feature for shooting in complete darkness. If you don't mind the typical green night vision look, this can be really nice for capturing very hard to see things.
I purchased the larger capacity battery... one things good about an HDD camcorder versus DV-tape is that you can't shoot hours and hours of video... but IMHO, Sony ought to included the higher capacity battery because of this. Definitely a recommended upgrade.
Is this the best HDD camcorder out there? Possibly. Is it perfect? No. If you need the convenience of the hard drive, then I recommend this camera. If you want a really good quality camera, you might want to look a high definition DV like the Sony HDR-HC7 or similar (or their more expensive professional line of course). If you are a newbie (like me), then the simplicity of the SR300 is appealing... lack of features can equate to ease of use.
The SR300 beats the SR100 spec wise except on features where the SR100 (if you can still find one) has the SR300 beat... this is typical of most Sony devices (1st generation devices tend to be packed with features).
In conclusion, this is a good easy to use (if not a bit pricey) entry level hard disk camera. If priced a bit less, this camera would be easier to recommend.
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