Sony DCRIP55 MicroMV 1.0-MegaPixel CCD Bluetooth Camcorder

I AM A SONY FAN. THIS CAMERA IS GREAT WHEN YOU ARE RECORDING AND WATCHING VIDEOS FROM THE CAMERA, BUT.. BUT... THE SUPPORT FOR THIS CAMERA AND THE SOFTWARE THAT CAME WITH THE CD SUCKS... I BOUGHT THIS ITEM AND I LOST THE CD THAT CAME WITH THE CAMERA AND YOU USUALLY FIND THE SOFTWARE IN SONY PAGE, THIS TIME I NEED THE SOFTWARE MOVIESHAKER VER 3.1 IN ORDER TO TRANSFER THE VIDEO TO THE COMPUTER TROUGHT FIREWIRE CABLE.. AGAIN THIS SOFTWARE CAME WITH THE CAMERA.. AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND IT.. I CHAT WITH SONNY TECH SUPPORT AND THEY TOLD THAT I NEED TO BUY THIS SOFTWARE AND DOES'NT WORK WITH WINDOWS XP... I WAS SHOCK BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I BUY SOMETHING FROM SONY AND THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE IN NOT IN THEIR WEB PAGE... SO I HAVE AN EXCELLENT CAMERA BUT IT IS REALLY DIFICULT TO GET THE RIGHT SOFTWARE FROM THEM IN ORDER TO TRANSFER DATA
.. BY THE WAY. THE PRICE OF THIS PROGRAM IS $ 70...

This camera seemed ideal for my needs and although I spend most of my time in Europe I opted for an NTSC format as I know that I am able to access this format in Europe whereas I cannot access PAL in the US, thus it being much more universal.

I bought this camera and after 40 days it developed a fault. I contacted Sony Service Centre in London, who after keeping it for 5 weeks explained that they could not repair NTSC Models in the UK and I would have to send it to the US for repair. I suggested that they should do that but no. I returned to the US and took the camera to one of their service centres who said that I would have to pay $216 labour charges as it was now over 90 days old.
After a great deal of hassle they eventually agreed to give me a work order to have this charge waived. I then sent it to Sony in PA and although I have been informed that it has been repaired I still am awaiting its return over 6 months after purchase. Just be sure you realise that the 12 month warranty only applies to parts, the labour warranty is 90 days, it is in the small print but easily overlooked. This review may not be helpful to everyone but if one person is helped then great.

Please sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/osxmicmv/ requesting Sony support this camera (and other MicroMV camcorders) on Mac OS X.

This is a great camcorder, but it is impossible to use because you cannot get the video onto your Mac. For those of you that use a PC for video editing (yeah, right...) and don't mind using Sony's proprietary Movie Shaker program to do your editing instead of something like Premier (again, yeah, right), you will find this camera wonderful. But for the rest of us, Sony needs to take steps to open up this format or support the camcorder on the most popular digital video platform (Mac).

I was about to buy this little beauty when I found out Sony's MicroMV system (compressing in MPEG2) is not compatible with Apple's iMovie and other editing software. The editing software that comes with the camcorder (Movie Shaker) is PC only. So if you are a Mac user, save yourself a lot of hassle and prefer a (Sony?) MiniDV camcorder.

Apart from this issue, I guess it is a great buy. If I would use a PC, it would be on the top of my wishlist.

Pros: Stylish and amazingly compact; innovative design; built-in flash and low-power video light; flexible low-light shooting.

Cons: Limited choice in editing apps for MicroMV video format; lens has fairly narrow angle of view; no accessory shoe or external microphone jack.

It has been a week after I bought this camcorder and so far it is great. The super night vision comes really handy if you go on camping or some other interesting dark places. The controls are very easy to reach and the picture quality is really good. Some people say that they do not like the cassette to be ejected from bottom, but I have no problems with it. I think it is fine. The movie shaker software that comes with the camcorder is not a very professional one. It can handle basic editing and it has great effects. Very easy to use and to set up. You can export the movies you capture in different formats such as real audio, quicktime, etc. It really takes a long time to export though. It is the same with other digital cameras. So, it shouldn't be a concern for you to decide if you should buy the camera or not. You can use the network function to email the photos to a website.If you have a bluetooth cell phone, it is very easy. But if you don't have one, you will have to buy the sony bluetooth adapter for the camcorder which costs about $199. It is better to buy a new cell phone than buying the adapter. This little device is top of the line. It has manual focus for better capturing. It has a smart flash which pops-up automatically when you hit the photo shoot button half-way down. One downside of the camera is that it does not have an input for external microphone. But the built in one does a good very good job. All in all, you should not miss this camcorder. It is affordable, small, cute, and it is SONY. You would never mind carrying it to everywhere you go. And if you are a guy, you'll make a lot of "female" friends. You'll become the center of attention. GRAB ONE! HAVE FUN!