Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 – For Decent Videos

Thumbs Up:

Compact and lightweight design; 60GB hard drive with Memory Stick Duo Pro slot which supports up to 8GB cards; quick responsive touch-screen; easy to use interface.

Thumbs Down:

Overpriced for the features and there is no optical image stabilization.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 is a standard-definition camcorder that has 60GB internal hard drive and an expansion slot that supports Memory Stick Duo Pro cards up to 8GB. It has 1/6 inch Advanced HAD CCD optical sensor. Maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 second and minimum is 1/4 second. The camcorder has 2000x digital zoom, Super Steady Shot Electronic Image stabilizer and digital photo shooting mode.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has 2.7-inch LCD touch-screen display that has a resolution of 123,200 pixels. This display also works as rotating viewfinder. The DCR-SR85 has inbuilt stereo microphone and a slot for external mic. and Sony lights.

The supported video format is MPEG2 and recording speed is of three types: SP, LP and HQ. The camcorder’s effective still resolution is 1-megapixel and image format is JPEG. The image storage resolution options are JPEG 640×480, JPEG 1152×648 and JPEG 1152×864.

The white-balance is of three types: Automatic, Presets and Custom. White-balance presets include Outdoor and Indoor. The exposure metering is Matrix and Spot. Exposure modes are Automatic and Program. Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has 10 shooting programs: Twilight mode, Portrait mode, Sports mode, Spotlight, Landscape, Fireworks, Sunrise, Sunset, Candle, Beach and Snow. The SR85 also has two digital scene transitions: White fader and Black fader.

Zoom lens is manufactured by Carl Ziess and it has 30mm filter. Lens has a focal length of 2.5-62.5mm with an aperture of F/1.8-62.5 that provides 25x optical zoom. The auto-focus is TTL contrast detection. The zoom adjustment is motorized drive and focus adjustment is both Manual and Automatic.

The additional features of Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 are Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording, Progressive shutter system, Backlight compensation, USB 2.0 compatibility, Index Search, Face Index Search, Night Mode/Low Lux, Digital camera function, Touch-screen control, PictBridge support, Histogram display, inbuilt speaker and Face detection.

Supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista. Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has five connectors: 1×DC power input, 1×Control-L (LANC), 1×S-Video output, 1×Composite video/audio output and 1×USB.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has Sony NP-FH60 lithium ion battery. Accessories supplied inside the package are user manual, drivers & utilities disc, A/V cable, USB cable, remote control (infra-red) and power adapter.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 is 3.1 inches tall, 3 inches wide and 4.5 inches deep and it weighs around 14 ounces. The DCR-SR85 has black-and-white body, which is lightweight and compact. Sony has revamped the design of DCR-SR82 for new SR85.

Inside Dope:

The DCR-SR85 is a Sony’s Hybrid standard-definition camcorder, which records the videos at hard-disk drive and on Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. It has 60GB hard drive that provides 14 hours to 41 hours of video recording time. It depends on the quality settings. The overall video quality is better than its sibling, the DCR-SR45. Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 is not the best deal, so we recommend you to go for any other HD camcorder like Canon HG10, which costs only a couple of bucks more but you get good quality.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has a dial that works for still capture, video recording and power on/off. A record button is located in the center that allows recording fast. Activity and power lights sit above the record button. You will also find Quick On button to take the camcorder in/out of standby mode. The camera shutter and rocker switch for lens are located on the top of the SR85. Rocker switch and zoom rocker are easy to operate and allows for shutter-free close up shots. As there is no optical image stabilization, so you will need a tripod mount for extremely close up shots.

The zoom stereo microphone is located at camcorder’s front above lens. The microphone is capable to attenuate with lens for capturing audio. There is a socket for external microphone and Sony lights located behind the stereo mic. A switch to open/close the inbuilt lens cover sits under the lens. Mini-USB port and A/V output port is located behind the sliding door. You will find one more sliding door at the top, which contains Memory Stick Pro Duo card slot. There is also another flip-down door located under the main control, which contains the power jack. Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has a switch for Nightshot Plus infrared light that allows capturing night-vision photographs even in the complete darkness.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has 2.7-inches touch-screen LCD display. You can use this touch-screen interface for menu navigation and selection of options. The touch-screen is accurate and quick responsive. Sony has included two menu systems: Home menu for all settings and Options menu for available video functions such as recording modes, white balance and focus. The new users might take a while to remember how and when to use the menus. Four buttons are also located on the left side screen bezel, which allows to selection the options: start/stop recording, zoom in, zoom out and Home.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 provides passable video quality that is only good for playback at small and medium size TVs and monitors. However, the videos appear to be soft and washed out. Videos also appear to lack clarity and detail. The noise is also noticeable while playing the videos. The SR85 does not provide high-definition video quality for playing back the videos on large screen. We liked that the overall video quality of the DCR-SR85 was better than the SR45.

On the bright side, the performance aspects of Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 are good such as quick adjustment of auto exposure, nice white balance and responsive auto focus.

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 is a good standard definition camcorder in its class. It provides 60GB hard drive that means you can go for continuous shooting on vacation without worrying about the storage space. In addition, you can also save the videos and photos to Memory Stick Pro Duo cards up to 8GB. The SR85 camcorder has touch-screen interface. However, the latest HD camcorders are providing better video and HD quality movie recording at fewer prices.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony Handycam DCR-SR85 has 25x optical zoom, touch-screen and 60GB hard drive, but still it is a standard-definition video camcorder. If you are still living in low resolution world for only one purpose to share the recorded videos on social networking Web sites and do not mind the quality too much, then you can go for the DCR-SR85. However, we will recommend you to check better HD camcorders in the same price range such as Canon HG10.