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Sony Handycam DCR SR45

alaTest has collected and analyzed 198 reviews of Sony Handycam DCR SR45. The average rating for this product is 3.8/5, compared to an average rating of 4.0/5 for other Camcorders for all reviews. Reviewers really like the price and image quality. The size and portability are also mentioned favorably, whereas some have doubts about the viewfinder and battery.

usability, portability, size, image quality, price

battery, viewfinder

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Camcorders the Sony Handycam DCR SR45 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 81/100 = Very good quality.

See all Sony Camcorders

Review analysis

(Based on 198 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (38% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (29% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (13% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (12% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (8% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

usability
  Show positive (89%)Show negative (11%)(Show all)
portability
  Show positive (96%)Show negative (4%)(Show all)
size
  Show positive (83%)Show negative (17%)(Show all)
image quality
  Show positive (64%)Show negative (36%)(Show all)
price
  Show positive (90%)Show negative (10%)(Show all)
zoom
  Show positive (94%)Show negative (6%)(Show all)
design
  Show positive (84%)Show negative (16%)(Show all)
battery
  Show positive (33%)Show negative (67%)(Show all)
durability
  Show positive (73%)Show negative (27%)(Show all)
reliability
  Show positive (69%)Show negative (31%)(Show all)
viewfinder
  None yetShow negative (100%)(Show all)
memory
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
color
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
Show more features

Showing 190 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

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Showing 1 - 139 of 190 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (8)

Consumer review by: (amazon.com)

Amazon.com review summary for Sony Handycam DCR SR45

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 129 user reviews of Sony Handycam DCR SR45 from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 3.7/5, compared to an average user rating of 3.9/5 for other Camcorders on Amazon.com. People are impressed by the size and price. The image quality and portability are also mentioned favorably. Many are critical about the viewfinder and battery.

usability, portability, image quality, price, size

battery, viewfinder

77% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

This summary is based on the products: Sony DCR-SR45 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom • Sony DCR-SR45 30GB Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

Sep, 2017

Expert review by: Joshua Goldman (cnet.co.uk)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 review

 

With the popularity of posting low-resolution video to the Web showing no signs of waning, it's easy to see why the Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 exists. It's very easy to use, goes from off to recording in seconds, is small enough to throw in a bag and go,...

Compact, lightweight build; stores video to 30GB hard drive or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards; touch screen.

Barely passable standard-definition video quality; no optical image stabilization despite ultralong lens; Windows-only software.

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 has a good design and reasonable feature set for its price, but the video quality doesn't measure up to the rest of the package.

Aug, 2008
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Expert review by: Chris Jager (goodgearguide.com.au)

Sony DCR-SR45

 

Budget HDD-camcorder with good features for the asking price

Memory stick slot, 40x optical zoom, offers reasonable value for a HDD-based camcorder

Image quality slightly below par, poor still image mode

The Sony DCR-SR45 is a perfectly serviceable standard-def camcorder provided you only want to do the basics. While budget shoppers are sure to appreciate the user-friendly HDD technology, its image quality unfortunately failed to shine. An adequate...

May, 2008
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Expert review by: Joshua Goldman (cnet.com)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 review

 

With the popularity of posting low-resolution video to the Web showing no signs of waning, it's easy to see why the Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 exists. It's very easy to use, goes from off to recording in seconds, is small enough to throw in a bag and go,...

Compact, lightweight build; stores video to 30GB hard drive or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards; touch screen.

Barely passable standard-definition video quality; no optical image stabilization despite ultralong lens; Windows-only software.

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 has a good design and reasonable feature set for its price, but the video quality doesn't measure up to the rest of the package.

Aug, 2008
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Expert review by: Joshua Goldman (cnet.com.au)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45

 

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 has a good design and reasonable feature set for its price, but the video quality doesn't measure up to the rest of the package.

Compact, lightweight build ; Stores video to 30GB hard drive or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards ; Touchscreen

Barely passable standard definition video quality ; No optical image stabilisation despite ultra-long lens ; Windows-only software

Conclusion The Sony Handycam DCR-SR45 is better than most entry-level HDD camcorders. Its compact, lightweight build is great for grab-and-go videos. The 30GB hard drive allows for plenty of storage, plus you can save video and stills to Memory Stick...

Aug, 2008
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Consumer review by: mike (cnet.com.au)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45

 

The cnnectivity to pcs is hopeless. Designed by nerds for nerds, it is a constant fight to download vids without something going wrong.

good price

downloading is a pain

Jun, 2009
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Consumer review by: William (cnet.com.au)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45

 

Overall a dissapointment in Image quality. I returned it and purchased the JVC GZ-MG330, much better.

Lots of zoom

Grainy picture indoors ; Weak colours

Jan, 2009
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Consumer review by: kanay (cnet.com.au)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45

 

This is a very good video camera, small but still comfortable to use. Very handy to record to hard drive or memory stick and to copy, move, delete stuff instantly. Great to take on holidays or events. Would have bought a High Definition model but none...

Excellent optical zoom 40x, infrared night shot, great sound quality, easy to copy to computer and DVD, compact, and cheap. Even with all the Cons still an excellent camera for the price

No night light for standard dark shots, no view finder as screen is hard to see in bright sunlight, manual focusing/whitebalance/etc uses lcd screen makes it hard to use and shaky, average quality still shots, no remote control, can't add text while...

May, 2008
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Consumer review by: cazzascorp (cnet.com.au)

Sony Handycam DCR-SR45

 

This is a pretty good video camera for the price if you want a small, light camera with pretty good image quality and great zoom capacity and no hassle Hard drive recording.

the 40x optical zoom is very handy and the camera is very easy to use. The touch screen LCD was new for me having not had a camera with this before , but I find it quite user friendly and saves space on the camera body which means the camera is very...

the low light resolution on the video image is pretty grainy and Sony could really do with working on this. But if you aren't really a low light image quality snob, which I'm not, it's fine for home videos of the kids and so on and for holiday videos....

May, 2008
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Consumer review by: parchning (mysears.com)

Small yet dependable!

 

This handy-camcorder only has 30GB harddisk drive but you can also use a sony memory stick as an alternate storage. This camcorder witnessed a lot of my family's happenings in a lot places not just at home. Especially for the memories of my kids...

Aug, 2010
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Consumer review by: daffodils (ciao.com)

Sony Handycam DCR SR45

 

Sony DCR-SR45E and SR65E listed before the appearance at basically the same airframe re-design more suitable for one-hand operation. 2.7 "wide hybrid LCD screen on the border with zoom, record button, zoom can be controlled easily. Turning point of the...

Cost-effective higher

Watch out if falling

Apr, 2009
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Product Specifications

Audio

Audio Dubbing: Yes
Sound:Stereo

Connections

Firewire in (IEEE 1394): No
Firewire Out (IEEE 1394): No
HDMI Connection: No
LANC or Control-L port: Yes
Line-In Audio: Yes
Remote Control: Yes
S-Video out: Yes
S-Video Output: Yes
USB: Yes
USB Connection: Yes

Display

LCD resolution:211000 pixels
LCD size:2.7 inch
Screen Resolution:211000 pixels
Screen Size:2.7 inch
Screen Type:LCD

Image resolution

Digital Still Pictures:Progressive Photo
Effective Pixels:0.34 Megapixels
Number of effective pixels:0.34 Megapixels
Number of total pixels:0.68 Megapixels
Progressive Scan for Photos: Yes
Still Picture Resolutions:640x480 pixels pixels
Stills resolution:640x480 pixels pixels
Total MegaPixels:0.68 Megapixels

Lens/Zoom

Aperture (Wide-lens):F1.8-F4.1
Aperture (Wide-tele):F1.8-F4.1
Auto Focus: Yes
Digital Zoom:2000 x
Filter Size:30.0 mm
Focal Length (35mm equiv):48-1920 mm
Focal length (Wide-lens):1.9-76 mm
Focal Length (Wide-Tele):1.9-76 mm
Manual Focus: Yes
Night Shot: Yes
Optical Zoom:40 x
Shutter speeds:1/30-1/250 seconds
White Balance:Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, One-push

Measures

Dimensions (HxWxD):76.6x76.3x112.8 mm
Weight:400 grams
Weight (lb):0.88 lb

Power source

Battery Type:InfoLithium

Sensor

Sensor Size:1/8 inch
Sensor Type:CCD

Storage

Built-in Memory: Yes
Built-in Storage Size:30.0 GB
Extra Memory Support: Yes
Inbuilt Memory: Yes

Video

HDV Recording: No
High Definition Recording: No
Recordable File/Disc Formats:MPEG-2
Recording Format:Hard Drive / Memory Stick
Recording System:NTSC
Video Resolution:720x480