Camcorder Reviews

I recorded a chicken chaseing a car and watched it later all I could see was the chickens but. I love chickens did you know that?

I must say I understand every review here.
The good things about this camcorder are: its size; its looks -- yes, it does look great, no cheap plastics, in my opinion. It does NOT feel cheap right out of the box, I would rather say the reverse; the nice zoom function; amazingly excelent recorded sound quality; nice MP3 playback function; rechargable Li-ion battery; nice tripod included...
But the bad things are: not enough clarity and sharpness in video images -- it looks like the camera doesn't focus correctly; colors are a little distorted -- anything that has red in its color shows a vibrant red in the video; no flash/light availabe; the sensor is not very sensitive in low light -- normal interior light is not enough for this camera. Indoor evening shots become distressingly dark. You can use the night-shot function, but at the cost of a slight decrease in video quality.
Yes, it does cost only $189... and believe it's the best among its type. But I guess it still not enough. Consumer electronics is advancing and one has to demand better quality, even if the price is low, considering the functions.
Considering the nowadays standards, this camera may be a good buy, but it might dissapoint you -- you may reach the point where you feel that not even a price as low as $189 is reason enough for spending your money (the well known why-did-I-buy-this,-anyway? feeling).
To summerize, if you're looking for a toy, here it is. But if you're looking for an actual camcorder, either wait a little longer for a better one to show up, or pay more.
I've had mine for 2 days and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it.

I am writing for the DV5000 that is the replacement for the DV4000 posted here. The big difference is that it has a 3.1 CMOS for the digital camera. There is a flash and the batteries are now AA batteries.

It actually looks better and functions more like a battery. Viewing still is not great when shots are in doors.

Overall a good camera.

Monster Cable makes a lot of great cables. I think they are most known for their stereo cabling which is of much higher gauge than generic speaker cables, and they have great cables for the RCA in and out jacks as well. These are all ANALOG signals, and the extra quality can (and does) make a huge difference.

On a digital connection, ambient interference is automatically filtered out. I don't own this item, but had to say I did in order to write a review. Cheap IEEE1394 cables are just as good. If you want to line the pockets of Monster Cable, replace that junky speaker cable you bought at Radio Shack!

I have just returned the Monster IEEE cable [...] after comparing it side by side with an inexpensive [...] cable. It is all marketing hype as far as IEEE link is concerned. {The less expensive} cable worked as good as the Monster Low Noise, Gas injected etc. cable. So do yourself a favor save some money.

Do not be fool by marketing and pay 4x more for the same result. Monster Cables are great for all ANALOG signals. You do not need gold connectors for DIGITAL data. A $10 cable will do exactly the same. Do not worry about noise on a 6-foot wire unless you are planning to loop this on a high voltage power wire. Technology is moving away from Monster Cable.