Sony HDR-CX380/B High Definition Handycam Camcorder with 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)

I am extraordinarily in love with this camera. For starters I am no superstar techie when it comes to electronics but they are my thing and I heavily researched good qualities of a camcorder before deciding on this camcorder. These are all of the things I love.. -Light weight -Beautiful picture -Projector is AWESOME (darken the room and focus the picture and its a huge success) Few cons -I wish the battery were enclosed and not coming right off the back end of the camera -the touchscreen can be a bit finicky, I have big fingers and sometimes it takes a few times of me pressing the screen for it to register. It doesn't bother me but it can be frustrating Anyway, I am an amateur user in terms of some I know. I just want to make a few movies of my family and record special occasions. For those things, this camera is fantastic. I can't wait to use it more and see how well it films. Things I have not tried: -outside filming -the software Happy shopping!

I decided on this after reading lot of reviews & since there were very few with the projector option I finally went for it. The only concern I had while reading the review was the "Bulkiness or heavier than other models" due to projector feature. However, when I received the parcel I was stunned at the weight infact I thought there was nothing inside the box. On opening I was amazed at how compact & light this handycam is which is full of powerful features. The built-in USB cable, extracting photos while shooting video, 3 inch touchscreen, 16GB internal memory, amazing quality projector image (of course the darker the veiwing space, the better it gets) the list goes on. It's been three weeks since I received this & I am loving it. Look no further if you are searching for a good HD handycam.

I did a lot of research before buying this camcorder and was wondering if it is worth paying the extra $100 for the built-in projector. Now after about 2-3 weeks of use, I'm very happy with my purchase. Pros: 1> Compact 2> Projecter Feature is very usefull [ At night when I Put my kids to bed, we project our family videos in our bedroom ] and the quaility is awesome. The Room has to be completly dark to get a good picture quaility 3> Was also able to connect my ipad to this camcorder Cons: 1> Battery Life sucks. Will be buying a newer battery 2> Tried making a movie using Windows Movie Maker s/w but it was not able to convert this format. Still researching.

SO be ware, just like pretty much any sony product, it records in a proprietary format. You can use the included software to turn it into an MP4 and then edit easier. It's annoying but not the end of the world. I bought this specifically because it has an external microphone input. If you go to youtube and search for 'supercircuits' you'll see my hands. Most of those demo videos were taken with this camera and an external mic I also bought on amazon. Video quality is great. Also, nifty feature: the usb cable is built INTO the hand strap!

I usually do not post product feedback, but in this case I want to provide valuable information to others who buy this camera. I got this specifically to record my daughter in musical theater. Very first show the camera consistently over exposed every scene. I was fighting manual exposure for the entire show. My friend sitting right next to me with a 2 year old sony was not having issues and puzzled at why my camcorder was not exposing correctly. He is a professional photographer and knows a few things about exposures and how to adjust cameras. After the weekend show (which thankfully he gave me a copy of his footage), I spent more than an hour on support with Sony. They finally gave me a technical person and he solved the issue in 30 seconds. You must go into the camera scene selection and choose "Spotlight" mode for correct exposure. Note that this is not in the manual. I am giving this camera the full 5 stars rating. I wish sony support was a little faster at giving me a technical resource. I hope this helps someone else. Great camcorder. I could not be happier - now that I know about this setting. ************** Update after 1 year of ownership. ************** I am changing this to one star since recording in stage lighting situations is terrible. It is always overexposed. I went to a local camera store and the expert there said the issue is with the image sensor size. Sony decreased the sensor size in this model and now it is worthless for recording in low light and theater lighting situations. If you do not need a camcorder for these situations, then this is still a 5 star camcorder. I replaced with a Canon camcorder that was $200 and had a larger sensor (VIXIA HF R500). It is awesome and gives the correct exposure in low light/stage light. Sony CX380 Sensor size = 1/5.8 in. Canon VIXIA HF R500 Sensor size = 1/4.85-inch

For the money I paid, I am not impressed. A little dissapointed with the quality of clarity on the zoom in an outdoor setting. I also don't like the feature to where you have to have the side veiwing screen open for the camera to shoot videos.