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General discussion

Sony HDR-UX1 a value at $599?

by 12th Man Jun 28, 2007 1:28AM PDT

I am really struggling with my decision.

As an HD fanatic, the Sony HDR-UX1 is very appealing being the only HD camcorder safely in my budget and one that received very good overall reviews (Cnet gave it a 7.7). But I do know what the knocks are -- short DVD record times, AVCHD format compatibility, first generation model, etc. But I keep coming back to the fact that was a highly regarded camcorder (with some caveats), it does very nice high definition by all accounts, and it's in my price range now at $599.

Now that software developers are releasing AVCHD compatible applications, is this a good time to jump on the UX1 for 40% of MSRP despite its downsides? I do have a PS3 so playback would not be an issue and I am not turned off by having to carry several blank DVDs.

My plan B would probably be the Sony HC96 or the Panasonic GS320 which are both MiniDV.

Discussion is locked

8 Posts
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One question....
by whizkid454 Jul 3, 2007 12:10AM PDT

Where are you buying it from? If it's from a "no-name" seller, it's probably too good to be true. Sorry for a late response; away for a couple days.

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B&H
by 12th Man Jul 3, 2007 4:13AM PDT

B&H Photo which I believe is pretty highly regarded.

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That's a great deal, but...
by whizkid454 Jul 3, 2007 4:46AM PDT

I hope you know what you are getting into: AVCHD, computer editing incompatibilities, video quality issues, disc problems, etc....

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Well,
by 12th Man Jul 3, 2007 5:21AM PDT

That's the kind of input I was looking for. I've read all the reviews and most of them are pretty high on the UX1 and newer UX3/5/7 line. But they all point out the same things re: CPU resources, compatibility, etc. I have not seen much about poor PQ though....quite the opposite.

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For more support, try this...
by whizkid454 Jul 3, 2007 6:50AM PDT

Search this forum with keyword: "DVD" or "DVD camcorder"

After that, come back and post here and tell us your thoughts. I forsee a change in your thoughts....

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excellent camera for the money
by greener1 Jul 6, 2007 12:32PM PDT

i just purchased the ux1 from B&H, shipped very fast and factory fresh, it is an unbelievable value for the money, the pix will astound one, its like being right there, 3D living for sure, i was going to get this unit from amazon but for $200 more they want, i use the memorex mini dvd+rw discs that way one can reuse them after downloading to notebook, i got 2 10 packs for around $30 for both, a very well made camcorder, not hard to learn tons of features and the huge touch screen is also a plus, menu friendly also, i see no negatives in this unit as even one or two settings down from the top setting the PIX is very good and gives one longer recording time, use whichever setting u like for pix quality, i also use the new pinnacle studio 11 plus from avid, a very capable editing solution which is better than the included sony software, pinnacle reads the new format very well and guides one from start to finish, one wont be disappointed in the sony for the money at least, one more thing the quality is also very good indoors with just a fair amount of light, go for it

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Many thanks.....
by 12th Man Jul 9, 2007 2:52AM PDT

Thanks for your reply. I did go ahead and order the UX1 from B&H. The price was just too hard to pass up for a quality HD camcorder even with its quirks. Should be delivered tomorrow.

What are the specs on your notebook? That's probably been my biggest concern as far as capturing the video from the UX1 for archival in order to erase the DVD-RW's and use them again. I've heard it takes a lot of horsepower on your computer to handle the AVCHD encoded files. I have a new laptop with Intel Core 2 Duo processor (1.83), 2 GB RAM and Radeon X1400 256MB memory card.

Thanks again!

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approx same specs as i'm using
by greener1 Jul 9, 2007 5:09AM PDT

a sony vaio vgn ar150 a 17 inch laptop, got from office depot around christmas for $1095, retail then was $2100 although i think it more realistically priced at what i paid, almost same specs as your parameters in your reply, runs very well using avid pinnacle studio plus recently on sale at Best buy for $70.00, a $50 price reduction a couple weeks back, and it works very well, i am also using the included software from the sony camcorder, but if one wants to get fancy use pinnacle or another vendor's if there are any, and i think there are a couple more around now, enjoy the unit, its built very well and for the dollar it cannot be beat

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