Sony DCR-DVD201
Still the only DVD-R/RW camcorder on the market, the DVD201 is a step up from last year’s DVD200. The new model uses a slightly larger .2-inch, 690,000-pixel CCD than its predecessor, and is more than half a pound lighter and an inch thinner. It sports a bright 2.5-inch LCD.

No Caddy, Less Clutter
Two major attributes separate the Sony DCR-DVD201 from its Hitachi and Panasonic competitors: There’s no disc caddy necessary to hold the blank disc inside the mechanism, and the 3-inch DVD-R/RW discs will play in all but the oldest DVD players.

One of the primary improvements Sony has made from last year is the decision to liberate the camcorder body of buttons. All nonessential features are either hidden inside the LCD screen well or in the menus. The best news is that disc finalization gets its own dedicated button.

Okay Video
We wished Sony had improved its image quality, as well. Compared to the images produced by the Hitachi and Panasonic models, Sony’s pictures seemed a bit faded and yellowish, especially in sunlight. On its own, however, the DCR-DVD201’s footage looked sharp and bright.

With less exterior real estate, the various A/V and power connector jacks are scattered willy-nilly over the DVD201, making them difficult to locate. Another minus: As with last year’s model, there’s no separate Memory Stick slot, so you’ll have to finalize the disc to display 1-megapixel still images or video on your notebook or home DVD deck. On the plus side, the camera displays both photo and video thumbnails for easy in-camera playback.

That’s a Wrap
If you want to reap all of the benefits of DVD recording in a sub-1-pound package, the DCR-DVD201 is sure to please, as long as you can afford it.