Sony Handycam DCR VX1000

I love this camcorder.I use , repair ,refurbish it for years.I deal hundreds of this camcorder, and work around them, will just tell you more about inside of it.I belive you know how to get the image ,or sound test results from many expert users, some wrote many picture and sound ,side-by-side comparison with other brand etc.I do not see a repair technican tell any inside camcorder story yet, hope other vx1000 repair techinican can correct me if I made a mistake here.Please send me your comment or correction to me by emails, your email will be be reply as soon as possible but give me a few days .If your email is not replied, try to send me through other way, your original email may possible be blocked as spam.When sony made it in 1995, there is no competition in the market , it is less important to reduce the cost of making it.The factory can sell it for USD$4199, and it sell well.The first 3CCD miniDV camcorder use magnesium alloy body, rugged and light weight.This like a big solid fundation of a house,it give a strong support of everything on top.All the tape mechanism, camera lense Assy ,boards are nicely rest on the body.In today's market, many camcorder are made cheap with a lot of plastic body or parts.The plastic parts can save the cost of making the camcorder.The plastic is light also,but the plastic can crack, can change the shape and we do not see many plastic car on the road yet.This is one of the reason that I love the vx1000.You may not agree with me,right? you may tell me that the vx1000 view finder go blank easy, why you still rate excellent?I guess the original version view finder cable is a weak point and goes bad a lot,so you can disagree with me.Well, the view finder can still last up to a few years if you do not move the view finder up and down very often and very fast.Nothing last for ever,the lucky thing is at the time of the view finder cable problem, it does not affect your video or sound quality,so your import event tape will not totally trash! When you get a new version view finder cable, this will not be a problem any more.Then we will deal with more user related-problem.We see many unit has a vtr controls not function,the VTR controls are easy break if the user mover the Lid close or open often, when it goes bad, you will not be able the press the Play,REv,F.F,Pause etc.If use the camcorder to do edit, it is sure not a good idea to buy vx1000, the camcorder is NOT design to do edit job, it is best to use it as a high video quality camcorder,I do not suggest you use the vx1000 to do any VTR function at all, buy a super cheap minidv camcorder to do the VTR's revwind or playback ,edit your video on your computer, your vx1000 will last much longer.when I get the broken VTR controls unit for repair,I suggest the customer do not fix the problem.Another comman problem is cleanning, just like any other camcorder, vx1000 need cleaning often, it has automatic video head cleaning but it still need manual cleaning , use the best tape only, one bad tape can damage your vx1000 in less than 1 second.Many repairs such as broken bayonet mount,broken eject buttons ,water damaged ,broken micphone head,broken dv port are caused by abuse, misuse or mishandling.Problem of audio skip need to be mention as many user ask me about it, my answer is it can be nothing wrong--you use bad tape,or big problem of video head, or something else like a bad connection.Tape path tuneup is yearly job,keep it tuned.

I bought three of these when I started my video production company. The quality is excellent and the camera is actually affordable. Anyone can pick this camera up and use it with little or no knowledge of videography, and those with some experience will love the functionality of it.
I reccomend using Vegas 5.0 for your end production, but any program will do.

This video camera is great till this day I have used this camera for 2 TV commercials it gives you a film like look that I like.

What else can I say about the VX1000? It is the best 3CCD Mini DV camcorder that Sony has ever made PERIOD. It has been over 10 years since it was introduced to the public. It was discontinued around 1998. I am on my second Sony VX1000. It is the only video camera I trust and use daily.It's audio quality is unmatched in any other Sony video camera. The color saturation is superb. How could Sony come out with a better camera for less money? They tried making the the VX2000. I compared it side by side with the VX1000. The VX1000 has softer and warmer skin tones. The VX2000 has a more red tone and trnaslates sun rays in straight lines rather than diffused like the VX1000. The VX2000's microphone picks up background noise rather than wahts right in front of it. The audio from the VX1000 is CD quality and I have recorded audio which I have used to make audio recordings of. The VX2000 is also really unbalanced in weight since the battery terminal is on the back where the VX1000's is on the inside therefore balancing the camaera out. One of the only advantages is the flip out LCD screen which the VX1000 lacks. Eventually from wear and tear the viewfinder ribboon wears aout and the viewfinder goes out. This is a small price to pay for such a great camera.
I primarily use the VX1000 to film skateboarding with a .3x Century Ultra Fisheye Lense. The front bayonet mount on the VX1000 is the perfect fit for the fisheye. There is no vignetting or unsharp areas in the frame. To this day it is the best looking true fisheye compatibale camera. I have fallen quite a few times while follow filming with this camera. It has taken a few good hits. The durability of the camera is superb even with a few dents and dings in the body plastic.
I guess all good things come to an end as this is the case with SONY discontinuing the VX1000. It is sad that 10 years later this is still the professional skateboarding's choice in camcorders since no other company has stepped up and made a better product. Luckily there is always eBay to find new one.