I'd highly recommend it for basic HD home use, but it's not for pros.

I bought this camcorder first, to make tutorial videos, then for just general home use.

PROS ~ For very basic family use this camcorder excels. It has clear video quality and is simple to use. Very small and lightweight, pocket-sized. For the price, it's a great general use camcorder.

CONS ~ The built-in mic will only pick up conversational volume voice up to about three feet away from the camera. And that has to be directed toward the mic, not away from it.
For the more advanced use, like filming normal conversational volume dialog from a longer distance - such as narration - it does not pick up well. It lacks a microphone input that other models have. [This drawback didn't show up in my comparison shopping. And after researching, I can find no work-around for it.] This is why I gave it a 4 out of 5 overall rating.

The on board speaker is poor. Even in a quiet room, it's difficult to hear the audio playing.

I find the "joy stick" style menu control a little "plasticky" and it seems fragile. I can't compare it to on-screen menus, but there seems to be lots of levels to go through to get to where you can either play or delete your selection. That's why I gave it a 4 out of 5 on ease of use.

On the plus side...
It will take the Sony RM-AV2 Remote Commander remote control for smooth tripod filming, using the AV input. The remote gives you the ability to turn the camera power or the record function on/off, zoom in/out, and snap still photos with a smooth touch of a button. That eliminates problems with camera jiggle when doing those operations. It also makes self-recording much more convenient, with it's 5 foot cord. [This remote also works for most of Sony's other consumer level camcorders.]

TIP ~ For extended use indoors, you can always run the camera from the plug in charger and not have to worry about the battery running down.

Awesome product! Great value for the money.

This is a user friendly camera. With 10 minutes of book time and 7 or so minutes of hands on practice I was out the door filming videos. You will not believe how small and light it is, but yet is loaded with features. I was looking at and almost bought another brand which was twice the price. I have no regrets I do not believe any camera could even be ten percent better than this without spending way more$$$$$

You Probably Already Have A Camera That Will Do What This One Does

I would never have bought one of these cameras at the list price. I managed to pic one up nearly new for $100. It well get plenty of use. The audio quality is pretty good. The battery only lasts about a hour and a half of recording time. It is super easy to use, but the video quality is just alright with me.

save your money for a better camera, this ones not a good deal.

about 3 or 4 years ago i purchased a jvc camcorder for about the same price, a pretty decent camara but didnt have stabilizer. the sony handy cam about the same price, size,quality and had stabilizer, but the girl in the store said it would only use sonys memory card so i bought the jvc. rececntly the screen went dark on it so i thought id try the sony big mistake, i should have spent the money to fix the jvc. the first thing i thought of when i opened the box was the little camara you used to see up against the glass at the top of the 25 cent gumball machines at the entrance of the super market when you were a kid. its like half the size and weight of the older camaras,a flimsy looking peice of crap. you have to open and remember to close the shutter after use, no more automatic. it takes ok pictures if you press the button and when it beeps wait till the picture focuses then press harder till it it clicks other wise youll get a blurr every time, so clear split second shots are out of the question.i havent really used the video yet except to try it out and it seems that its out of focus more then its in focus. overall i find it to be a peice of crap i don't expect it will last long. if your thinking of buying this on line at least check it out in the store first. if i had seen it first i definitely would not have bought mine. sony is no longer the king of electronics, espectally now that all their crap is made in china also.

Excellent videos for an excellent price

I am very pleased with this camera. The picture quality is excellent for the price. Its very small and lightweight. The camera can even do some minor on the fly editing. The still picture quality isn't the best but it is a camcorder after all.My only complaint would have to be that the settings are a little difficult to navigate