I've owned the Sony DCR-HC30ES camcorder now for some 9 months, having owned a Sony previous I thought I wouldn't go far wrong with another..... and I was right. I did look at others in great detail and found the HC30E to be better then the rest in several departments.
The HC30E is small (not the smallest) but going too small could cause operating problems for the average persons fingers, this is just right. It has a nice balance to it when fitted to the right hand with the adjustable strap and it feels very secure. Everything falls to place with the record button and zoom control within easy reach of the middle finger and thumb. The touch screen opens and can be rotated and folded into the body of the camcorder for protection if required, and on the question of the screen it is very durable indeed having a touch-screen to enter into the menu system to alter all the camcorder functions. It has a special coating which prevents smearing and it works extremely well and what marks do appear are easily got rid of with the supplied cloth. I was very uncertain of this method before I bought this camera but have since found it is far better than the hidden button type under the screen as it allows instant access to the operating of the camcorder whenever needed.
On delivery of the HC30E it was a matter of minutes before I was taking movie clips with great ease. There is an EASY button for those that don't wish to touch any sort of menu at all, making it impossible to alter any settings in record mode....great for the complete novice. With it turned off you can alter settings to your hearts content having access to ALL functions such as, white balance, spot meter, exposure, auto shutter,s pot focus, etc, etc. too many to list here but those were just a few, so as you can see there are plenty of options for the experienced to play with. Having so much to be able to alter might lead you to think it's complicated to use, but it's not, as it comes with a very comprehensive and easy to read instruction book, but like I said earlier it is as much at home being a point and shoot as it is a semi pro.
The picture quality from this camcorder is outstanding and played back on my 32" wide screen TV was breath taking (it was almost 3D like) with crisp bright and accurate colours and good contrast with no colour bleed on the more usual reds and blues of other camcorders. Where this C/C excels is in the low light department and beats the opposition hands down. Even in normal bulb light you don't get the pixelation and graininess of other makers, it remains clean and clear on playback.
As with most C/Corders it has the ability to take still photo's and this takes very good shots of 640X480(ideal for E:Mail or small prints)and the quality is kept very good by the excellent Carl Zeis 10X optical lens. The pictures are stored on a Sony memory stick Duo(supplied) card and fits into the front end of the C/Corder. You can also use the card for shooting video clips, again...being adjustable for E:mail friendly posting, of course the quality suffers somewhat, but this is a great substitute in case of emergencies like running out of tape. You can even swap info from tape to card and card to tape, nice idea that.
The zoom as mentioned earlier is a 10X optical and has an extra 120X digital, but using the digital will reduce the quality. Otherwise the standard optical is excellent and more than enough to get into the action, and the stabiliser takes care of any shakiness it might encounter.
In playback mode there is the usual array of functions from mosaic and adding titles, program edit and audio dub and much, much more. When viewed through the TV sitting back and watching the results of your efforts are made easier by the remote control function(supplied)and this can also be used when making recordings covering the most important functions such as start rec and zoom.
The battery power supplied (fitted at the rear) lasts quite well but as usaul, if longer times are required then another battery will be needed and I opted for the extra large 7 hour capacity one, but even with it jutting out more because of the extra size the extendable eye piece helped enormously and it has the Dioptic adjuster for spectacle wearers.
To sum up then.....It's difficult to say everything that this camcorder can do and a lot easier to say what it doesn't (and that's not a lot) but if you are looking for excellent quality video and good quality stills and an easy to operate camcorder then look no further. The price is right to as it's 12 months old now and the newer version (which offers no more) is more expensive...so go get one while you still can.