You don't need to use the menu much, since the SR42 has only the most basic of feature sets. It includes 10 scene programme modes, a few digital effects and transitions, spot metering and focus, and NightShot infrared shooting mode.
Video records to the hard disk in MPEG-2 format and thankfully, you needn't rely on the bundled version of Pixela's Motion Browser to edit, since there are plenty of alternatives available. Still, if for some reason you wanted to use that odd piece of software on the Mac, you'd have to fork out nearly £100 for it. Stick with iMovie.
The SR42 uses the electronic image stabiliser version of Sony's SteadyShot. But the video tends to be so mushy and artefact-ridden that it's hard to tell whether the stabiliser is working, even zoomed out to its 40x maximum.
Performance
Despite its range, it's fairly easy to control the zoom switch for a fast or consistent crawl, but the autofocus takes longer to catch up. The stereo audio, though surprisingly decent, suffers from the lack of a wind filter. Even a modest breeze whips across the audio track with tornado-like rumbles. The camcorder lacks a microphone input as well as an accessory shoe -- typical omissions in budget models.
Conclusion
As the Handycam DCR-SR42E exemplifies, for the moment, there are still no bargains to be had in hard disk based camcorders -- unless you really don't care about the video quality. If you want a decent hard disk model, you've got to pay a little more. Despite its inconveniences, in this price range of around £300, quality DVD-based models like the like the Canon DC40 are still the way to go.
Additional editing by Jon Squire
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