Sony HDR-TG3E Reviews: Sony Memory Stick Duo storage Full HD camcorder


  • Photo of Sony HDR-TG3E Camcorder
  • Photo of Sony HDR-TG3E Camcorder
  • Photo of Sony HDR-TG3E Camcorder
Photo of Sony HDR-TG3E Camcorder
Score: 9.1/10

105 Real Customer Reviews - In Summary

This Camcorder scored high on image quality. It has no outstanding negative points. “Really easy to use and get on with - i was impressed with the speed at which it…” Anonymous verified purchaser View all 105 real customer reviews

Available via Reevoo.com from £470 – £505 at 3 retailers

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Product Details

10x optical zoom, Image Stabilisation, 2 hours of battery More »

Real customer reviews

105 verified purchasers have reviewed this product.
94% of people recommend it.

Show scores of…
All purchasers (104)
Battery life7.4
Ease of use9.2
Image quality9.2
Value for money (at time of purchase)8.6
Weight9.3
Overall rating9.1
Just point and shoot (7)
Keen amateur (2)
Experienced amateur (1)
Other (94)
 

*not all purchasers provided a score or review

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Really easy to use and get on with - I was impressed with the speed at which it starts up - you can turn it on and get recording within seconds. It also seems fairly tough - it's already had 2 falls down the stairs but with no damage. Really good little bit of kit.

- The manual is a bit rubbish and trying to understand the different recording formats takes a little attention. Just remember that you need mark II memory sticks to upgrade as the older ones don't seem to work as reliably.

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31 of 32 people found this review helpful

purchased 15 May 2008

Score 10.0/10

Shaun, Chesterfield

+ Good image, great inbuilt microphone and solidly built.

- Nothing bad. Would have been nice to have received a case included in the price.

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22 of 22 people found this review helpful

purchased 11 May 2008

Score 10.0/10

Chris, Sutton, Surrey

+ size, image quality, functions

- expensive pro duo memory cards, no hdmi cable, no carry case.

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17 of 17 people found this review helpful

purchased 25 Jun 2008

Score 10.0/10

Julian, Bristol , “I'm a semi-professional photograher”

+ It's very compact and easy to use, but also has a range of more advanced features for the more experienced user. Full resolution HD, excellent quality lens and can also be used as a 4mp camera complete with flash.

- The only bad point is that the supplied 4GB Memory Stick will only record about 30 mins of footage at the highest resolution (or about 60 mins in standard HD). But at this price you could still afford to buy 2 16GB memory sticks and it will still be as cheap as the equivilant hard disk model but half the size!!

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15 of 15 people found this review helpful

purchased 06 Dec 2008

Score 10.0/10

kieran, lurgan

+ very user friendly,great videos on standard def too

- can't do all what the software says it can do i.e transfer from computer back to memory stick

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11 of 11 people found this review helpful

purchased 09 Jun 2008

Score 10.0/10

Rex, Burgess Hill , “Filming for 40 years”

+ Easily fits in my jacket pocket; in-built lens cap brilliant; build quality superb; touch-screen settings mean very few external buttons to hit in error (which I was always doing with my previous camcorder); screen easily visible in sunshine; completely silent operation; light weight; 4 operating buttons beautifully placed; SD as well as HD; masses of "settings" options; and it looks FANTASTIC!

- None really, but I haven't completely understood the face recognition or vibration reduction yet.

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11 of 12 people found this review helpful

purchased 25 Aug 2008

Score 8.0/10

Richard, Harrogate , “I am an enigma”

+ Excellent picture quality in bright conditions
V Easy to use
Really good intuitive menus systems

- Low light picture is not so good without going into menus to adjust shutter etc
Microphone is a bit poor
No expandability options - external microphone/light

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10 of 10 people found this review helpful

purchased 15 Jun 2008

Score 9.0/10

Allan, Sittingbourne , “Don't Use HD Yet”

+ Lens&Design

- Battery Life

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11 of 13 people found this review helpful

purchased 20 May 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Size, picture quality, ease of use, overall quality

- memory sticks are relatively expensive

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9 of 9 people found this review helpful

purchased 12 Jun 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ very neat compact camcorder easy to use with great picture quality very good with the special case which goes on your belt .The docking station works well for charging and connecting to a TV

- none

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9 of 9 people found this review helpful

purchased 05 Jul 2008

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ very small and tough. very easy to use controls while filming. very good camera, good buy

- Reviewer left no comment

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8 of 8 people found this review helpful

purchased 17 Sep 2008

Score 8.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Very convenient size and weight. Excellent video results in good light. Well made and easy to use. Easy to transfer to DVD with one touch of a button on the camera docking station. Simple playback to HD television with HDMI cable.

- Below average video performance in poor light. Poor camera performance.

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8 of 8 people found this review helpful

purchased 17 Dec 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ connectivity with mac and imovie
ease of use
fits in a jacket pocket

- camera not great

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9 of 10 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Aug 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Very portable. Can take photos same time as movie mode. 1080 high def footage very good.

- Low light shooting poor. In bright light difficult to see LCD screen to check if in standby or record mode!

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7 of 7 people found this review helpful

purchased 09 Jul 2008

Score 8.0/10

Paul, Darlington , “good build & good”

+ Image quality, build quality & size

- Low battery life and the need to upgrade my computer to cope with the file sizes

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7 of 7 people found this review helpful

purchased 16 Jul 2008

Score 9.0/10

Tony, Surrey , “Wanted to update camera”

+ High definition.
Fits into PS3 slot for instance playback.
Auto focus and exposure just by pressing the screen.
Good zoom.
Shake is really noticeable despite some complaints.

- Small memory card supplied.
Hard to tell whether videos have copied to PC (mine is a little slow though)

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6 of 6 people found this review helpful

purchased 10 Jul 2008

Score 8.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Tiny!

- Anything bad is a trade-off because of the size.

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8 of 10 people found this review helpful

purchased 17 Jun 2008

Score 10.0/10

JT, Peterborough

+ Great image quality outdoors in natural light. Very easy to handle and operate the camera. The titanium casing is very tough. Battery life is pretty good - I don't use the quick start feature which helps.

- The image quality is not brilliant in low light/indoors but it's no worse than any other similiar camera.

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6 of 6 people found this review helpful

purchased 24 Jan 2009

Score 9.0/10

Brian, West London , “Retired Engineer”

+ Size and weight. Also LCD screen works well in bright sunlight

- No Firewire connection. Location and size of Zoom control. Mini size non standard connection for HDMI TV cable connection requires an additional cable

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5 of 5 people found this review helpful

purchased 04 Jul 2008

Score 9.0/10

bill, doncaster , “very keen photographer”

+ very easy to handle easy to carry about
9/10 for movie images

- photo images not that great 5/10

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 16 Jul 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “gadget crazy”

+ Light, sturdy, easy to operate

- screen can be hard to see in very bright sun

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 28 Jul 2008

Score 9.0/10

Gary , Glasgow

+ Small well made and easy to use

- Battery life not good and no remote control

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 23 Sep 2008

Score 8.0/10

Kim, London , “enthusiast”

+ portability, good design, HD 1080i

- strains in low light conditions, image sensor capacity

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 Nov 2008

Score 10.0/10

Dawn, Northumberland Heath

+ A really good product which is easy to use and the picture quality is brilliant, just point and shoot.

- Havent found any bad points at the moment

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 30 Nov 2008

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ So easy to use and the size. Ideal to take out wherever you are going, just pop it in your bag or pocket. I normally have got mine with me wherever I am going to capture those special moments.

- it would have been nice to have had a leather case supplied as I would not consider this a cheap product.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 30 Nov 2008

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Easy to use - I didn't even need the instructions to work out how to use it!!

- Reviewer left no comment

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 08 Dec 2008

Score 9.0/10

Dave, Gloucester , “a cean photographer.”

+ Price ,quality,size.ease of use,

- Battery life there is not at present a long life battery.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 Feb 2009

Score 9.0/10

David, Gloucester , “A kean photographer”

+ Build quality and ease of use also the images are excellant.

- Just the battery life and it eats up the memory cards!

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 Feb 2009

Score 10.0/10

michael, blackwood , “interest in camers”

+ Reviewer left no comment

- Would like to have instructions on the camera with it instead of it being on the computer

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 Jul 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Simplicity, lightweight, small, good images, can take stills during recording, sd and hd recording

- no hard drive

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 12 Jun 2008

Score 9.0/10

Mike, Marlow, Bucks

+ Size, quality both of appearance and the end result.

- None

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 16 Jun 2008

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “happy customer”

+ the product was so easy to use you switch it on and away u go.

- Reviewer left no comment

Was this review helpful?
3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 11 Jul 2008

Score 10.0/10

franky, wolverhampton , “Bon't like Sony”

+ Small, Easy to use, very user friendly, and excellent picture quality

- Reviewer left no comment

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 20 Nov 2008

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ so handy to be carried anywhere

- the quality of the stills is not good enough

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 02 Dec 2008

Score 9.0/10

Craig, Walsall , “Dad , no time”

+ 1080 HD in a tiny camcorder! easy to take about, excellent image quality, comes with 4gb memory! I luv it !!

- Was aware at the time i bought it, images are grainy in dark. amazing in daylight though! no instruction booklet

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 25 Jan 2009

Score 9.0/10

David, Solihull

+ Very handy size. Quick start up, from opening screen to actually recording takes only two seconds. Easy to download to PC from Memory card.

- Memory cards quite pricey still, need 8GB card for an hour of recording at HD1080i quality, which lets face it, is why you want this camcorer.

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3 of 3 people found this review helpful

purchased 25 Mar 2009

Score 10.0/10

Paul, Weymouth

+ Light and easy to carry around. HD an Sony reputation - a winning combination.

- None that I can think of !!!!

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 03 Nov 2008

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ ease of use / size

- no case

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 05 Dec 2008

Score 8.0/10

dennis, portsmouth , “middle age man”

+ Reviewer left no comment

- Memory card is not long enough. Have to get a 16mg memory card for taking pictures and videos.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 18 Apr 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Great quality movies.
Small and portable.
Looks good.

- On high def it eats memory.
Need two batteries and two memory cards for a long trip.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 27 Apr 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ This is an excellent purchase couldn't be more pleased. The picture quality is great for both the camcorder and the still photos. Its so easy to use on the move and then when connecing it to our Sony TV.

- It would have been good if Sony supplied the HDMI cable rather than having to purchase this separately. The battery life could be better but maybe that's just us!

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 29 Apr 2009

Score 9.0/10

john, london

+ Superb picture, the set up is so easy and the battery life is pretty good.

- No case which is extra cost and no hdmi cable

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purchased 30 Apr 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ works as well as it looks - small, simple to use and with great results

- not found any yet

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purchased 22 May 2009

Score 9.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Experienced amateur”

+ easy to use

- still photo quality seems poor

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purchased 23 May 2009

Score 9.0/10

Alan, Horsham area , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Light, fits easily in a pocket and simple to film with

- Softwares not easy to work out, and seems only supplied software works.

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purchased 19 May 2009

Score 10.0/10

Ricky , Welwyn

+ the HD is such great quality for such a small camera.. with long battery life.. easy to use.. overall very happy with it.

- none atall..

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purchased 04 Jun 2009

Score 8.0/10

Neale, London , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Stunning design. Light. Good picture quality and ease of use. Easy to download footage onto mac.

- Short battery life. No HDMI cable included. No case included.

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purchased 23 Jun 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Excellent video performance from a camcorder that fits in your pocket

- Battery performance could be better

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purchased 23 Jun 2009

Score 10.0/10

kenf, Lancaster

+ Excellent build.
Very easy to use.
Unobtrusive and convenient. Good for informal use.
Excellent quality video.

- No HDMI cable included

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purchased 23 Jun 2009

Score 9.0/10

Paul, Bailie , “Keen amateur” More like this »

+ Portability, video quality.

- Battery life, memory, image (still) quality.

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purchased 14 Jun 2009

Score 10.0/10

Tina, Swindon

+ Image quality is very good for this type of video camera with the image stabilizer doing a fairly good job.
I have found the still pictures surprisingly good with good detail and face detection working well.
Holding the camera to shoot is comfortable with the buttons well laid out.
Having looked at many camcorders of this type, we are overall very pleased with this product and certainly one of the best. Of the bunch.

- Sound play back not very loud at times but ok on the computer and tv.

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purchased 23 Jun 2009

Score 9.0/10

Hannah, Leeds , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Lightweight, easy to use, great picture, good sound quality, robust construction.

- Not found any yet!

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purchased 13 Jul 2009

Score 10.0/10

Anonymous verified purchaser

+ Quality

- Battery life could be better, through in a second batter, or a discount!!

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purchased 13 Jul 2009

Score 9.0/10

Andy, London , “Just point and shoot” More like this »

+ Tiny weeny. Good quality. Reasonably priced (at least for Sony kit).

- Expensive memory sticks.

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purchased 09 Jul 2009

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Product Features

Resolution Quality Full HD
Optical Zoom Ratio 10
Media Format Memory Stick Duo
Digital Zoom Ratio 120
Image Stabilisation Yes
Resolution (Pixels) 1920x1080
Manual Focus Yes
Dimensions (mm) 32x119x63
Battery Life in Hours 2
Weight (g) 240
Docking Station Yes
Monitor Resolution (pixels) 211200
Screen Size in Inches 2.7
16:9 Recording Format Yes
USB Port Yes
Remote Control No
Waterproof No
Digital Still Photography Yes
Night Recording No

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Manufacturer's Description

Tough, chic and amazingly compact

Stylish, ultra-small and light design with tough titanium body. Full HD recording on Memory Stick™, plus 5.1 surround sound, Face Detection and SteadyShot image stabilization.

Small and light enough to keep with you

With less size and weight to carry, it’s easy to slip your camcorder into a pocket or bag: you can be sure it’s always with you, wherever you go.

Sound all around

Surround sound adds an extra dimension of realism to your videos, just like at the cinema. 5.1 channel recording captures crisp, lifelike audio that sounds great on your home theatre system. Best of all, you don’t need extra microphones or cables: everything’s built in to the camcorder.

Natural looking faces every time

Faces can look dark and underexposed in bright, backlit situations like a sun-drenched beach. And if you’re shooting indoors there’s a risk your subject’s skin tone can look unnaturally coloured. The camcorder fine-tunes focus, exposure and skin tone for more natural looking faces.

Find your footage

With hours of footage stored on your camcorder, it can be hard tracking down a particular scene. Face Index helps you find shots containing faces in an instant. Film Roll Index cuts longer recordings into shorter ‘chapters’, making it quicker and easier to find the right moment.

Have more fun with your video collection

It’s easy to manage your video clips and photos with Picture Motion Browser for your PC – included free with your camcorder. Sort, search and browse through all your clips and photos in an instant. Burn them to disc, email to friends or upload to social networking sites with a few clicks.

Compare prices for Sony HDR-TG3E on 08 Nov 2009

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0 reviews Free delivery £490FREE DELIVERY
£490
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90% 255 reviews £498 + £7 delivery
£505
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