I live in a camera-less household. Sure, I have an ancient film camera that was handed down to me years ago, but I don?t count that — we never think to dig it out when birthday parties or vacations roll around, much less have it on hand to snap candid shots on a regular basis. No, until now, we were content with keeping pictures taken by friends and relatives, as opposed to buying a camera or camcorder of our own.

But all that?s about to change: in August, my husband and I are going to be parents. Predictably, as soon as we found out we were expecting, our new mantra became, "We?ve got to get a camcorder." We knew we?d want to preserve our child?s first years on some type of video. The next question was, which format?

I?d been hearing about Sony?s DVD camcorders since last year, when the Advisor published a review of the DCR-DVD300. The idea of saving our memories straight to a miniature DVD-R or DVD-RW disc that we could pop right into our home DVD player and watch on our TV pretty much sold my husband on a DVD cam, sight unseen. But I?m a little more cautious, so I wheedled a brand-new DCR-DVD101 out of my editor, promising a timely review in exchange. And here it is: the digital video neophyte?s take on the DCR-DVD101.

Getting to know the 'DVD101
When I took this camcorder out of the box, the first thing I noticed was its color: instead of the usual silver finish, this model is blue with charcoal gray and silver accents. I dug the styling, as did my husband. To us, it looked cool, but not too flashy.

The ?DVD101 is very palm-friendly, too. I didn?t get a chance to use last year?s DVD camcorders, but I?m told that the ?DVD101 is 29% smaller and 23% lighter than its precursor, the DCR-DVD100. At less than three-quarters of a pound (not including battery and disc), this year's camcorder is also pretty lightweight. I?m not sure why — probably because it?s a relatively new format — but I actually expected the ?DVD101 to weigh more than a Mini DV cam. I was surprised to find that current Mini DV models, on average, outweigh the ?DVD101 by at least a quarter of a pound.

So with a Sony DVD camcorder, not only do you get the coolness of shooting straight to disc, but you get greater portability, too. Score one for the DVD format.

Using the DCR-DVD101 to shoot home movies is easy — and fun!

Meeting the family
Since I could count on one hand the number of times I?ve used a camcorder in my life, it took me a minute or two to locate the most significant controls on the ?DVD101. I?ll admit that I got a little impatient — probably due in part to the mood swings that notoriously accompany my condition. Also, it didn?t help that I was learning how to use the camcorder at the very moment that I wanted to record important footage. This taught me an important lesson: always take the time to acquaint yourself with your gear. (My husband, on the other hand, seems to have a sixth sense about these things. When he picked up the cam, he immediately found the Power, Record, and Zoom controls that it took me several seconds to locate.)

For both of us, using this camcorder was nothing but fun. We filmed our pets, friends who were visiting, and relatives with whom we celebrated Mother?s Day. In fact, my eight-year-old niece fell in love with the ?DVD101, and insisted on holding it and even filming footage of her own! I had to work the controls, but the cam was so lightweight and compact that she had no problem carrying it (attended by my very watchful eye, of course).

One of our favorite features was the cam's 10X optical zoom. Sony places it within easy reach, so you can use it at any point while you film. Also, the ?DVD101 tended to zoom pretty smoothly, avoiding the drastically quick, dizzying in-and-out effect I've seen on some home movies. The optical zoom was really useful for getting close, candid shots of unsuspecting pets and people.

Snapping digital photos
The DCR-DVD101's digital photo mode is a handy perk. It's easy to use — even without consulting the manual, I was able to figure out that you switch to photo mode simply by turning the camcorder's "mode" dial to select the camera icon. The ?DVD101 doesn't come with a flash, but you can connect a separate one via the Intelligent Accessory Shoe. And if you plan to take lots of still photos, you'll want to — I snapped several evening shots, and concluded that flash-less shooting is best done in broad daylight or indoors with lots of lighting. (Can you tell I'm really getting to be an expert now?)

You can choose between "fine" and "standard" photo quality levels. I assume that a standard-quality photo is simply more compressed, since both are 640 x 480 resolution. But considering that you can fit over 5,000 fine-quality photos on a disc, I can't imagine opting to compress the pics just so I could squeeze in another 3,000! Needless to say, I left the ?DVD101 in "fine" mode for photos.

One cool benefit of the ?DVD101 is that the camcorder automatically creates a slideshow of your photos (or "photomovie") during disc finalization, which can be played back on your DVD player. Sure, the 640 x 480 shots don't look fabulous on a TV screen, but it's really fun to be able to use your TV to show shots to friends and family. (If I planned to use my camcorder as my primary still camera, too, I'd opt to get the ?DVD101's big brother, the DCR-DVD201. Its megapixel CCD would yield better-looking, higher-resolution photos.)

The pros and cons of disc-based recording
Finalizing the disc. Before the disc containing your precious home video can go from the ?DVD101 to a DVD player, it must be "finalized" in-camera. This step took longer than I expected — about 15 minutes for a disc containing 15 minutes of footage.

Locating scenes. Once that was done, we popped the DVD-R in our DVD player and were greeted by thumbnail images of each scene we had recorded. Instead of rewinding or fast-forwarding to the segment we wanted to see, a couple clicks of the remote got us there. We loved this easy navigation — it?s not something you get with any tape-based format.

Automatic "end search." The Advisor?s review of last year?s DCR-DVD300 mentioned an unexpected bonus: when you hit Record, that camcorder automatically captured new footage to the unused part of the disc. Well, happily, Sony hasn?t changed that feature for this year?s models. We were relieved to find that the earlier scenes we?d captured were still on the disc, even though we hadn?t cued it up in any way. As a fan of audio recording who has inadvertently overwritten many a beloved performance, I think this feature?s a godsend.

A Mini DV tape (left) and a mini DVD-R disc (right) cost about the same amount. You can fit more video on a tape, but the disc plays in most DVD players.

Price. When trying to decide between the DVD and Mini DV formats, I was concerned about the price of the media. After all, if I?m going to invest in a camcorder, I don?t want to have to spend an arm and a leg every time I need a disc. But it turns out that disc prices are comparable to tape prices: Mini DV tapes sell for $8 to $10; 8-centimeter DVD-R discs go for $7 to $10.

It is worth noting, however that you can record up to a maximum of 90 minutes on a Mini DV tape, whereas the little DVD-R only holds a maximum of 60 minutes of footage. Also, tapes are (obviously) re-recordable, while mini DVD-Rs aren?t. Their rewriteable counterparts (mini DVD-RWs) cost about $14. So tapes do give you more recording bang for the buck. However, I decided that I don?t mind paying a premium for disc-based conveniences like easy navigation and being able to watch home movies on my DVD player.

By the way, if you plan to collect a lot of footage for later editing, you'll probably prefer to use DVD-RWs. The reason is that with DVD-Rs (unlike virtually every other digital photo or video medium), you cannot delete or overwrite a video scene or digital photo you've captured, even if you haven't finalized the disc yet. I was surprised to find this out, and it made me much less hesitant to spend more for a rewriteable disc. Reviewing scenes or photos on the cam's LCD just isn't the same if you can't discard the ones you don't like — especially if you're used to being able to do this on a digital camera or camcorder.

Video quality. In his review of last year?s DCR-DVD300, my colleague James Ralston wrote that, since DVD uses a different compression method than Mini DV, he expected a slight loss in video quality with DVD — which, in the end, he didn't see. I?m not half the technology geek that Jim is (that?s a compliment, Jim!), but I borrowed another co-worker's Mini DV camcorder to see whether my untrained eye could detect any difference in image quality.

To me, both formats looked comparably gorgeous. The Mini DV model I borrowed had a more sophisticated CCD and lens than the ?DVD101, so it did provide a slightly better-looking picture. But I couldn't detect any compression artifacts with either format. And, needless to say, if you're used to VHS-quality resolution for your home movies, you won't be disappointed with the DVD picture you get from this camcorder.

Decision time
So we're left with the big question: do we like this camcorder enough to actually buy it? For me, the answer is yes. The benefits, the convenience, and — I'll admit it — the plain coolness of recording to DVD make this cam well worth the money. If, on the other hand, you ask my husband this question, you'll hear something more like, "I MUST HAVE IT!" He grew so attached to the ?DVD101 in just a couple of days that I don't think I'll ever be able to separate the two of them.

As long as he understands that making home movies doesn't excuse him from his diaper-changing obligations, I think we'll be okay.