Hi,
I got a Sony DCR HC 42E.Absolutely no regrets buying such a nice thing. It is absolutely fine.One disadvantage I found was that I went to OOTY in the month of January which is extreamly cold.My cam did not work properly. Due to the chill atmosphere I was not able to capture any videos.It got stuck and it just hung up by itself.I was so worried that I thought I lost the lovey cam :((.Alas!!! some thing came to my mind immediately.I went into my car and I started the heater and kept the cam near one of the big blower :)) I kept it for some 5 min and after that I slowly started reducing the heat of the blower. After some 15 min I brought the cam to the natural weather condition which was very cold. Then I slowly tried to operate it and Hurray!!!!!! it worked fine. It was really really worth spending 15 min inside the car as I got some beautiful videos out in the Mother nature.
Technical reason: This is some thing what I presumed.
Once the magnetic tape is exposed to extreame cold condition it will become sticky and it doesn’t work at all..best way is when ever you go out for a hilly region and you feel that it is really cold out there best thing you can do is to expose the cam slowly to the weather rather than to open it immediately from the bag. This will really help you capture the best memories of your life.
All the best !!!
Mail me at bharanip@triviumsys.com if you need any assistance for using a handycam.