Overpriced but underdelivered

Author's Rating:

Pros: recording to 120G hard-drive, daylight video quality, Steady Shot, included software

Cons: no viewfinder, LCD in sunlight, very noisy lowlight recording, no shoulder strap 

The Bottom Line: 
Check other models/manufacturers. $800 camcorder must perform great not only from 8am to 5pm and it must come with shoulder strap and viewfinder.

Author's Review
I've purchased this camcorder as a replacement for the aging Sony DCRTRV18 mini DV which I've enjoyed for over 6 years. Before I've purchased DCRTRV18 I've tried similar Canon and JVC. Sony was the best and it made an obvious choice as a replacement candidate.

 I'm using HDR-XR200V for over a month. There are 3 obvious shortcomings: low light recording, absence of viewfinder and shoulder strap. For $800 ($1000 on Sony website) camcorder manufacturer did not include viewfinder and SHOULDER STRAP. Why?
 This camera is substantially lighter than DCRTRV18 which makes it harder to keep steady and when I started using it I was afraid that results will be horrible because even wind blowing would shake it. Use of the viewfinder helps to stabilize the camcorder but it doesn't have one. To my surprise when I viewed video on TV it was pretty steady. My compliments to Sony for offsetting my shaky hand with optical stabilization. 
 The absence of the viewfinder also makes it harder to use in sunny conditions. I took it with me to Aruba and sunlight makes LCD image barely visible but whatever is shot  does look excellent. 

 You can forget about using this camcorder indoors or in twilight conditions. Picture will be very grainy and noisy similar to what you'll get using your cell phone. YES. THAT BAD. I was greatly disappointed when I've tried to use XR200 during evening event indoors.
After DCRTRV18 (7years old) cam which always did a great job in low light situation (much much better than Canon, JVC and others) I was expecting same results if not better from Sony. With DCRTRV18 I was able to videotape someone carrying cake with candles in total darkness! When I've tried XR200 in my living room during daytime it created very noisy image.
 So if you only planning to shoot outdoors during daylight and fine with guesstimating what is your camcorder recoding, this is an excellent camera but if you live indoors and would like to record family functions or indoor events and you do expect outstanding picture quality from 800 dollars camcorder check other models.
Based on what I've read, poor quality recording in low light conditions is common problem for hard-drive/flash memory camcorders. It's due to design/cost limitation of pro-consumer camcorders which are: the size of the lens and chip, and the fact that they are recording onto the hard-drive thus compressing the image. I look more into that but this is what I've found so far.
I will try another mini DV Sony model. Draw back for mini DV is the long transfer process to the computer but that's the price I'm willing to pay for the quality.