Hi--

>I read your glowing review of the VX-2000.

"Glowing" indicates "puff" and the usual "gushy" reviews - I thought I
was more restrained than that, and pointed out the camera's many flaws...;-)
It is, though, the best I have yet seen...

>I had begun saving for a DV
>camera and high hopes for this one until I began to hear reports about a
>buzz or hiss when used in manual audio mode. The last half of a DV camera
>test in the Dec. 2000 issue of 'Camcorder and Computer Video' magazine
>brought out this same problem again.

Most of these reviews are the "puff"-type, but it appears this one "reports"
a rumored problem...!

>The author said a fix had been
>released for the PD-150, but not the VX-2000. And Sony, as I'd heard,
>termed it an 'upgrade' so they could charge another $150 for it. The author
>had contacted the authorized 'upgrade' repair center and they hadn't
>repaired one yet. He contacted Sony about the problem and got a runaround
>which amounted to 'we're not going to change (fix)the VX-2000.'
>What irrisponsibility of Sony on the one hand, and what a rip on the other.

Don't blow a non-existent problem out of proportion!!! ;-)

>But ignoring Sony... you never mentioned any audio problems in either of the
>2 cameras you used. What do you know of this problem?

I think I did mention it - the gain setting selections are unusually
wide, and the headphone amp is noisy. It is very easy to mis-set gains
and produce very high hiss and "popcorn" noise levels, but these are not
realistic levels for actual recording. At normal levels, the VX-2000 is
very quiet (line-out). I think Sony wanted to satisfy the "pros", so
offered a high-freq. cut filter to allow mis-set levels with less
apparent noise - not a good solution, I think...

>Your review sounds to me like you'd highly recommend the VX-2000 as an only
>camera...
jim key

Definitely! But it is good to be aware of its quirks, so you can
work around them... The picture and sound are excellent, though.
Check yours thoroughly for defects (they do occur), and buy from
a dealer that will exchange a bad sample.