Two months ago i bought a sony handycam digital video camera HHD WHICH I PAID A LITTLE OVER $800 for with added ins.I was not thinking when i bought it because it's really hard to use at the track.It has a side window but no eye view which makes it useless for the track..It has very long range but it's hard to follow a moving car..What was i thinking.#DCR-SR42 What's the trick to use this side window?I can't get the hang of it!

Does the side window just not turn on?
The camera should have some kind of stabilizer feature for use at the track.

Try these steps:
Read the Manual. :D
Take it back to the store and have the techy kid set it up for you.
Sell it to me for $450.

Side window does turn on but i just can't get the hang of it.Are most camera's made like this? I don't like to read but i guess i'll have to break down and read the paper work.

I just bought the same model last week. One of the DVDs that came with the camara gives a lot of tips on shooting video.

Just a tip, - we bought a hard drive type video camera for road course videos in-car stuff, attached to the roll bar. The hard drive crashed each time the car started moving! We now use our old tape type video camera and it works great.
David

The side window folds out, pivots and turns to give you the most comfortable viewing angle while shooting. Is it just that you think you'd be more comfortable if you could hold it up to your face with one eye closed? Even if it had a view finder, it would probably just be a lower resolution B/W lcd showing the same thing the big screen shows. It does add functionality in bright light, where the side screen might get washed out, but other than that, I would think it just a matter of getting use to it.

So you're passing on the $450 deal of a lifetime?

ahhhhh ... you better break out the reading glass's !!
my Cannon came with 3 yes 3 books ...
the basic little one ........... 33 pages !
the standard User's guide...145 pages!
then the softwear guide .....87 pages !

what every happened to point & shoot ??? ;)

I just can't follow the car or anything that's moving very fast.I guess it's a matter of getting use to it but I'm not sure I will.I would think if you could hold it up too your eye with the other one closed it would be easier to follow thing's moving at a high rate of speed?? BILL

It would probably help not to be zoomed in to close. Trial and error and some practice might help.

try using a tripod so you can swivel, that should allow a smooth following of the car and enable you to zoom in and out easier!