Last September I was shooting a kart race and later found out that more than half of the day's video was ruined by a jittery image. This is not the usual image stabilization issue. It happened seemingly at random, at any zoom or focus, slow-mo or normal speed, and would even come and go in a single clip where the camera was on a tripod and simply recording.

Example: Sony HDR-HC9 Jitter on Vimeo

I have read one or two other accounts of this happening but so far no explanation or solution. Has anyone seen this or know of a cause or solution?

And on a side-note, the price of this camera seems to have gone up quite a bit, in the $1600 range on Amazon.

I've no idea regarding the fault you describe, but I find the price you mention amazing.

I listed a HDR-HC9 NTSC on eBay twice in the last month, specifically targeting the US market, and started it at £500 ($832 USD), and got no bids on a camera I've used for about four hours in 18 months.

I'll try again in May, but expect I'll have difficulty selling it.

I am experiencing the same issue intermittently on my HC7. Actually had it happen yesterday, mid-shoot. Don't mean to jump in on your thread. I'm looking for a explanation and resolution to this as well.

Not sure how to embed a player in post, but here's a link to sample video on youtube:
YouTube - ‪samplehc7jitter.wmv‬‏ (http://youtu.be/vAMX1Q-h1sE?hd=1)

Same issue is now surfacing on my HC7. I think it's heat related but I'm not 100% sure that's the reason.

This is a aging camera too, bought it in 2007.