| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Sony HDR-HC1 2.8MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom |
| User Reviews |  | Marvelous camera
rating: 5
This model has been succeeded by newer ones; however, I found the quality of both movies and still photos to be superb. Transferring the video into the high definition software on my Mac was easy (the camera is one of relatively few with Firewire, IEEE 1394, or iLink - all the same - output that the high definition software requires), and the results are superb. Although I don't have a high definition DVD recorder, the quality of the standard DVDs I burned from the HD source were absolutely great.
Even the built in microphones were good. I recorded a brief concert by my brother, a Cathedral organist, using only the camera - the sound was marvelous. Yes, a studio could have done it better - but I had all I needed in the palm of my hand.
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NOT a pro camcorder
rating: 5
First let me just say, this is NOT a pro camcorder!!!
WIth that said, this is one of the best investments I made for making memories. I had HDR-HC1 for about a year and used it moderately, and have been very happy with the results.
Pros: 1. Great picture.
2. Very light. Your arm will not get tired.
3. Easy to use. Just put tape in and you are ready.
4. Easy to connect to MacBook. Plug and play.
Cons. 1. Needs more zoom.
2. Build in mic not too great.
3. Short battery life.
4. Small view angle.
There are some drop outs on the video, but i think that is because I use "the" cheapest tapes I can find. Even so, I only noticed one drop in 12-14 tapes.
Good luck.
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Almost perfect camera.
rating: 4
After reading that this was the "best of it's class" camcorder at camcorderinfo.com, as well as reading all the reviews I could find, I bought it. Now that I've had it for many months, some comments: It's a great camera, HD is awesome, and it has alot of features. Nothing to complain about other than 1) auto focus is problematic, especially in low-light, and 2) low-light quality isn't even as good as my 1999 Digital8 Sony was. Taping in Night Vision is almost useless as it goes out of focus so easily.
I'm still blown away by how great the day video looks when imported into my iMac. HDV is a pain on older computers (my 1.8 Ghz iMac G5 took 2-4x to import, but my Core 2 Duo imports realtime). Note, importing in iMovie involves reading in the HDV and converting it to an intermediate format -- higher end apps can import real-time and edit that (converting on the fly).
I do like the camera -- few complaints -- but I'm still irked that Sony uses a non-standard hotshoe. All my old Sony add-ons (IR lights, etc.) could not be used on this. But, the active hot show has great benefits (like the bluetooth mic that plugs up and gets power and audio from the hotshoe -- nice).
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Anyone want a used Sony HD video camera?
rating: 2
Save your money. I've owned this camera for a little over a year and, quite frankly, I can't wait to put it on ebay and try something else.
The biggest challenge with the camera are it's little quirks that, over time, get in the way of filming. For example, Sony for some reason has chosen to put the button that switches between video, still photos (which are awful) and video playback right next the the record on/off switch. It is *so* easy to toggle it when preparing to shoot. And the next thing you know you're scrambling to get it back into video mode. And you've lost your shot.
The video camera has a an exceeedingly long start up time and a seemingly random length transition from standby to record. It could take a second or it could take ten seconds. And since this thing chews through battery life, I've always been reluctant to leave it on, for fear I'll end up with the dreaded "blinking battery" and no spares. So I struggle to capture the events (mostly high school games) that I bought it for. It pains me to think of how many times I've pressed record and then missed the great catch or kick- watching the word "Standby" flash in the viewfinder as the camera struggles to enter record mode.
Finally, the colors, even in bright light, look washed out to my eye. My old 3 CCD panasonic G4 looked *so much* better. I've tried adjusting the white balance, color balance... you name it, with limited success. But why does it have to be so hard just to get decent color? And the low light performance is even worse.
I could go on... I was sucked in by the idea of cheap HD and a leading edge product. Yes, the picture detail is better than standard DV, but that only matters if you can actually get the shot.
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Great camera for the price
rating: 4
First of all, let me say that I am a 16 year old aspiring filmmaker. I used to use a little cheapo 1CCD camcorder that I got way back in 2002. The picture quality sucked, and last July it finally went caput and died on me. So, I went camera shopping for about 3 or 4 months.
Finally, late last November, I settled on the HDR-HC1. Considering my price range, and the fact that it shot in HD (and TRUE widescreen, for that matter), it seemed like the perfect camera for me at this stage in my career. So far, it has delivered for me even better than I expected.
Pros:
1. Finally! A camera with true widescreen!
2. Excellent picture quality. Sometimes I have to convert the HD video so it will fit on a DVD, but even then it looks absolutely stunning. It almost looks like film. I was extremely impressed.
3. It's small and lightweight. Easy transportation.
4. Manual focus ring works great. This is another thing that I was somewhat peeved on with my old camera. I like to make a lot of short films. Because of the zoom ring, I am able to put focus on certain aspects of the frame (an old movie technique that still works great). The only way that the ring could be better is if they labeled it with some markings.
Cons:
1. The battery life is pretty bad. 40 minutes doesn't do justice for a camera like this. For compensation, I bought the Sony NP-QM91D. It delivers me about 4 hours of battery life. Granted, it takes a while to charge, but it's worth 4 hours. The only drawback is that this battery will cost you an extra $100 dollars.
2. Yes, the camera is a little front heavy, but the extra extended battery will fix this.
3. The viewfinder. This is something that really ticks me off about this camera. I was really disappointed with Sony over this. With the big battery that you will need to purchase, your viewfinder will basically be rendered useless. The battery sticks out so much that, if you want to use the viewfinder, your nose and the battery will be spending a lot of time together. The least Sony could have done would have been to allow the viewfinder to extend out, but, sadly, this is not the case.
4. This camera doesn't perform the best in low light conditions. When you shoot in low light, the image becomes very grainy. This kind of disappoints me as I shoot a lot in very unpredictable lighting conditions.
5. The tape deck is located at the bottom of the camera which means that you have to turn the camera upside down to load and unload the tapes. In other words, you can't change tapes if the camera is on a tripod or connected to anything else while filming. This normally isn't a problem, but if you're shooting live on a tripod and your tape starts to run out, the only way to change it is to disconnect the camera from the tripod, change the tapes, and then reconnect it. This is a fairly time consuming process that will make you lose a substantial amount of footage, so be careful on how much tape your camera has left while filming.
Overall, I would definitely give this camera some consideration. For the price range, it works great.
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Sony HDR-HC1 2.8MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom
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