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Handycam offers vivid detail
You took the plunge recently and surrendered a small ransom for a wall-size high-definition TV. Only now you wish there were compelling programs to watch.
The Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam weighs 1½ pounds.
It's true that more and more live sporting events and prerecorded shows are broadcast in HD. But suppose the kind of drama and emotion you have in mind are more, uh, gripping: Grandma's 80th birthday, videos of the little ones at their dance recitals and soccer games and footage of the family's vacation to the Grand Canyon.
The Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam camcorder I've been testing around New York City is ideal for capturing such treasures.
The bottom line
Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam
$2,000; 3½ stars out of four
Pro. Light and comfortable camcorder delivers HD quality on standard MiniDV cassettes.
Con. Not yet a mainstream price. Doesn't come with editing software. Those who typically shoot with viewfinder may find it annoying to have to access certain controls on LCD touch panel.
At about 1½ pounds, it's billed as the world's smallest and lightest high-definition, or HD, consumer camcorder.
With its round Carl Zeiss lens sticking out at one end of a long barrel, the Sony is relatively thin but not exactly pocket-size. Still, it's simple to schlep around and comfortable to grip, at least for a right-hander. As with many other camcorders, the design seems to discriminate against southpaws: You must use your right hand to grip the body and manipulate the zoom switch and other controls.
At a $2,000 suggested retail price, the Sony is anything but light on your wallet, especially considering that decent entry-level digital camcorders can be had for a fraction of that price. Those aren't high-definition, of course.
While the HC1 is expensive, it isn't unreasonably priced. JVC's $3,500 GR-HD1 "consumer" camcorder was considered something of a breakthrough when I favorably reviewed it two years ago. After all, professional video gear at the time commanded 60 grand on up and remains in another price stratosphere. The list price on the JVC camcorder hasn't budged in two years, though I've seen it discounted on the Web for less than $2,000.
You can find the Sony on the Web for under $1,800. When it comes to consumer electronics, price is typically a moving target, and the good news is that it almost always moves south. How fast it gets there is another matter.
Sony sells another high-definition model — the larger HDR-FX1 — for about $3,700. It's tailored for the serious "prosumer" hobbyist. But for the mainstream consumer with an HDTV, the cheaper HC1 will more than suffice. The stunning images of HD provide the great equalizer. Among the features in the step-up model: profiles that let users create preset video modes for a variety of shooting settings.
For more information
www.camcorderinfo.com: Provides comprehensive reviews.
www.dvspot.com: Another dedicated camcorder review site.
www.sony.com
The HC1 has a 10X optical zoom and 120X digital zoom.
The camcorder is based on a single image sensor or chip (many higher-end camcorders rely on three) that Sony says consumes less battery power than others. The company claims you'll get about 90 minutes of continuous recording depending on the recording mode, though there's no guarantee that you'll get that much.
A button lets you determine the status of the battery without actually turning on the camera. Results are shown on a 2.7-inch-wide touch-panel LCD that swings out.
You frame images through a viewfinder or the LCD. The touch-display lets you control various menu options (for example, choosing automatic or manual shutter speeds, turning on or off an image stabilization feature that reduces the shakes, etc.).
Other features: You can manually adjust the white balance, focus and zoom ring.
I appreciated an "expanded focus" button that enlarges the image in the viewfinder and LCD up to four times. That way, you can try to make the images you're capturing as sharp as possible.
Using a night-shot feature, you can record high-definition video in the dark, albeit with a green tinge. There's a place to plug in an external microphone.
I shot scenes in indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and was thrilled with the results. When I played them back on a wide-screen 34-inch Sony HDTV, I noted the rich color and vivid details: the ripples a goose made in a pond, the freckles and pores on a human face, the strands of grass as my dog rolled around the backyard.
The camcorder takes advantage of a consumer format known as HDV, or high-definition video, adopted by JVC, Sony, Canon and Sharp. It boasts about four times the pixels or picture elements of standard TV. So the high-definition "resolution" looks pristine and true to life.
In techie terms, the camcorder can scan 1,080 horizontal lines (referred to as 1080i), one of the accepted high-def formats. It can also record at an image data rate of about 25 megabits a second.
Recordings are captured on standard MiniDV or DV cassette tapes. Eventually, I imagine, we'll see consumer HD camcorders that can be recorded onto a DVD.
To actually enjoy video in high definition, you must connect the camcorder to an HDTV, using the supplied "component" video cable or an optional i.Link digital cable. If connected to a conventional TV, the video will be automatically "down-converted" to a lower-resolution standard definition, or SD, mode.
There are times when you'll actually choose to shoot in a lower-resolution (DV) format. That's because doing so will allow you to play back the footage on any DV camcorder.
What you can't do is record in high-def with the Sony and expect to play the tape back at all on another MiniDV camcorder.
If you plan to show off cinematic masterpieces you shot in HD to Grandma, you'd better bring the camcorder. On the other hand, if you recorded in DV mode, the tape can be played back in any MiniDV camcorder.
In DV mode, you can choose to capture video in either the wide-screen (16:9) or more conventional TV-like squarish (4:3) aspect ratios. HD is always shot wide-screen.
You can also take 2.8-megapixel still digital images, stored on Memory Stick Duo cards.
And you can capture HD video and take a 1-megapixel digital still at the same time. You can directly print by connecting the Sony to what's called a PictBridge-capable printer.
Given the price, the camcorder will probably appeal mostly to hard-core enthusiasts. But after admiring my own video handiwork in full HD splendor, I wouldn't dissuade anybody who is toying with splurging.
Handycam offers vivid detail
You took the plunge recently and surrendered a small ransom for a wall-size high-definition TV. Only now you wish there were compelling programs to watch.
The Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam weighs 1½ pounds.
It's true that more and more live sporting events and prerecorded shows are broadcast in HD. But suppose the kind of drama and emotion you have in mind are more, uh, gripping: Grandma's 80th birthday, videos of the little ones at their dance recitals and soccer games and footage of the family's vacation to the Grand Canyon.
The Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam camcorder I've been testing around New York City is ideal for capturing such treasures.
The bottom line
Sony HDR-HC1 Handycam
$2,000; 3½ stars out of four
Pro. Light and comfortable camcorder delivers HD quality on standard MiniDV cassettes.
Con. Not yet a mainstream price. Doesn't come with editing software. Those who typically shoot with viewfinder may find it annoying to have to access certain controls on LCD touch panel.
At about 1½ pounds, it's billed as the world's smallest and lightest high-definition, or HD, consumer camcorder.
With its round Carl Zeiss lens sticking out at one end of a long barrel, the Sony is relatively thin but not exactly pocket-size. Still, it's simple to schlep around and comfortable to grip, at least for a right-hander. As with many other camcorders, the design seems to discriminate against southpaws: You must use your right hand to grip the body and manipulate the zoom switch and other controls.
At a $2,000 suggested retail price, the Sony is anything but light on your wallet, especially considering that decent entry-level digital camcorders can be had for a fraction of that price. Those aren't high-definition, of course.
While the HC1 is expensive, it isn't unreasonably priced. JVC's $3,500 GR-HD1 "consumer" camcorder was considered something of a breakthrough when I favorably reviewed it two years ago. After all, professional video gear at the time commanded 60 grand on up and remains in another price stratosphere. The list price on the JVC camcorder hasn't budged in two years, though I've seen it discounted on the Web for less than $2,000.
You can find the Sony on the Web for under $1,800. When it comes to consumer electronics, price is typically a moving target, and the good news is that it almost always moves south. How fast it gets there is another matter.
Sony sells another high-definition model — the larger HDR-FX1 — for about $3,700. It's tailored for the serious "prosumer" hobbyist. But for the mainstream consumer with an HDTV, the cheaper HC1 will more than suffice. The stunning images of HD provide the great equalizer. Among the features in the step-up model: profiles that let users create preset video modes for a variety of shooting settings.
For more information
www.camcorderinfo.com: Provides comprehensive reviews.
www.dvspot.com: Another dedicated camcorder review site.
www.sony.com
The HC1 has a 10X optical zoom and 120X digital zoom.
The camcorder is based on a single image sensor or chip (many higher-end camcorders rely on three) that Sony says consumes less battery power than others. The company claims you'll get about 90 minutes of continuous recording depending on the recording mode, though there's no guarantee that you'll get that much.
A button lets you determine the status of the battery without actually turning on the camera. Results are shown on a 2.7-inch-wide touch-panel LCD that swings out.
You frame images through a viewfinder or the LCD. The touch-display lets you control various menu options (for example, choosing automatic or manual shutter speeds, turning on or off an image stabilization feature that reduces the shakes, etc.).
Other features: You can manually adjust the white balance, focus and zoom ring.
I appreciated an "expanded focus" button that enlarges the image in the viewfinder and LCD up to four times. That way, you can try to make the images you're capturing as sharp as possible.
Using a night-shot feature, you can record high-definition video in the dark, albeit with a green tinge. There's a place to plug in an external microphone.
I shot scenes in indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and was thrilled with the results. When I played them back on a wide-screen 34-inch Sony HDTV, I noted the rich color and vivid details: the ripples a goose made in a pond, the freckles and pores on a human face, the strands of grass as my dog rolled around the backyard.
The camcorder takes advantage of a consumer format known as HDV, or high-definition video, adopted by JVC, Sony, Canon and Sharp. It boasts about four times the pixels or picture elements of standard TV. So the high-definition "resolution" looks pristine and true to life.
In techie terms, the camcorder can scan 1,080 horizontal lines (referred to as 1080i), one of the accepted high-def formats. It can also record at an image data rate of about 25 megabits a second.
Recordings are captured on standard MiniDV or DV cassette tapes. Eventually, I imagine, we'll see consumer HD camcorders that can be recorded onto a DVD.
To actually enjoy video in high definition, you must connect the camcorder to an HDTV, using the supplied "component" video cable or an optional i.Link digital cable. If connected to a conventional TV, the video will be automatically "down-converted" to a lower-resolution standard definition, or SD, mode.
There are times when you'll actually choose to shoot in a lower-resolution (DV) format. That's because doing so will allow you to play back the footage on any DV camcorder.
What you can't do is record in high-def with the Sony and expect to play the tape back at all on another MiniDV camcorder.
If you plan to show off cinematic masterpieces you shot in HD to Grandma, you'd better bring the camcorder. On the other hand, if you recorded in DV mode, the tape can be played back in any MiniDV camcorder.
In DV mode, you can choose to capture video in either the wide-screen (16:9) or more conventional TV-like squarish (4:3) aspect ratios. HD is always shot wide-screen.
You can also take 2.8-megapixel still digital images, stored on Memory Stick Duo cards.
And you can capture HD video and take a 1-megapixel digital still at the same time. You can directly print by connecting the Sony to what's called a PictBridge-capable printer.
Given the price, the camcorder will probably appeal mostly to hard-core enthusiasts. But after admiring my own video handiwork in full HD splendor, I wouldn't dissuade anybody who is toying with splurging.
